A New Employee Reward and Recognition Program Essay

In efforts to increase motivation, increase employee job satisfaction, increase communications, and raise the employee retention rate, a rewards and recognition program could be implemented. Being a non-profit organization with no budgetary spending allotted for a rewards and recognition program, makes this project challenging. However, the benefits appear to tremendously outweigh the burdens. Therefore, planning and developing this program will be a both challenging and beneficial. Objectives of Planned Intervention Objective one would be to increase motivation. Employees lack motivation due to not be recognized for all of the hard work, dedication, sacrifice, and fortitude they have performed or given for the organization. Being motivated does not come easy for every person. It is hopeful that the implementation of an employee rewards and recognition program will provide the employees with a common goal in order to receive the recognition; thus, requiring them to be motivated to get the job done. A sizeable change in motivation is hopeful to be around 75-85%, given all employees participate. This will be observable and measurable by the amount of work accomplished as well as how much effort the employee devoted to it. Objective two would be to increase employee job satisfaction. This goal is the purpose for doing this project. Lack of recognition has caused many of the employees to develop negative behaviors and work morale. They feel unappreciated, overworked, insignificant, and ignored. It is hopeful that their feelings will change as a result of an employee rewards and recognition program being implemented. In correlation to the first objective, this objective is suspected to increase employee job satisfaction by 75-85%. Not only will the job satisfaction increase but so will work morale. With employees being happy in their place of employment, improved work morale would be promising. Objective three would be to increase communications. Communication is the key to a successful organization. At this point, there is little to none. What is there is vague and often incomprehensible. Confusion and frustration should minimize due to more systematic employee communications; this being one of the largest obstacles due to the size of the department and the distribution of our locations. Time management should improve due to the reduction of re-doing and/or elimination of the duplication of work done. The employee communication process and procedures will change in order to give a more systematical approach on communication. Objective four would be to raise the employee retention rate. Currently, it is difficult to retain substitute teachers and bus drivers more than any other employee. It is expectant that this rewards and recognition program will inspire these employees to want to stay. It is hopeful that they will be motivated in trying to obtain a permanent position due to this as well. These changes would occur in all four counties (a total of ten locations), as the employee rewards and recognition program is intended to be implemented department wide. This includes four satellite offices/classroom locations as well as six classroom only locations. Strategies to segment the program into quarters are probable. By the end of the first program quarter, a substantial change shall be noticeable. With great anticipation, by the end of the third program quarter at least half will be have made notable growth. Description of Intervention In effort to achieve the objectives stated above, a plan of action is needed. The organization currently has one recognition process which is for years of service. However, there is nothing in the policies and procedures manual outlining this process. Due to the budgetary restrictions, there will be a section added to the policies and procedures manual but rewards will be left to be determined. The new procedure will require some constant creativity and teamwork. Planning strategies to raise money will be a challenge but with some creativity and teamwork, it should be effortless. A few fundraising opportunities that can be done quarterly are as follows. A bake sale! In hopes that employees will join forces and want to initiate this change together, as it will not be handed to them, it will be asked that they donate a baked goods item to the bake sale on a given date. All proceeds will then go into a fun reserved for the employee rewards and recognition program. This could be done monthly or quarterly dependent upon how low the fund is running. A weekend community picnic! This will more than likely be done once a year, as it is a particularly large project and will expect employees to volunteer outside of work. All proceeds again going into the employee rewards and recognition program fund. Blue Jean or Casual Fridays! This would obviously be done on Fridays, every Friday if permissible. Any employee who wants to wear blue jeans or casual clothing will have to pay anywhere from one to two dollars. In correlation, a themed casual day could be implemented as well. Things such as football Friday, where the employee could wear their favorite sports jersey, or during the holidays, they could or dress say in costume on Halloween; of course for a fee.

The Different Methods and Styles of Leadership

In a seminal and much-cited article on the subject of lead-ership, Lewin, Lippitt, and White (1939) coined the term demo-cratic-style leadership to refer to a method of managing that involved give and take between leaders, or managers, and the people whose jobs they were guiding. Later identified with group leadership, democratic leadership was valorized vis-a-vis auto-cratic leadership on one side and laissez-faire leadership on the other. One may readily infer the bias in favor of democratic leadership style from the mere naming of the other style terms. The autocratic style of leadership has been linked to the so-called scientific management methods envisioned by Frederick Taylor, who in the early part of the 20th century was influen-tial in devising a strategy of workplace behavior meant to elim-inate uncertainty and chaos in the workplace. The problem was that managers tended to leave employees out of the policy-imple-mentation equation. Supposedly, scientific management would eliminate the adversary relationship between labor and manage-ment. Instead, â€Å"science, the impartial arbiter, would decide† (Kanigel, 1996, p. 45). Yet â€Å"science† inevitably meant top-down, hierarchical management practices: â€Å"Taylor's experts and engineers did the thinking, while you were consigned to mindless doing† (Kanigel, 1996, p. 51). Laissez-faire leadership, as the term implies, fully em-powers the group members. The actual leader recedes, but the group is responsible for its decisions. One trouble with that style is that the leader also withdraws as a resource, unless the group specifically asks for help, and intragroup rivalries and compe-tition can develop that can limit group effectiveness (Lewin, Lippitt, & White, 1939). There may be no shared vision about the group's objective. One may also infer the potential for the tyranny of the majority, a term attributed to Tocque-ville in his 1839 book Democracy in America. That idea also sur-faces in democratic-style management, but a leader changes the anarchic process by guiding the group away from internal power plays and toward unified group objectives. After World War II, influential management philosophy shifted toward ideas of democratic-style leadership with the work of W. Edwards Deming, whose famous Fourteen Points of man-agement included calls for management, not labor, to assume re-sponsibility for quality and for managers to act as leaders who clearly articulated work objectives and supported labor in im-plementing them (Walton, 1986). Yet Deming's management ideas were more wide-ranging than leadership per se, and the style associated with group dynamics is the focus of this research. Democratic-style leadership is consistent with management theory that views workers, or members of the leader's group, as resources rather than as drains or something to be coped with or otherwise got over. Even where some hierarchical struc-tures are in place, communication processes are meant to travel up, down, and laterally within an organization, and management practice diffuses decision-making events â€Å"throughout the organization. Even important decisions involve input from employees at all levels† (Hamiton & Parker, 2001, p. 58). The democratizing influence of such practice implies that communication will be interactive, not simply a matter of transmission of messages (commands) from managers to employees. The implication, too, is that such communication must take place in an environment of openness, honesty, and shared confi-dence (Hamilton & Parker, 2001, p. 58), which tends to yield cooperation and productivity. Because enterprise activity is necessarily collaborative, communication effectiveness is of paramount concern. Openness for leaders involves disclosure (sharing) of information with subordinates plus the reception or feedback from them. The authors of the best-selling One Minute Manager valorize simple, direct, and honest explanation of what is expected by management of workers, together with regular follow-up and evaluation of performance, and a commitment on the part of management to both people and results (Blanchard & Johnson, 1981, p. 8). That is, the more a manager facilitates subordinates' work (p. 19), the more likely the workers as members of the leader's group are to be productive and to produce high-quality work. Leadership that focuses on facilitating rather than defining the details or methods of the work of employees starts with making clear â€Å"what our responsibilities are and what we are being held accountable for† (p. 27). Realism about goals feeds realistic work habits and attention to achievement of those goals. As leaders, managers must both permit and enable disclosure and/or feedback by group members in an environment of psycholo-gical safety (Hamilton & Parker, 2001), which is also a hallmark of democratic systems. Equally, managers must be alert to non-verbal as well as verbal cues that may supply information about a group's performance and attitude. Hamilton and Parker give the (nonverbal) example of the prestige attached to corner offices as having the potential to affect the quality of workplace morale. Time management, too, sends messages about the kind of equality associated with democracy: Being late for meetings may stigmatize employees (Hamilton & Parker, 2001, p. 160) but send the message that some people (for example, managers) who are late when others (for example, secretaries) are on time are en-titled to be so. To be effective, democratic styles of leader-ship lead by example, with leaders asking nothing of subordi-nates that they are not equipped to do themselves.

