What They Say Affects our Understanding Essays

What They Say Affects our Understanding Essays What They Say Affects our Understanding Essay What They Say Affects our Understanding Essay The short story, â€Å"A Rose for Emily†, speaks of the life of a woman who was caught in the past and refused to participate in the change. Written by the award-winning Southerner author, William Faulkner, the story revolves on the different aspects of being the only daughter of a small town pillar. The story presented how somebody like Emily Grierson, an epitome of an individual caught in the past, lived with only her pride and loneliness in an enclosed world, and remained envied by women and admired by men. It showed how the very things that people see as another person’s weakness may become strength as in the case of the author.An Epitome of the UnmovedThere are instances when people are left trying to relive the past over and over again in their own personal ways. This is oftentimes done in order to maintain one’s sanity or to keep a memory that only during that moment can be left real. In the case of Emily Grierson, both may have bee n the reason to exhaust all means to remain in that certain period in her life.She exhibited the seeming obsession to retain her past many times in the story. Initially, through keeping her father’s corpse in the house, by staying indoors from then on, and even after her death, she proved to have stopped time at some point as the townspeople discovered the rotten body of her lover, Homer Barron, in her home (Faulkner).In a commentary by the literary critic, Cecilia Rodriguez, she pointed that Colonel Sartoris, and the negro-servant is a representation of the past; while Homer Barron and the new Board of Alderman represented the present. Emily, however, does not only represent the past but also lived in it. There had been many struggles to keep the present away, which was evident in the murder of Homer Barron and many other incidents. The consequence of these efforts is the aloof, cold, and almost cruel Emily that people saw (â€Å"Interpretations of William Faulkners A Rose for Emily†).The obsessive ways to maintain life as it used to be may point to Emily’s last resort to keep the honor that the Griersons achieved through efforts of Mr. Grierson. It was mentioned in the story how Emily had been the shadow of the elder Grierson. As such, upon dying, the mission of keeping the dignity of the lineage rested on Emily’s shoulders. It is probable that shying away from the public was Emily’s way of keeping things in control, and a means of fulfilling the arduous undertaking.Admired by Many, Envied by SomeWhen Miss Emily Grierson died, our whole town went to her funeral: the men through a sort of respectful affection for a fallen monument, the women mostly out of curiosity to see the inside of her house. (Faulkner n.p)Exuding a bitter disposition, women felt either anger or fear, while men found in Emily’s attitude a sense of beauty worth appreciating. Despite the observable cruelty in the way Emily presented herself, she had been found exceptional. Walking with her chin up and not caring about the gossips being spread, Emily projects a woman of strength and independence. These are the traits that did not exist among the women during that time, yet had to exist in Emily in order to preserve her family’s dignity (â€Å"The Narrator’s Point of View†).According to the influential critic, Cleanth Brooks, Emily’s refusal to be criticized by the public, and the denial of the present resulted to the independent, vindictive persona she projects. The enormous pride, in ways proven by the decline to conform to social norms, and the rebellious manner towards the town’s Aldermen may be considered as preclusion of failure to maintain the image of her family. It also points to Emily’s inner desires to get away from the superficiality of the town’s life yet having no means to do it (â€Å"Interpretations of William Faulkners A Rose for Emily†).However, peopleâ₠¬â„¢s reactions to these details directs to the idea that even with the negative perspective most women have on Emily; men felt the opposite towards her. As such, she may have been as well a subject for women’s envy. The fear and pity may be attitudes to cover an inherent feeling of loathing (â€Å"The Narrator’s Point of View†).The Author and His workIn a book written on the tenth anniversary of William Faulkner’s birth, it was mentioned that he was a writer who kept work to himself. Faulkner had been a loner who devised guises, roles, and masks that kept the people at distance. Although, not as cruel as the character in the story, it may be pointed that Emily Grierson symbolizes a part of the writer’s life. Faulkner was a shy and troubled man as much as his character was. The ways in which his fictions were written were signs of how he delimits his relations with others. As much as Emily was marked by the townspeople, critics have probed Faulkner ’s gothic, almost grotesque style yet it still received approbation for the influences it had in the world of literature (Minter)Analysis and ConclusionAlthough the critics’ comments were not suggestive, it supports the idea that Emily Grierson’s personality was the result of the great struggle between the heavy burden of maintaining a social status and the desire to be free from it. Because of this inherent battle, she had turned herself into the proud woman who lived in loneliness, yet still remained envied and admired by others.Owing to Rodriguez’ commentary combined with the criticism of Brooks, Emily’s decision to remain in the past may be considered as the wall that she has put up in order to maintain control and keep things as they were. It has brought her the independence that may be said as necessary given her predicament. However, it was causal to the aloof and independent personality she has developed. These traits became the point of en vy for some females and a subject of admiration for men. What the women may have seen as her weaknesses were seen as also her strengths by other people.As such it may be said that the story presents how people’s personalities affect others’ perception. It is probable that the very feature hated or loathed are the key features that attracts others. Further, as pointed by Minter, the same thing may be applied in the writer’s life. As such, the shield he put up to delimit relationships became both a subject for criticism as well as for praise.

