Sunday, December 22, 2019

Langston Hughes On the Road Essay - 1244 Words

Langston Hughes On the Road In Langston Hughes, On the Road the Sargeant is a homeless Black man that is desperate for food and shelter. In his desperation, Sargeant goes to the church to refuge, but there is no one at the Church to help him get refuge. Although Sargent is living in a time where the depression is in existence amongst all people, Black and White, he finds no one to help him. Sargent goes to the Church because the Church helps people. However, because Sargeant is Black and the Church is populated by a White congregation, he is rejected. In the story One the Road, one of the people: A big black unemployed Negro holding onto our church... The idea! This represents that Sargent wants the benefits of the white†¦show more content†¦As the Church denied that Christ died, was buried and risen, the white congregation was denying that Sargeant was a free man with rights. Hughes illustrates the reasons people do no like the Church today. Rev. Dorset, white or black, should have had compassion for Sargent. It is disappointing to see Rev. Dorset turned away Sargent, especially during the depression. A follower is a reflection of his/her leader and that is why everyone ignored and refused to help Sargeant. A Church has always been the place where anyone can be accepted. Christ says: They have kept me nailed on the cross for nearly two thousand years(619). This line symbolizes the stumbbling blocks that a congregation can cause to an individual. Although the congregational members have the power, their power was not enough to keep the Church together. As long as racism exists in a society, the oppressor and the oppressed will be bound and never free. When the church fell down, symbolically, it was Sargeant who fell. And when the Sargent got up and started walking, Christ was walking beside him. At this moment Sargent finds comfort, approval and company with Christ. Imagine roaming around a neighborhood with no one to talk to, no family, and no friends, and because of Christs presence he is no loner anxious about when and where he is going to eat. Although this part of the story was based on a dream orShow MoreRelatedOn The Road By Langston Hughes1679 Words   |  7 PagesIn Langston Hughes’ short story â€Å"On the Road†, Sargent, desperate for food and shelter, challenges social barriers and racial discrimination during his fight for freedom. Sargent is an unemployed black man during the great depression who faces additional obstacles because of his skin color. While this period was almost fifty years after the end of the Civil War and the subsequent emancipation of slaves in the United States, racism was sti ll prevalent across the country. In the South, despite theRead MoreAnalysis Of On The Road By Langston Hughes1570 Words   |  7 Pagesâ€Å"On the Road† Analysis â€Å"On the Road† is a short story written by Langston Hughes whose major themes are of race, religion, and subjective nature of fiction. An influential African-American writer, Hughes was born in 1902 and primarily raised by his maternal grandmother (Meyer 1032). Over the course of his illustrious career he would go on to write poems, novels, short stories, essays, plays, opera librettos, histories, documentaries, anthologies, autobiographies, biographies, children’s booksRead MoreAnalysis Of On The Road By Langston Hughes868 Words   |  4 PagesWalker insists that there is representation to white people when the narrator of the story â€Å"On the Road† by Langston Hughes speaks of the church and the snow. Walker does include some nice points, points that one could easily see. Some of her points and observations though, I feel are a bit of a long shot. I have the same feelings towards Walker’s comparison of â€Å"On the Road† and the story of Samson. Walker’s first theory is that the snow is â€Å"a symbol of the white oppressive world that is makingRead MoreAnalysis of on the Road by Langston Hughes Essay1401 Words   |  6 Pagesthe Road by Langston Hughes. Langston Hughes offers a gift in this work which is to open the heart and life will provide unlimited abundance. During this literary analysis Langston Hughes uses nature to demonstrate his main characters unwillingness to participate in life. Another point that Hughes demonstrates is the use of anger and survival and how it can be used as a powerful force in breaking down racial barriers. One more impact Langston Hughes uses is Jesus Christ as a metaphor. Hughes usesRead MoreEssay, Langston Hughes, And The Road Not Taken1107 Words   |  5 Pagestake risks will accomplish nothing in life.