Ancient Roman Government Notes

The â€Å"common-people† assembly which helped give the citizens more political power Empire- A dominating nation with extensive territories and a powerful ruler Laws of the 12 Tables- Guidelines for citizen’s behavior; a list of Roman customs about property and punishment Mercenary- A soldier who is hired for service in a foreign country Patrician- Member of Rome’s richest and most important families who served on the Senate for life Plebeian- The common person or lower-class citizen Roman Senate- One of the two houses of the early Roman republic Republic- A country run by the elected representatives of its people Tribune- A leader within the Concillum Plebus In 500 B. C the Roman government was forming into a republic; in which the people have the freedom to vote for their leaders. There were two parts, or two houses, to the Roman Republic: the Citizen Assembly and the Senate. The elected officials headed the two councils and they served one-year terms. The republic was established in 509B.C and lasted 500 years. Differences between the Greek and Roman governments: In Greece all men were allowed to vote In Rome only men with money/property could vote The Senate was the most powerful part of the government; all senators were patricians. To obtain political rights, the common people (Plebeians) formed their own assembly, the Concillum Plebus and named their leaders tribunes. Establishing peace and order gave Rome stability: Rome’s first code of law was established in 450B. C. On ten tablets, ten legal experts wrote down a list of Roman customs about property and punishment. However, due to plebeian pressure, two more tablets were added to satisfy them. The final code was called the Laws of the Twelve Tables. By the end of the third century Roman law covered issues dealing with foreigners and eventually covered magisterial law to strengthen and correct existing law. The Roman Empire took its first steps of dominance in 27B. C when the law’s development was taken over by the emperors, who added and revised freely. As the law got more complex, the government had to literally train jurists who could understand and interpret the laws. The stability of the law, the military, and financial standing of Rom kept it powerful. Rome successfully battled the Carthaginians, the Celtics(British), the Etruscans, and the Samnites. The Roman Empire was established around 27B. C. The empire spanned three continents. The empire was divided into states that were ruled by governors who collected taxes and sent money back to Rome.

E-Business Systems Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

E-Business Systems - Essay Example The mission statement of Reebok includes two very significant aspects; Through online retailing Reebok is indeed trying to reach nearer the customer and igniting the passion for more purchases. Listening to the requirements of the time and IT era, Reebok has indeed put in lot of successful efforts to make the online retailing site more customer friendly. Reebok has earned a name for itself in the field of sporting goods and sponsorships, therefore to maintain the leading brand identity requires investments with adaptive and corrective actions at crucial junctures. E-business is just one such step. It can be safely said that, 'Information is power! It is an asset that can help overcome the glorious uncertainties and opens new avenues for doing business. Marketing, plays a crucial role in this entire business process. For an effective marketing strategy psychological needs of the customer(s) are to be kept in mind. These needs must be met in order for a person to be persuaded to purchase a product or service. E-business is no exception. Here the website visitor is persuaded to close the deal successfully by following a five step strategy. This can be done with building trust and confidence by meeting the psychological marketing needs of that visitor and potential customer while escorting that visitor through the selection and purchasing process. These five levels of the sales process are the core components that will move a website viewer from visitor to customer or client. The five levels are; Marketing/Prospecting to the Target Market and Audience: Prospecting is the result of marketing. It's the delivery of targeted qualified traffic to the company's virtual storefront. This can be achieved by search engine optimization, pay per clicks, or advertisements that draw people to the company's site. Once they are there it is the job and responsibility of the company to deliver its Unique Selling Proposition (USP). Though Reebok doesn't appear to be making frantic efforts towards attracting the audience from all around, but once they are in the virtual store, there's lot for the customer to have a look at, different varieties, technologies that are being used in designing the shoes, video bites of sporting personalities etc. Building Credibility and Trust - (viewer needs this to move forward): In a brick and mortar business trust is built by human interaction. Greeting a person when they walk in the door or physically helping them find something that they are looking for, helps in business propositions. For a virtual store the company is supposed to make sure that the site appears to be trustworthy, it has a professional appearance. The company is also supposed to know how long does it take to open the web-page How easy is it navigating through (i.e. user friendly links and

Annotated Bibliography Counterterrorism on Terrorist Groups

Counterterrorism on Terrorist Groups - Annotated Bibliography Example Its proper consideration and implementation has been considered crucial for the successful attainment of the desired combat goals and purposes. COG is essentially a joint operation plan that serves to provide moral, physical and technical support to militia, with an inherent capacity that gives them a competitive edge over the opponents. In this concept, the first step is essentially to have the right group of people with the required critical skills and capabilities, then identifying ends and taking strategic positions. The other important facet is to have sufficient resources to support the mission and the most important tenet of the COG concept is execution. Training is one thing and executing is another. There is need for the team to have the inherent ability to perfectly execute the laid out plan for success to be a guarantee. This material is relevant to our topical discussion as it propounds practical military approaches that can be implemented to detect movement patterns of the enemy and counter them before they strike hence relevant. Moreover, it is a unique approach that makes use of intelligence gathering ascribed to opponents in lieu of physical groundwork used in most combat systems. The evident shortcoming from the literature is that the author highly focused on the theoretical concepts and detailed methodological procedures that make the COG concept appear complex and difficult to execute.

Heritage Education and Interpretation Dissertation

Heritage Education and Interpretation - Dissertation Example Assessment Details Remember all parts of the Assessment are compulsory. Suggested Timescale Before Placement. †¢ Complete Task 1 – Skills Audit. During First Week. (w/c 1st May 2006) †¢ Contact Niesha Nicholson to confirm your placement details. †¢ Complete 5 Daily Journal Sheets, one for each day. †¢ Complete CHNTO skills list. During Second Week. (w/c 8th May 2006) †¢ Complete 5 Daily Journal Sheets, one for each day. †¢ Complete 1 Learning Log Sheet. †¢ Complete CHNTO skills list. During Third Week. (w/c 15th May 2006) †¢ Complete 5 Daily Journal Sheets, one for each day. †¢ Complete CHNTO skills list. During Fourth Week. (w/c 22rd May 2006) †¢ Complete 5 Daily Journal Sheets, one for each day. †¢ Complete 1 Learning Log Sheet. †¢ Complete CHNTO skills list. During Fifth Week. (w/c 29th May 2006) †¢ Placement Co-ordinator to make contact. †¢ Complete 5 Daily Journal Sheets, one for each day. †¢ Complete CHNTO skills list. During Sixth Week. (w/c 5th June 2006) †¢ Complete 5 Daily Journal Sheets, one for each day. †¢ Complete 1 Learning Log Sheet. †¢ Complete CHNTO skills list. During Seventh Week (w/c 12th June 2006) †¢ Complete 5 Daily Journal Sheets, one for each day. †¢ Complete CHNTO skills list. During Eighth Week. (w/c 19th June 2006) †¢ Complete 5 Daily Journal Sheets, one for each day. †¢ Complete 1 Learning Log Sheet. †¢ Complete CHNTO skills list. Assignment 1 Task 1 – Personal Skills Audit ... You can then look for development opportunities during your work experience. Please answer all the questions by ticking one of the boxes. Do not spend too long thinking about the answers, if you do not know if the question applies to you then tick 'don't know'. The audit should take no more than 15 minutes. You are examining your skills as they are now, not trying to tick every Yes box. There are no right or wrong answers. Remember - you are postgraduates, some of these skills will already be familiar to you! Personal Skills Audit Yes No Don't Know 1. As part of your course are you required to write a number of different written documents, essays, reports, etc. X 2. Do you make a point of listening attentively and seeking to understand what other people say X 3. Have you recently given a presentation to more than five people X 4. Have you recently worked with others, as part of a team, towards a goal or to complete a task X 5. Do you consistently meet and/or exceed targets (i.e. deadlines) X 6. Do you enjoy the challenge of solving problems X 7. Do you regularly analyse your performance and try to learn from it X 8. Do you identify ways of improving you own performance X 9. Are you familiar with the functions of a calculator and confident in applying them X 10. Are you able to use the different software packages available on the University PC clusters (Word, Excel, etc.) X 11. When writing an essay do you always prepare and work to an outline plan or structure X 12. Can you quickly establish a rapport with someone you've never met before X 13. Do you use a range of visual aids when giving a presentation, e.g. OHP's, flip chart, PowerPoint X 14. Have you made a substantial contribution to the planning and

Past Sport Experience Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Past Sport Experience - Assignment Example For my case, successful management of sports organizations must incorporate possession of skills, experience, knowing the sport well and having the aggression and power (Masterman, 2014). There are various reasons as to why I support the assertion. First, you cannot manage a sport you lack information on or don’t know very. It hence entails knowing the sport such that during unfair play and favoritism from the referee, the manager can always defend the team. If one lacks knowledge about the game, they can always be made injustice at during decisions. In English Premier League, for instance, the manager of a Chelsea Team Jose Mourinho, once played football as his profession, worked as an interpreter of English for a coach and later started his career as a coach. This means that he gathered prior knowledge about football first before venturing into coaching (Headline, 2015). Second, being a successful manager requires the aggression, skill, and power. In America, for instance, the best coaches and team managers of all time such as Vince Lombardi had the aggression, skill, and power of managing teams such as Green Bay Packers in NFL. Lombardi worked on a principle that â€Å"Winning is Everything†. This assisted him to gain the vigor, energy, and determination required of him to successfully steer the team to success (Masterman, 2014). Third, one must always have experience in the sports before they manage them well. Lack of experience makes one lack the feeling the players always have on the field. When one is tired or injured, an experienced manager will be able to identify it so fast and make the necessary changes without any form of hesitation. Additionally, a manager with experience will always know the perfect substitute in case a player is injured or is out. This is because they have studied and understood the playing capabilities of their players.  