African Proverbs and Proverbial Wisdom

African Proverbs and Proverbial Wisdom When you think of Africa, do you think of dense forests and colorful costumes? A continent as culturally vibrant as Africa would also abound in age-old wisdom, dont you think? Many African countries rely on nature for livelihood; they have developed a unique insight into natures laws. Read African proverbs to understand the profundities of nature. These African proverbs have been translated from various African languages: Swahili, Zulu, and Yoruba. African Proverbs Translated From Swahili to English A chickens prayer doesnt affect a hawk.The way a donkey expresses gratitude is by giving someone a bunch of kicks.An envious person requires no reason to practice envy.Its always good to save or invest for the future.Hurry- haste has no blessing.The water pot presses upon the small circular pad.Effort will not counter faith.The hen with baby chicks doesnt swallow the worm.When elephants fight, the grass gets hurt.I pointed out to you the stars and all you saw was the tip of my finger.It is only a male elephant that can save another one from a pit.A deaf ear is followed by death and an ear that listens is followed by blessings. African Proverbs Translated From Yoruba to English He who throws a stone in the market will hit his relative.A person who stammers would eventually say father.One takes care of ones own: when a bachelor roasts yam, he shares it with his sheep.When a kings palace burns down, the re-built palace is more beautiful.A child lacks wisdom, and some say that what is important is that the child does not die; what kills more surely than lack of wisdom?You are given some stew and you add water, you must be wiser than the cook.One does not enter into the water and then run from the cold.One does not fight to save another persons head only to have a kite carry ones own away.One does not use a sword to kill a snail.One gets bitten by a snake only once.Whoever sees mucus in the nose of the king is the one who cleans it. African Proverbs Translated From Zulu to English No sun sets without its histories.A tree is known by its fruit.The groin pains in sympathy with the sore.You are sharp on one side like a knife.The wrong-headed fool, who refuses counsel, will come to grief.The lead cow (the one in front) gets whipped the most.Go and you will find a stone in the road that you cant get over or pass.Hope does not kill; I shall live and get what I want one day.

Marcel Breuers Tubular Metal Chair Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Marcel Breuers Tubular Metal Chair - Essay Example The discussion regarding the legacy of Bauhaus chairs reveal a number of aspects of the design and its connection with the modern designs. Many artists and others concur that the design of the classic Bauhaus chairs depicts the contemporary modern lifestyles. On the other hand, tubular metal chair predominantly paved way for a more advanced invention and innovativeness in the field of furniture design. This design in the artistic field paved way for a more chronologically advanced design industry whereby each and every individual artist is guided by their own liberally generated ideas. The functionalism of the modern furniture designs were particularly influenced by the post World II ideals of commoditization, cutting down excess and design practically. The remarkable shift from the decorative principles to minimalism as seen in the design of the Bauhaus chairs was generally attributed to the introduction of new technology as well as the changing philosophy of architecture. For examp le, the tubular metal chair was the revolutionary design in the furniture project under which bent tubular steel and canvas as well as manufacturing methods was powerfully used. The handlebar of Marcel’s Adler Bicycle inspired him a great deal in the adoption of the use of steel tubing to construct this chair. Through this design, it was proven that steel tubing was actually an appropriate material proposal by Marcel as it was available in larger quantity. The periphery of the tubular metal chair exhibition room was divided.

