Sunday, March 22, 2020
Article Review Essay Example
Article Review Essay The productivity of a company is strongly related to its people and its strategies. The Employees bring along a wide range of qualifications, abilities and knowledge, which might as well be useless to the company needs. Some of them identify with the company and are motivated in helping reaching goals, while others see the company as a vehicle meant to satisfy their own targets. This paper touches upon the importance of retention of the employees and human capital investment. This paper will highlight the impact of these issues based on the employeeââ¬â¢s performance, motivation and the ultimate benefit for the organization. This discussion paper is based on a research conducted in ââ¬Å"Telecommunication sector in Pakistanâ⬠Impact of training on employee performance and an academic journal on ââ¬Å"Impact of employee retention on performance. â⬠During my research I have found that organizations invest a huge capital on employee development, but due to transfer or termination of the trained staff after the training the organization could not get the return on their investment. This is because of a poor retention system of the organization. With this if those who are already employed leave the organization in high numbers the organization will suffer in response. In order to increase the productivity of the organization it is important to have an efficient labor force. Efficient labors need to create by the organization by providing them the relevant trainings they require. Thus training involves changing skills, knowledge, attitude, or behavior. Determination of the organization need, the work to be done and the skill necessary to complete this work, training program should naturally. We will write a custom essay sample on Article Review specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Article Review specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Article Review specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer A proper system of training and learning is important for the human resource development. The learning and enhancement of knowledge of the labors creates a healthy and productive labor force. If this is proper managed by the HR then the retention of these skilled training staff will be motivated and loyal toward the organization. 1- Summarization of the Academic Journal 1 1. 1 Impact of training on employee performance This research was conducted in the telecommunication sector of in Pakistan among among the employees of five telecom companies. This was a 360 study; the information was extracted through questionnaires which were distributed among the employees. It has been observed that most organizations meet their needs for training in an ad hoc and haphazard way while others set about identifying their training needs, then design training activities in a rational manner and finally assess the results of training. The study concludes that if organizations invest in right type of employee training it can enhance employee performance as well as competencies and skills. In addition, training is seen as a useful means of coping with changes fostered by technological innovation; market competition, organizational structuring and most importantly it plays a key role to enhance employee performance. A complementary relationship was found between receiving informal training and receiving on-the-job or off-the-job training. Training generates benefits for the employee as well as for the organization by positively influencing employee performance through the development of employee knowledge, skills, ability, competencies and behavior (April, 2010). Organizations that are dedicated to generating profits for its owners, providing quality service to its customers and beneficiaries, invest in the training of its employees. The more highly motivated a trainee, the more quickly and systematically a new skill or knowledge is acquired. That is why training should be related to money, job promotion, and recognition etc, i. e. something which the trainee desires (Flippo, 1976). There are four prerequisites for learning: Motivation comes first. Cue is the second requirement. The learner can recognize related indicators (cue) and associate them with desired responses with the help of training. Response comes third. Training should be immediately followed by positive reinforcement so that the learner can feel the response. Last is the feedback; it is the information which learner receives and indicates in the quality of his response. This response must be given as quickly as possible to make sure successful learning (Leslie, 1990). Issues and recommendation 1. 2 ISSUES Organizations are installing latest technologies hardware and software to remain competitive in the global market. Same is the case with the employees they do want to improve their skills, competencies and capabilities by training programs held by the organizations. In the absence of adequate Training and development opportunities employee will feel dissatisfied and de-motivated as technology is changing rapidly and everyone wants to keep himself up-to-date according to new technology and techniques. Employees returning to work after some years caring for children or after a long break may feel anxious about the new job, even when they may have worked for the company in the past. They may feel out of touch with developments, and in need of re-establishing themselves. These are also an issue which needs to be considered. Offering training and extra help to settle in and become valuable members of the organization is an important role