Extensible Markup Languag Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Extensible Markup Languag - Essay Example Much of the time database functions in the application included retrieval, replacement and insertion. When an architect designs a building, he has a vision of the finished product and products result based on that vision. Client/Server, on the other hand, is more like Darwinian model of the evolution of a living species. No one has vision of the finished products; rather, day-to-day events and gradual changes affect it over time in reaction to those events. In the beginning, application was simple, reading input transaction in a 'batch', processing them against a data store and the output was paper. Record retrieval was usually a set of subordinates embedded in the updating program. 5. Expanding The Research Question: It is very difficult for a programmer to create user interface forms and to provide database connectivity for each and every form separately whenever he needs it. The work will be very fast if he had a utility, which can provide him all the activity, which he has to do for creating those forms. Hence, it was received that there was a strong need for generating a utility which can help the programmer with on-fly user interface forms and providing database. This project mainly comprises three modules: The information is stored in the database in a systematic way so that it can be easily retrieved whenever required through queries by the reporting module. Data capturing is done through user-friendly screens depending upon the type of data. The entire system is being protected by a user level password to enable different assigned activities so that no intruder can access the data. The user for this application is a person who wants to generate a new web enabled dynamic content application and not the end user working at the client side. 7. Relevance to this Research FEASIBILITY STUDY Feasibility study is an important phase in the software development process. It enables the developer to have an assessment of the product being developed. It refers to the feasibility study of the product in terms of outcomes of the product, operational use and technical support required for implementing it. Feasibility study should be performed on the basis of various criteria and parameters. The various feasibility studies are: Economic Feasibility Operational Feasibility Technical Feasibility Economic Feasibility: It refers to the benefits or outcomes. We are deriving from the product as compared to the total cost we are spending for developing the

Design and Operation of Logistics Systems Assignment

Design and Operation of Logistics Systems - Assignment Example Savings in logistics cost accrue from reduced inventory levels, making it possible to close facilities, thus, promoting centralisation of distribution. It further reduces the need to keep stock at many warehouses, thus, bringing a shift in the role of such facilities from stock keeping to distribution (Higginson & Bookbinder 2005). Management of Gerrard Laboratories was also thinking on the same lines by planning to close Cologne facility not just because it could serve the Cologne warehouse customers from the Brussels plant at Belgium but because the competitor company was serving the European market with fewer warehouses than Gerrard Laboratories. Serving the Cologne customer base from the Brussels plant, the largest and the oldest one, from the management and manufacturing perspective seemed more pertinent as the Brussels manufacturing plant had been producing 25 items out of the total 35 products. The given situation indicates that it is more practical to serve the Cologne area f rom the Brussels plant. From sales operations perspective also, Gerrard’s 90% customers had been retailers; only 10% formed the industrial customers. Further, there was no seasonal change in the demand of the company products. Hence, it is expected that Gerrard should manage distribution to hospital customers satisfactorily from the Brussels plant. Another aim of distribution centres has been to attend to customer needs, which a great number of researchers have analysed. Increased communication and transportation have further minimised the requirement of warehouses and distribution centres (Higginson & Bookbinder 2005). Examining Gerrard on the communication and transportation parameters for client servicing, Gerrard has been handling its logistics functions on traditional practices. Other than its own 4 plants and 14 warehouses, it had been sharing warehousing space of 23 other grocery products and services companies, not wholly occupying the total offered space. So far the practice of one-shot billing system with variable cost of manufacturing coming to 80% of the total cost could be a reasonable ratio but annual or maximum period of 2 years for contract renewal with the warehousing service providers could be the deterrent; it carried the impending risk of increased inventory cost annually. That’s why Gerrard senior management had been focussing more on closing the Cologne facility (Case Study). Financially, it would be a good decision to close the Cologne warehouse as shipments from Netherland to Brussels would not be charged with any additional freight rate. The new weighted-average rates for taking the goods from Brussels plant to the Cologne customers through another trucking company are quite competitive as the trucking company has expressed its desire for reducing the rates for less-than truck loads (LTL). It has offered 100 square meters of its Cologne terminal space for transit storage without charging extra, which is a big plus-point. The local delivery rates for TL per case would come to â‚ ¬0.58 and for LTL only marginally higher. Rate for at least 40% shipped goods would be highly competitive. Gerrard would be in a position to save revenue on this count and also by getting goods delivered via the Netherland without incurring extra cost in comparison to goods delivered v

Flying cheap Movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Flying cheap - Movie Review Example The ‘continental connection flight’ 3407was a commuter flight and is exactly the recreation of the documentary by Young and which depicts the errors with the pilot as well as the first officer to have caused the crash (Genzlinger, para 1-5). The documentary depicts evolutionary process in the regional system of airlines with the special focus on the relatively small airline companies such as the Colgan Company. The movie depicts the operations of the rather small airliners carrying the big names like ‘continental’ on them despite their failure to meet at least the minimum standards of operation in safety as well as training for the crew members. The plot features a former Colgan Pilot’s description of his daily routine at Colgan as a pilot. Many short routes coupled with lots of ‘landings’ and ‘take offs’ as well as meeting and braving bad weather are basic daily experiences to any pilot with the company. This according to him is so tiring and often presents a very long day to the pilot and crewmembers. As the documentary features, passengers often make a misinformed perception whenever in a plane for a flight while thinking that they are safe at the hands of the ‘well able and experienced pilot and crew members in control’ while the reality may prove otherwise. The story line adopted in the documentary is an investigative plot where it investigates how regional airline couriers especially those operating as low cost flights have steadily changed the entire air travel industry with increased awareness of competition and the need for incentives such as the cheap flights. However, the investigation line is on whether the adoption of such strategies and the need to realize higher profits is in any way related to compromises of safety standards as observed in airline operators. This is confirmed through the strategic feature of the continental connection flight, which crashed in 2009 outside Buffalo. The documentary records

Importance of Time in Chinese Culture Essay Example for Free

Importance of Time in Chinese Culture Essay The importance of time is always dependent on the different perspectives of people’s origin, particularly culture. â€Å"Time is one of the most important bases by which culture rests and all other activities revolve† (Riggs et al 31). Different cultures handle time differently. In the past, time was measured in daylight, darkness, or in seasons; however, nowadays, time has become more important and more complicated. Yet, no matter how complicated it has become, it always boils down to the influence of culture, just like China, one of the countries with a very rich culture. The impact of modernization in China on the changes of Chinese’ behavior is significant. However, these changes in their behavior have had a more significant impact on their values. Indeed, Chinese seem to have never given up one of their most important cultural characteristics, Guanxi, which up until now, remains as an important Chinese business element. In the advent of globalization, Chinese has kept and reinforced this unique characteristic even in the most important socio-cultural changes. Yes, China has indeed undergone substantial cultural changes; nonetheless, with regards to the thinking and dealing process, modern China remains rooted to its traditional Yin Yang approach, and this is reflected on their shrewd use of time to keep their relationship intact. Because Chinese people value relationship more than anything else, as they believe that this could lead them to success, it is logical to expect that the Chinese society concentrates on fluid/multi-focus time value. Chinese people are both famous and infamous in different negotiations for their wise use of time as their bargaining tool. Chinese are known to have adept ability to run down the clock because they prioritize their relationships with their associates or business partners first. This way, they know that the value of relationship or guanxi continues. Moreover, Chinese can afford or stand to play the waiting game, provided that there is always someone left to invest and spend for them. Cultures around the world have developed their own way of responding to time. The dimension for time orientation is based on two aspects; the relative significance the culture gives to its past, present, and future, and its way of approaching the time. China has indeed embraced globalization since the last three decades. Despite this, its stronghold to its culture is still very evident. This is because China is considered as a past-oriented culture country. Countries that fall under this category have a culture that is largely leaned towards the past; they see their future as a repetition of their past experiences. Moreover, they have high respect and regard for their collective historical experiences and their ancestors. As per David Thomas’ description of the country, China embraces its tradition and culture of ancestor worship and has strong pride of its customary and cultural persistence for over thousands of years (73). The Chinese society holds the perspective that their past is their guide on how to live their lives in the present. According to an old Chinese proverb, â€Å"Consider the past and you will know the present† (Quotations). Work Cited Riggs, James, et al. Industrial Organization and Management. Manila, Philippines: McGraw-Hill, Inc. , 1980. Lo, Vincent. Chinese Business Culture: Guanxi, An Important Chinese Business Element. 17 March 2005. 01 May 2009 http://chinese-school. netfirms. com/guanxi. html Thomas, David. Cross-Cultural Management: Essential Concepts Second Ed. California: Sage Publications. 2008. Quotations. 14 February 2008. 01 May 2009. http://www1. bbiq. jp/quotations/past. htm