Understanding The Dilemma Of Skill Shortage Among Workers Essay

Understanding The Dilemma Of Skill Shortage Among Workers - Essay Example The writer explicitly presents his leader as a person that is self-aware, self-regulated, well motivated, with empathy towards his members and with proficiency regarding interpersonal social skills.Thus, the writer aims to evaluate his current leader concerning personal emotional intelligence. The writer explicitly presents his leader as a person that is self-aware, self-regulated, well motivated, with empathy towards his members and with proficiency regarding interpersonal social skills.Thus, emotional intelligence is indeed important in the group and with their leaders. Because of this, the organization must be willing and determined to help their leaders in developing their emotional intelligence in respect with their leadership skill. Every member must personal adhere to the principles of each component to influence and motivate their leader in developing his personal values and social perception. Thus, the task of developing and applying the principles of emotional intelligence in their respective organizations and their leaders is a job for all members requiring each willingness and participation. This is the reason why business organization leaders intend to create several ways by which they are going to be able to install individual development among their employees. There are also numerous ways by which they try to encourage their employees to reach their goals as individual persons and as a part of the organization as well. What is emotional intelligence and how does it affect a person’s ability to work?

Can leaders be flexible Essay Example for Free

Can leaders be flexible Essay Yes, I do believe that leaders can be flexible in the way they interact with others, or change their behaviors or personalities so to suit the situation. Also, they might need to focus on followers needs/behaviors or their level of readiness by changing or shifting behavioral their leadership style. One theory might describe and support this concept is the situational leadership theory which requires leaders to center their leadership style or behaviors according to their followers level. This theory was initially created by Hersey and Blanchard (1969) and has approaches that concern for people productions as well as shows that there is no one best style of behavior for a leader (Norris, 1992). Most importantly, the situational theory require leader to adjust his behavior and leadership style to features of followers and situation. Therefore, it might be important to look at the four styles described by Hersey and Blanchard to identify the situations that any leader might have to change his style or behavior. There are situations where leader might have to be flexible with his followers by giving them less responsibly and delegation of tasks due to their lack of knowledge/experience, or if they are newly hired etc. the leader in this case might need to utilize the telling style whereby there is more of directing and controlling of leader to his followers. In this behavioral style, leaders role involves telling his follower on what and how to perform their tasks step by step. In my working experience, for example, I tend to use this style when training people whom are newly hired or inexperienced and require a lot of assistance or hints when in doubt. I might sometimes need to spill out the responsibilities or duties for perform to make sure that they are still on focus. Knowing that differences between tasks and relationships behaviors as described in Hughes et al (1996), I agree that the telling style does have high task and low relationship with followers because followers in this stage are unable to perform any delegated tasks and that means should be giving detailed instructions. Another situational and behavioral style is the selling style whereby the leader is acting both as a director and supporter toward his followers. This style might be more effective if followers are delegated toward some responsibility and have an adequate knowledge of performing their tasks. The leader in this case is only giving directions and guideline when any deviation is observed. In term of skills and ability, the leader is also to promote his followers skills throughout. Because of that, it ca be said that in this behavioral style, the leader is coaching i.e. there is higher tasks delegation and higher relationship with followers. In the participating style, the leader exercises low tasks delegations but high relationship with followers. This is because in this style the main role of leader is to facilitate the delegated tasks to his followers by showing his knowledge or skills on how best can this be done. Bearing in mind the level of communication is high in this style which enables follower to share in the decision making process as applicable. This behavioral style might best be used is when followers are starting or completing a job (Hughes et al, 2006). The last situational style is the delegating style whereby there is little two side communication between the leader and his followers (low-task- low relationship). This style might be implemented when leader is aware of his followers knowledge, ability, confidence, experience and most importantly taking higher responsibilities. To this extend, followers are able to direct them selves with no control from their leader. Although, leaders in this style are like an observers whereby they have less influence on their followers and less control. However, leader might also need to consider followers development level/their readiness level and competence. Followers competence might include their knowledge, skills and ability to assess the work outcome. Therefore, leader might have to respond or change his behavior in such way that fits the situation. He can classify his people to stages such as:Â · People are able and willing to take tasks (competent). Â · People are unable and unwilling to take tasks (incompetents)Â · People are unable but willing to take tasks (unskilled). Â · People are able but unwilling tasks (unmotivated). So to summarize, it can be seen that the situational leadership theory presented by Hersey and Blanchard focuses on the followers behaviors and define what style is best to suit any situation. Also, it highlights the level of responsibilities delegated as well as the degree of relationship between leaders and followers. Put into practice, situation leadership theory is basically effective with any situation. Moreover, it seems that the situational theory answer the question that leader might need to change their behavior and be flexible with followers as that depends on situation and circumstances. In other words, leaders might need to adjust them selves all the time depending on the working environment and follower level of readiness (Norris, 1992). And as the Hersey and Blanchard theory, they should always change their personality or be able to identify clues in their environment and adapt their leader behavior to meet the needs of their followers in any particular situation (). Vecchio and Norris agrees that ,even with good diagnostic skills, leader might need to be flexible in changing their behavior and adapt their leadership styles that meet that demand of both the followers and environment. Reference: Norris, R., Vecchio, R 1992 Situational leadership theory. Group Organization Management. Hughes, R.L., Ginnet, R.C., Curphy, G.J. (2006). Leadership: Enhancing the lessons of experience. 5th ed. New York. McGraw-Hill