in human resource development. (Sultana 2012) Employees who are committed to their job assignments, they have high level of job involvement and there is a very constructive relationship between job involvement and performance. Research studies show that there is not a compulsion that the workforce who is more committed to the job is also expected to remain in the organization for the long time period. Such type of workforce is more successful and beneficial for the organization as ompared to the workforce who is not genuinely committed to the organization and remains in the organization for life If the organization fails to conduct training to the development employees, employees will not be confident enough to adopt the advancement brought into working style. The flexibility to adopt these changes will be very slow resulting a less confident, slow and inefficient labor force. The impact of this issue for the organization would be difficult to survive with the technological changes in the market and to gain a favorable market share. This could be a very harmful threat if the organization has already a large number of competitors in the market. 1. 3 RECOMONDATION I would recommend conducting training would be the best solution this will keep the employees informed regarding the changes. Organization can conduct induction program for the new recruiter. The best way for the existing hardworking labors would be to conduct on the job trainings. The employers can conduct refresher trainings quarterly. This will lead them to motivation that they are continuously learning and organization is giving them opportunities to develop themselves. The factors which influence the capacity of an employee to become competitive are the skills, intrinsic abilities and levels of motivation. An effective training and development program provides learning opportunities to the employees, develop their capabilities and competencies, polish their personality and skills and make them Confident. Developments of skills encourage employees to deal with difficulties and enhance their efficiency (Deckop et al. , 2006). This retains the employee within the organization and leads him toward higher organizational commitment and loyalty and optimum performance. In addition after training and development employee becomes more competent, and useful for the organization. Training is an important task of Human resource practices which can be used for the retention and development of employees, training and development also has a dual relationship. In the absence of adequate Training and development opportunities the employees will be lacking confidence in facing new thing in the organization. This will create and unproductive labor force by reducing the production speed by generating less quality product which leads to loss of the company. Summarization of the Academic Journal 2 2. 4 Impact of employee retention on performance This paper suggests that a retention plan is important for each organization in order to have a productive labor force. The paper further more discuss that an effective retention plan attains employee loyalty and in addition brings motivation, satisfaction and involvement in the tasks and assignments which ultimately opti mize employee performance as well as organizational productivity. Talented employees and knowledge workers are difficult to attain, expensive to train and essential to retain in the world of global competition and talent shortage. Retained employees possess high level of loyalty with the organization and perform their work task not only physically but emotionally and cognitively as well (M. Rizwan, et. al. 2011). Motivated employees focus on their end goals and attempt to achieve them; they never bother constraints and limitations (Zareen, M. , Razzaq, K. , Mujtaba, B. G. , 2013). All the employees cannot be retained by any specific compensation plan even being on the same hierarchical levels. Some employees strive for monetary rewards others want performance appraisal, some desire for authority and involvement in decision making process with their new ideas and concepts. All these types of employees should be managed and retained by different compensations plans which better fit to their psychological requirements so they feel satisfied with their needs, tend to be more effective, productive and helpful for the organization for achieving their own goals and organizational outcomes. In this paper the researcher discuss about the skilled and trained staff leave the organization if there is no retention plan retains them in the organization. And further more discuss that training is expensive, if the organization has a huge turn over than the human capital investment will not be affordable for such organization. The more the organization spends on training employees the less they gain through the productivity of the employees due to high turnover. As solution for this issue the paper has suggested to motivate the employees. Motivation is a psychological process that causes the arousal direction, and persistence of voluntary actions that are goal directed. Valued employees are very important to retain with the organization by monetary and non-monetary rewards, making them involved in decision making and by providing them opportunities for their learning and development of their capabilities. But this cannot be generalized because of the fact that different employee show different behaviors towards compensation and their loyalty cannot be achieved by any rule of thumb. Sultana, 2013) Motivation is a psychological process that causes the arousal direction, and persistence of voluntary actions that are goal directed. Employees behave in a purposive way, they tend to show positive behavior by performing work related activities timely, on the contrary they behave negatively as well when feel dissatisfied and de-motivated by their work or when they feel ignored by their top management. Human nature wants to be rewarded and praised for all positive deeds, actions and activities. Employees want to be appreciated, they wish for returns on their investment of physical emotional and cognitive energies, and all the extra efforts they did to accomplish organizational goal. 2. 