The Rise and Fall of the Cherokee Nation By John Ehle Essay Example for Free

The Rise and Fall of the Cherokee Nation By John Ehle Essay Author John Ehle has written a book that follows the struggles of the early Cherokee people that were torn between the ways of their ancestors and the new rà ©gimes that some of their people want to follow. The Cherokee people were confused with how to adapt to their surroundings and to claim their own rights that the current government was denying to them. In the Trail of Tears, Ehle uses many different people and the historic accounts of their actions to tell the story of tragic and unfair deals made with the Cherokee people by the United States. One of the main historical figures Mr. Ehle centers upon is Major Ridge. He tells of Major Ridges ideas and hopes that would lead his people to prosperity. The United States government is closely analyzed; specifically pertaining to how the government neglected to help the Cherokee people become more efficient for themselves and not protecting them from other land greedy states. On the Hiwasse River, in approximately 1771, in what is now known as Virgina, a Cherokee woman, whos father was Highland Scot and her mother full Cherokee, gave birth to a baby boy named Ridge. The woman hopped that Ridge would grow to be a strong leader of his people. The Cherokee people were of a matrilineal society. This meant that Ridges mother and her brothers took the active role of instructing him in the ways of being a hunter. From the time that he was born until the age of five he received instruction, in the town that he lived in with other boys, of how to be a warrior. When he was five a great war broke out between the Indians and whites and his parents decided it best to leave. This war helped give Ridge a glance at what was to come for him and his people. They moved into a cove in the higher mountains, which forced him to stop his training as a hunter so that he could help his family survive. A few years later the war had ended and when he was ten years old his family moved to the town of Chestowee where he resumed his training with his uncles instructions. When Ridge reached puberty he moved to advanced instruction to become a warrior, a strong and mighty position, and  this helped to welcome him to manhood. From this point on in his life rituals and ceremonies would be very important in everything he would do. One instance was the rituals that were need in order for a Cherokee man to  participate in a very important ball game. Certain things that were done were that the player could not eat certain types of foods or he could not touch a woman for the whole week before the game. Also the players Hickory stick was very important to him and had very important handling procedures that insured that the stick would be kept pure. One rite that was associated with the ball game was the scratching rite. The players were inflicted with almost three hundred scratches made from the ends of feathers all over their bodies. The strict ritual guide lines that Ridge was made to follow when he was younger helped to prepare him for all the struggles that he was to face in the years to come. It was in this year when Ridge was seventeen that the struggle between the Cherokees and the whites came to a final confrontation. During this time Ridge proved himself as a warrior by having more scalps than his father. When he can home he courted and married Susana. It was at this point he was invited to be a spokesman at the main council meeting for his town, a certifiably honor at his age of twenty-five. He was also known as being one of the first of his people to be a successful farmer, ferry owner and tradesmen. Susana and Ridge bore two children, Nancy and John. Later on Ridge assisted Colonel Jackson in subduing the uprising of the Creeks and Seminoles, which lead to his appointment of Major in the U.S. militia. Major ridge is the person responsible for the formation of the new Cherokee Nation. He began the new nation at New Echota, which contained within it a museum, library, judicial courts, legislative buildings and its own printing press, which published the first Cherokee newspaper the Phoenix. After his involvement with this new capital city, Major Ridge was hired to be the head negotiator for the Creeks land disputes in 1825. After the election of John Ross as principle chief, he was publicly humiliated and decided to concentrate on his livelihood. His son John then took over the role as heads spokesman. Major Ridge supported his son when John stated Indian immigration was the only future for the Cherokees. He continued to support John after Major Ridges own removal to Arkansas and until his murder, in 1839. There were many individuals and parties that were both beneficial and detrimental to the Cherokees trying to find their own way as a nation.  President Thomas Jefferson, who was the phasilitator of the Louisiana Purchase. President Andrew Jackson was one of the key figures in the movement to have the Cherokees relocated, just for the sake of creating more land for the white United States. Wilson Lumpkin was also a key factor in the Cherokee removal. He was the one who introduced the removal bill in Congress. Later on as governor of Georgia, he passed legislation making all Cherokee lands within the boarders of Georgia fall under its jurisdictional laws. There where many different religious factions that came into contact with the Cherokee people. Most of the religious contact between the whites and the Cherokees came in the formation of schools. Some of the individuals that helped to create these schools were: Reverend Cornelius started Brainerd in 1817, Reverend Samuel Worcester (postmaster and legal council) and Miss Sophia Sawyer who taught at a Monrovian church/school. There were many positive influences that came to the Cherokees through their own people: Major Ridge, his son John, Sequoyah (creator of the Cherokee written language), Charles Hicks, James Vann and Elias Buck Boudinot. The six afore mentioned people were the major influences on the creation of the New Cherokee Nation. The downfall of the Cherokee people began in 1803 with Thomas Jefferson negotiating the Louisiana Purchase. All of the Cherokee people were against this purchase, because it sold Cherokee and other tribes land to the U.S. that had no right to be bought or sold to any nation. From that point on the Cherokee people were in constant turmoil in way to keep from being pushed of their land by the whites. The United States Government, state governments and white prospectors were the people wanting the land in the name of progress. The New Echota Treaty was the final blow to the Cherokee people. The treaty, signed by John Ridge, John Walker Jr., Elias Boudinot, Major Ridge, Andrew Ross, John Gunter, and Stand Waters, gave the U.S. Cherokee lands of the east in exchange for lands in the west plus subsidies and surplus of 4.5 million dollars. The Cherokees that were opposed to the treaty was John Ross and his entire delegation. Even after they were forcibly removed from their land and relocated, they took the law into their own hands and assassinated Major Ridge, John Ridge and Elias Boudinot (the founders of the treaty). The most relished part of the book was in the beginning when the Cherokee people where at peace within their own sect. They had not yet lost their identity as a culture. The Cherokees knew who they were and that their life, which might be simple compared to the whites, was a full and complete life. This was all that was needed to survive and to be happy. In my opinion this book gives many accurate historical accounts of all aspects of the Cherokee removal. The beginning jumped around in topic a bit, making the book a little difficult to start, but one in the body of it there were many interesting facts given about the removal.

