A Challenge to Traditional Theory

A challenge to traditional management theory Ed Weymes Introduction Modern management theories are focussed on how individuals contribute to organisation and corporate performance while the performance of the chief executive is dictated by the organisation’s ? nancial returns and share price. While organisations espouse the principles associated with total quality management, learning organisations, high performance organisations and implement balanced score cards, the chief executive’s primary focus is ? ated on retaining control of the organisation to meet shareholder expectations. As we enter the new millennium the corporate world has been rocked by the scandals involving Enron, Worldcom and Adelphia in the USA and in Europe by Parmalat and Mannesmann. These, and a host of other organisations, have been publicly criticised for fraudulent accounting practises or excessive personal gain for the chief executive and senior members of the administration while creating a ? nancial catastrophe for employees and shareholders. The public no longer trusts the corporate world.The World Economic Forum’s (2004) global surveys on trust in 2004 and 2002 indicate that people’s trust levels in global and large domestic companies remain very low with less than 10 per cent of respondents reporting â€Å"a lot of trust† in these institutions operating in the best interests of society. (The results for 2004 show some improvement over 2002. ) In Europe, the concept of corporate social responsibility (CSR) is the subject of many boardroom discussions and in the USA the Dow Jones publishes a CSR index on the premise that many investors believe ? ms who practice social responsibility provide better long term ? nancial returns. The intent of CSR is to add value to society, to leave the world in a better position for our grandchildren by building environmental and social responsibilities into the traditional economic equation. Proponents of CSR claim that this approach will restore public trust and respectability in the corporation, while the â€Å"non-believers† state that the concepts of CSR only re? ect appropriate standards of corporate governance and there is no need for CSR as a separate movement.Twenty years ago similar sentiments were expressed about â€Å"quality† but the quality movement ensured that the concept is now a necessary but not suf? cient condition for effective competition. As we enter the twenty-? rst century the concept of corporate citizenship has captured the attention not only of corporate leaders but also society. The corporate scandals associated with Enron in the USA and Parmalat in Europe together with the collapse of Arthur Anderson, the respecting accounting, auditing and consulting global giant, The author Ed Weymes is Associate Professor at the University of Waikato Management School, Hamilton, New Zealand.Keywords Management theory, Philosophy, Social responsibility Abstract Thi s paper challenges the philosophy underlying traditional management thinking. The historic and possibly arcane purpose of business, to maximise shareholder wealth, is no longer a relevant proposition. Academics and managers need to rethink the philosophical framework of management theory. For the past 50 years the management literature has adopted a more â€Å"human† approach to the management of organisations yet the importance of systems and process and performance measurers associated with the scienti? c theory of management prevails.With the growing importance of knowledge creation and the corporate social responsibility movement it is timely to re? ect on the purpose of business as adding value to society and rejecting the focus on accumulation of personal wealth. Knowledgecreating enterprises are founded on the development of sustainable relationships within the organisation and with stakeholders and thus require a different philosophical perspective. Electronic access The Emerald Research Register for this journal is available at www. emeraldinsight. com/researchregister The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at www. meraldinsight. com/1463-6689. htm foresight Volume 6  · Number 6  · 2004  · pp. 338-348 q Emerald Group Publishing Limited  · ISSN 1463-6689 DOI 10. 1108/14636680410569911 338 A challenge to traditional management theory foresight Volume 6  · Number 6  · 2004  · 338-348 Ed Weymes has signi? cantly reduced worldwide public trust in the corporate community. In the recent World Economic Forum (2004) survey on trust, only 7 per cent of respondents reported that global companies operate in the best interests of society. While this ? gure is a small improvement over the 2002 survey public trust in the corporate community is low.Organisations are seen as pro? t generating and wealth enhancing for the select few. The scale of the public outcry against unethical behaviour has turned the spotlight to wards the importance of corporate citizenship, ensuring that organisations focus on social and environmental issues as well as the economic returns. Public attention appears to be less focussed on individual wealth creation but on the manner in which wealth is created. Individuals who exploit others for personal gain or who exploit society or the environment for their own advantage will not be tolerated.In 2003 a PricewaterhouseCoopers (2003a) survey found that 75 per cent of chief executive of? cers (CEOs) surveyed stated they would forgo short-term pro? ts in order to implement a sustainability programme. Yet the highlight of the business news remains stock market performance and share price. Despite the move towards a greater focus on people in the organisation and concern for the environment, organisations remain numbers driven and subject to the vagaries of the ? nancial markets. Chief executives measure their success by their impact on EPS and not their contribution to the soc ial or environmental issues.But today’s CEO also recognises the core competence of the organisation lies in the knowledge and skills of its people. Gone are the days when product design, production process or customer service could create competitive advantage. It is the skills and abilities of the individual staff members that dictate the future of the organisation. Thus, the organisation must ensure staff are challenged and suitably rewarded and today we see organisations offering attractive remuneration packages including child care and a host of other bene? ts.But are such packages attractive if they are designed to buy the soul of the employee and not build trust between the individuals within the organisation? Today the chief executive is challenged with the task of building trust and integrity in the organisation. When trust pervades the organisation there is commitment from the staff and support from the external community. Trust is based on shared values and value sy stems lie at the heart of human behaviour, behaviour that cannot be controlled through systems and processes, the traditional operating standard for many organisations.If corporate social responsibility is vested in gaining the trust of stakeholders, inside and outside the organisation, then the fundamental philosophy must be based on the organisation’s ability to build relationships. Relationships are established between people and cannot be mandated by strict adherence to systems and processes. The people within the organisation must subscribe to the values of the organisation and those outside the organisation must admire those values. The organisation must be values driven.Thus the organisation that espouses corporate social responsibility must develop an environment where people in the organisation work together in a harmonious manner and external stakeholders form an emotional connection with the organisation while maintaining its commitment to the ? nancial investors. Traditionally, the dilemma of the CEO has been described as â€Å"balancing shareholder demands with achieving longevity or sustainability†. Perhaps the dilemma should be rewritten; â€Å"providing an environment that espouses individual freedom while ensuring the ? ancial and non-? nancial targets of the organisation are met†. Individual freedom provides the basis for creativity, innovation and building trust between individuals within and outside the organisation. Critics would argue that in an environment where individual freedom abounds, anarchy prevails. Organisations need control, but controls, when imposed from above, can dictate behaviour and constrain creativity. Performance criteria will remain key factors in the life of the organisation and the longevity of the CEO.However, the organisation and its senior executives need to shift their focus from one that is numbers based to one vested in the establishment of an environment designed to build trust and to mai ntain the appropriate performance measures which are acceptable to its staff. Thus the dilemma becomes not control or individual freedom but control with the ability for individual self-expression. In the East this is seen as the balance between the yang (bright) and the yin (dark). This paper explores how such a balance may be attained in an organisation.Challenging traditional management theory While Descartes (Scruton, 2002, p. 3) is often cited as the father of modern philosophy the roots of philosophy can be traced back to Plato (Scruton, 2002, p. 3) and his scholar Aristotle (Vanier, 2001, p. 2). Their writings on human nature, humaneness and their search for a human identity still bear relevance today. Human behaviour is vested in the individual but humaneness, human nature, is presented as happiness, a virtue that cannot be attained in isolation. For Plato, the guiding nature of a relationship is to be found in love and friendship; 39 A challenge to traditional management th eory foresight Volume 6  · Number 6  · 2004  · 338-348 Ed Weymes through friendship we seek to improve ourselves and help others to improve. Aristotle further developed this point when he described human nature as â€Å"the good to which all things aim†. As human beings we strive to do good and good actions promote happiness; a virtue that Aristotle describes as the keystone of human behaviour, the perfect activity. Happiness is the virtue that bestows honour on ourselves and on others. It was Marx’s (Scruton, 2002, p. 23) vision of the individual being constituted through social activities, de? ned as labour; language, customs and institutions (speci? cally economic institutions), that was to move philosophical theory away from relationships and towards individual material gains. Adam Smith (Scruton, 2002, p. 224) attempted to demonstrate that free exchange and accumulation of private property, under the guidance of self-interest, not only preserves justice but also promotes the social wellbeing as a whole, satisfying existing needs and guaranteeing stability. This subtle, but signi? ant, shift in philosophical focus from human relationships to individual personal gains in? uenced the development of the theory of bureaucracy, whose purpose was to command and control the behaviour of many for the gain of the few, a philosophy in direct opposition to that of Aristotle and others. The social landscape of the Western economies in the early 1900s was being transformed as the industrial revolution gained momentum and the capitalist society emerged. Organisations were, and to some extent remain, characterised by; a hierarchy of authority, impersonal rules that de? e duties, standardised procedures, promotion based on achievement and specialised labour. Those responsible for the operation of these facilities required a system to control behaviour. Weber opined that bureaucracy was capable of attaining the highest degree of ef? ciency and the most rationally known means of exercising authority over human beings. F. W. Taylor (1911) adopted this philosophy, developing the scienti? c approach to management, which stated that jobs could be speci? ed, work methods improved and rationalised through careful study and scienti? c analysis.The driving force of the organisation was ef? ciency, increasing output and the wealth of the owners. Employees were not to be trusted and required stringent controls to ensure their behaviour was focussed on increased productivity. The era of command and control had arrived and the â€Å"robber barons† prospered with personal fortunes being amassed by the select few. Human rights were ignored as were environmental concerns with many factories polluting the land, water and air in their vicinity. As early as the 1950s the Tavistock Institute in England and the Quality of Working Life inSweden were challenging this mechanistic approach to organisation structure. Douglas McGregor (1960) challeng ed the scienti? c approach to management in his book The Human Side of Enterprise. Theory X postulated that people had to be driven by extrinsic rewards, by punishment or by bureaucratic control. Theory Y opined that individuals could be intrinsically motivated by interesting work and could be directed and managed by their own behaviour. For the next 40 years, theory Y was to be treated as the â€Å"soft side† of management while â€Å"real† ? ms, whose motive was to maximise shareholder wealth, sought operational ef? ciencies through speci? ed procedures and rigid controls. The period 1945 to early 1970 was one of growth and expansion in the West. Markets were growing and the multinational ? rm became established. Pro? ts grew, not by gains in market share but by increasing market size. Inef? ciencies and poor management practices were hidden. Then in the mid-1970s the ? rst oil shock occurred. Poor management practices were exposed. The good times were over and the W est struggled to readjust to the new market conditions.The â€Å"new† approaches