1 Issues and recommendation 2. 2 ISSUES Retention of employees within the organization has become an issue of great importance in the business world of huge competition during the last few decades. If the employees within the organization are not satisfied and motivated there is high chance of losing the employees in a highly competitive market. To reduce the risk of losing the trained and experience employees the organization should have to be involved in motivating them by considering their needs. (Zareen, 2013) Due to the development of the competitive firms there are many attracting opportunity for the skilled and experienced labors, and if these employees are not happy within the organization then there is chance of losing them. If there are not retained on the job then organization losing up the investment they made to develop and train them. This will lead to a less efficient labor by less quality products. World is suffering from shortage of talent, talented workers are difficult to attain, expensive to train and highly important to retain. With this if those who are already employed leave the organization in high numbers the organization will suffer in response. Retention of employees with the organization optimizes their performance and increase organizational productivity 2. 3 RECOMMONDATION As a solution for the issues employee retention and reduce the turnover by getting the return for the investment an organization invested to training and development their employees, I would suggest to keep the employees motivated. Motivation is the next stage of satisfaction and necessary for the long term goals of the organization. An effective reward system can retain the employees but an ineffective reward system leads them to higher turnover (Hafiza, N. S. , et. al. 2011) the decision of effectiveness or ineffectiveness of the reward system can only be taken according the psychological. Motivating the employees can help to increase the performance of the employees resulting with numerous benefits to the organization. Motivation will help to retain the employees within the organization. In order to retain the staff the management can come up with a successful retention plan. Since employees of the organization are viewed as an asset of the organization it is very important to identify the purpose of labor in an organization, and to facilitate them to perform their task. Therefore it is no doubt that human resource development has a very huge connection with the performance of the employees. An efficient labor force would be able to generate high profit to the organization. And also will help to provide quality products. Therefore performance of the employees determines the level development of skills and competency is required to perform the job 3- Conclusion Training is a key element for improved performance; it can increase the level of individual and organizational competency. It helps to reconcile the gap between what should happen and what is happening between desired targets or standards and actual levels of work performance. Training need is any shortfall in employee performance, or potential performance which can be remedied by appropriate training. There are many ways of overcoming deficiencies in human performance at work, and training is one of them. To fully capture the value training can provide, organizations should develop a training plan that matches user preferences to training modalities and training needs. The training plan should include an instrument to measure the return on investment in categories such as productivity gains, reduced equipment usage, reduced product failure, improved customer service, compliance, increased employee morale/retention and revenue gains. Human resource development plays a very important role in development of the employees. They facilitate them to learn and develop them self. This help to produce committed employees who work to achieve the organizational goals. These employees will be motivated which leads to quality performance by increasing the organization revenue. These motivated employees will loyal towards the organization and this will help to retain them in the organization. Losing a trained and experience staff will be a huge lose for the organization. The human capital investment process will be carried thought the organization life. But with this process the management should have to make sure that the return o this investment is being gained through quality performance by the employees. If this is process is overlooked them the company is waiting the money. Reference Dennis, M. C. (n. d. ). http://www. coveringcredit. com/business_credit_articles/Credit_Management/art204. shtml. Retrieved 06 20, 2013, from www. coveringcredit. com: http://www. coveringcredit. com/business_credit_articles/Credit_Management/art204. html Leaser, D. (2012). Value of training . In D. Leaser, Value of training (p. 14). New york : Copyright IBM Corporation 2008. Riley, J. (2012, Sept 23). http://www. tutor2u. net/business/gcse/people_motivation_introduction. htm.