Importance of Profit in Business

Importance of Profit in Business Profit acts as a vital role in the functioning of the economic system. In any industry profit acts as a signal that buyers want more output from that industry. Profits provide incentive for firms to increase production and encourage new firms to enter into that industry. The profit cannot be seen as a selfish motive of any business but induces entrepreneurs to take long business risk. Unless there are no prospects of generating profit entrepreneurs will not devote time and invest resources in any business activity. It encourages firms to develop new products to lower production cost and to provide better services to the consumers. Profit is also expands business activity of the organization. Profit generated from the business reinvests again to expand production or invest into new business. So it allows the firm to continue to business operation. Entrepreneurs can only be motivated to expand its business when it can successfully generate profits from its business operations. The objectives of business objectives besides profit are facilitative objectives and are meant to be subservient to the profit motive. It can be pointed out that private enterprises are operated on behalf of and for the benefit of the owners. It can be advocated that the owners who have assumed the business risk of investing their funds should get suitable return in terms of profit. It is a reward for the entrepreneurs to share the owning and operating business and also serves as a stimulant for business effort. In any business organization profit is treated as a financial yardstick for measuring business efficiency and for evaluating managerial competency. It evaluates how well the decisions and actions of managements turn out to be effective and how well unwise resources to maximize value for the organization. Profit is the main indication how competitive be business organization is. Business efficiency is often expressed as price- Earning, profit to sales volume, earning to capita l employed, earning per share and so on. It is directly or indirectly released to profit generated by the business organization. Outside investors also equate profit with the degree of business efficiency and managerial competence and commit their funds in light of such equation and other related assessments. So the manger uses its resources and engages in activities designed to increase its profits so long as it stays within the rules of the game. The directors of companies have a fiduciary responsibility to act in the best interest of the shareholders. The managers are agents of the shareholders and therefore have a moral obligation to manage the firm in the interest of the shareholders, which obviously is to make as much money as possible and maximize shareholder wealth. The shareholders are the owners of the organization and therefore the profits belong to them. The firms objective is also to finance companys growth, create value not only for its shareholders and also create wealth for all the stake holders for the society. Profit provides resources required to achieve the corporate objectives. As business is a continuing entity it must grow and expand for its sustainability and profit allows the firm to reinvest in new and emerging business opportunities. Profit is highly correlated to generating cash, which brings more flexibility to the business at a lower cost. Stockholders (owners) have a financial interest in the business and obviously expect financial return. The business affects their livelihood because they need money to live and purchase material things. In a market characterized by many firms competing with one another, above normal profits provide important signals, but are not likely to be maintained over long periods of time. That is firms already in the market respond to higher profits by increasing output and new firms will have an incentive to enter the market as well. The result will be on an increased supply of the product, lower prices and ultimately lower profits. The result in competitive markets is that profits provide important signals but are somewhat transitory in nature. It can also be argued that a manger of a business organization has a direct responsibility to his/her employers to conduct business in accordance with their desire usually to make as much money as possible. Elasticity An important concept in understanding supply and demand theory is elasticty and it has a profuound impact on the profit of an organisation. In this context, it refers to how supply and demand change in response to various stimuli. The elasticity of demand measures the responsiveness of demand to changes in a factor that affects demand. Elasticities can be estimated for price, income, prices of related products, and advertising expenditures. The own-price elasticity is the ratio of the percentage change in quantity demanded to the percentage change in price, and is a negative number. Demand is price elastic if a 1% increase in price leads to more than a 1% drop in quantity demanded, and inelastic if it leads to less than a 1% drop in quantity demanded. Price Elasticity of Demand A Price change can either increase or decrease total revenue, depending upon the nature of the demand function. The profit of the firm depends upon the sales revenue of the firm and sales revenue is subject marked demand and price of the product. Here Price Elasticity of demand plays a crucial role and determines the level of real demand of the product. Price Elasticity of demand mans responsive of the consumer towards product when there is a change in the price of the product. Price Elastic of Demand = % Change in demand / % Change in Price. The firm needs to consider aspects of their pricing whether they want to aim for a large market share with a low price. In this case they would want to consider market penetration as a pricing strategy. This would mean setting a low price (and correspondingly lower profit margin on each unit), but selling a higher volume. This depends considerably on whether the product is elastic in demand. If the product of the firm is highly elastic, any increase of the product will affects its sales in the market. For example when a firm decides to increase the price of any product which is highly elastic, the consumers demand for the product will decline in the market and in result affects the sales of the product in the market and consequently to the hampers the profit of the firm. If the product is highly inelastic the consumer usually doesnt respond to any increase or increase in the price of the product in the market. So if the firm increases the price of an inelastic product, it does not af fect the sales of the product significantly but on other hand it increases the sales revenue of that product. It should be kept in mind that high sales revenue does not necessarily mean high profit. The firm has to decide at what price the firm will attain maximize profit (when marginal revenue = marginal cost). Income Elasticity of Demand The income elasticity for a firms product is a crucial force of the farms success (profit) at different stages of business cycle. During the period of economic boom incomes are raising and demands for various products including the firms product increases in the market. As a result revenue of the firm increases and consequently firm generates profit from the product. During period of economic recession, it affects the sales performances of almost all industries across the broad as incomes of the consumptions decrease. The firms product does not find demand in the market. It leads to price reduction and lower sales revenue of the firm. Firms also have to incur various costs on marketing and advertising to woo customers. As a result profit of the firm suffered. Income Elasticity can be either positive or negative when income elasticity in negative, an increase in income is associated with a decrease in the quantity demanded of the good or service. Firms producing cheap goods, its profit is adversely affected when incomes of its targeted customers increase. The consumers switch over to better goods when their income increases and consequently sales of the firm affected adversely and so the profit. Similarly income elasticity is positive but less than or equal to the percentage change in income. Such goods and services referred to, as necessities demand for those goods is not longer affected by change in income. The sales of essential goods is generally unaffected by change in income of consumers and its profit depend on its pricing policy. But it must be remembered that government regulates directly or indirectly prices of essential goods in the market. In case of luxury goods the change in demand is proportionately greater than the change i n income. As individuals become richer, they have more income to spend or luxurious products and services. The sales of luxurious goods increases, as incomes of the consumers increase in the economy and it favorable affects the profitability of the firm. Labour Productivity and Profit Improving productivity is the most direct way to increase productivity. In business particularly in manufacturing industry wages of labour is a large share of cost production. Improved labour productivity curtails costs of manufacturing come primarily from. Improved productivity reflects two types of activity changes: Fewer people doing the same amount of work (due to automation and capital substitution), and reducing the number of employees necessary to reach a given level of sales (due to increases in labor productivity). In other words, greater labor productivity reduces the costs of operation for a given level of production, distribution, sales, makes it feasible to make higher profits from the business. Rapid productivity growth allows businesses to pad profits or boost pay without facing a need to raise prices for their products or services. As productivity slows, profit margins could erode unless businesses pass along their increased production costs to consumers. Profit shari ng is a form of labor compensation in which the employees get higher wages when company profits are higher. The idea is that profit sharing increases the incentive to work harder and work smarter, and thus increases profits. On the whole, the studies confirm this, showing that there is at least some scope for increasing profits through the productivity effect. Now let us assume that the firm introduces a new system of working that leads to a rise in output per worker from 2000 to 2500 per year. It may not necessarily imply that the workers are working harder; it could be that they are working smarter. Cell production for example, is one way in which waste can be reduced in terms of time spent moving units from one part of a factory to another and from one worker to another. It could be that the firm has invested in machinery that is more efficient or has reorganized the production line in some way. Of course, the workers might want extra money in return for these changing working practices so let us assume that they have been offered a pay rise of 5% taking their annual salary to $15,750 per year. The total cost of labour is now 50 x $15,750 = Â £787,500. Output however has risen from 100,000 to 125,000. The cost per unit therefore is now $6.30. Even if the firm continues to sell its product at the same price as before it has increased its profit margin. The purpose of the business is to maximize profits. But that’s not the purpose for other stakeholders—for customers, employees, suppliers, and the community. Each of those groups will define the purpose of the business in terms of its own needs and desires, and each perspective is valid and legitimate. It is also simply good business for a company to cater to its customers, train and retain its employees, build long-term positive relationships with its suppliers, and become a good citizen in its community, including performing some philanthropic activity. The business organization should deal with all its various constituencies properly in order to maximize long-term shareholder value. Cavanagh G H (1990), American Business Values, Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall Edgar G. Browning and Mark A. Zupan, 2002, Microeconomics: Theory and Applications Seventh Edition, Wiley Publication Friedman M, 1970, The Social Responsibility of Busines is to Increase it Profits, New York Times Magazine Paul M. and Roberts J., Economics, Organization and Management. Englewood Cliffs, NJ, Prentice Hall, 1992. Perloff, J. (2004) Microeconomics, Third Edition, Addison Wesley Longman Robert H. Frank and Ian C. Parker, 2002, Microeconomics and Behaviour, McGraw- Hill Robert Pindyck and Daniel Rubinfeld, 2001, Microeconomics Fifth Edition, Prentice Hall Sharon O., 1999, Modern Competitive Analysis. 3d ed. New York, Oxford University Press, 1999.