†- Muhammad Ali. The authors Rick Reilly, Langston Hughes, and Robert frost all have something in common. They wrote about characters finding the courage to do the right th ing. These commentaries, short stories, and poems are all trying to send a message. Try to do the right thing when called upon. After reading the texts Doing the Right Thing, Thank You Ma’am, and The Road Not Taken, it is evident that all the main characters found their courage from someoneRead MoreLiterary Analysis Of Langston Hughes s The Road 1402 Words   |  6 Pagesthe Road by Langston Hughes. Langston Hughes offers a gift in this work which is to open the heart and life will provide unlimited abundance. During this literary analysis Langston Hughes uses nature to demonstrate his main character s unwillingness to participate in life. Another point that Hughes demonstrates is the use of anger and survival and how it can be used as a powerful force in breaking down racial barriers. One more impact Langston Hughes uses is Jesus Christ as a metaphor. Hughes usesRead More Symbols Of Truth in Langston Hughes On The Road Essay1419 Words   |  6 PagesLangston Hughes uses b eautiful symbolism and imagery in his literary work â€Å"On the Road†. Hughes offers up the idea that if one is to open ones heart; life will provide unlimited abundance. In this literary work, Langston Hughes uses nature to demonstrate and symbolize the unwillingness of his main character, Sargeant, to participate in life. Hughes also demonstrates the use of a person’s anger and instinct to survive and how they both can be used as powerful forces in breaking down racial barriersRead MoreOn the Road with Racism: Langton Hughes Life Experiences824 Words   |  4 PagesWhat is racism? In â€Å"On the Road† by Langston Hughes racism is characterized in an unemployed African American. The African American depicted in this story is known as Sargeant. Sargeant is a character that Langston Hughes had little relativity to as being homeless as well as in search for food, but he undoubtedly identified with in culture. Langston Hughes childhood, heritage, and involvement in the African American community led him to create a strong willed character. Born in Joplin, MissouriRead MoreYolande Cornelia â€Å"Nikki† Giovanni Jr Is An Well-Known African-American Poet, Writer, Commentator,978 Words   |  4 PagesYolande Cornelia â€Å"Nikki† Giovanni Jr is an well-known African-American poet, writer, commentator, activist, and educator. Today we will look at â€Å"A poem for Langston Hughes† from her collection and do a literary analysis on it. The author took the time to adopt a certain sound throughout her work. You can shape sound within a poem through accent, alliteration, assonance, consonance, internal rhyme, meter, onomatopoeia, rhyme and rhythm. She uses a combination of these sound devices used in poetryRead MoreAnalysis Of I Too By Langston Hughes881 Words   |  4 PagesENG 102-71 Poetry Mini Research Paper 10/29/17 Langston Hughes’s â€Å"I, Too† Langston Hughes was a renowned poet and writer during the Harlem Renaissance. His background shaped the overall themes of his poems. Segregation and equality were the main subjects for Hughes’s writing. Langston Hughes wrote about the racial discrimination that African Americans faced during the Harlem Renaissance, and this theme resonated throughout the poem â€Å"I, Too†. Hughes was one of the boldest African American writers

Friday, December 13, 2019

Organizational Behavior †Jean Lewis at Staples Case Study Free Essays

LDP1 July 17, 2007 The interchange between task behavior, relationship behavior, and follower readiness is the foundation of situational leadership. Different focus on relationship or task behavior is applied to followers on different readiness levels. Task behavior is the degree of detailed direction given by a leader to a follower or a group for them to perform a task. We will write a custom essay sample on Organizational Behavior – Jean Lewis at Staples Case Study or any similar topic only for you Order Now Included in these directions are specifics of the methodology to perform the task as well as the place and the parties involved. Relationship behavior is the grade of interaction between the leader and the follower or group. Readiness is the degree of willingness and capability that a follower demonstrates. â€Å"The two major components of readiness are ability and willingness† (Hersey, Blanchard, Johnson, 2001) Ability is composed of the follower’s qualifications for a particular task. Hersey (2001) catalogs these qualifications as knowledge, skill and experience. Willingness is the level of confidence, commitment and motivation that someone shows. Willingness