Thursday, March 5, 2020
Crime and Violence in Film essays
Crime and Violence in Film essays The films Bonnie and Clyde (1967, Arthur Penn) and Scarface (1932, Howard Hawks) are set in the same basic time period, the 1930s, though the films were made more than thirty years apart and reflect different sensibilities in keeping with the time of production. At the same time, they also reflect certain similar ideas about the nature of crime and violence, its origin, and the societal elements that contribute to crime and violence. Both films are violent, though the 1967 film is more overtly violent and also more able to show the results of violence in a more realistic way as people whoa re shot bleed, often profusely, unlike the characters in the 1932 film, who are more likely to be shot and expire with hardly a mark on them. The gangster film is a uniquely American genre based on a number of images and characters found in film after film. Thomas Schatz describes film genres as something that can be viewed as systems that have developed within the confines of commercial filmmaking in order to sell films to audiences that want a certain type of experience. Any genre can also be defined as a cultural artifact that becomes a meaningful system when recognized as such. The gangster genre is one genre based on an inherent ambiguity in terms of the underlying value system, and in time this ambiguity has worked its way into American culture (Schatz 95). The screen gangster emerged from headlines beginning in the 1920s as "Hollywood exploited the notoriety and social significance of their real-world counterparts while it adjusted their character and environment to the peculiar demands of Hollywood narrativity" (Schatz 82). Scarface is such a fim and was produced at a time when the pubic was much interested i n and frightened of gangsters who were at the time creating a bloodbath on the streets of cities like Chicago. Scarface Camonte in the 1932 film is an ambitious man on the rise in his world because of his brutality, and th...
Tuesday, February 18, 2020
GOSSIP Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words
GOSSIP - Essay Example For Dunbar (2004), gossipââ¬â¢s function is to weed out unscrupulous individuals which, in turn, helps the species to propagate. These two theories are examined in depth below. The first theory that will be examined is one put forth by Wert and Salovey in their article ââ¬Å"A Social Comparison Account of Gossipâ⬠(Wert & Salovey, 2004). Wert & Salovey state that gossip has a function in social comparison theory, which states that we, as human beings, have a need to compare ourselves to others, because, by doing this, we are evaluating ourselves by actual, objective criteria (Wert & Salovey, 2004, p. 123). Wert & Saloveyââ¬â¢s theory is helpful to understand why people gossip in a negative way, despite the fact that such gossip may backfire on the gossiper because the people hearing the gossip may feel threatened because the gossiper probably negatively talks about the hearer in the same way (Kurland & Pelled, 2000, p. 429). The six types of this kind of social comparison , and how gossip functions in each, are defined below. The first kind of comparison examined is the comparison with similar others. Gossip serves a function is this kind of comparison, because individuals are trying to figure out how to behave and act, and how not to behave and act, by comparing themselves to these similar peers. ... This kind of comparison is sought to make people feel better about themselves ââ¬â as in thinking ââ¬Å"my life isnââ¬â¢t great, but look at that person ââ¬â my life certainly could get worseâ⬠(Wert & Salovey, 2004, p. 125). Gossiping serves a purpose in this kind of comparison, because it provides a way to indirectly compare oneself to others who are less fortunate or less skilled then oneself, and this bolsterââ¬â¢s oneââ¬â¢s self-esteem (Wert & Salovey, 2004, p. 125). The third type of social comparison is the upward social comparison, in which one compares oneself to others higher on the proverbial totem pole. One of the functions of this kind of gossip is to tear down the wealthy person if one does not have a chance to attain the wealth for oneself, and this can result from a feeling of injustice, in that the person does not ââ¬Å"deserveâ⬠his or her wealth(Wert & Salovey, 2004, p. 127). The fourth type is in-group and out-group comparisons. This i s a classic ââ¬Å"them v. usâ⬠comparison. In this case, gossip serves the purpose of making the out-group seem negative, in order to bolster the in-group, and the individualsââ¬â¢ sense of identity that comes from belonging to the in-group (Wert & Salovey, 2004, pp. 127-128). It also establishes who is and who is not a part of the group, as well as establishing the norms for the in-group (Wert & Salovey, 2004, p. 128). Baumeister et al., (2004) refers to this as gossip as cultural learning, in that people in a given culture may learn more about their own culture by relating the successes and failures of others, both within and without that culture (Baumeister et al, 2004, p. 120). Related to in-group and out-group comparisons is the fifth type of social comparison, which is constructed social comparisons, in which an