College Admissions Essay: Help the Little Children :: College Admissions Essays

Help the Little Children    "I believe the children are our future; teach them well and let them lead the way. Show them all the beauty they possess inside." These are the words of the well-known singer, Whitney Houston. They are words that I truly intend to live by. My greatest reason for wanting to further my education is to be able to teach and help the children.    See, I come from a small community in Mississippi called Fitler. Many people have not even heard of it. In this community there is nothing positive to motivate or encourage the children to get involved in meaningful goals. One would think that there wouldn't be any problems in a community of roughly 200 people, which is only growing because of teenage pregnancies. I heard a woman from the state's capital make the statement that "the people in this area are either overweight, Christians, or pregnant because all they have to do is eat, go to church, and have sex." As harsh as that sounds, I agree. They are in the middle of nowhere surrounded by nothing. These children have to ride the bus for one and one-half-hours just to get to school.    I believe that if there were more activities, organizations, encouragement, and motivation, and if they had someone to teach them the importance of an education and the values of life, many of their problems would cease. Therefore, with my education, I will enrich the lives of these children. First, I will start a 4-H Club. I will also organize a Big Brother and Big Sister Youth Group, build playgrounds, and start little league athletic departments. I will build a Youth Center with a library, video arcade, and skating rink. The center will also offer classes in Biblical education, computer education, and tutoring for all grade levels. I will hire advisors to come in biweekly for ACT Preparation courses and courses on Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. There will be two guidance counselors available at all times and I will provide a way for the older children to earn money. I even have plans for building a school in closer proximity to the students.    I'm constantly realizing that everyone is not as blessed as I am. College Admissions Essay: Help the Little Children :: College Admissions Essays Help the Little Children    "I believe the children are our future; teach them well and let them lead the way. Show them all the beauty they possess inside." These are the words of the well-known singer, Whitney Houston. They are words that I truly intend to live by. My greatest reason for wanting to further my education is to be able to teach and help the children.    See, I come from a small community in Mississippi called Fitler. Many people have not even heard of it. In this community there is nothing positive to motivate or encourage the children to get involved in meaningful goals. One would think that there wouldn't be any problems in a community of roughly 200 people, which is only growing because of teenage pregnancies. I heard a woman from the state's capital make the statement that "the people in this area are either overweight, Christians, or pregnant because all they have to do is eat, go to church, and have sex." As harsh as that sounds, I agree. They are in the middle of nowhere surrounded by nothing. These children have to ride the bus for one and one-half-hours just to get to school.    I believe that if there were more activities, organizations, encouragement, and motivation, and if they had someone to teach them the importance of an education and the values of life, many of their problems would cease. Therefore, with my education, I will enrich the lives of these children. First, I will start a 4-H Club. I will also organize a Big Brother and Big Sister Youth Group, build playgrounds, and start little league athletic departments. I will build a Youth Center with a library, video arcade, and skating rink. The center will also offer classes in Biblical education, computer education, and tutoring for all grade levels. I will hire advisors to come in biweekly for ACT Preparation courses and courses on Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. There will be two guidance counselors available at all times and I will provide a way for the older children to earn money. I even have plans for building a school in closer proximity to the students.    I'm constantly realizing that everyone is not as blessed as I am.