is not a personal attribute as it varies from a task to another. Confidence is the expressed belief that one is able to perform a task. The fact that an individual is confident does not necessarily make him capable of completing an assignment, as it is a mental state rather than a measure of skills. Commitment is an established dedication to undertake a responsibility, and motivation is the expressed desire to do it. Based on the degree of ability and willingness an individual can be classified into four levels of readiness as follows: R1 – Unable and Unwilling R2 – Unable but Willing R3 – Able but Unwilling R4 – Able and Willing R1 individuals do not have either the necessary level of skill or the commitment to perform a task. R2 individuals are not qualified, yet have the willingness to undertake the responsibility. R3 individuals have the ability to perform the task but are reluctant to execute it. Finally, R4 individuals have the ability and the willingness to complete a task. The situational leadership model institutes four different leadership styles to pair with each of the four readiness levels. These styles are characterized by the different combinations of relationship and task behavior and are defined as follows: Style 1 or S1 – This style of leadership characterized by a high amount of task and low amount of relationship behavior should be used on individuals on the first level of readiness. It is also known as crisis leadership as it is a good practice on a critical situation when the leader doesn’t have the time to explain the â€Å"whys† of the objectives to the followers or research the readiness level of the group. For instance during a fire the fire department personnel is likely to use this type of leadership to evacuate a building. Style 2 or S2 – Typified by high levels of both, task and relationship behaviors, this style should be used in individuals on the second level of readiness. These individuals lack the skills to complete a task, therefore a great deal of direction (task behavior) is needed. Since they are trying, it is important to encourage them to continue their progress (relationship behavior). Style 3 or S3 – Low task and high relationship behavior set this leadership style apart, and should be used on followers on readiness level 3. These individuals have the skill level necessary to complete a task, therefore high amounts of direction are unnecessary. However, since they are unwilling the leader must spend time participating in bilateral communication to encourage them and facilitate decision making. Style 4 or S4 – Characterized by low levels of both relationship and task behaviors. Hersey (2001) describes this leadership style as delegating. R4 individuals are able and willing to undertake a task, reducing the leader’s participation to monitoring progress. As we can see in this model, the readiness level of an individual is what determines the leadership style to be applied. Consequently, it is the follower and not the leader that establishes the leadership style. In her time at Staples, Jeanne Lewis applied different leadership styles to accommodate the different readiness levels of her employees. Until she started working in the marketing department she experienced different levels of rejection from her staff that translated into unwillingness. Jeanne describes her experience in operations as â€Å"managing a group of people who had ‘been there, done that’ for years. † And yet, she continues, â€Å"we had a situation where the stores weren’t performing well, and I had to tell them to make money and grow sales. †(Jeanne Lewis at Staples, Inc, 2001) From her words we can perceive that her staff was in a R1 readiness level. Unwilling because they did not think Jeanne had the experience necessary to run the department, and unable at some level because the stores were not performing well. Jeanne used a S1 leadership style to match the readiness level of her staff. This leadership style, characterized by high task and relationship behavior, has been described as crisis leadership. Jeanne made many changes in the department in a short period of time, so abundant clear and concise direction was necessary. Also due to the reluctance of the operations staff, high levels of multi-way communication were needed. This leadership style is used to help followers advance in their readiness levels, and should only be used in times of crisis. We can presume from her direct report’s description of Jeanne’s management style that she did exactly that. â€Å"She tended to manage tightly at first,† he said, â€Å"then loosened the reins† I think it is safe to assume that her â€Å"loosening