Monday, February 3, 2020
Anthropology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words
Anthropology - Essay Example cide and ââ¬Ëfemale genital mutilationââ¬â¢ are two of the practices that I would like to discuss looking from the point of view of a cultural relativist and later observe it as an ethnocentric anthropologist would. A cultural relativist would view these practices in the socio-cultural perspective of the people where it is practices and rationalise it as per the need and demand of the people and place. Infanticide is still prevalent in the far-east, especially in some part of India. It is the practice of killing infants in womb of the mother, especially if it is a girl child. As per the Indian custom, male children are supposed to carry on the family name and traditions and they are often preferred over girl child. It is also believed that last rites of a dead person must be carried by his or her ââ¬Ësonââ¬â¢ so that he attains salvation of the soul. Under dire economic compulsions, mothers have been forced to kill the infant in the womb. On the other hand, female genital mutilation is practices among certain Moslim clan where pre pubescent girls are forced to undergo surgical mutilation of their genitals without anaesthesia. The Moslems believe that Quran1, their religious scripture, promoted this practice so that women do not become promiscuous and men are not swayed from the path of religion. It is the decree of Allah2, therefore, it is the personal choice of the individuals following that religion. As an ethnocentric anthropologist and as an American, I am totally aghast that such practices are still in vogue. Acts and proclamations that do not conform to basic human values of freedom of spirit and compassion for fellow human being, must be stopped at the earliest, even if they are carried on, in the name of religion and culture. Infanticide and FGM3 are both barbaric acts which violate the basic values of our race. Infanticide is killing of another human being and no matter what the compulsions are behind the deed, it is a murder of the first order and the
Sunday, January 26, 2020
J M Smucker Company Marketing Essay
J M Smucker Company Marketing Essay J.M Smucker Company has been providing the quality products to consumers since 1879. Jeromer Monroe Smucker, the founder of Smucker Company introduced the Company with limited products of jams, jellies, and preserves. To grow existing brands, introduce new products, and make strategic acquisitions is the main J.M Smuckers corporate strategy. These three strategies are focus mainly on the North America. Today, Smucker Company exceeds in manufacturing and marketing of fruit spreads, retail packaged coffee, peanut butter, shortening and oils, ice cream toppings, sweetened, condensed milk, and health and natural beverage all across North America. J.M Smucker has its own house brand and is the owner of all trademarks except Pillsburry, the Barrelhead logo. Its house brand includes Smucker, Folgers, Dunkin Donut, Jif, Crisco, Eagle, R.W. Knudsen, Hungry Jack, Cafà © Bustelo, White Lily, Five Roses, and Carnation etc. With the policy of Owning and Marketing Number 1 brand sold all around the North America, Smucker Company has been able to remain in the top quartile of Fortunes magazine since the magazine created the ranking. SWOT Analysis Strengths The Company is able to become No. 1 food brand Company in North America because of its remarkable strengths. Smuckers has always been cautious in the series of the acquisition of new Company. Smuckers tries to acquire only established brands than building a new brand from scratch. They also focus on the only brands they think they could develop globally and reduce the number of unwilling items. Smuckers Company has the ability to shift sales to products with higher margins increasing the efficiency and pulling down the unit costs. J.M Smucker never back up themselves when it comes with competing branded food manufacturers or private-label manufacturers. Smuckers strengths also include its ability to keep employees happy and it remains Fortune Magazines top 25 companies. Weakness Even though the Company was doing better in USA, Canada, and Australia; however, globally the company was becoming less relevant. The Companys 2001 annual sales were far less comparatively to other big companys sales. The Company small size and limited product line made it less capable in competitive bargain advantages and in store production. The Company was lacking house-sale product and also lacking of