The Father of Gothicism - 1077 Words

â€Å"I grew, day by day, more moody, more irritable, more regardless of the feelings of others. I suffered myself to use intemperate language to my wife. At length, I even offered her personal violence.† This line comes from the story The Black Cat written by Edgar Allan Poe. Poe has been proclaimed the â€Å"Father of Gothicism† by many due to his grotesque short stories and poems. Gothic writers had their characters be more â€Å"prone to sin and self-destruction† than any other movement had experienced (Poets 2). This mysterious style of writing lasted until the 19th century, and other popular gothic writers and characters include Bram Stokers Dracula, and Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein. Poe along with all gothic writers used disturbing, morbid words as well as supernatural story outlines to catch the reader’s attention, as he was one of the first to introduce the harming of females to the literature world. Gothicism style of writing always keeps t he reader shocked throughout the entire story trying to guess what’s next. Edgar Poe was born in Boston to Elizabeth Arnold Poe and David Poe Jr. on January 18, 1809 and experienced an extremely dark childhood. Poe unfortunately never got to build a relationship with his father because he abandoned the family by 1811. Poe’s life changed dramatically after his mother’s death on December 8, 1811 and his father’s passing a few short days after by tuberculosis, which caused his family filled with two siblings to be split up into different homes.Show MoreRelatedEdgar Allan Poe s Father Of American Gothicism1178 Words   |  5 PagesAlba Abreu Prof. Mrs. Beth Ritter-Guth EN-250 June 24, 2017 Poe s father of American Gothicism Edgar Allan Poe was born in Boston, Massachusetts on January 19, 1809. His parents were actors. After he was born, his father abandoned him and his mother died before he was three. This left Edgar Allan Poe a foster child. Poe s father was an alcoholic and an insovent actor. Thus, Poe had a miserable life, starting with his childhood, he lost his parents since he was a little child, and I would sayRead MoreWuthering Heights By Emily Bronte859 Words   |  4 Pagesyoung Cathy. The main character Heathcliff is influenced with the element of gothicism and romanticism. Gothicism shape Heathcliff appearance and actions. Romanticism portrays through Heathcliff passion for Catherine. Romanticism played a huge part in this English novel. The novel is structured around two parallel love stories. Catherine, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Earnshaw, fell in love with Heathcliff, an orphan her father brings home from Liverpool. Catherine and Heathcliff’s love is based on theirRead MoreEdgar Allan Poe s The Light Romantics 1798 Words   |  8 Pages Romantic Gothicism Research One of the most well known and popular English literature movements out of the many that have progressed throughout history, is gothic romanticism. Also known as dark romanticism, it is a movement that rose during the eighteenth century whose origins come from northern Europe, emerging after the ‘light romantics’. This movement consists of gothic writers who prominently focused on phenomenons, melancholy emotions, darker insights and provided elements through theirRead MoreFrankenstein Major Works Data Sheet Essay1125 Words   |  5 Pagesabout the author: Born as Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin to William Godwin and Mary Wollstonecraft on August 30, 1789, Mary was the only child of her father and mother. Hardly more than a week after having Mary, Wollstonecraft died, leaving William to raise Mary and her half-sister, Fanny, whom William chose to adopt. When Mary was four, her father remarried but resentment was obvious between Mary and her stepmother. Later, following the suicides of both Mary’s older sister and Percy’s wife,Read MoreMary Shelley s Frankenstein As A Gothic Novel1042 Words   |  5 Pagessimilar to his apearance, his actions are extreme. Whether or not The Creature was justified in murdering all of those close to Victor is not the question here; instead, envision his actions as simply absurd and to the utmost extreme. 18th century Gothicism started in art and architecture during the medieval time period. England was in the midst of a societal unraveling throughout the 18th century. The philosophies of Shaftsbury, Adam Smith and David Hume –which for most of the century had providedRead MoreThe Life and Work of Edgar Allan Poe Essay550 Words   |  3 Pagespoverty, moving from one job to the other and from city to city, yet he is still one of the most widely read American authors today. Edgar Allan Poe was born on January 19, 1809 in Boston, Massachusetts. Poes home life was very unstable. His father, David, was an alcholic who had abandoned the family shortly after his mothers death. Shortly after, John and Francis Allan took in Poe. After a failed attempt at college and a few years in the military, Poe went to