An Analysis of My Fair Lady

HIS first big number, â€Å"With a Little Bit of Luck† was hilarious, and I think I enjoyed It more than â€Å"Get Me to the Church on Time† even though the latter Is the song you first think of associating with his character. HIS two dustmen friends were perfect as well, the three of them did the funniest little gig and the harmonize they did on the refrain was spot on. Scarcest sounded so exactly like Rexes Harrison it gave me chills. I have seen the 1964 film version of My Fair Lady eternally hundreds of times, I'm pretty sure I wore out the VS. version that my parents had when I was very young.I can hear Harrison reciting some of the most famous lines in my head. When Scarcest said â€Å"She's so De-Al-callously low, so HO-rivalry dirty,† the hairs on the back of my neck stood up. The best number that Higgins did was probably â€Å"I'm an Ordinary Man†. The orchestra was fabulous especially In that song. â€Å"Vive Grown Accustomed to Her Face† has to be a close second. Aurora Florence played Elise Doolittle. Just because she wasn't my favorite character In this particular reduction does not mean she wasn't wonderful, because she was.She obviously worked very hard on her accents, and really she had the most work in that area to do since she had to learn both a Cockney accent and a proper English one. There was a few times where her Cockney fell flat, however. It seemed like she was concentrating too hard on the most â€Å"important† lines (â€Å"I washed me face an' ‘ands before I come, I did†, â€Å"C'mon Dover, move hay blooming' ears†) and I became aware that she was doing an accent, which is exactly what you don't want to happen, it breaks the magic. That Ewing said, Ms. Florence has a beautiful singing voice and played a very touching and convincing Elise.The costumes were unbelievable. All of Elijah's costumes were replicas of the costuming done in the film version. Even down to the flower girl outfit and the green skirt and white blouse that she wears In the â€Å"The Rain in Spain† scene. I didn't really realize It until the scene at the Ascot racetrack when Elise emerges In that white dress with the horizontal black and white ribbon and the enormous feathered hat. I'm pretty sure I squealed. My favorite costume of Elijah's is of course en gown Tanat seen wears to ten Massey Ball Ana ten costume gleaner 01 disappoint.The Jewels dripping from Elijah's neck, ears, and wrists (not to mention that gorgeous tiara) seemed even more dazzling in the bright stage lights than they did in the film version. To summarize, this was the best production that Vive seen outside of Chicago or SST. Louis. I would argue that it was done as well or better than most of the productions Vive seen at the Lyceum as well. Big League Productions has its own website, and is touring extensively all over the country. If you get the chance to see this play, Jump on it.