to management The 1980s saw the introduction of the total quality management movement, founded by W. E. Deming (1982), which promoted a participative style of management. Although Deming was a statistician he believed that a new approach to management was required to replace the scienti? c approach to management with its associated systems and procedures. At the end of WWII, he volunteered to travel to Japan to assist in the reestablishment of Japanese Industry. Here he could implement his new concepts that were willingly adopted by the Japanese ? rms.In 1979, Deming’s work in Japan was broadcast on American television and overnight TQM became the saviour for American industry. By the early 1980s productivity in the West was abysmal and the US Government introduced the Baldridge Quality Awards in 1987 to promote the importance of quality. These quality awards have since been adopted around the world and are based on the 14 criteria speci? ed by Deming. In 1990, Peter Senge (1990) published his book The Fifth Discipline which was to challenge the scienti? c theory of management by introducing the concept of systems theory to organisational design.While the scienti? c theory was founded on the assumption that an organisation was a closed system, where activities within organizations could be broken down into discrete activities, systems 340 A challenge to traditional management theory foresight Volume 6  · Number 6  · 2004  · 338-348 Ed Weymes thinking was suggesting the organization should be considered as an open system and not a series of discrete parts. The writings of Charles Handy, Margaret Wheatley, Peter Drucker and a plethora of others have supported the work of Senge.By the mid-1990s, the concept of the high performance organisation had emerged. Every CEO wanted to be a HPO but there was no universal de? nition of high performance. Like quality this was something that could be recognised but which escaped de? nition. However, Edward Lawler (1996) did present six principles that captured the essence of the HPO: (1) organisation can be the ultimate competitive advantage; (2) involvement can be the most ef? cient form of control; (3) all employees must add signi? cant value; (4) lateral processes are the key to organisational ef? iency; (5) organisations should be designed around products and customers (not functions); and (6) effective leadership is the key to organisational leadership (Lawler, 1996, p. 22). For over 20 years organisations have espoused the principles of TQM, they have re-engineered the organisation and purported to be high performers. Organisational theory appears to be spurning the scienti? c approach to management. Cloke and Goldsmith (2002) titled their book The End of Management and the Rise of Organizational Democracy: Autocracy, hierarchy, bureaucracy and management are gradually being replaced by democracy, ? t, collaboration and self managing teams. Permanent, stockpiled, one -size-? ts-all policies are giving way to innovative, just-in-time, evolving, made to order initiatives. Silos and competitive departments are being deconstructed into living evolving webs of association. Isolated, cynical, immature, apathetic employees are being transformed into connected, motivated, value driven, responsible employee owners (Cloke and Goldsmith, 2002, p. 4). Today the social evolutionary process appears to be increasingly dominated by values and emotions and less by individual goal-orientated rationality.As the chairman of Phillips (2002, p. 2) states: Building sustainable development into our business processes is the ultimate opportunity. By its very nature the journey towards sustainability requires the kind of breakthrough thinking that results in true innovation. It calls for partnerships and true cooperation as well as open honest dialogue with stakeholders inside and outside the company. The command and control environment was designed to modify or control behaviour and not to build trust between individuals through the formation of sustainable relationships. Relationships develop when there is a sharing of alues, attitudes and beliefs between the people in the organisation. Those within the organisation subscribe to the values and those outside the organisation admire the values. Thus relationships are established between people and cannot be mandated by systems and processes. At the turn of the twentieth century, competitive advantage was in? uenced by an organisations ability to produce goods ef? ciently: the production era. The production economy was followed by the market economy, the service economy and today competitive advantage is determined by an organisation’s ability to develop intellectual property: the knowledge economy.When knowledge creation becomes the key to competitive advantage an organisation needs to foster an environment where individu al creativity and innovation can ? ourish. Such an environment can be established when; the individuals in the organisation are committed to the purpose of the organisation, when the organisation is driven by common values and shared beliefs, when the fear of failure has been eliminated and the individuals within the organisation do not feel constrained by rules and regulations, systems and processes.But organisational performance remains vested in key performance indicators. For public companies, shareholder expectation drives performance and the future of the CEO. The ? nancial press remains focussed on stock market performance and corporate ? nancial results remain the highlights of the business news. When an organisation is numbers driven, systems and processes are designed to ensure that targets are achieved. But such measurers in? uence and constrain individual behaviour, thus limiting the opportunity for creativity and innovation.If the reader accepts the above three premises ; the move to a people focused organisation, the move to encourage creativity and the restoration of public con? dence, then the dilemma of the chief executive can be rewritten to, â€Å"providing an environment that espouses individual freedom and bene? ts society while ensuring the ? nancial and non-? nancial targets of the organisation are met†. If such an approach is adopted the focus of the organisation must be transformed from the traditional concepts associated with bureaucracy, to a philosophy vested in humaneness.A people focused organisation that facilitates the generation of new and innovative approaches, fosters a harmonious working environment and builds trust and integrity for all stakeholders. A new philosophical approach is required to provide the foundation of management theory, one which is not based on the Marxist perspective, that individuals are focussed on materialism and seeking self ful? lment, but one 341 A challenge to traditional management theory f oresight Volume 6  · Number 6  · 2004  · 338-348 . . Ed Weymes focussed on a social perspective vested in the norms and values of society.Thus we appear to be faced with a dilemma. Human nature is vested in individual freedom and the need for the individual to live their life according to their own values but society, in which the individual lives, can only be managed through the adoption of systems and procedures. Since both arguments are correct no one single Western philosophy can be applied to manage today’s society which requires a perspective that balances the need for individual freedom with rules and regulations required to ensure an orderly society. . . To love men – the equivalent of benevolence.Only the man of humanity knows how to love people and to hate people – to hate evil. To be respectful in private life, be serious in handling affairs and to be loyal in dealing with others. To master oneself and return to propriety is humanity. To overcom e the sel? sh desires within ourselves, to cultivate the mind and heart within ourselves so it can be extended to every aspect of our life allowing good will to ? ow to others. Eastern philosophy While there is no one dominant Eastern philosophy the region has provided a mosaic of philosophical perspectives on life and the meaning of life.From Hindu to Dao, from Islam to Tao from Buddhism to Confucianism there may be few common themes and while all are religions, Confucianism is considered to be more of a philosophy than a belief. Master Kung (Confucius) was born into a poor noble family in 552BC in the State of Lu in China. This was a period on China’s history known as the â€Å"hundred schools† with teachers wandering from town to town expounding their theories on how the various rulers could improve their ? efdom. Sun Tzu taught the art of warfare and strategy while Kung’s teachings were of a more philosophical nature.Popular Confucianism emphasises family va lues; dignity, diligence and education, where there is no disparity between the self-cultivation of the individual and the interests of the community. The individual and the community are part of one harmonious whole represented in Confucian philosophy as Li (rituals) and Ren (benevolence or humaneness). Chief executives are faced with the balance between individual freedom (Ren) and the need to achieve shareholder expectations through the application of systems (Li).Traditionally, the focus has been on the development of systems but perhaps it is time to turn our attention to the people in the organisation. The work of Confucius adapted this approach to prescribe an ordered ad sustainable society. Confucius considered Ren (humaneness) to be at the centre of his teaching while many of his scholars, including Mencius, placed equal emphasis on the Ren and Li. Ren is not considered to be a virtue but the fundamental virtue that de? nes human nature.Translations of Ren include benevolen ce, perfect virtue, human heartedness and humanity. While the concept was never clearly de? ned by Confucius the following are considered representative de? nitions (Liu, 1998, p. 17): Confucius presents a perspective similar to the early Western philosophers, from the writings of Aristotle (Vanier, 2001, p. 7), who encourages us to â€Å"look within ourselves to ? nd that inner structure to act correctly and speak the truth†, to Kant (Scruton, 2002, p. 155) who opined that â€Å"we are all of equal importance to others around us†.In Confucianism, â€Å"humaneness† can only be depicted inside a relationship, â€Å"the humane man, desiring to establish himself, seeks to establish others; desiring himself to succeed, helps others to succeed. To judge others by what one knows of oneself is a method of achieving humanity† (Liu, 1998, p. 18). Similar sentiments are re? ected in the work of Plato and Kant who encourage us to improve ourselves by helping others to improve. Thus Ren can be de? ned as: . a benevolent attitude towards people; . the realisation of the intrinsic value of each individual life; and . resolute commitment to an ideal principle. Confucius developed this humanistic approach to how a ruler should lead his people (or how an organisation should manage its staff) arguing that the moral discipline of the self and the well being of the people cannot be separated. He suggested that when the people are governed by law and punishment they will avoid wrongdoing but will have no sense of honour or shame. But when the ruler leads with virtue and governs by the rules of propriety they will have a sense of shame and more over set themselves right.From the organisational perspective while staff may conform to prescribed systems and processes they may lack the commitment to the organisation that is required to allow innovation and creativity to ? ourish. Confucius recognised that individuals live within a society governed by the rul es of propriety (Li). However, these rules should not be imposed from above, as in a bureaucratic organisation, where rules are designed to modify and control behaviour. The rules of society or an organisation should be vested in Ren so that the members of society or the organisation accept the rules and laws as those that de? e acceptable behaviour. 