live with his paternal grandmotherRead MoreThe Mother Of The Novel Frankenstein By Mary Shelley1202 Words   |  5 Pagesachieving a philosophical goal. Mary Shelley was unfortunately only to really experience literary expertise through her father, for her mother died due to puerperal fever early within one month of giving birth to Shelley. Seeing as a single father would not suffice for raising a child, Godwin remarried another woman by the name of Mrs.Clairmont. Shelley felt nearly abandoned by her father, forced to spend time with a stepmother that clearly disliked her since she was not her own child. Mrs.ClairmontRead MoreMary Shelley1066 Words   |  5 PagesRomanticism Era. Mary was the only child of Mary Wollstonecraft, a famous feminist, but after her birth, Wollstonecraft passed away (Harris). Similar to Mary’s book Frankenstein, both her and Victor’s mothers die when they are at a very young age. Mary’s father was William Godwin, an English philosopher who also wrote novels that would inspire Mary in the late years of her life (Holmes). Many years later, Mary would get married to Percy Shelley although he had been previously engaged (â€Å"Shelley† Exploring)Read MoreThe Fulfillment of the Definition of Gothic Horror by Chapters 5 and 4 of Mary Shelleys Frankenstein1560 Words   |  7 Pagesespecially in the areas of biology and chemistry. Shelley was the daughter of two of Englands most intellectual radicals. Her mother, Mary Wollstonecraft, was an established feminist who specialised in education and womens rights. Her father, William Godwin, was a well-known political philosopher and novelist. Shelley never met her mother as she passed away several days after giving birth, but was nevertheless inspired by her works and reputation. While being brought up inRead More The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow Essay1057 Words   |  5 Pagessaddle, but no Ichabod. A folk-tale is a quality that governs the overall meaning of Washington Irvings short stories. The folk-tale form imposes sharp limits on character development and has three characteristics, they are 1. Stock Characters, 2. Gothicism, and 3. Humorous Tone. Irving uses all three characteristics in The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.; Stocked or stereotyped characters are character types that appear so often, that the reader immediately recognizes their nature. The two stocked or stereotyped

Born Too Short Free Essays

Thirteen year-old, five-foot one Matt Greene has one problem. He also has many talents that go unnoticed. He is very intelligent and can play the guitar. We will write a custom essay sample on Born Too Short or any similar topic only for you Order Now But, he does not get the respect due to him because of his height. He does not play sports, and has gotten rejected by girls he wants to date. They do not want a boyfriend who is the size of a dwarf. Unlike Matt, his best friend, Keith, was the coolest most popular guy. He is everything that Matt is not. He stands a towering six feet three inches tall and is captain of the basketball team. He does not have any problems getting dates with the girls. Matt aspires to be like him, but he just does not have the same effect as Keith. Matt became very angry one day and confessed his jealousy of Keith to himself. He wished that bad things would happen to Keith. He wanted Keith’s girlfriend to dump him. He wanted him to be bad at sports. He also wanted Shania Twain, who was going to star in Keith’s father’s movie, to look like a horse. Suddenly the next day, all of his wishes started coming true. Keith’s girlfriend cheated on him. Keith missed the last point in the championship game, thus causing his team to lose. Shania Twain had a car accident, and had to have plastic surgery on her face, and in the newspaper, she looked like a horse. Good fortune fell upon Matt. He has a scholarship to Paris for music and found himself a girlfriend, named Jose. After realizing what happened to Keith, Matt feels guilty. He feels that his secret envy has ruined his best friend’s life. He wanted to make every thing go back to normal. He had to talk to Keith to resolve the conflict. After a heartfelt conversation with Keith, Matt learns that he does not need to be like his friend. He realizes that every person is different and that is what makes people unique. He appreciates the friendships that he shares with Keith and Jose. Now, Matt is more careful in what he thinks about people without knowing how they may be feeling. How to cite Born Too Short, Essay examples

Hrm and Business Performance. free essay sample