effective marketing for their low sugar free jams. There could be a possible susceptible to lawsuits from product mislabeling. Opportunity J.M Company has been producing attractive products and brands. But huge competitors with the big scale such as Nestle were also encouraging Smuckers Company to go from limited product line to consolidation in order to have a smooth flow in the business. Thus co-branding with other companies, taking over the Multifoods, and targeting baby boomers those were looking for peanut butter substitutes makes the most of the opportunity. They also got the opportunity of a service division to restaurant, schools, hospital, college students, corporate, private schools, and country club. During the 90s the woman working outside was increasing remarkably; they were eating their lunches outside their houses that helps increase significant percentage in food market. The Company increase overall profitability. Threat There were many external threats to the Smucker Company; major one includes the competition such as Kraft, Nestle, and Campbell. Another threat concludes the fierce competition between the branded food manufacturer and private label manufacturer. Private manufacturers price was attractively below then the branded label. There was a significant increase in the fruit prices from growers that leads the Company use less real fruit decreasing the quality of the product. Consumer tastes were also considers a substantial psychological threat which could make the customer substitute the Smuckers product with others. Recommendation Smucker is a small Company comparing to the giant Company like Nestle. In the competitive market, Smuckers has done its best performance by acquiring the other company making the Company looks bigger. But such rapid consolidation can cause a lot of problem. The latest addition of Crisco and Jiff, as well as much other small and big company has created much concern for the Smukers company. Smuckers sales was projected to go up from $ 651 million in 2001 to 3$ billion in 2002, nearly four times larger. Such marketing plan can cause the Corporates culture and management problem. Smuckers Company need to take it easy in the acquisition process and shouldnt rush trying to increase the majority sell. Smuckers must bring change in the management and make sure of the Companys better culture. The management of each unit needs to be reorganized with a new division. The second recommendation to Smuckers Company is while making a decision weather which product to keep on the market. Company should only focus on the profitability unit and eliminate the product that hasnt added any value to the companys operation. Doing so, Company will have a strong control into its operation. Company should try its best to regulate on further horizontal integration until it is well establish and ready for the vertical integration. For the continued success of the company, research and development would be very important. R D has made it possible for the companys largest growth segment in their Un-Crustable products. Improvement in the technology and innovation will offer the Company with best packaging design that will increase the number of customers. They should also investigate the cost saving measures in production, marketing, and distribution because the market for Smuckers is quiet cost sensitive. Product and process innovation will definitely bring the cost benefit to the company. .
Saturday, January 18, 2020
Project Recommendation Email Essay
à We have three project proposals to consider in next weekââ¬â¢s Project Management Officeââ¬â¢s (PMO) Review. Piper Industries Corp. needs the projects to be complete and to be generating review within 12 months of next weekââ¬â¢s PMO Review. Wendell Deirelein, our vice-president, has assigned your team to analyze the three projects below and make a recommendation on which project the company should invest in. The recommendation must include your team description of the five phases of the project and the key deliverables (project completion date and cost) for each project. Project Code Name: Juniper â⬠¢This is an enhancement of a current widget being offered by our company. â⬠¢Risk of completion of this project on time is low. â⬠¢Product plan shows the critical path to be 6 months at a cost of $325,000 to bring the product to market. â⬠¢Product is forecasted to have a ROI of $250,000 for a period of 2 to 3 years. â⬠¢The third year is forecasted to be the end of life for this product line due to advances projected in technology. â⬠¢This is a standard product line that marketing believes many customers will want to purchase. Project Code Name: Palomino â⬠¢This is a new line of widget products including enhancements using existing technology. â⬠¢Risk for completion of this project on time is medium. â⬠¢Production plan shows the critical path to be 9 months at a cost of $655,000 