342 A challenge to traditional management theory foresight Volume 6  · Number 6  · 2004  · 338-348 Ed Weymes Eastern philosophy provides a perspective where the behaviour of the individual is seen as a harmonistic balance between the individual and how that individual interacts in social relationships. Confucianism provides a philosophy that unites the individual right to choose their own destiny while allowing for the appropriate controls and regulations associated with a complex and technologically driven society.The framework, associated with the bureaucratic organisation and traditional management theory, was designed to contr ol behaviour. Modern management theory and practice has demonstrated that bureaucracy is no longer an effective model. Similarly the demise of the market economy, posited by Marx has also proved to be invalid. Today we cannot rely on one philosophical model to provide a framework for organisation design, since individual freedom must be tempered with bureaucratic controls. The relationship between Ren and Li possibly provides a model that may resolve the dilemma.East meets West Great thinkers from opposite ends of the earth interested in the same question: What constitutes right and wrong and what behaviours contribute to a good society? The similarities in their conclusions are remarkable: . the value and importance of ideals – dreams and visions; . the love of learning; . the need for self improvement; . out attitude towards and treatment of other people is important; . to understand others we must understand ourselves – humaneness; . we improve ourselves by improvin g others; . pursuit of wisdom and virtue will lead to the good life; and . elationships are the key to happiness – goodness; Confucius and the early Western philosophers including Aristotle, Kant and Shaftsbury perceived the need for a relationship between the family and the state and argued that shared values and ideals were central to all relationships. The role of education was recognised as the key to self-improvement and living a virtuous life. Both Eastern and Western philosophers believed that individuals seek to do good and that by becoming more virtuous a person could improve their life.Similarly there was an agreement that individuals must seek the courage to do the right thing. Through education, wisdom is attained and the starting point for attaining wisdom is self knowledge. Recognising not only what we know but also what we do not know is the key to the appropriate use of knowledge and to prevent errors caused by ignorance. Confucius considered goodness or human eness to be an individual quality present in, but rarely realised by, the individual. The distractions and temptations of life prevent us from attaining our full potential.We want to be good, to be seen to be good but the temptation to be sel? sh often overpowers our intentions. Just as the CEO wants to create a socially responsible company but a little creative accounting will just increase the share price and thus make the task so much easier and the personal rewards so much greater. While there are many similarities in the teachings of Eastern and Western philosophers there is one fundamental difference. Aristotle believed personal behaviour – humaneness – is focussed on the individual with her own responsibility for selfdiscipline.Personal behaviour did not extend into the social relationships encountered by the individual. This concept remained valid until the writings of Marx when there appears to be a shift from a societal focus to focus on material gains. Recen t Western philosophical writings – Taylor (1991) – are returning to the societal focus with an emphasis on the concept of authenticity. Conversely, Confucius opined that the rules for correct behaviour were social controls, which maintained the social graces resulting in the appropriate manners and conduct of the individual.In the West we value the individual and claim that the individual has control over her behaviour. The net result of the behaviour dictates how social relationships and society behave. Max Weber took this approach to the extreme with his social philosophical writings a century ago that culminated in the rise of bureaucracy and the foundation of management thinking. While modern management thinking has challenged this approach for the past 50 years a philosophical framework has yet to be established to justify the theoretical foundations associated with building an organisation based on values and relationships.The Eastern philosophies provide a persp ective where the behaviour of the individual is seen as a harmonistic balance between the individual and how that individual interacts in social relationships. The original writings of Plato and more recent Western philosophers would not disagree with this approach but it is a philosophical framework that contradicts the work of Max Weber and challenges the foundation of traditional management theory. 343 A challenge to traditional management theory foresight Volume 6  · Number 6  · 2004  · 338-348Ed Weymes Building an organisation on values and relationships: the implications (the humane organisation) The concepts of CSR, together with modern management thinking and particularly the move to a knowledge economy is moving management thinking away from the bureaucratic structured organization, relying on systems and processes towards a management style vested in relationships. Thus, if the key success factor for a successful organization is its ability to build relationships and not primarily to generate (excessive) pro? s the foundation for management theory should start with the pre-requisites necessary for the development of relationships and emotions lie at the heart of relationships. Table I Constructive and destructive states of mind Constructive states of mind Build Create Self-respect Con? dence Self-esteem Responsibility Integrity Trust Compassion Passion Commitment Honesty Benevolence Ambition Generosity Motivation Loyalty Love Destructive states of mind Build Create Low self-esteem Over-con? dence Jealousy Irresponsibility Dislike Mistrust Sel? hness Negativity Meanness Deceit Hatred Self-ambition Alienation Complaints Source: Flanagan, cited in Goleman (2003, chapter 3). Emotions and relationships The rood de? nition of â€Å"emotion† can be traced back to motion and direction – â€Å"to every force there is an equal and opposite force†. Thus emotions can be good and bad, positive and negative, constructive and destructive. Professor Owen Flanagan (Goleman, 2003, p. 59) argued that bad, negative or destructive emotions are those that are harmful to oneself or others; contrary to human nature.He also supports the philosophical view, which goes back to the time of Plato and Confucius, that emotion and temperament are constantly pulling us in different directions. Take, for example, the case of the demise of Barings Bank: Nick Leeson the Barings Bank futures trader based in Singapore enjoyed the good life and was soon earning a signi? cant bonus on futures trading in Asia. But as the markets changed Leeson needed funds to cover his exposure. By establishing Error Account 88888 he was able to expose the bank to debts of eight hundred million British Pounds.Personal greed and a lack of compassion together with poor systems in the Bank caused one of the greatest banking scandals of all times. Throughout ? ? the debacle Leeson did not see anything wrong with his behaviour. His values and beliefs supported hi s actions but the only bene? ciary was Nick Leeson (Gapper and Denton, 1997). converse situation is depicted in William Golding’s (1959) Lord of the Flies with its basic themes being that society holds everyone together, and without these conditions, our ideals, values, and the basics of right and wrong are lost.Without society’s rigid rules, anarchy and savagery can come to light. On the island we observe mistrust, self-ambition, deceit and irresponsibility destroying the social norms that once bonded the group of schoolboys. Jealousy, dislike and meanness destroyed a society. As human beings we have a choice. We can attempt to work alone in the pursuit of our own personal happiness and success or we can work with others. The easy option is to work alone but we will not inspire con? dence or trust in those around us in the long term. We will have joined the schoolboys on their desert island.Building relationships is every individual’s social responsibility. The foundation for constructive relationships Emotions are determined by attitudes, beliefs, values and feelings, which are re? ected in personality and dictate the individual’s ability to form relationships. Accepting the premise that dreams and goals can best be attained by working with others the ? rst key lesson in developing a sustainable organization is for all staff to be aware of their own strengths and limitations, of how they react in certain situations and understand why they experience particular emotional reactions in particular situations.As part of the self-discovery process individuals are able to de? ne their own personal inspirational dream; to verbalise their purpose in life. There are many examples of personal dreams: Martin Luther King’s famous speech â€Å"I have a dream†, or J. F. Kennedy, â€Å". . . this nation will land a man on the moon before the end of the decade†. Kennedy had no idea of how America was going to put a man on the moon but his challenge provided the impetus for the NASA scientists to exceed their personal best. There is always the temptation to take the easy way out but is it the right way?Emotional responses drive individual feelings and dictate the nature of relationships in society. Flanagan has classi? ed these positive and negative emotions as constructive and destructive states of mind which have been summarised in Table I. Individuals who are seen as con? dent, responsible and trustworthy possess integrity, selfesteem and compassion. They are people who are committed to a dream or a vision that is focussed on improving the life of those around them. The 344 A challenge to traditional management theory foresight Volume 6  · Number 6  · 2004  · 338-348 Ed WeymesThe process of identifying and formulating a personal dream (see Figure 1) requires insights into individual values and identi? es the strengths to build upon. The dream represents the individual’s purpose and destiny in life with its magnitude only limited by ambition, by passion and con? dence of that person. Once the dream is identi? ed it must be shared with others. Rarely can we achieve our dream single-handed. Thus the dream should create purpose and meaning for others. Sel? sh dreams, dreams that are designed to promote the dreamholder alone are less likely to be adopted by others since there is little in it for them.Dreams that go beyond the individual and represent a challenge for others are more likely to be shared. Albert Schweitzer is credited with the following statement on visions or dreams: â€Å"I do not know what your destiny will be, but one thing I do know. The only ones among you who will be truly happy are those who have sought and found how to serve. † The process of self-discovery provides an understanding of how and why individuals react in certain situations. People with a high level of selfawareness recognise the danger signs associated with disruptive emotions a nd are more likely to keep these emotions in check.These are the people we turn to in a moment of crisis knowing that they will give a Figure 1 Identifying and formulating a personal dream measured and reasoned response to the situation, not an impulsive reaction. They are the people we trust, people of integrity. They do not criticise but ask questions, gather the facts and seek advice before making a measured response. They are re? ective thinkers. They are the people we admire and interact with. They may be parents, lovers, mentors or ordinary individuals who we turn to in time of need.People who possess a clear understanding of their emotions and their impact on others also possess the ability to recognise the emotional state of those around them. They are people who are skilled in reading body language and recognise the impact that particular circumstances and situations can create in those around them. They understand the mood and the pulse of the situation and are able to bri ng forth the best from those around them. The characteristics of self-awareness, self worth and social worth provide the drivers for the attainment of high levels of emotional intelligence (see Goleman et al. 2002) and provide the foundation for sustainable relationships. They also provide the basis for establishing a dream and a destiny but more importantly providing the ability to share the dream and have others buy into the dream. Some writers may argue that these characteristics provide the skills to motivate people but motivation is a process that causes people to 345 A challenge to traditional management theory foresight Volume 6  · Number 6  · 2004  · 338-348 Ed Weymes act in a particular way. Thus an individual may be motivated to undertake a particular task by the promise of a reward or to avoid an unpleasant consequence.Individuals may be motivated to obey rules through a system of reward or fear of punishment (the foundation of theory X). Thus an individual may be m otivated to perform a task to which they have no commitment. Commitment is achieved when the individual believes in the task and is inspired by the potential results (the foundation for theory Y). Thus inspiration is more important than motivation. People are inspired when they believe in the cause they are working towards. To be inspirational required the individual to share their dream and the wider the scope of the dream the greater the potential for people to â€Å"buy† into the dream.Dreams that promote an individual or an organisation’s stakeholders alone will have little meaning for many of the people employed in the organisation. While a pro? t maximising goal may inspire the pension funds and individual stockholders it does little to motivate the individual on the shop ? oor who will receive the same compensation irrespective of share price. But an organisational dream that seeks to promote a better society has meaning for all those connected with the organisa tion and thus creates a purpose that can be shared by all in the organisation.An example of such a dream or vision can be foun in Merck and Co. ’s organisational vision (www. merck. com/overview/philosophy. html): Mission The mission of Merck is to provide society with superior products and services – innovations and solutions that improve the quality of life and satisfy customer needs – to provide employees with meaningful work and advancement opportunities and investors with a superior rate of return. Our values (1) Our business is preserving and improving human life. All of our actions must be measured by our success in achieving this goal.We value above all our ability to serve everyone who can bene? t from the appropriate use of our products and services, thereby providing lasting consumer satisfaction. (2) We are committed to the highest standards of ethics and integrity. We are responsible to our customers, to Merck employees and their families, to the en vironments we inhabit, and to the societies we serve worldwide. In discharging our responsibilities, we do not take professional or ethical shortcuts. Our interactions with all segments of society must re? ect the high standards we profess. 