This essay will seek to explore the link between Human resource management and business performance. To be successful in this, a number of resources will be used. To get a sound basis, definitions of HRM and performance will first be made. Once definitions have been made, the essay can then explore the link. High performance work practices (HPWP) will be the main theory examined in this essay and others will be used to be able to provide a critical view. The models will include the AMO model also the best fit and best practice view will also be considered. A range of references will also be used to get the views from a range of studies these include Guest, Sels at el and Huselid. It is important to examine the link between HRM and business performance because more and more organisations are seeking out ways to gain competitive advantages over their competitors and one way of achieving this is to link HRM to performance. To critically explore the link between HRM and performance we first need to look at the concept of HRM. There is not one constant definition for HRM and those that exist encompass similar undertones but may have different approaches. Armstrong amp; Baron (2002) p. 3 define HRM as â€Å"a strategic and coherent approach to the management of organisation’s most valued assets the people working there who individually and collectively contribute to the achievement of its objectives†. Boxall amp; Purcell (2003) p. 1 simply define HRM as â€Å"the most popular term in the English-speaking world referring to the activities of management in the employment relationship†. In a HRM context there is no single definition that constitutes to explaining what performance actually means, Huselid concentrated on financial performances while MacDuffie measures productivity and quality. Without a general agreement on the definition of performance it makes the comparisons of any theories difficult. HRM does have impact on an organisations performance, in Patterson, West, Lawthom amp; Nickell’s (1997) study they found â€Å"Human resource management practices explained 19 per cent of the variation in profitability and 18 per cent of the variation in productivity† (Armstrong amp; Baron (2002) p. 12) which clearly show a strong link between HRM practices and performance. The reason why an increasing number of organisations are linking performance and HRM is because is can be rewarding for both the employee and the organisation â€Å"Employers are continually searching for more effective ways to manage labour to gain maximum organisational performance, while workers are keen to increase the benefits from employment, both in material terms and in opportunities for more interesting and stimulating work patterns. † (Marchington amp; Zagelmeyer (2005) p. ) Much of the research presented in this essay supports the view that there is definite link between HRM and performance, especially when looking at the practices the HR department implement, for example when analysing recruitment there is an importance on recruiting the right people in the right way to get the best people and minimise costs, which then contributes to a positive outcome on business performance â€Å"HRM is now often seen as the major factor differentiating between successful and u nsuccessful organisations, more important than technology or finance in achieving competitive advantage† (Marchington amp; Wilkinson (2005) p. ) Increasingly more organisations are using HRM to give them that competitive advantage they are often aiming for. Linking HRM to performance can attract a better workforce as the stronger performing organisations are likely to be more sought after by perspective employees. High performance work practices are a set of practices that can improve business performance regardless of the organisation, industry or strategy which lead it to being a universal practice, there is not one agreed definition but they basically are â€Å"the idea is that a particular set (or number) of HR practices has the potential to bring about improved organisational performance for all organisations† (Marchington amp; Wilkinson (2005) p. 2) rather than focus on individual HR policies to increase performance many researchers are exploring the idea of a bundle of HR policies to increase performance, â€Å"scholars of strategic human resource management (SHRM) have turned their attention during the last decade to a â€Å"bundle† of mutually reinforcing and synergistic HR practices that facilitate employee commitment and involvement† (Hsu, Chaing amp; Shih (2006) p. 32) the philosophy is that when a organisation concentrates on a bundle of polices the level of t he performance is increased when compared to an organisation that only adopts one HR policy. There a number of HR practices, the literature suggest â€Å"In total they are able to list 26 different practices, of which the top four are training and development, contingent pay and reward schemes, performance management (including appraisal) and careful recruitment and selection. † (Paauwe amp; Boselie (2005) p. 9) Examples of high performance work practices can encompass extensive training, recruitment which is based on recruiting a quality workforce who is eager to learn and develop, strong communication and appraisals, however, the exact nature of the HPWP would be designed to suit the organisation so we can call the practices ‘idiosyncratic’. One