Macbeth: Dark, Evil, and Tragic Essays -- Macbeth Character Analysis

â€Å"Macbeth†- A revered play written in the 16th century by the famous playwright: William Shakespeare. The theme of â€Å"Macbeth† is centred on how power and the thirst for it can corrupt a person and lead to their insanity. Power-hungry and manipulating Lady Macbeth, with the help of the prophecies of the three malevolent witches, persuades the eponymous Macbeth to kill his king, so that she can be the queen. But unfortunately, for her, her plans do not ultimately run smoothly. Both Macbeth’s guilty conscience and his wife’s insanity give them away and eventually lead to their down fall. The purpose of this essay is to discuss to what extent Shakespeare portrays Lady Macbeth as a truly evil character throughout the play. From her very opening scene Shakespeare depicts Lady Macbeth as being cold and full of evilness. In act 1 scene 5, Lady Macbeth is introduced reading a letter from Macbeth. Already the audience can see she has evil plans. â€Å"Hie thee hither, That I may pour my spirits in thine ear And chastise with the valour of my tongue.† (Act 1 scene 5) This exhibits that she wants Macbeth to come back home so she can persuade him to do the evil deed. Later in the scene, Lady Macbeth is afraid that Macbeth is too weak and too compassionate to be a murderer, therefore she asks the gods to replace all her goodness and femininity with cold haunted evilness. This is clear when she calls the evil spirits; â€Å"...Unsex me here, Make thick my blood, Stop up th’access and passage to remorse... Come to my woman’s breasts, And take my milk for gall...† (Act 1 scene 5) So that she can poison her husband’s mind. The audience’s first impression of her is as a remorseless, cold evil wife. This prepares the audience for the evilness sh... ...5 scene 5). Power has watered down all his love and kindness. Shakespeare portrayed Lady Macbeth as evil and in the end was driven to death by her own guilt because ultimately she was a human and not a complete monster. Lady Macbeth is thought of being a truly evil character because of the way Shakespeare portrays her character. Her malevolent influence on Macbeth, her trying to hide her humanity to help her have more power over her husband, then her trying very hard to hide her guilt are all examples of the evil she had done. Her dark and sinister nature gradually gave way to insanity and a suicide. Lady Macbeth’s character is a proof that power and thirst for it can lead to insanity and a person’s ultimate down fall. Works Cited Shakespeare, William. The Tragedy of Macbeth. Boston: D.C. Heath and Company, 1915. Google Books. Web. 3 Sept. 2015.

art upsets science reassures :: essays papers

art upsets science reassures ‘Art upsets, science reassures’ (Braque) Analyse and evaluate this claim. The difference between; reality and fantasy, an accurate representation of what is, and a brilliant orchestration of the mind, can often become blurred with the paintbrush of an artist. Yet, as Braque would surely agree, there are certain areas knowledge that only serve to reify our reality, saving us from delving into the fantastic chasm of questions arising from art. This specific area is of course science. One can often become lost in art, in a never ending series of inquiries as to how such a sculpture or painting could be physically possible. Although, science will reassure us as to what is possible and what will remain limited to a picture, or expression of thought or questioning. To evaluate Braque’s claim one must look to art, and the aspects thereof, that defy and upset nature and natural science. Next, the process by which science can reassure ‘what is’, as opposed to a representation of the artistic. And last, what the reassurance of science, as w ell as, the nature of art entail in their representational and informative nature. Art itself has proven throughout time to confuse many, all of the thoughts by the creators seem to be in the slightest way manipulative of that which every person would think scientifically so. Dance and the Theater, a place where art has flourished, is an example of how deceit and manipulation have manifested themselves in an art form that is revered, and held to be a distinguishing skill; acting. Seeing the ghost of Oedipus come back to haunt his children, is something that is far beyond what anyone has experienced in reality, and instills in individuals a mystical image of what could be. Or, the people indigenous to North America performing dances in attempt to cause rain, and perhaps an occasional rainfall to follow, only serves to upset the theories of natural science. These are both examples of what art has done to upset the view that one has on the way things work. Not everyone sees their dead father return in a pale, luminescent mist to speak to them, yet, Shakespearean a ctors would make us think otherwise. It may be thought that this form of art would only serve as a method of human expression, and would actually be pure and true in revealing something about human nature, but this is not necessarily the case.

C. S. Lewis’s We Have No Right To Happiness :: We Have No Right To Happiness

Everybody in this world has the right to happiness. However, I don’t think we should seek our happiness by all means. I don’t agree that people should be selfish in order to get whatever they want. I’m not saying that there aren’t any selfish people in this world, but some people are more selfish than others. So we need to have some balance in what we want and what would make us happy. Also we need to make sure that we don’t burden ourselves for the sake of others’ happiness. Therefore, I’m not convinced that Mr. A and Mrs. B did the right thing; also, I know that sometimes we may give up our right to happiness to please others, and sometimes we have to do whatever it takes to meet our happiness. First, I didn’t agree with Mr. A and Mrs. B’s actions in C. S. Lewis’s essay, "We Have No 'Right To Happiness". Therefore, I don’t think that Mr. A should have left his wife because she was not beautiful any more. Of course, maybe there is another side of the story that made him leave his wife. Also I didn’t think that Mrs. B should leave her husband, when he lost everything. However, the way Lewis presented his story is to convince me that they are very bad people. Overall, they justify their behavior simply by saying they have the right to happiness. Even though Lewis presented them very badly in his story, I’m not in a position to judge others’ actions. However, I’m not totally convinced that these are the people to leave their spouses. So no matter where they go, they may still find the same situation. Because that is life, and life can change any time. I also know that sometimes I need to give up my right of happiness for others. For example, there was a man on a boat along with other men. And there was a quarrel on the boat. As a result, everyone was given a place. So the man decided to dig a hole at his place, justifying that by saying that is his right and place. So if they allowed him, they all would be in danger. And if they prevented him, they would have denied his right .In this case, I personally think that man should give up his right for the sake of others. Of course, you may not agree or consider the right to dig a hole at that man’s place, but