Failing business Essay

Many are quick to remember one’s failure and slow to remember the redeeming moments. My life is no different. I am only human and I too have made my own mistakes in life. Though I sometimes have the tendency to move on from failure and perhaps forget, there are many who are only too quick to remind me of my past. Learning from this, I have vowed to treat each failure as a learning experience; One that makes me stronger and makes me better. This is the lesson that I learned from what some people would consider as one of the most challenging days of my life. I recently discovered that the pursuit of one’s goals is not as easy as it seems. When one looks at all the successful businessmen in the world, it does not seem apparent that they had to undergo many challenges to become successful. Yet as I have learned, there is so much work and effort that is needed to succeed in life. This is how my first business, a commercial cleaning service, became a failure but ultimately a success because I learned a very valuable lesson from it. The plan of the commercial cleaning service was simple. I had intended to take advantage of the lack of cleaning services in my area. I noticed that there were very few cleaning services and if there were any they were either inefficient, too expensive or both. Being a novice entrepreneur, I figured that this was an opportunity that was a guaranteed success; after all, all I had to do was simply offer better service and better prices. This was my first mistake. In making this assumption, I did not consider the fact that the ones who had established themselves before me had probably thought of these same advantages. I was naive to think that only I had the monopoly of great ideas and that others were not able to think as well. This presented the first challenge because I was unprepared for what happened. The initial costing for supplies and capital equipment was way higher than anticipated due to the fact that I was trying to provide quality service. Since I had already made those investments, I had to readjust my computations on Return on Investment and saw that the only way that I would be able to cover the daily expenses was to increase the price. So, instead of providing cheap and good quality service, I was constrained to offer only quality service. This unfortunately paved the way for the next problem which was the fact that I did not have prior experience in this field. While I did consider myself a neat freak, I was certainly out of my league when it came to running a commercial cleaning service. I failed to consider the fact that there are so many variables to consider and that when one has employees one has to ensure that they do their duties satisfactorily. This was no longer just a simple matter of telling people to clean something and making sure it was done properly. It involved going over the shifts and ensuring that every detail was not overlooked. Aside from this, I had to also consider the welfare of the people who were working under me. No matter how motivated I was, I could not seem to convince my employees to have the same passion and conviction. This was lesson number three for me; I learned that employees are never really motivated to perform unless they have a personal stake in the matter. I needed to get them involved on a personal level and believe in offering quality service at a good price. Unfortunately, the only thing they were interested in was clearing their pay and spending their money. Suffice it to say that the business soon failed. I was disheartened by the harsh reality check that happened but I am proud to say that I have learned from this experience. I could have lost much more to learn that valuable lesson. As I look back at that memory, I greet it with a smile knowing that even though it resulted in failure, I would not be the person I am today were it not for that experience. The thing about life is that there is always hope and there are several chances to fail and even more chances to succeed; as long as one has the drive and the passion.

Anna Pavlova Quotes on Happiness, Success,Dance, Life

Anna Pavlova Quotes on Happiness, Success,Dance, Life Anna Pavlova was trained in classic ballet, and while she helped transform the classical ballet by her lighter, more natural style, she did not go outside the classic forms as did her contemporary, Isadore Duncan. Anna Pavlova is especially remembered for her portrayal of a swan in The Dying Swan and Swan Lake. Selected Anna Pavlova Quotations The right to happiness is fundamental. When a small child, I thought that success spelled happiness. I was wrong, happiness is like a butterfly which appears and delights us for one brief moment, but soon flits away. To follow without halt, one aim; there is the secret of success. And success? What is it? I do not find it in the applause of the theater. It lies rather in the satisfaction of accomplishment. What exactly is success? For me it is to be found not in applause, but in the satisfaction of feeling that one is realizing ones ideal. Master technique and then forget about it and be natural. As is the case in all branches of art, success depends in a very large measure upon individual initiative and exertion, and cannot be achieved except by dint of hard work. No one can arrive from being talented alone, work transforms talent into genius. God gives talent. Work transforms talent into genius. Although one may fail to find happiness in theatrical life, one never wishes to give it up after having once tasted its fruits. [Last words of Anna Pavlova] Get my swan costume ready. Then Play that last measure softly. More About Anna Pavlova Anna Pavlova BiographyBiographies: Women in Dance About These Quotes Quote collection assembled by Jone Johnson Lewis. Each quotation page in this collection and the entire collection  © Jone Johnson Lewis. This is an informal collection assembled over many years. I regret that I am not be able to provide the original source if it is not listed with the quote.