3) We are dedicated to the highest level of scienti? c excellence and commit our research to improving human and animal health and the quality of life. We strive to identify the most critical needs of consumers and customers, we devote our resources to meeting those needs. (4) We expect pro? ts, but only from work that satis? es customer needs and bene? ts humanity. Our ability to meet our responsibilities depends on maintaining a ? nancial position that invites investment in leading-edge research and that makes possible effective delivery of research results. 5) We recognize that the ability to excel – to most competitively meet society’s and customers’ needs – depends on the integrity, knowledge, imagination, skill, diversity and teamwork of employees, and we value these qualities most highly. To this end, we strive to create an environment of mutual respect, encouragement and teamwork– a working environment that rewards commitment and performance and is responsive to the needs of employees and their families. The organisation’s dream or vision creates passion and pride in those working for and associated with the organisation.Collins and Porras (1994, p. 55) suggest that companies, which only focused on pro? tability, did not perform as well as those whose focus transcended economic considerations: â€Å"Pro? t is a necessary condition for existence and a means to more important ends, but it is not the end in itself for many of the visionary companies. Pro? t is like oxygen, food, water and blood; they are not the point of life, but without them there is no life. † Pro? ts do not inspire the individuals in the organisation and they reward only the select few.Visions or dre ams that go beyond the economic considerations inspire those in the organisation and those associated with the organisation. Visions that encompass environmental and social concepts as well as economic considerations. A revised philosophical perspective for management theory PricewaterhouseCoopers (2003b) de? nes â€Å"a sustainable business enhances long-term shareholder value by addressing the needs of all its relevant stakeholders and adding economic, environmental and social value through its core business functions†. A sustainable organisation has: . a clear purpose beyond pro? ; . is driven by shared values; and . and supported by systems and processes. Proponents of sustainable organisations argue that these organisations require â€Å"breakthrough thinking that results in true innovation. It also calls for partnerships and cooperation as well as open honest dialogue with stakeholders inside and outside the company† (Philips, 2002). They argue that these are not organisations driven by pro? t 346 A challenge to traditional management theory foresight Volume 6  · Number 6  · 2004  · 338-348 Ed Weymes maximisation but are organisations that will forego short-term pro? to ensure longer-term shareholder value. They are organisations that build trust and create an aura of authenticity, building a harmonious and family-like work environment. They are organisations driven by a purpose, values and beliefs that can be accepted by a wide range of societal interest groups and they are organisations that encourage innovation. Such characteristics are not unique to sustainable organisations but are the criteria that have been referenced by many of the writers of modern management theory. There is a danger that the sceptics of â€Å"sustainable organisation† will focus on the pro? ability criteria arguing that an organisation will always be driven by a pro? t perspective. Return on investment has always been a signi? cant performance criter ion and many organisations have found to their detriment that cost reduction increases short-term pro? tability but does little for long term sustainability. While the concept of the sustainable organisation sharpens the focus of modern management thinking the key issue concerns the relevance of traditional management thinking. Traditional management theory has been built on the command and control model developed by Frederick Taylor and based on the work of Max Weber.For Weber the purpose of business was to maximise shareholder wealth. This strategy could be achieved by viewing the organisation as a closed system, subdivided into discrete units with each unit focussed only on its own activities. Staff were required to follow speci? ed procedures and innovation was not encouraged. Systems and processes, rules and regulations, dictated the pulse of the organisation. Return on investment, economic value added and share price are the metrics that dominate discussions relating to corpor ate performance yet modern management theories have focussed on the human side of the business for the past 50 years.Most authors and corporate leaders agree that the age of the bureaucratic organisation is past. Yet the numbers still dictate performance. The daily business reports focus on share price ? uctuations and pro? t warnings and rarely do they report on an organisations performance on environmental or social issues. In 1999 Dow Jones launched a â€Å"sustainability index† to monitor the performance of ? rms engaged in sustainability projects. The rational behind this move was based on the premise that more investors are seeking to diversify their portfolio to include ? rms that have long term environmental and social issues as part of their philosophy.While it is unlikely that ? nancial performance measures will be replaced in the short term, organisations and investors now recognise that while pro? ts are important, how the pro? ts are obtained is a greater concern . A singular focus on pro? t maximisation is driven by a rigid adherence to prescribed systems and processes, requiring a highly disciplined workforce prepared to follow orders without question. Communication is uni-directional and innovation discouraged. Mistakes and errors are ascribed to individuals and a climate of fear pervades the organisation.Performance targets are speci? ed and the attainment of the targets dictates individual performance. The Kaplan and Norton (1996) â€Å"balanced score card† is used to prescribe individual and organisation performance standards. Success is de? ned as an organisation’s ability â€Å"to make the numbers†. But individual and corporate quantitative performance targets focus the organisation, and the individuals in the organisation, on personal, self centred, goal orientated approaches, which do little to foster the development of harmonious relationships in the organisation.Over the past 25 years management theory and pr actice has become more â€Å"humane† with a focus on people in the organisation and by an increasing focus on the importance of values, emotions and social mores. Organisations are attempting to implement the theories of modern management but appear to be unwilling to give up the controls associated with the bureaucratic organisation. Yet modern management theorists and the proponents of sustainable organisations are convinced that the key ingredient to organisational success is the development of trust throughout the organisation.But the fundamental premise underlying Weber’s bureaucracy and Taylor’s scienti? c approach to management is the assertion that the workers are not to be trusted. Tasks must be prescribed and individual performance measured. Thus the basis for performance evaluation lies in the development of effective systems and processes. Rigid adherence to prescribed systems and processes will no longer guarantee success. Today the organisation mus t be ? exible in order to meet the needs of a rapidly changing environment, a discerning customer and a sceptical public.An organisation is still required to make a pro? t but society is now concerned with how those pro? ts are attained. The strategies of the â€Å"robber barons†, supported by the philosophy of Max Weber, are no longer acceptable. Organisations are expected to adopt an ethical and morally acceptable approach to the creation of pro? ts. In the 1980s, the TQM movement focussed on the importance of quality, yet quality was not a new concept. However, it was a characteristic that many organisations were either ignoring or failing to concentrate on.The TQM movement focussed on quality so that today it is considered a necessary but not suf? cient condition for competing. Likewise the 347 A challenge to traditional management theory foresight Volume 6  · Number 6  · 2004  · 338-348 Ed Weymes sustainability movement is focussing on the need for more organisatio ns to focus on the environmental and social impacts of their organisations and strategies. The message is that organisations must pay as much attention to the environmental and social impacts of their business as they do to the economic impact.The traditional approach to management does not focus on these concepts. Successful – sustainable – organisations are founded on open communication and trust. Thus the basis for performance lies in the ability of the individuals within and those interacting with the organisation to form meaningful relationships. Management teaching and practice must now replace the fundamental assumption of traditional management theory – that the worker cannot be trusted – with a focus on building and developing relationships.The organisation’s focus should now be based on understanding the relationships between individuals and not on the design and development of rigid and complex systems. While systems and processes are st ill required to support the organisation they no longer drive the organisation. A corporate vision statement or inspirational dream that encompasses the three pillars of sustainability provides a purpose for everyone in the organisation by integrating individual dream with the dream of the organisation.Through a meaningful purpose or inspirational dream commitment, trust and integrity are built between individuals who work together in a harmonious manner. There is a commitment to exceed one’s personal best and to pay attention to the detail. New ideas can emerge from anywhere. The organisation creates its own future. Quantitative measures are still required to provide information on how the organisation is performing and to provide staff with information that can be used for improvements and innovations but these KPIs should not be used to discipline individuals.The concept of sustainability has focussed attention on the need for all organisations to demonstrate a commitment to the environment and society as well as their own economic wellbeing. Yet the concept of sustainability is still considered to be a â€Å"fringe movement† in the corporate community. However, the survival of the movement is immaterial because all organisations have recognised that that the key competitive advantage lies in the creation of new knowledge. New knowledge cannot be created in an environment constrained by systems and processes and where there is a fear of failure.Knowledge can only be created in an environment where individuals are committed to the organisation and a high level of trust and integrity pervades the organisation. The concept of sustainability or corporate social responsibility provides a framework for the establishment of such an environment. The framework comes in two parts, the yin and the yang, and it is the role of the CEO to balance the tension between the need to create a focus for the realisation of individual dreams and an environment where innovation and creativity ? urish with the necessity for systems and processes to ensure order and the attainment of the ? nancial goals. Traditionally, the CEO has focussed on the design and development of systems and processes while paying some attention to the â€Å"people† in the organisation. Today that focus must change so the people in the organisation control the systems and processes and not have the people controlled by the systems. References Cloke, K. and Goldsmith, J. (2002), The End of Management and the Rise of Organisational Democracy, Jossey-Bass, San Francisco, CA. Collins, J. C. and Porras, J. I. 1994), Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies, HarperCollins, London. Deming, W. E. (1982), Quality, Productivity and Competitive Position, MIT Press, Cambridge, MA. Gapper, J. and Denton, N. (1997), All that Glitters: The Fall of Barings, Penguin, Harmondsworth. Golding, W. (1959), Lord of the Flies, Penguin, New York, NY. Goleman, D. , Boyatzis, R. and McKee, A. (2002), Primal Leadership: Realizing the Power of Emotional Intelligence, Harvard Business School Press, Boston, MA. Goleman, G. (2003), Destructive Emotions: A Dialogue with the Dalai Lama, Bloomsbury, London. Kaplan, R. and Norton, D. 1996), The Balanced Scorecard: Translating Strategy into Action, Harvard Business School Press, Boston, MA. Lawler, E. E. III (1996), From the Ground up, Jossey-Bass, San Francisco, CA. Liu, S. -H. (1998), Understanding Confucian Philosophy, Praeger, Westport, CT. McGregor, D. (1960), The Human Side of the Enterprise, McGraw-Hill, New York, NY. Philips (2002), Annual Report on Sustainability, Philips, Amsterdam. PricewaterhouseCoopers (2003a), 6th Annual CEO Survey, PricewaterhouseCoopers, London. PricewaterhouseCoopers (2003b), Presentation to EFMD Annual Conference, PricewaterhouseCoopers, London.Scruton, R. (2002), A Short History of Modern Philosophy, Routledge, London. Senge, P. M. (1990), The Fifth Discipline: The Art and Prac tice of the Learning Organization, Random House, London. Taylor, C. (1991), The Ethics of Authenticity, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA. Taylor, F. W. (1911), The Principles of Scienti? c Management, Norton, New York, NY. Vanier, J. (2001), Made for Happiness, The House of Anansi, Toronto. World Economic Forum (2004), Survey on Trust, World Economic Forum, Geneva, available at: www. weforum. org 348