Island of the Sequined Love Nun Chapter 65~67

65 Down to the Promised Land Malink joined Tuck on the flight deck and tried to work the flight officer's harness around his belly as Tuck released the ground brakes and the jet started rolling. The two fighters did another pass overhead, one of the pilots warning Tuck not to attempt to take off. â€Å"You forced me down,† Tuck said into the headset mike. â€Å"What more do you guys want?† He rammed the throttles to maximum. They either had enough runway or they didn't. What was certain was that he wouldn't know in time to stop. They were going into the ocean or into the sky and that was that. The flaps were down for maximum lift, which would use three times as much fuel as a regular takeoff, but that was a problem to deal with once they were in the air. He looked at the ocean ahead, then at the airspeed indicator, then at the ocean ahead – back and forth, waiting, waiting, waiting for the airspeed indicator to reach the point where the plane would lift. He was twenty knots short of takeoff speed when the end of the runway disappeared from view and he started his pull up. The rear wheels of the great plane grazed the water as it lifted into the air. Tuck heard what he hoped was a cheer coming from the back of the plane, but there was a distinct possibility that he was hearing collective screams of terror. He had just lifted off with three hundred and thirty-two people who had never flown before. Tuck thought of Sepie, who would have started her first plane ride two hours ago. â€Å"Where are we going?† Malink asked. He was trying to compose himself, but when Tuck looked at him, he saw that the old chief's eyes were as wide as saucers. â€Å"A place called Costa Rica,† Tuck said. â€Å"You ever heard of it?† Malink shook his head. â€Å"Vincent tells you to take us there.† â€Å"No, it was my idea, actually.† â€Å"There is plenty cargo on Costa Rica?† Couldn't say, Malink, but the climate is nice and there's no extradition.† â€Å"That is good?† Malink said, as if he had the slightest idea what extradition was. Tuck admired the old chief. He was here because his god told him to be here. He had just made a decision that would change the history of an entire population, and he had done it on faith. Tuck set the autopilot and crawled out of the pilot's seat. â€Å"I'm going back to make sure everyone is strapped in. Don't touch anything.† Malink's eyes went wide again. â€Å"Who is flying the plane?† Tuck winked. â€Å"I think you know.† He turned and headed down the steps to check on his passengers. Pushed to his limit and no little bit frightened, Sebastian Curtis sneaked up on his wife, who was in full tantrum, and injected her in the thigh with a syringe full of Valium. She turned and gave him a good shot to the jaw before she started to calm down. He caught her by the shoulders and backed her into the office chair in front of the computer. â€Å"Don't worry,† he said, â€Å"Nomura is on his way back with the Lear. We'll be long gone before anyone can get here.† â€Å"How did he do it?† Beth's voice was weak now, trailing off at the end. â€Å"I don't know. I'm surprised he's even alive. We'll be fine. We have plenty of money. Not as much as we'd hoped, but if we're careful†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"He turned them against me,† she said. â€Å"My people†¦Ã¢â‚¬  She didn't finish. Sebastian stroked her hair. The clinic door opened and Mato came inside carrying his Uzi. â€Å"Phone,† he said. â€Å"No,† Sebastian said. â€Å"I've already called Japan. The Lear is on its way. Now give us some privacy.† Mato threw the bolt on the Uzi and said something in Japanese. Sebastian didn't move. Mato dug the barrel of the gun into the doctor's ribs. â€Å"Phone,† he said. Sebastian picked up the receiver that was connected to the satellite and handed it over. â€Å"Out,† Mato said. Sebastian helped Beth to her feet. â€Å"Come on. We have to do as he says.† Beth let him lift her to her feet, then she pointed a finger at Mato. â€Å"You can kiss your Christmas bonus good-bye, ninja boy. That's it.† Sebastian dragged her through the door and helped her across the com-pound to her bungalow. Inside he lay her on the bed. Getting her out of the surgical greens was like trying to undress a rag doll. She babbled inco-herently the whole time, but did not fight him. When he turned to leave the room, two of the guards were standing in the doorway grinning. One of them motioned for him to leave the room. The other stared hungrily at Beth. â€Å"No,† Sebastian said. He stepped into the doorway and pushed aside the barrels of their weapons. They stepped back in unison and raised the Uzis. Sebastian stepped toward them. They took another step back. He was a full foot taller than either of them. â€Å"Get out,† he said and he took another step. They stepped back. â€Å"Out. Get out. Or do you want to lose all your fingers?† He'd found the magic words. The people they worked for were notorious for taking the finger joints of those who disobeyed. The guards looked at each other, then backed out the door that led into the compound. One of them hurled a curse in Japanese as he went. Behind them Sebastian saw Mato coming out of the clinic. He marched right for Beth's bungalow, almost stomping the ground as he walked, his jaw clenched and his weapon held before him. Sebastian closed the door, locked it, and ran to the bedroom. â€Å"Come on, Beth. Get up. We've got to get out of here.† She was still conscious, but had no coordination. He picked her up and threw her over his shoulder in a fireman's carry, then went out the french doors onto the lanai and down the steps to the beach. The warm water seemed to revive her somewhat and he managed to get her to kick as together they made the swim around the minefield. The fighters veered off after an hour and the 747 was picked up by a B-52 that stayed on them until they were in fighter range of the Americas, where they were joined by two F-16s. Out of Panama, Tuck guessed. What exactly did they think they were going to accomplish? A 747 wasn't the kind of plane you ditch in the jungle and make your escape. In fact, Tuck didn't think that any plane was that kind of plane. He certainly wasn't going to ditch in the jungle or in the water for that matter. Despite his misgivings, they were going to make it to Costa Rica with plenty of fuel. They were well below the plane's passenger capacity and they carried almost no baggage and no commissary supplies. The only worry he had now was what would happen to him when they got on the ground. It was true, Costa Rica had no extradition treaty with the United States, but what he had done was an act of international terrorism. He might have done better to head back to Hawaii and take his chances with the FBI ra ther than risk rotting away in a Central American jail. Still, something told him that this was where he should be going. He didn't know why, really, he had picked Costa Rica, any more than he knew why he had stolen a plane and gone back to Alualu in the first place. As he started his descent for Palmar Airport on the coast, the B-52 veered off to the north and was soon out of sight. Tuck had turned the radio off hours ago, tired of hearing the same threats and commands from the milit-ary pilots. As much as he hated the idea of giving the authorities a warning, however, he turned on the radio to advise the tower at Palmar that he was coming in. A midair collision might be even worse than a Costa Rican jail. Especially with three hundred and thirty-two lives riding his soul to hell. He called to the tower, then took off the headset and sat back and relaxed, convinced that for once in his life he had done the right thing. Somehow he would see to it that Sepie got half the money from the Swiss bank ac-counts. He envisioned her in a big house with one bedroom and seventy-two bathrooms with a television in every one. She'd be fine. Malink, who had gone to the back to reassure his people, came up the steps and climbed into the flight officer's chair. â€Å"We are going down?† he said. â€Å"You'll like it,† Tuck said. â€Å"The weather here is the same as Alualu. There are beaches and jungles just like home.† They could see the coast now, extending into the distance to the north and south, the rainforest running from beaches to mountains. â€Å"This island much bigger than Alualu.† â€Å"It's not an island.† Tuck realized that Malink had never walked more than a mile without having to turn. â€Å"Your people will be fine.† â€Å"Are there sharks here?† â€Å"A lot of sharks,† Tuck said. Malink nodded â€Å"My people will be fine.† He was quiet for a minute, then said, â€Å"Will you come with us?† â€Å"I don't think so, Chief. I'm going to be in a lot of trouble when we land.† â€Å"But didn't Vincent tell you to do this?† â€Å"Sort of. Why?† Malink sat back with a self-satisfied smile. â€Å"You'll be fine.† An alarm went off in the cockpit and Tuck scanned the instruments to see what had gone wrong. The red air collision warning lights were flashing. Tuck scanned the sky for another plane, then, seeing nothing, put on the headset to see if the Palmar tower could tell him what was going on. Before he could key the mike someone said, â€Å"Darlin', I'll be whitewashed if stink don't follow you like a manure wagon in summer.† A familiar, melodic Texas drawl, probably the sweetest sound he had ever heard. â€Å"Mary Jean,† Tuck said. â€Å"Where are you?† â€Å"Out your window at eleven o'clock.† Tuck looked up and saw a brand-new pink Gulfstream running parallel to them. â€Å"If you'd a been wearing your headset, you would have known I was here fifteen minutes ago.† â€Å"What are you doing here?† â€Å"Jake called me from Hawaii and told me what you was doing. We cooked up a little plan. I'm gonna get your tail out of the fire one last time, Tucker Case, but you owe me.† â€Å"Boy, have I heard that before.† â€Å"Do you remember the corporate address in Houston? The number?† â€Å"Sure.† â€Å"Well, you dial that up as a frequency and I'll give you the skinny. It's unladylike to broadcast your personal matters over the same frequency the tower's using.† They were lying in the jungle near the runway when the Learjet landed. Sebastian left Beth sleeping under some banana leaves and crawled to where he could see. The jet taxied to the gate and stopped with the engines still running. The guards came out of different buildings and converged on the plane. They'd stacked duffel bags near the gate. â€Å"What's going on?† Beth crawled up behind him. The effects of the Valium were obviously wearing off. â€Å"I think they're leaving.† â€Å"Not without us, they're not. I am the Sky Priestess and I won't allow it.† She started to get up and Sebastian pulled her back down. â€Å"They were coming to kill us, Beth. You were out.