of the focal points of the HPWP approach is that it is considered to be universally applicable, this approach is also similar to the best practice form of linking HR to performance. The universalistic perspective states that a fixed set of best practices can create surplus value in various business contexts. †(Sels et al (2003) p. 5) Other theories may take a contingency approach â€Å"Contingency approaches, by contrast, start with the assumption that the selection of a combination of HRM practices is determined by the strategy used. † (Sels et al (2003) p. ) this approach looks at the external environment which include the market it exists in, it differs from the best practice approach and focuses on the best fit approach and so looks at fitting HR policies into the situation of the individual employer. HPWP can be argued to fit in the hard HRM category as they are designed to increase performance, efficiency and profitability where-as soft HRM focuses on social an d ethical reasons. HPWP can take the best parts from all the approaches for example they can fit into best fit approach as they both rely on different HR policies to produce high results. The link between HRM and performance can also be put in practice by examining the best fit or the best practice approach. The best practice approach â€Å"identifies a set of HR policies that, it is argued, is associated with improved performance in all types of organisation and, by implication, for all types of employees† while the best fit â€Å"argues that performance is maximised when the HR policies adopted are consistent with the business strategy. † (Kinnie et al (2005) p. ) These approaches argue that they will have the same effect on all the employees in the organisation that it’s introduced in, which could pose doubts due to employees in organisations not being in a homogenous group. The application of best practice HRM being universal fits in with high performance work practices â€Å"all things being equal, the use of High Performance Work Practices and a good internal fit should lead to positive outcomes for all types of firms† (Huselid 1995 p . 644 cited in Marchington amp; Wilkinson (2005) p. 95) Many of the researchers use the AMO model (Appelbaum et al 2000) to investigate the link between HRM and performance, the AMO model argues that for people to perform better the following must be adhered to, people must â€Å"have the ability and necessary knowledge and skills, including how to work with other people (A), be motivated to work and want to do it well (M), be given the opportunity to deploy their skills both in the job and more broadly contributing to work group and organisation success (O)† (Marchington amp; Wilkinson (2005) p. 0) High performance work practices can satisfy the ‘ability’ criteria as they focus on developing employees through self management and decentralised decision making, this gives the employees a chance to gain the ability to gain knowledge and skills. HPWP satisfy the motivation area by having constant performance measures in place that provide a clear strategy to measure people’s progress and they satisfy the opportunit y criteria by having continuing training and learning in all areas of the job. On the other hand it could also be argued that HPWP do not satisfy the AMO model because it is unlikely that organisations are going to tailor their practices to suit the model but more likely to tailor practices to their needs. If the latter is the case then in Purcell’s view then HPWP are unlikely to be successful as workers need to have their abilities, motivation and opportunities to perform well. Guest’s theory (expectancy theory) looks at linking HRM to performance by having a core set of HRM practices that can influence intrinsic motivation, form a positive psychological contract and form a flexible workforce. The model takes a unitarist view on linking performance and HRM. Guest (1999) believes that â€Å"the psychological contract may be a key intervening variable in explaining the link between such HR practices and employee outcomes such as job satisfaction, perceived job security and motivation. † (Legge (2005) p. 32) A limitation to the link between performance and HRM goes back to the actual definition of HRM â€Å"it is easy to find slippage in its use, especially when critics are comparing the apparent rhetoric of ‘high commitment’ HRM with the so-called reality of life in organisations that manage by fear and cost-cutting† (Marchington amp; Wilkinson (2005) p. 4) â€Å"Without a clearly delineated theoretical model of HPWS and their effects on performance, scholars cannot adequately validate the efficacy of such practices, let alone providing useful suggestions to practitioners. (Hsu, Chaing amp; Shih (2006) p. 741) Researchers not only use different definitions of HPWP but also measure the outcomes in different ways â€Å"Dyer and Reeves (1995), proposed four possible types of measurement for organizational performance: 1) HR outcomes (turnover, absenteeism, job satisfaction), 2) organizational outcomes (productivity, quality, service), 3) financial accounting outcomes (ROA, profitability), and 4) capital market outcomes, (stock price, growth, returns). † (Rogers and Wright (1998) p. ) most of the strategic research that exists focuses on organisational outcomes this leads to inconsistent results and so makes it less favourable for practitioners to use. Also, because the bundles that organisations use are tailored to the organisation it is very hard to measure and compare the results however â€Å"the process of linking environmental contingencies with HRM practices may vary across firms, but the tools firms use to effectively manage such links are likely to be consistent† (Mabey, Salaman and Storey (1998) p. 08) so it’s not the actual practices that researchers and organisations should analyse but the way such organisations manage the links. Nearly All the literature that examines the link between HRM and performance arise the issue of the black box â€Å"Even if an association is found between high commitment HRM and performance, questions remain about directions of causality and about the processes that underpin and drive these linkages† (Marchington amp; Wilkinson (2005) p. 1), the black box is where the literature/researchers are unable to explain what the actual link is between performance and HRM â€Å"A primary issue in the development of appropriate conceptual models for research in this area is which variables should be included in making the step from HRM to firm performance† ((Paauwe and Farndale, 2005). cited in Hailey, Farndale, Truss (2005) p. 50) To understand and develop the link the between it is important to be able to measure the impact of HRM when concerned with performance. One way of measuring performance is by looking at the outcomes a business experience once performance theories have been put in place â€Å"performance outcomes can be understood in terms of internal outcomes† (Armstrong amp; Baron (2002) p. 106) these internal outcomes can consist of labour turnover, productivity, quality and employee relations, an external outcome would be the financial performance. â€Å"Based on the overview by Boselie et a1 (2005), we can conclude that financial measures are represented in half of all articles (104) included in their analysis. † (Paauwe amp; Boselie (2005) p. 1) This is supported by Legge (2005) who notes that because much of the research takes place at a corporate level, financial measures of performance are not only favoured but they are also easier to measure than human outcomes. Measuring via financial performance can usually take the form of profit or level of sales; however, this measurement poses implications especially when it comes to examining the full effect of HR policies. For example, an organisation may introduce a strong marketing strategy which increases sales performance but has little do with any HR practices, and so any HR practices involved at the time may be disregarded. Measuring performance by examining the financial route can often lead to positive financial outcomes but negative human outcomes â€Å"The damage caused by these negative aspects can be related to the longer-term damage to the financial performance of the organisation† (Hailey, Farndale, Truss (2005) p. 64) therefore not only can an a business solely rely on financial results but must also allow time for the real results to surface, looking at the results in the short term can be misleading and ignoring the human factor can mean employees commitment and motivation is hindered in the long run. Guest et al (2003) p. 93 agree with this way of measuring performance â€Å"it can be argued that financial performance lies at the distant end of the casual chain, and that outcome measures more closely linked to HRM might be more appropriate†. When implementing HPWP, the issue of costs cannot be neglected â€Å"investing in HPWP is only justified if it pays off in the long termà ¢â‚¬  (Sels et al (2006) p. 320) getting a HPWP right is going to demand a number of costs especially during the implementation stage and so an organisation has to have the funds to not only implement HPWP but also to keep the practices running for a sufficient amount of time. This poses an issue for the research as we are likely to only receive positive results from those organisations that have the money to implement HPWP. It also goes against the view of HPWP being universal, they cannot be universal if the lower funded businesses cannot afford to implement them, however, Sels et al (2006) p. 337 found that in smaller businesses â€Å"despite the lack of effect on the share of personnel costs in value added, we did find a positive total effect on profitability. † When looking at the issue of costs (along with ways of measuring) we cannot only look at financial costs we must also examine human costs. While these human costs undoubtedly roll over onto financial costs they are still an issue on their own. As