Craig Lockhart Essay

Wilfred Owen was a soldier in the First World War; in 1917 he was admitted to Craig Lockhart hospital with shell shock. He had previously written poems pre 1917 but whilst in the hospital he met Siegfried Sassoon; Sassoon had a huge influence on the way Owen wrote his poems. Owen’s main message in his poems was ‘to warn’ the public about war, as well as dis-agree with other writers such as Jessie Pope and Rupert Brooke who presented war as noble; Owen was completely against this idea of war, especially the message these other writers tried to convey. In Owen’s poem ‘Exposure’ the readers’ expectation is reversed; we expect the poem to be about exposure to enemy fire but what the men in the poem are really exposed to is the weather; this weather will eventually kill them as they die from hypothermia. In the poem the men are suffering from psychological trauma; ‘projecting’ their own madness onto nature. The reader starts to sense Owen’s own questioning of his religion, Christianity, as he can no longer believe there is an after life and presents his theme of the futility of war. The opening of ‘Exposure’ establishes the theme of psychological trauma, which is a reversal of the reader’s expectation because we expect the men to be ‘exposed’ to enemy fire; this is the first thought the reader had when thinking about ‘Exposure’. The opening line of the poem is ‘Our brains ache’, which signals to the reader a new idea and a reversal of the original expectation we have and we sense the men are ‘worried by silence, sentries whisper, curious, nervous’. The word ‘Our’ shows that collectively their ‘brains ache’ and suggests the idea of the universality of war and the fact that on both sides, the British and Germans, many men suffered from psychological trauma. Another idea could be that the men are constantly worried (paranoia) about being heard or coming under attack, hence their ‘brains ache’ with worry. Also, the use of sibilance throughout the opening creates an uneasy atmosphere and we can sense that the men themselves are uneasy; the sibilance creates a whispering sound; this constant paranoia surrounds the men that if they talk too loud they will die, which in turn creates psychological problems. This conveys the, perhaps uneasy, horror of war because what if affecting the men the most is not the constant ‘Exposure’ to enemy fire but the constant fear that they are going to be shot at. ‘Spring Offensive’ confirms Owen’s sincere lack of faith in an ‘after life’ as he questions God’s existence throughout the poem. He suggests that the hundreds, perhaps thousands of men are not going to heaven as some would like to believe but simply just dying. The consolatory myth that many once used to believe is forgotten on the front line, as the men can no longer believe in the existence of such entity. Owen suggests that there is no Christian ‘Heaven’ or ‘Hell’ but that man have created a hell on earth; there is constant dying and murder yet these men do not go anywhere. This highlights that perhaps this is the most poignant horror of war, the futility of war. In ‘Spring Offensive’ the theme of psychological trauma is again established in the opening stanza; the idea of the futility of war is also introduced. ‘Many there stood still to face the stark blank sky beyond the ridge’, shows that the men are perhaps afraid of going ‘over the top’ for the fear that if they die they will go nowhere, no heaven or hell. Owen’s own fading belief in religion and an afterlife is introduced. The men in the poem are scared about what they are going to face when the go over the ridge (trench), as they have problems with what they are going to have to do when they go over the top of the ‘ridge’; they do not like the idea of killing over people. The use of sibilance is used in the poem, as in ‘Exposure’, to effectively create a sense of unease. This is a contrast to those who ‘carelessly slept’ as they do not mind killing others in order to save themselves and at the end of ‘Spring Offensive’ we learn that these were the ones who, eventually, survived. This perhaps suggests that they themselves have no social conscience in that they are quite happy to kill human beings like themselves and perhaps have psychological problems of a different kind. The ‘stark blank sky’ could also, perhaps, be a link to astrology, with the idea from the past that the sky could show you what was in store for you in the future. A sunny day would suggest something good would happen to you and you would be fine, for example. However, the fact that they ‘face the stark blank sky’ could be because they have no future, this is the end of their lives and that their own future is stark, blank; there is no hope of them going to the Christian ‘Heaven’ or ‘Hell’, as Owen is trying to suggest that neither of these places exists, which strengthens the reader’s idea that Owen has a lack of belief in Christianity. The idea that the men are ‘stood still’ is also a link to ‘Exposure’; the men are passive in the war in that they cannot affect what is going on, which also presents the theme of the futility of war. In the opening of ‘Spring Offensive’ Owen successfully presents the themes of the futility of war and of psychological trauma and starts to establish his own belief that there is no such thing as ‘Heaven’ or ‘Hell’ in a subtle but effective manner. In ‘Exposure’ the men ‘project’ their own madness onto the wind and have a strong belief that nature, especially the wind, is against them; this comes from their psychological problems. Owen personifies the wind when he says ‘winds that knive us’ and the men start to think of the wind as ‘mad gusts’, as well as suggesting that the bullets being fired at the men are ‘less deadly than the air’.

International Business - Culture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

International Business - Culture - Essay Example Social structures are values that were established long time ago. They define the organization of the society members into small units to meet necessities of the given society (Hyland 2012). The organization is mainly family and classes based. Social classes rank people in order of the important aspects like wealth, job, and education. In some societies, recruitments of people for jobs and promotions are based on competencies (Ajami & Goddard 2006). The contrast is based on sex, age, and family from which an individual come from. Different countries have different defined attitudes towards male and female as part of the social structure. This affects education and level of participation for the inferior gender. The inferior gender in most countries is that of women. Therefore, for a woman thinking of doing business in such environments will have to consider working with a male partner to act as the face of the business. This will increase cost of operation since the individual will have to be paid. Another factor to consider is Age. A country like Japan ascribes wisdom to be proportional to age (Ajami & Goddard 2006). Therefore, in this country, retirement for the old was not applicable which closed out young and energetic people for the opportunities. Another thing is family background of an individual. In some societies, for example Nigeria, a person’s effectiveness and acceptance is accepted or rejected based on the social status of the family from which the individual comes from (Aswathappa 2010). For the individuals coming from high profiled families, acceptance is not an issue as compared to the poor and low statured people.

