Beowulf Links Pagan and Christian Traditions "Beowulf" is a link between two traditions, Pagan and the Christian. The virtues of courage in war and the acceptance of feuds between men and countries as a fact of life stem from the older Pagan tradition. On the other hand Christianity's moralities are based meekness and poverty. "Beowulf" brings this two convictions together through the actions of the characters. Even though Beowulf possesses spiritual strength, he isn't particularly concerned with the Christian virtues. He wants to help people, in a Christian way, but his motivation for doing so is complicated. Beowulf has a eagerness for material rewards and earthly fame which is a characteristic of Paganism. Beowulf had the heart of the Christian to help people but wants the selfish rewards of Paganism. Shild's funeral is another example of Paganism, it takes place at the end of the prologue. The people that were under his reign put him on the deck of a ship and surrounded him with jewels, gold, helmets, swords, etc. The importance of material goods are one of the cardinal characteristics of the Pagan's beliefs. Hrothgar and his counselors make useless attempts to appease Grendel in Verse 2. They can't offer him gold or land, as they might an ordinary enemy. Like most people in a time of crisis they slip back into old ways of thinking. Instead of praying to God for support, they sacrifice to t he stone idols of their pagan past. The Christian motifs that run through the poem contrast with the pagan system of values that underlies the actions of the kings and the warriors. The influence of Christianity was just beginning to make its mark in this world, and most of the characters are torn between their newly discovered religious feelings and their old, heathen way of perceiving things. The idea that there's a higher being that controls one's actions revolutionized people's concepts of themselves, and infused their day-to- day lives with a sense of wonder. "Beowulf" is a epic poem that combines the contrasting beliefs of the traditional Paganism and the modern assessment of Christianity. The majority of the characters in "Beowulf" are Pagans which is based of the belief of many gods (polytheism). As shown in the prologue. Many characters were petrified of the newly uprising of the monotheism (belief in one god) which was present in Christianity. Due to this fear Christianity was not highly thought of in the poem even though the poem was hand written by the monks of the Christian religion.
In Beowulf the Christian influence is revealed through approximately 70 passages in which the form of expression or the thought suggests Christian usage or doctrine (Blackburn 3); The Saga of King Hrolf Kraki is in its own way infused with Christian values even though it preserves remnants of the cult of Odin.
throne, and only wanted to find a faster way to obtain that authority, thus he
Beowulf was written in the time when the society was in the process of converting from Paganism to Christianity. In this epic poem, these two religions come through the actions of its characters. The acceptance of feuds and the courage of war are just a few examples of the Pagan tradition, while the Christian mortalities refrain from the two.
support and troops and went to Rome to make his adoption official. When he got to
by his wife -- but still, we respect his perspective as the shade of a great king --
Initially, Wilson Goode came into the mayoral office having been described as an “effective manager, a rising star of national politics, and a symbol of hope for his city” (Stillman, 2005. p. 235). His actions worked consistently towards peacemaking and conciliation. According to Nagel, he had been appointed Managing Director for the city of Philadelphia, put in charge of “ten operating departments” and was credited for a massive home building project that produced as much housing or more than was built by the actual city’s housing agencies themselves (Stillman, 2005, p. 237). Goode considered himself to be a “hands-on” type of manager and generally worked hard at knowing pe...
by his wife and the witches to kill the King. He then became the King
Functional managers need to have good decision making skills in order to weight the positives and negatives of each choice. According
“Organizing: is assembling and coordinating the human, financial, physical, informational, and other resources needed to achieve goals” (Bateman & Snell, 2004, p. 17).
As Schermerhorn states in Management planning, organizing, leading, and controlling are the tools needed by managers to accomplish performance goals. It is crucial that managers be able to recognize and act upon problems or opportunities as they arise. Planning is perhaps the cornerstone of the four processes. All good processes were at some point given great detail so as to anticipate possible problems and solutions to those problems. When the Honda Motor Company decided it needed to refine its inventory they didn't just jump at the first idea that was proposed; they first set their objectives and discussed ways to meet those objectives. After giving careful consideration to processes and the streamlining of those processes human error rose as the top need for change. Sounds simple you might respond; in reality it is much more complicated.
"In everyday language usage, management refers to the people in organizations who manage, and to the activities they perform." (Fulop, Frith, Hayward 1992 p. 187) To be more specific, management is the process of organizing work activities with and through people to ensure the activities are completed efficiently and effectively (Robbins, Bergman, Stagg, Coulter 2006, p. 9). Through management, the goals of the organization or business are to be achieved. Henri Fayol, one of the most influential contributors to modern concepts of management, proposed that there are five primary functions for management, which consist of planning, organizing, commanding, coordinating and controlling. Nonetheless, the functions of commanding and coordinating have metamorphosed into leading (Crainer 2003).
The management process contains four basic functions; planning, organizing, leading and controlling. By using these key tools, one can create an organization as a whole consisting of unified parts acting in harmony to achieve goals, both successfully and proficiently. It is vital for an organization manager to implement these functions to ensure the success of the company. The functions of management are described, according to (Bateman, Snell, 2004) as follows: Planning is specifying the goals to be achieved and deciding in advance the appropriate actions needed to achieve those goals. Planning activities include analyzing current situations, anticipating the future, determining objectives, deciding in what types of activities the company will engage, choosing corporate and business strategies, and determining the resources needed to achieve the organization's goals. Plans set the stage for action and for major achievements. Organizing is assembling and coordinating the human, financial, physical, informational, and other resources needed to achieve goals. Organizing activities include attracting people to the organization, specifying job responsibilities, grouping jobs into work units, marshaling and allocating resources, and creating conditions so that people and things work together to achieve maximum success. Leading is stimulating people to be high performers. It is directing, motivating, and communicating with employees, individually and in groups. Leading involves close day-to-day contact with people, helping to guide and inspire them toward achieving team and organizational goals. Leading takes place in teams, departments, and divisions, as well as at the tops of large organizations. Controlling monitors progress and implements necessary changes. When managers implement their plans, they often find that things are not working out as planned. The controlling function makes sure that goals are met. It asks and answers the question, "Are our actual outcomes consistent with our goals?" It makes adjustments as needed.
There are four different functions of management. In this paper, I will define these functions; planning, organizing, leading and controlling. I will also explain how each of these functions relates to my own organization. Bateman and Snell (2004) define management as the process of working with people and resources to accomplish organizational goals. By utilizing the four different functions of management companies can work with their employees and other resources to reach the organizations goals.
The first function of management is planning. "Planning is systematically making decisions about the goals and activities that an individual, a group, a work unit, or overall organization will pursue." (Bateman & Snell) In my organization, planning takes up the most time. Objectives must be laid out, potential products must be examined and the timing and type of marketing must all be planned out before we provide our product to our customers. This function should be first and foremost to all individuals involved in the organization. Poor planning will result in your organizations demise.
The third type of market structure available in today’s market industry is an Oligopoly. "An oligopoly involves only a few sellers of a standardized or differentiated product, so each firm is affected by the decisions of its rivals and must take those decisions into account in determining its own price and output" ( Brue & McConnell, 2004, p. 3,4). Examples of an oligopoly can be found in the petroleum industry. Shell and Texaco for example must consider a number of different factors when trying to increase revenue. Due to the limited number of petroleum companies in the market, companies must depend on low level sellers to make price adjustments weekly to capitalize on demand. As with most oligopolies some price variation is necessary to maintain healthy profits. Companies like Texaco and Shell should make note however that too much deviation in price can create an unstable product market. Many companies in an oligopolistic market will use consumer perks to assist with price deviation. Texaco and Shell, for example, offer incentives su...