Definition of Idiographic and Nomothetic

Definition of Idiographic and Nomothetic Idiographic and nomothetic methods represent two different approaches to understanding social life. An idiographic method focuses on individual cases or events. Ethnographers, for example, observe the minute details of everyday life to construct an overall portrait of a specific group of people or community. A nomothetic method, on the other hand, seeks to produce general statements that account for larger social patterns, which form the context of single events, individual behaviors, and experience. Sociologists who practice nomothetic research are likely to work with large survey data sets or other forms of statistical data, and to conduct quantitative statistical analysis as their method of study. Key Takeaways: Idiographic and Nomothetic Research The nomothetic approach involves trying to make generalizations about the world and understand large-scale social patterns.The idiographic approach involves trying to uncover a great deal of detailed information about a narrower subject of study.Sociologists can combine both idiographic and nomothetic approaches in order to develop a more comprehensive understanding of society. Historical Background Nineteenth century German philosopher Wilhelm Windelband, a neo-Kantian, introduced these terms and defined their distinctions.  Windelband used nomothetic to describe an approach to producing knowledge that seeks to make large-scale generalizations. This approach is common in the natural sciences, and is considered by many to be the true paradigm and goal of the scientific approach. With a nomothetic approach, one conducts careful and systemic observation and experimentation in order to derive results that can be applied more broadly outside the realm of study. We might think of them as scientific laws, or general truths that have come from social science research. In fact, we can see this approach present in the work of early German sociologist Max Weber, who wrote about the processes of creating ideal types and concepts meant to serve as general rules. On the other hand, an idiographic approach is one that is specifically focused on a particular case, place, or phenomenon. This approach is designed to derive meanings particular to the research target, and it is not necessarily designed for extrapolating generalizations. Application in Sociology Sociology is a discipline that bridges and combines these two approaches, which is akin to  the disciplines important micro/macro distinction. Sociologists study the relationships between people and society, both at the micro and macro level. People and their everyday interactions and experiences make up the micro. The macro consists of the larger patterns, trends, and social structures that make up society. In this sense, the idiographic approach often focuses on the micro, while the nomothetic approach is used to understand the macro. Methodologically speaking, this means that these two different approaches to conducting social science research also often fall along the qualitative/quantitative divide. One would typically use qualitative methods like ethnographic research, participant observation, interviews, and focus groups to conduct idiographic research. Quantitative methods such as large-scale surveys and statistical analysis of demographic or historical data would be used to conduct nomothetic research. However, many sociologists believe that the best research will combine both nomothetic and idiographic approaches, as well as both quantitative and qualitative research methods. Doing so is effective because it allows for a deep understanding of how large-scale social forces, trends, and problems influence the everyday lives of individual people. For example, if one wanted to develop a robust understanding of the many and varied effects of racism  on Black people, one would be wise to take a nomothetic approach to studying the prevalence of police killings and the health impacts of structural inequalities, among other things that can be quantified and measured in large number. But one would also be wise to conduct ethnography and interviews to understand the experiential realities and effects of living in a racist society, from the standpoint of those who experience it. Similarly, if one were conducting a sociological study of gender bias, one could combine both nomothetic and idiographic approaches. A nomothetic approach could include gathering statistics, such as the number of women in political office or data on the gender pay gap. However, researchers would be wise to also talk to women (for example, through interviews or focus groups) about their own experiences with sexism and discrimination. In other words, by combining statistics with information about the lived experiences of individuals, sociologists can develop a more comprehensive understanding of topics such as racism and sexism. Updated  by Nicki Lisa Cole, Ph.D.

Organizational Culture Analysis Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Organizational Culture Analysis - Research Paper Example It is the hope of this author that such a level of discussion will be beneficial to the reader in terms of helping them to gain a greater understanding, not only the particular store in question, or the retail chain, but the way in which culture is oftentimes represented America. Firstly, with respect to the observable artifacts, it was clear and apparent from day one that the level and type of interaction with the consumer was the primary drive that all of the human resources literature and media consisted of. I distinctly remember the hours of video training that were required prior to even beginning the job in question. For instance, each and every situation that was presented, with the exception of those situations that involved fellow coworkers, was concentric upon maximizing the satisfaction of the consumer and minimizing the difficulties or negative emotions that an employee might represent. In retrospect, it is obvious that all of this was performed as a means of ensuring that profitability remained at a maximum. As the old saying goes, â€Å"the customer is always right†. Ultimately, this particular quote was incorporated within the training literature and served as a backbone with respect to the way in which the employees/stakeholders sought to go about their daily tasks. An espoused value that was promoted heavily within the organization was with respect to the ethical conduct that employees represented. Whereas it is oftentimes the case that individual employers hammer home such issues as the need to come to work on time, the importance and relevance of abstaining from racist, sexist, or ageist language and actions, or the need to give more time and energy to the details of one’s labor, the particular workplace in question had an espoused value system that was almost entirely concentric upon ethics (Baack, 1998). Although it is true that they engaged with the other topics that have been referenced above, the