Managing ethic Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Managing ethic - Essay Example of transparency and that is only achievable through having an open mind and not bias against gender or color for one to have the trust and confidence of all the employees and the team as a leader. This paper uses the implicit Association Test to measure the affiliations and biases that one has and how they would influence a leader and his job to lead an organization or a company. This paper uses the results of two tests in the IAT to examine the leadership traits present and also investigate the different aspects that generally need to be improved for one to be a great leader. The first test was complete to measure the racial preference score of an individual. The results were that the data suggested there is a slight preference for white people compared to black people. The second test measured how one associates a person with the good aspects of their lives and how the two related in filling up the study. For the second test the results revealed that there was no preference identified for one person or deeds over the other. In the two tests there is a difference in the type of results since although one shows that there is bias in terms of color the other shows one as a leader that can be able to handle the people without any form of bias. The two results are mixed, however, in the first test there is only a slight preference to the whites as compared to the black people in the society. The IAT results have revealed some facts about my preferences that I previously did not know that I had especially the preference to the Black people. I have considered myself to be very partial and not discriminative of the color of skin since I have been raised in a region where I have interacted with people from all racial backgrounds throughout my life. However, the fact that the results only give a slight preference in the preference scales reveals that although I may be considered to be biased it is at a very low and minimal scale. This further compounded by the second

Influence of Buddhism on Japanese Architecture Essay

Influence of Buddhism on Japanese Architecture - Essay Example The architectural design of Buddhist temples that were introduced in Japan followed the traditional forms that been developed in Korea and China. A number of buildings that made up seven structures were to be found within one compound. These structures included among others the main hall, pagoda, repository for sutras, lecture hall, bell tower, dining hall and dormitory with a wall made of clay enclosing the compound with each of the sides having a gate. In this arrangement, the main object of worship was placed in the main hall with the lecture hall which was construction being used by the monks as study place, religious instructions or for performing various religious rituals. There were also towers in the compound, one housing the bells used for announcing religious daily functions while there was also a tower that housed canonical texts therefore acting as a sutra repository. The dormitories and the mess hall were located either to the sides or behind the inner grounds.Although t he earlier forms of architecture that had been in existence before introduction of Buddhism utilized wood as the main construction martial, introduction of the religion by the Chinese led to novel approaches in the way wood technology was applied in construction. Before the entrance of temple architecture introduced in Japan by Buddhism, there existed simple forms of beam and post technology explored in the design and construction of various structures. This was an important aspect considering the buildings were constructed in a land.

The straightforward claim 'I broke the law but there would have been Essay

The straightforward claim 'I broke the law but there would have been worse consequences had I obeyed the law will not in itself lead to an acquittal(Quayle [2 - Essay Example ce (1) the Court of Appeal held that, a persons consent is irrelevant and cannot prevent criminal liability for an offence if actual bodily harm was intended and/or caused, subject to some exceptions. This strict rule was based on the view that it is not in the public interest that people should try to cause, or should cause, each other actual bodily harm for no good reason. The Court of Appeals views were applied the House of Lords in R v Brown and Others (2). There are some exceptions to this defense like reasonable surgical interference, a properly conducted game or sport, and tattooing and ear-piercing. A person can validly consent to the risk of being unintentionally harmed. In R v Aitkin and Others (3) the victims participation in practical jokes played on RAF companions was accepted as evidence suggesting that he too could become a victim and consented to this. The definition of the Duress well mentioned in the case Attorney-General v Whelan (4) that the threats of immediate death or serious personal violence so great as to overbear the ordinary powers of human resistance should be accepted as a justification for acts which would otherwise be criminal. The defense must be based on threats to kill or do serious bodily harm. If the threats are less terrible they should be matters of mitigation only . In DPP for N. Ireland v Lynch (5), it was held that the law would not regard threats to a persons property as a sufficient basis for the defense. Here the immediate threat should be in such a nature that it is to be operated upon the accused at the time that the crime was committed. In R v Hudson and Taylor (6), it was held that it was always open to the crown to shown that the defendants had not availed themselves of some opportunity to neutralize the threats, and that this might negate the immediacy of the threat, regard had to be had to the age and circumstances of the accused. But it is to be remembered that a defendant who joins a criminal

Ethics and the Conceptual Framework Paper Essay

Ethics and the Conceptual Framework Paper - Essay Example This paper describes, analyzes and compares three areas which are: FASB conceptual framework, judgment & decision making in accounting and principle based accounting vs. rules based accounting. The conceptual framework of accounting was developed by the Financial Accounting Standards Board. The conceptual framework provides a value resource for the accounting profession, but the framework itself does not affect the day to day activities of a person working in the accounting field. It does not affect the practice of accounting directly since concepts statements do not require changes in generally accepted accounting principles, amend, modify or interpret existing accounting disclosure standards or require changes in accounting procedures or require disclosure of practices that might be in conflict with the concepts (Foster & Johnson, 2001). The primordial purpose of the existence of the conceptual framework is to serve as a base for the FASB in order to facilitate the process of standards setting for the profession. The organization is benefited since the framework provides a solid reasoning methodology which sets a reliable basis that can be utilized by the members of the organization regardless of who are the people working in any particular time period. The framework is a tool that brings consistency to the standard setting process. It helps eliminate personal bias from the standard setting process since the members of FASB are obligated to follow the conceptual framework. Another contribution of the conceptual framework to the accounting profession is that it helps create financial statements and other financial reports that are prepared in a consistent manner that result in reports which all users can understand and interpret in a similar manner. There has always been a dilemma in the accounting profession on the liberties that its professionals should have concerning the judgment and decision making criteria. Back in 1964 the organization that

Strategic marketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Strategic marketing - Essay Example This is known as the global village where we can connect or communicate to anyone anywhere in the world with internet connection. We can imagine how technology and this new innovation can benefit everyone who has a computer and an internet connection. The internet itself creates a community or a group of people with shared relationships and common beliefs and aspirations (MacLaughlin 2007, 3). Through this created community, we can share experiences and interact with people. Non-profit organizations are into this new stream. In fact, it is these organizations that can benefit the most because there are many individuals and entities that use social networking as a tool to communicate or propagate. Social networking sites are popular to the young and old and to almost every class of society that introducing one’s name or brand comes in handy. We have Facebook and Twitter, LinkedIn, Myspace, Myheritage, and many more. These sites are categorized according to the target audience t he founders or makers wished to link or network with. There are sites that are purposely for non-profit organizations, for charity such as SocialVibe, or for business such as Talkbiznow. All these have their target audience and people or users who log in to the sites and have goals which are precisely for networking, interaction and communication. If we want paid advertisement, we can log in to popular websites, ask administrators for information and post your advertisements. But social networking is free. Non-profit organizations can post and register their organizations’ names and in a few minutes, they can have a free website. Facebook provides website features where we can link to friends and various organizations with different motives and goals. Through these free websites, an organization can promote and spread its name and objectives to a wide audience which is the virtual world. There are also websites where we can blog or post articles, photos and videos. A website can have greater visibility if its search engine optimization (SEO) is rightly or adequately managed. This can be done through articles and videos with popular search words. The more a site appears in search engines, the more it is visited by web users and its popularity can spread like wildfire. A website can be searched through links and it is through links that determine the ranking behavior. (Enge et al. 2012, 342) SEO is an internet marketing strategy. It works through search words, for example, if you use Google as a search engine, you type the word of a topic or subject or site you want to search. The typed words can produce a list of websites or links. How an individual or organization manages search words in their website will determine how visible the website is to the virtual world. An effective SEO will make a website viral and a viral state will produce thousands and millions of visitors to your website. But the process of SEO is not easy and requires skill and competen ce. (Jones 2010, 2) 2. You are the Marketing Manager of a not for profit organization and have just hired a Curtin graduate. You want to brief him/her before he/she starts. What in your opinion are some of the most important things that he/she needs to know about working in a not for profit organization. The first thing that a new member should know is the mission of the organization. The mission of a non-profit organization is very much different from the mission of organizations for

State of Nuclear Energy in Germany Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

State of Nuclear Energy in Germany - Assignment Example If the other actor is rational then such an approach, if practiced correctly can ultimately help to keep a state free from interference of an aggressive manner. The second of these strategies which will herein be discussed is that of dà ©tente diplomacy. Naturally, this ultimately represents a form of soft power in that it works to east tensions between groups by engaging in different mediums of hostility relaxation. As a function of using this particular strategy, the actors are assuming that the other side can ultimately be convinced of their own viewpoint and that a certain amount of give and take or compromise can ultimately be affected (Mueller, 2011). An example of deterrence in global politics can of course be inferred by the very public displays of military might and power that the Islamic Republic of Iran puts on display during the anniversary of the Islamic Revolution. Likewise, an example of dà ©tente can be seen in the way that UN diplomats as well as Russian and Western diplomats have been hard at work seeking to work out an end to the bloodshed that is continuing in Syria. The country that this student has chosen to analyze is that of Germany. Although Germany is considered to be one of the most technologically advanced nations in the world, it has announced that it plans to take all nuclear plants operating within the country offline within the next 10 years. This has been a function of the events that have taken place within Japan as a result of the Fukashima Diachi disaster (Funabashi & Katazawa, 2012). As such, Germany provides something of a role model for other advanced states that continue to cling to nuclear energy as a means of producing a high level of cheap energy for their population. Without a doubt, the threat of the use of nuclear weapons during war is the greater threat. Although occasional industrial accidents can and have occurred