to bring the product to market. â⬠¢Product is forecasted to have a ROI of $450,000 for a period of 5 years. â⬠¢This product will be a custom part for one of your strategic customersââ¬âhistorically the forecasts from this customer have a 5% margin of error. â⬠¢The seventh year is forecasted to be the end of life for this product by the customer. Project Code Name: Stargazer â⬠¢Research and development has already started on our new widgets. The company has spent $450,000 on this product so far and the estimate to bring this product to market is $575,000. â⬠¢Risk of completing this project on time is high. â⬠¢Product is forecasted to have ROI of $300,000 first year; $550,000 the second year; and $750,000 the third year. â⬠¢The product life is forecasted to be 7 years for this product. (This forecast included derivative product which will cost more). â⬠¢By delivering such an innovative product to the market place first, your organization will be seen as a leader in this industry. â⬠¢Your sales and marketing teams have discussed this type of product with a few of your strategic customers; while some are interested, there are many questions about the business. Sincerely, Ray Gritsch Piper Industries Corporation
Friday, January 10, 2020
How does Shakespeare present tension Essay
à à The contrast in speech also applies to the language of the spirits of the Island which are shown to be quite delicate and poetic ââ¬Å"wild waves whistâ⬠, Shakespeare uses alliteration of the letter ââ¬Ëwââ¬â¢ to slows the pace of the speech and produces sounds that makes Ariel seem less human or earth-bound but instead of the air or the waves. In contrast to the way Prospero treats Caliban, Prospero treats Ariel with affection, ââ¬Å"my dainty Arielâ⬠. Shakespeare uses the emphasis on the word ââ¬Å"myâ⬠to suggest that Prospero is fonder of the possession of Ariel than Ariel himself. If the Island can be taken as a metaphor for humanity versus nature then the differences in the way Caliban and Ariel are treated by Prospero defines humanityââ¬â¢s ambitions and fears. Prospero treats Ariel with love because he is an asset to him, ââ¬Å"fine apparition, my quant Arielâ⬠, and because of the power that Prospero gains through that control that makes him appear almost God-like. Humans control the elements to gain a level of direction in their lives, to make sense of the meaninglessness of life. It is this direction that leads Prospero to believe and aspire to be like God because it strangles the connection between him and the repulsive beings of nature he has power over, such as Caliban. Equality leads to lack of control and it is Calibanââ¬â¢s adamant rebellion to be seen inferior that sickens Prospero. In the Tempest, Caliban represents peopleââ¬â¢s natural state and when Prospero oppresses Caliban, Shakespeare is creating an image of civilisation repressing their natural selves and concluding that the tensions between civilisation and nature only exist because of the way civilisation resents itââ¬â¢s natural state. When Gonzalo speaks of his golden age he is explaining a world where nature and civilisation could exist as one without the tensions that are so apparent in the rest of the play. Gonzalo would have ââ¬Å"use of service, noneâ⬠, ââ¬Å"no occupationâ⬠but rather live innocently with nature bringing ââ¬Å"forth of its own kind, all foisonâ⬠¦ â⬠Shakespeare uses the structure of the speech, interrupted continuously by Antonio and Sebastian, to perhaps mock the idea and highlight its faults. The idea itself comes from a French philosopher who describes how the Europeans corrupted America with its advanced influence. Through Sebastian and Antonio, Shakespeare is undermining his words and this implies that his own opinion could be that nature and civilisation can never both exist without the differences or hostility between the two. I believe Shakespeare presents the tensions between Civilisation and Nature not as to highlight their difference, but rather to highlight the tension that is created by societyââ¬â¢s denial in their similarities. Perhaps the repulsion of Caliban is seen as a rejection of each of the more civilised characters untamed selves, their more ââ¬Ësophisticatedââ¬â¢ selves portrayed as wit, cunning or power. By this, I could say that Shakespeare is presenting Caliban as the only true character in the whole play, though coarse and unrefined he is evidently not a master of politics or scheming, such as the characters of Antonio and Sebastian, which has been learnt through the highest classes of civilised society. In this, Shakespeare is saying that both nature and civilisation are equal, the only difference being that nature is not in a state of self denial. Show preview only The above preview is unformatted text This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our GCSE The Tempest section.
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