the reins†(Jeanne Lewis at Staples, Inc, 2001) was caused by an upwards variation of her staff’s readiness level which in turn we can attribute to her management style, and personal charm, and hard-working attitude to elevate follower’s willingness, and clear direction and new training programs to raise ability. A similar situation happened in merchandising. We can learn much of Lewis’ progression of management style by her report’s statement that â€Å"at first impression he worried that Lewis might be a micro-manager, but he soon realized that she liked to inspire dialog and debate to ensure that they dug deeply in their decision making† (Jeanne Lewis at Staples, Inc, 2001). We cannot discard that his first impression was correct, and it is not his erception of Jeanne’s personality that changed, but her management style. When Jeanne was transferred to the marketing department, she found a different situation. She found a talented staff, able and willing to do the job that was requested of them, so she took the passenger sit and leaded them using low task and low relationship behavior (S4). Much to her surprise the followers started experiencing a regressing in their readiness level, going from an able-and-willing group to an able-but-insecure state. Perhaps the distress of the failed merger caused the insecurity. Jeanne needed to adjust her leadership style to include more participation and multi-directional communication (relationship behavior), but running between floors and â€Å"changing hats† all the time did not leave her enough time thus she insisted that her replacement in merchandising be appointed in order to free her schedule. I think Jeanne Lewis is a perfect example of a situational manager. During the whole time I spent reading the case study I could not help but see how she adjusted her management style precisely as the situation required it. Works Cited: Hersey, P. , Blanchard, K. H. , Johnson, D. E. (2001). Management of organizational behavior: Leading human resources (8th ed. ). New Jersey: Prentice Hall. Pp. 171-203. Suesse, J. M. (2000). Jeanne Lewis at Staples, Inc. (A) (Abridged). Boston: Harvard Business School Publishing. Pp. 1-14 (78-91). How to cite Organizational Behavior – Jean Lewis at Staples Case Study, Free Case study samples

Thursday, December 5, 2019

Directors Duties and Responsibilities

Question: Discuss about the A guide to Directors Duties and Responsibilities. Answer: Relevant law A company director is the sole/heart of the company who runs and manages the company affairs. Section 9 of the Corporation Act 2001 defines a director as the person who performs the functions of the directors and comprise of shadow, de facto, alternate directors, etc. There are common and statutory duties which every director must comply with. (WD Duncan, 2012) Common law duties 1.Every director must perform with utmost good faith, with bonfide intention and in the companys interest (Whitehouse v Carlton Hotel Pty Ltd (1987). There is breach, if the companys interest is not taken into account but the breach is considered what a reasonable prudent man thinks in the like circumstances Farrow Finance Company Ltd (in liq) v Farrow Properties Pty Ltd (in liq) (1997). 2.Every director must act with proper purpose and should not misuse their powers to gain benefit for themselves (Pine Vale Investments Ltd v East Ltd East Ltd Anor (1983). Every director must act with diligence and care. This duty cannot be delegated and even of delegated it will not absolve the responsibility of the director (Statewide Tobacco Services Ltd v Morley (1990). 1.The directors must be fully informed regarding the affairs of the company before making any decisions at the board (Daniels v Anderson (1995). 2.Every director must avoid any conflicting situation and if the conflicts occur then the companys interest should prevail (SEA Food International Pty Ltd v Lam (1998). 3.Directors own a fiduciary duty which must be complying with in every scenario No confidential information must be disclosed by the directors. No director must abuse the corporate opportunities. Statutory duties 1.Section 180 (1) of the Act establishes that the duty of diligence and care should be performed by the directors and other officers like a normal prudent man do in the similar circumstances (ASIC v Healy (2011). 