Employee Rights Review Essay Example for Free

Employee Rights Review Essay â€Å"Acts of Equal Employment Opportunity and Employee Rights† laws make it illegal for employers to discriminate against an employee or potential employee in certain workplaces. The Family Medical Leave Act of 1993 was created to grant family temporary medical leave. The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 was created to prevent employees from being discriminated against because of age. The Drug- Free Workplace Act of 1988 requires some federal contractors and federal grantees to agree that they provide drug-free workplaces as a precondition of receiving a contract or grant from a federal agency. The requirements for organizations are more extensive because organizations have to take comprehensive, programmatic steps to achieve a workplace free of drugs. In the case, Coleman v. State of Maryland Court of Appeals, Coleman, an employee for the Maryland Court of Appeals, requested time-off for the purpose of tending to serious personal health issues. The request was denied and Coleman was informed he must resign from his position or risk termination. Coleman sued his employer, claiming that by denying him self-care leave the state court was in violation of the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993. His employer, the state, argued that the case should be dismissed based on the state’s ‘sovereign immunity’. Sovereign immunity is a legal provision that says a government agency cannot be sued unless they agree to be sued. After dismissal by the Federal District Court and the Fourth Circuit Court, the case was heard by the United States Supreme Court. On March 20, 2012 the Supreme Court ruled that a provision of the Family and Medical Leave Act giving workers time off to care for health related issues such as serious illness, pregnancy, or childbirth, is not enforceable in cases involving state employees (Migdal, 2012). The Court justified the ruling by stating that the lawsuits by state employees permitted under the FMLA would violate the constitutional rule that the states, as sovereigns, are immune from suits for damages. Basically, the Supreme Court ruled that state workers cannot sue the states under the Family and Medical Leave Act, essentially stripping public employees of the job protection otherwise provided by the act. The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 protects employees of organizations with more than 50 employees in the case of childbirth, adoption, their own medical care or the care of a family member. The law has several stipulations such requiring 1250 working hours in the prior 12 months, therefore, accurate recordkeeping and a process in place to determine FMLA eligibility and compliance is crucial. An example of a company HR policy regarding the Family and Medical leave Act of 1993 may read: â€Å"Employees employed for 12 months or more and who have worked at least 1250 hours in the previous 12 months, may take an unpaid Family and Illness Leave for up to 12-weeks per year. Employees are required to use all available paid time accrued for the leave period prior to unpaid leave.† â€Å"The amount of Family and Illness leave will be based on the amount taken in the 12 months preceding the request for leave, and in cases of serious health condition, require adequate medical certification.† â€Å"Family and Illness Leave may be taken intermittently, or for less than a full day. If the employee remains out on leave for more than 2 weeks, additional medical documentation may be required as allowed by law.† â€Å"An employee returning to work from Family and Illness Leave shall return to the position held at the beginning of the leave, or to an equivalent position with equivalent pay and benefits.† â€Å"Employees on a Family and Illness Leave will continue to have the Employer’s portion of the cost for health insurance paid by the Employer during the leave period. It is the responsibility of the employee to make on-time payments for their portion of those benefits while on leave.† Individuals 40 years of age and older are protected with employment by The Age Discrimination Employment Act. Applicants and employees alike have protection under the ADEA. â€Å"The law protects discriminating against an individual with respect to any term of employment, as it relates to age, compensation, benefits, job assignments, hiring, firing, layoff, job assignments, and training† (U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, 2012). Employers who employ 20 or more employees must comply with the Act. A 70-year-old pharmacist employed by Kmart in Honolulu recently challenged The Age Discrimination Employment Act. The lawsuit charged by the EEOC recognized that Kmart unlawfully discriminated against the pharmacist, and a settlement was reached for $120,000. A Kmart store manager openly â€Å"stated that the pharmacist was too old, should retire and was greedy, for continuing to work at the age of 70† (Inside Counsel, 2012). The age discrimination act protects folks for age harassment. In this case the pharmacist was continually distraught with regard to remarks about her age and the hostile work environment that could have resulted. Employers tend to stereotype older workers as employees’ stuck in their ways, and who cannot adapt to new changes. Additionally, employers believe that training older workers is a cost and not a benefit. The Age Discrimination Act prohibits these scenarios from occurring with people over the age of 40. Regarding the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, certain occupations have an exception to the law if the organization can prove the necessity to enforce an earlier retirement or decrease of job responsibilities. An example of a company HR policy showing compliance with the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 may read something like this: â€Å"The Company complies with the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, and prohibits age discrimination in employment practices of individuals 18 years or older. This policy applies to but is not limited to issues involving hiring, discharge, compensation, terms, conditions, advancement, recruitment, promotion, demotion, transfer, layoff, training, or privileges of employment.† The Drug-Free Workplace Act â€Å"requires institutions that receive grants and certain contracts from any federal agency to certify that it will provide a drug-free work place† (Office Of General Counsel, 2012). The law was enacted in 1988 and it began with federal contracts of $25,000 or more but was later changed to $100,000 or more where it stands today. The court case that has caused the most controversy is Gary Ross v Ragingwire Telecommunications Inc. After California legalized medical marijuana Ross obtained a prescription for the drug and used it as directed. He was later fired by Ragingwire Telecommunications for failing a drug test as a result of the use of medical marijuana. â€Å"The court ruled that drug testing in the state was legal, that firing an employee for use of medical marijuana was not tantamount to discrimination and that employers are not obligated to accommodate the use of medical marijuana—even outside the workplace† (Schwartz, 2010). This ruling is important because while some states have legalized medical marijuana and protect individuals from criminal prosecution, it remains clear that a drug-free workplace is critical to the safety of the entire workforce. To avoid conflict an organization must establish the guidelines for drug testing and communicate the expectation clearly to employees. The human resources team may establish the process for drug testing and implement a plan to assist employees that test positive on drug screens, such as offering the employee rehabilitation (DeCenzo Robbins, 2007). An example of a company HR policy showing compliance with the Drug-Free Workplace Act may read something like this: â€Å"The possession, use, or sale of illegal drugs while on Company property is strictly prohibited. The misuse of any illegal drugs and/or alcohol while on Company time or during breaks or meals, is strictly prohibited. Any employee under the influence of alcohol or drugs that may impair judgment, performance, or the safety of the employee or others while on Company property, Company business, or during work hours, is subject to discipline up to and including termination. The Company conducts post-accident drug and alcohol testing of employees when an accident occurs during company time as allowed by law. The Company reserves the right to conduct random drug and/or alcohol testing at their discretion for performance or behavior issues. A positive result from any testing conducted may result in immediate termination, or unpaid leave to enter an approved rehabilitation program at the Company’s discretion. These conditions are by no means established as a right of the employee, and may be rescinded at any time without prior notice by the Company.† References Migdal, A. (2012). Blog of Rights. Retrieved from http://www.aclu.org/blog/womens-rights- reproductive-freedom/not-so-secret-war-moms-how-supreme-court-took-protections Swanton, Mary, Inside Counsel, EEOC Wins Settlements in Age Discrimination Cases Involving Senior Citizens, retrieved on December 1, 2012 from website, http://www.insidecounsel.com/2010/03/25/eeoc-wins-settlements-in-two-age-discrimination-cases-involving-senior-citizens U.S. Equal Employment Commission, retrieved on December 1, 2012, from website, http://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/publications/age.cfm Schwartz, S. K. (2010). The Drug-Free Workplace v Medical Marijuana. Retrieved from http://www.cnbc.com/id/36179669/The_Drug_Free_Workplace_vs_Medical_Marijuana Office of General Counsel. (2012). Retrieved from http://counsel.cua.edu/copyright/index.cfm Sue Shellerbarger, â€Å"Work and Family,† The Wall Street Journal, August 22, 2001. Retrieved 11/29/2012. http://www.benefitslink/buying-time-off/policy/hr/whitman/press.org http://www2.cortland.edu/offices/hr/affirmative-action/policy-on-the-age-discriminatio n.htm http://www.eeoc.gov/laws/statutes/index.cfm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Employment_(Equal_Opportunities)_Law,_1988