HPWP are a new area of research, there are still many managers who will be wary of them and even if they are implemented some managers may lack enthusiasm, the whole issue of dealing with change in an organisation is an entirely different essay but essentially all the negatives that occur with change could occur with HPWP, which include absenteeism, lack of motivation and a general resistance â€Å"From an economic point of view, assessments of the cost-generating nature of HPWP – human (e. . higher absenteeism through Stress) or non-human (e. g. the impact of a new training provider on the cost structure) – may reveal potential efficiency gains. † (Sels et al (2006) p. 324) Reservations not only exist in the link between HRM and performance but also the on the concept of HRM itself. â€Å"The HRM rhetoric presents it as an all-or-nothing process that is i deal for all organisations, despite the evidence that different business environment require different approaches† Armstrong amp; Baron (2002) p. 16) To put HRM into practice an organisation requires â€Å"high levels of determination and competence at all levels of management, and a strong and effective HR function staffed by business-orientated people† (Armstrong amp; Baron (2002) p. 16) In strong and traditional cultures it is sometimes hard to introduce HR policies especially the newer and developing concepts, as they are already entrapped in their idea of what is right. Organisations may find it hard to get the full support of all staff when introducing a new HR policy and because HR is constantly developing some organisations may find it hard to keep up with the pace, if this is the case then it gets harder to measure the results of HRM, it also poses doubts for any newer research that may be uncovered in the future. â€Å"However, the existing research on HPWS suffers two significant drawbacks, namely causality between HPWS and performance, and a lack of consensus as to the constituents of HPWS practices. † (Hsu, Chaing amp; Shih (2006) p. 46) Higher performing organisations can invest more capital into HPWP and therefore this can tend to skew the results and this type of causation is often disregarded in some research and so this is one of limitations in the link between HRM and performance â€Å"if higher-performing firms are systematically more likely to adopt High Performance Work Practices, then contemporaneous estimates of the impact of these practices on firm performance will be overstated† (Mabey, Salaman amp; Storey (1998) p. 106) When examining the issues of HPWP in the workplace it is vital to look at what they implicate for the people in the workplace. If we look at Britain we can see that the work ethic is very strong and so the possibility of organisations implementing HPWS is high, however, this implementation can have positive and negative connotations. White et al (2003) note negative impacts of HPWP p. 177 â€Å"Specifically, it seems plausible that high-commitment or high-performance management practices will have a negative impact on the private lives of workers, to the extent that they are designed to evince greater discretionary effort in pursuit of the organisations goals. HPWP are likely to be intense and so in long run can impact on labour turnover and absenteeism. On the other hand HPWP are designed to develop employees and so the form of development it encourages, should go some way in enhancing an employee’s intrinsic and extrinsic needs. HPWP can satisfy intrinsic needs on the basis of work satisfaction and commitment to the job and can satisfy extrinsic needs by supplying employees with the skills they nee d to develop. This essay has concentrated on looking at one area of linking HRM to business performance, and this has been high performance work practices. There is no doubt in the literature about there being an actual link but there are doubts concerning defining the terms, the black box issue and the bias views some of the research may present, â€Å"survey respondents generally self-select into samples, selectivity or response bias may also affect results† (Mabey, Salaman and Storey (1998) p. 106). One disheartening statement concerning HPWP is how Legge (2005) p. 1 notes in Grittleman’s (1998) survey how out of teamwork, TQM, quality circles, peer reviews, employee involvement in decisions and job rotation, that â€Å"58 per cent of firms had none of these practices, earlier in the essay Paauwe amp; Boselie (2005) noted common HR practices used in the workforce (training and development, contingent pay and reward schemes, performance management (including appraisal) and careful recruitment and selection) these practices are not in the Grittleman’s list which could show that when it comes to HPWP these top four are most likely to be in the bundle. Some of the issues that exist with HPWP are concerned with the research itself and its validity. As some of the research cross references industries it is difficult to separate the different industry effects.