2.As per section 181, every director or officers must act in good faith, proper purpose and in companys interest. This duty is breached even when the directors are acting honestly. As per section 182 and section 183 of the Act, the position and information, respectively, of the company must not be misused which is disadvantageous to company and in the benefit of the directors (ASIC v Vizard[2005]) regardless of the fact whether benefit or disadvantage actually occurs or not. As per section 191-195 of the Act, the director must disclose all the material personal interest which he has in the affairs of the company. Application As per facts, Property Developments Ltd (company) with Julian, Sol and Daniel as directors. The company intent to acquire a land. The company also desires to engage an architectural firm to design plans for their buildings and sought various firms to tender for the role. Breach of duty by Julian As per the facts, Julian, at the board meeting recommends to buy the land from Gerald (his uncle) @ $850,000 (current market value). He did not disclose his relationship with Gerald and the fact that his uncle intends to sell the land to pay the bank loan. Now, Julian is in breach of his statutory duty under section 182-183 as he misused his position and information and it makes no difference whether any disadvantage to the company or any benefit to him actually incurs or not. Also, he did not acted with all due care and diligence, with good faith, proper purpose or in the company interest and thus has violated section 180 (1) 181. Also, he did not disclose any material personal interest and is in violation of section 191-195 of the Act. Also, Raphael is the brother of Julian and is the owner/director of an architectural practice company. Julian is in charge of the tender process. Julian by using his position and information has informed Raphael as what each architectural firm is going to charge. This has provided an advantage to Raphael to offer the lowest price. Thus, Julian has dishonestly and recklessly violated section 182 and section 183 of the Act. Also, he did not disclose his relation with Raphael to other directors and thus has violated section 181 of the Act. Julian has also violated common law duties of good faith, transferring of confidential information, misuse of position and information. Breach of duty by Sol and Daniel Both the directors agree to buy the land from Gerald and authorize Julian to proceed with the transaction. They make no independent financial enquiry and how the company will raise the finances. They are not pro at understating finance and leave it to the companys accountants to sort out. Thus, they acted without any care and diligence by not enquiring into the financial position of the transaction and also violated their duty of good faith which they have against the other personnels of the company and thus have breach section 180(1)- 182 of the Act. The common law duties of good faith, transferring of confidential information, misuse of position and information are also violated. Since Julian is in breach of 180 (1) 183 section 191-195 of the Act thus, civil penalties must be imposed upon him. Sol and Daniel has also violated section 180(1)- 182 of the Act. Thus, the directors can be compensated or impose with civil penalty a fine of $200,000 or can be disqualified under section 206C of the Act. Also, Julian has provided advantage to Raphael by acting recklessly and dishonestly and thus has violated section 180 (1)-183 of the Act. So he committed a criminal offense under section 184 and can be imposed with a fine of $360,000 or 5 years Jail or both or can be disqualified (section 206 B). All the directors can take the defense under section 180 (2) to relieve from the breach of section 180 (1), if the director/officer can prove that the decisions taken by them is in good faith, proper purpose, there is no material personal interest or genuinely consider that the decisions in the companys best interest. Conclusion Thus, Julian has acted without any care, diligence and good faith. He also acted recklessly and dishonestly. Thus, he is liable both under civil and criminal law. Also, Sol and Daniel ahs also violated section 180 (1)- 182 and thus civil liabilities can be imposed upon them. References Books/Articles/Journals? Etraining (2008) A guide to directors duties and responsibilities for non-listed public companies and proprietary companies in Australia. WD Duncan (2012) Joint Ventures Law in Australia: 3rd Edition. Federation Press. Case laws ASIC v Healy (2011) 83 ACSR 484. ASIC v Vizard[2005] FCA 1037 Daniels v Anderson (1995) 37 NSWLR 438. Farrow Finance Company Ltd (in liq) v Farrow Properties Pty Ltd (in liq) (1997) 26 ACSR 544. Pine Vale Investments Ltd v East Ltd East Ltd Anor (1983) 8 ACLR 199. SEA Food International Pty Ltd v Lam (1998) 16 ACLC 552. Statewide Tobacco Services Ltd v Morley (1990) 2 ACSR 405 Whitehouse v Carlton Hotel Pty Ltd (1987) 162 CLR 285.