Commentary On Voltaires Candide

Commentary On Voltaires Candide Voltaires work, Candide, uses powerful satirical narrative to represent slavery in the eighteenth century, the supposed Age of Reason, and Candides epiphany, represented throughout the course of the extract. The passage follows the travels of Candide and his fellows to Buenos-Aires, in search of his beloved Cunà ©gonde. After five days of travelling, he arrives, with Cacambo, outside the town of Surinam, where they encounter a mutilated slave. The theme of slavery is represented most effectively through the descriptions given by the characters, rather than the physical description of the scene provided by the narrator. A slave or negrave is found on the ground. His physical position, cute;tendu par terre, reflects his social class and the degradation of slaves. The slaves garment, un caleccedil;on de toile bleue, is hardly weather-proof or durable, highlighting the poverty endured by slaves and the ruthless attitude of their masters. Voltaire withholds the name of the slave, emphasising the disregard for human life implied within society. Nà ¨gre is used to represent the entire slave population. This pejorative term further highlights societys attitude. However, it is important to note that Candide first calls him mon ami, indicating his open nature, perhaps a reflection of Voltaires opinion of slavery. Whilst the masters of slaves are very disrespectful of their slaves, the nà ¨gre calls his keeper maà ®tre, showing a profound respect. To add to masters grandeur, the slave recalls his position in society, qualifying it with the adjective fameux. In this paragraph, the depiction of slavery is brutal, with the tragedies of the workplace and punishment discussed with a banal acceptance. The language used when the slave describes how la meule nous attrape le doigt, on nous coupe la main; quand nous voulons nous enfuir, on nous coupe la jambe gives a feeling of breathlessness and the futility of his attempt to escape. This description of suffering draws accurately on legislation concerning delinquent slaves set out in in the 1685 Code Noir.The description also draws a parallel between the relationship between the slave and his master. Voltaires use of restrictive adverbials, such as ne†¦que demonstrate the physical effects of cruelty on the slave. The language used by the slave i s resigned, with a repetitive use of passive structures such as on nous. The slave then coldly states, cest à   ce prix que vous mangez du sucre en Europe. This simple statement highlights the corruption, not only in slavery, but in all levels of society. Leibnizs philosophy of Optimism is evident in the representation of slavery. The slaves resigned account shows an acceptance of life shared with those who follow the belief of Optimism. Leibniz claimed that both human and moral evils were part of a greater good.This is further emphasised by the qualification of slavery by the mother of the slave as un honneur. The slave adds an optimistic cependant; this sudden element of bathos reinforces Pangloss meilleur des mondes outlook on life. This optimistic view, personified through Pangloss, contrasts greatly with Candides opinions after witnessing the situation. The absurdity of Optimism, with reference to the slave-trade, is shown when Cacambo asks, Quest-ce que quoptimisme? Cacambo has not used an article before optimism, emphasising how little he cares for it. With reference to the novel as a whole, Optimism is only mentioned directly within this passage. As soon as it is mentioned, it is denounced. Further to the slaves account, he co mpares his situation with that of des chiens, des singes et des perroquets. The animals might possibly represent the different social classes within society. The passage emphasises how slavery was represented in monetary terms; the slave was sold by his mother for ten à ©cus patagons, the currency of Spain at the time. Moreover, throughout the slaves account of how he came to be in this position, it appears that slavery was represented differently in the West from the homelands of the slaves. The nà ¨gre recalls how his mother told him ils te feront vivre heureux, describing it as an honour to work for nos seigneurs, les blancs. It is interesting that the masters are classed as les Blancs. Voltaire divides society not only by social class, but also by race. It is clear that the people of Guinà ©e were disillusioned by the notion of slavery. The confusion is further emphasised by the religious theme central to the passage. The lexical field of religion emphasises the religious beliefs of the slaves, a central theme in their African culture. Evidently, the slave is religious, as he attends church tous les dimanches. However, Voltaire highlights, yet again, the corruption within society by making it clear to the reader that the slave had been converted. The Pasteur claims that they are tous enfants dAdam, blancs et noirs. This contradicts his earlier statement of the masters being les blancs. Like his clothes and culture, his religious identity has been stripped from him. Here, Voltaire is criticising the social system of the period. It is clear that the slaves are taught what they know not to be true, yet they accept it as it is the way of the world in which they live. Despite Voltaires thought-provoking depiction of slavery in the passage, it is interesting to look critically at Candides attitude to the situation. When he first encounters the slave on the road, he addresses him in a friendly manner, symbolising his naivety and lack of understanding. Voltaires portrayal of Candides naivety is referenced even in his name. Candide is taken from Latin and connotes whiteness, openness, naivety, innocence and, more negatively, inexperience and credulity. The passive language of the slave throughout his description of his horrific ordeal is a direct juxtaposition with the raw emotion portrayed through Candides reaction. The flaws in Panglosss optimism are clearly highlighted, especially during Candides discourse. W.H Barber suggest that the characters help Voltaire in his purpose of parodying the episodic adventure novel [making it possible for the reader] to view characters and narrative as it were externally, and consequently critically to become aware of the caricature and exaggeration, the deliberate implausibilities, the bathetic contrasts. Despite Candides denouncing of belief, he does little else to react to the situation. Candide merely begins to cry, leaving the slave where he found him. The reader criticises Candide for not helping to free the slave from his bind in society. Voltaire is provoking this response in the reader to make clear the effects of passivity. He also seems to regard the problem as so large and horrifying that [†¦] one can only weep and go on ones way, or presumably, continue to eat sugar with a guilty conscience. Throughout this passage, irony plays very little part. However, other narrative techniques are employed. Personal deixis is used when Candide is talking to the slave. He asks, que fais-tu là  , mon ami, dans là ©tat horrible oà ¹ je te vois?Here it is impossible for the reader to understand the situation and the horrible state that the slave is in without reading into the context of the question. The theme of culture can be thoroughly examined in this passage. Talking en hollandais, Candide emphasises his European background compared with the African culture of the slave. Division within society is clearly illustrated when the slave tells Candide that his mutilation is the price that he has paid to eat sugar en Europe. Voltaire demonstrates that the world is divided. Interestingly, the slave understands Candides Dutch, highlighting their cultural awareness, the importance of communication and the enforcement of other cultures upon slaves. The cultural toleration of the slaves is juxtaposed with the attitude of Western civilisation. African culture appears to be more family-oriented when compared with Candides upbringing. The slave refers to his mother, ma mere, showing his respect for the advice given to him by his family. Throughout this passage of Voltaires Candide, slavery is represented in a number of ways, most notably by the description provided by the slave himself. In addition, Candides attitude highlights the philosophy of Optimism that Voltaire aims to discuss throughout the entire book. It is said that the narrative of Candide is [..] a vehicle carefully designed to convey a philosophical discussion of topical concern both to the author and reader. In conclusion, Voltaire has employed a palette of narrative techniques to enrich this passage of the book. Word Count= 1,490 Bibliography MHRA format Barber, W.H., Studies in French Literature 5, Voltaire: Candide (London: W.H. Barber, 1960) Cronk ,Professor Nicholas, Voltaire and the Voices of Enlightenment, read by Simon Russell Beale, (BBC Radio 3, 2010) Mason,Haydn, European Masters  : Voltaire (London  : Hutchinson, 1975) Williams,David, Voltaire:Candide (London: Grant and Cutler Ltd, 1997) Voltaire, Candide, Presentation by Jean Goldzink, (Paris, Editions Flammarion, 2007)

hinduism vs. jainism Essay -- essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Many people believe Hinduism to be a polytheistic religion. This is due to the fact that there is so many gods that they can worship in. But in all actuality it is really a monotheistic religion that spawns off of one god to form many different gods or ideas to worship. The entire religion of Hinduism is based off of Brahman. Brahman is the idea that all reality is a unity. I will explain the concept of Brahman and four others and hopefully make Hinduism easier to comprehend.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Some have viewed Hinduism as a monotheistic religion, because it recognizes only one supreme God: â€Å"the pantheistic principle of Brahman, that all reality is a unity. The entire universe is seen as one divine entity, Brahman. Brahman is simultaneously at one with the universe and Brahman transcends it as well.† (www.relgioustolerance.org) Breaking Brahman down is essential, let’s look at the previous quote. First of all, pantheistic means that: there is a belief in and worship of all gods, which means that Brahman is not a singular concept. The quote then goes on to say that Brahman is throughout the entire universe. This means that Brahman can be found in infinite objects. This is why people may view Hinduism as polytheistic because of their belief in many objects and ideas. The last line says that Brahman not only at one with the universe but also Brahman transcends it. This means that Brahman may be found in on Earth, but he also greater than the concept of Earth. Brahman is on a bigger playing field than that of Earth.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Vishnu, known as the Preserver, preserves new creations and comes down to Earth during critical times in the â€Å"cosmic cycles.† Vishnu is one of the main Hindu gods, worshiped as the protector and preserver of worlds. Vishnu is considered one of the main gods along with Brahman and Shiva. Shiva, known as the Destroyer, is at times compassionate, erotic and destructive. One of the principal Hindu deities, Shiva is worshiped as the destroyer and restorer of worlds and in many other forms. Whenever dharma is threatened, Vishnu travels from heaven to earth in one of ten incarnations. Shiva is considered a member of the triad also including Brahma and Vishnu. Dharma is the law of the Hindus. Dharma is the individual obligation with respect to caste, social custom, civil law, and sacred ... ...as human beings we are not above any other species. We want to treat every bit of matter as we would want to be treated. This means that to kill some part of the universe, whether a cow or a fish is very bad karma. This is why Jains practice such strict vegetarianism. Jains even avoid eating after sunset so not to kill any bugs unknowingly. This is how strong the practice of Ahisma is.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The second principle I want to identify is anekantwad. It can be roughly translated as relativity. Anekantwad basically is the belief that there is no one main idea, no one truth, but many truths that are represented by different viewpoints. Anekantwad is the thought that that there is many different aspects to situations. And, that we shouldn’t all look at some things the same way.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The third principal and final term is aparigraha. Aparigraha is the idea of living on as a little as required. Aparigraha is the nonattachment to people and material things. Basically, possessions can control a person. Things of the world can draw up into trouble. Jains believe that the less we have the better off we will be and will be able to escape samsara.