† â€Å"Right. If you ever drug me again – â€Å" â€Å"You're insane,† he said. She reared back to slap him and he caught her hand. â€Å"Keep it up, Beth. I'm telling you that if they find us, they'll kill us. Do you understand that?† â€Å"They're grunts. I won't†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Suddenly there was a huge explosion from across the runway and they turned to see a mushroom of fire rising from where the clinic used to be. The guards had loaded onto the jet and Nomura was taxiing to the end of the runway. The guards' quarters went off next, then the hangar, the barrels of jet fuel throwing a column of flame five hundred feet in the air. â€Å"Where did they get explosives?† Beth said. â€Å"Did you know they had explosives?† â€Å"They're destroying the evidence,† Sebastian said. â€Å"Orders from Japan, I'm sure.† The Learjet started its run for takeoff as Sebastian's bungalow went off like a fragmentation grenade, followed by Tuck's old quarters and Beth's bungalow. Fire rained down across the island. â€Å"My shoes! All of my shoes were in there. You bastards.† Beth pulled away from Sebastian and ran out on the runway just as the Learjet passed. â€Å"You rotten bastards!† The Sky Priestess stood in the middle of the runway and screamed herself mute as the Lear disappeared into the clouds. 66 If They'd Only Had Her at the Alamo Mary Jean brought the pink Gulfstream in right on the tail of the 747. Tuck kept the speed over eighty in the taxi, turning it away from the terminal, where police jeeps and a hundred men in riot gear waited. He also noticed a half-dozen TV news trucks there as well. â€Å"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Costa Rica, the new home of the Shark People. The temperature outside is 85 degrees and it's clear that things are going to get ugly. I hope everybody's ready.† The police jeeps were speeding across the tarmac toward the two jets. Mary Jean turned the Gulfstream so that it was facing back toward the runway. Tuck turned to Malink. â€Å"Where's Roberto?† Malink pointed up. Roberto hung from the handle of the emergency hatch. There was a spring-loaded spool of steel cable attached to the ceiling next to the hatch. â€Å"Mary Jean, you ready?† â€Å"Sweetheart, we'd better git while the gitten's good. We stirred a hornet's nest out here.† Tuck grabbed Roberto and stuffed him inside his shirt. â€Å"Stay,† he said. Then he opened the hatch and looked back at Malink. â€Å"I have to go now.† Malink took Tuck in his big arms and squeezed until the bat screamed. â€Å"You will come back.† â€Å"If you say so, Chief.† Tuck flipped the intercom switch and picked up the headset. â€Å"Go!† he said and climbed up into the hatch. The six doors on the 747 all sprung open at once and the yellow emergency slides inflated and extended to the ground as if the jet was a huge insect suddenly growing legs. The Shark People piled down the emergency slides and Mary Jean spooled up the Gulfstream for takeoff. Tuck climbed onto the roof and reached back into the hatch for the loop of nylon webbing that attached to the spool of cable. The police jeeps were pulling up on the sides of the two jets; men with rifles stood in the back trying to figure out what they should be shooting at. The Shark People crowded in between the jets, making a human corridor. Tuck took a deep breath and leaped off the top of the jumbo jet. The spring-loaded coil of cable did exactly what Boeing had designed it to do: It lowered the pilot safely to the ground from four stories up. Once on the ground, Tuck ran under the cover of the Shark People and leaped into the open door of the Gulfstream. â€Å"Go!† he yelled. The Shark People scrambled away and Mary Jean released the ground brakes. The jet shot forward. Tuck slammed the door and got to the cockpit just as a jeep swerved out of the jet's path and flipped over. â€Å"Don't try to play chicken with me, snotnose,† Mary Jean said grimly. â€Å"I knew James Dean his own self.† â€Å"Think they'll let you get this thing in the air?† â€Å"I'd like to see 'em try to stop me.† The police jeeps seemed to part for the jet as it headed back to the runway. For all the guns there, no one seemed interested in firing a shot. Tuck looked back and saw the Shark People waving as Mary Jean made her takeoff run. When they were airborne, she said, â€Å"Tucker Case, when you make a turnaround, boy, you don't do it half-twiddle, do you?† Tuck laughed. â€Å"Did you really know James Dean?† â€Å"Sounded good, didn't it?† She turned to him. Not surprisingly, her makeup was done perfectly to complement her outfit and the Gulfstream's headset. She let out a little yelp. â€Å"Tucker, there's a varmint in your shirt.† â€Å"That's Roberto,† Tuck said. â€Å"He no like the light.† â€Å"Darlin', if I had a face like that, I'd gravitate toward dim and unlit territories myself. Remind me to give your friend a sample of our new depilatory.† â€Å"What was that all about back there?† Tuck asked. â€Å"Heroics, son. I told you on the phone, I believe in redemption and I thought it was time I practiced what I preached. Were they really selling those poor heathens' organs?† â€Å"Beg your pardon, Mary Jean, I really do appreciate the rescue, but don't bullshit me. Any one of those cops could have shot out the tires of this plane and we'd still be on the ground.† She smiled, a knowing smile with a hint of mischief, the Mona Lisa in a big blond wig. â€Å"Media event, son. You'd be surprised how far a little palm grease goes in the Third World. Why, I couldn't buy the media coverage my company's going to get on this with a year's profits. And of course you're going to reimburse me for the bribes. Jake says you'll be able to. The tax boys frown on taking bribes. as a deduction. Although we could take it as advertising expense. Never mind, you don't owe me nothing.† â€Å"So that's the only reason you did it, the media coverage?† â€Å"I was shabby to you, Tucker. Not that you didn't deserve it, but I wasn't feeling so good about myself for doing it. I aways kinda looked at you like my wayward little lamb. Course, I'm from cattle folk.† Tuck smiled. â€Å"Whatever. Where are we going?† â€Å"Little place of mine in the Cayman Islands. Jake's going to meet us there with your little friend.† 67 The Cannibal Tree Revisited The Sky Priestess awoke with a terrible pain in her head. She couldn't feel her arms or legs, and something was cutting her between her breasts. She and the Sorcerer had been living in the deserted village for two weeks. The last thing she could remember was the Sorcerer going into the dark for more firewood and hearing a thud. When he didn't answer her call, she had gone to look for him. She opened her eyes and blinked to clear her vision. The world seemed to be spinning and for a second all she could see was a green blur that was the jungle. Then things popped into focus. She was slowly turning at the end of a coconut fiber rope, suspended six feet above the ground. The harness was digging in between her breasts and cutting off the circulation to her limbs. She lifted her head and saw an ancient native tending a long earthen oven that was spouting smoke from either end. The Sorcerer's clothes were piled nearby. The old native looked up and ambled over to her on spindly legs. There were chicken feathers stuck in his hair and his eyes had a rheumy yellow cast to them. He grinned at her with teeth that looked as if they had been filed to points, then reached up and pinched her cheek. â€Å"Yum,† he said. Epilogue Due to the influence of Mary Jean Dobbins, who opened a manufacturing plant in the capital, and a large land purchase by an anonymous buyer, the Shark People were accepted as Costa Rican citizens and their land was set aside as a national reserve. Malink remained chief for many years, and when he became too old to carry the responsibility – since he had no sons – he appointed Abo his successor. Abo learned to preside over the ceremonies in honor of Vincent and led the prayers for his return, for they all believed that he would return, but as time passed and history grew to legend, they believed that this time Vincent would return in a pink jet and at his side would be the prophet Tuck – who had delivered them from the Sky Priestess – and the great navigator Kimi, without whom, it was said, the prophet Tuck couldn't find his ass with both hands. Every morning before breakfast, Tucker Case walked his bat on the beaches of Little Cay. Actually, the bat flew on those mornings. Tuck usually flew in the afternoons. He owned a five-passenger Cessna that he tied down on the airstrip next to the small house where he and Sepie lived. With what was left of his half of the money from the Swiss bank accounts – after buying the house and the plane and ten thousand acres of Costa Rican coastal rainforest, which he gave to the Shark People – Tuck was able to buy Sepie a satellite dish and a thirty-two-inch Sony Trinitron, which was all she asked for besides his love, loyalty, and that the bat stay out of the house. Tuck gave her all she wanted, and in return asked her to love him, respect him, and to turn down â€Å"Wheel of Fortune† when he was doing his books. He chartered his plane out to fishermen and scuba divers who wanted to island-hop and made enough money to keep them in food and Sepie in perfume, lipstick and Wonder Bras, the latter a new obsession she had picked up and more often than not the only item of clothing she ever wore. One morning, just before sunrise, after they had been on Little Cay for a year, Tuck spotted a figure standing alone on the beach. He knew who it was before he was close enough to see him. He could feel it. As he got closer, he looked at the sharp dark features, the flight suit shot with starch and free of wrinkles, and he said, â€Å"You look pretty good for a dead guy.† Vincent took a pack of cigarettes out of his jacket pocket, tapped one out, and lit it. â€Å"You did good, kid. I'd have to call it even.† â€Å"The least I could do,† Tuck said. â€Å"But can I ask you a question?† â€Å"Shoot,† said Vincent. â€Å"Why'd you do it?† â€Å"I didn't do anything. I didn't move a thing, I didn't touch a thing, I didn't change a thing. Believers do everything.† â€Å"Come on,† Tuck said. â€Å"I deserve a straight answer.† The flyer turned away for a moment and looked at the corona over the water where the sun was about to rise. â€Å"You're right, kid. You do. You re-member that speech the dame gave you about losers doing good on islands because there's no competition?† â€Å"Yes.† â€Å"Well, it ain't the case. Islands are like, you know, incubators. You got to start things and let em grow. Isolate 'em. That's why all your loony-toon cult guys have to get their people out in the boonies somewhere where no one can talk any sense into 'em. Just nod if you're gettin' any of this, kid. Good. â€Å"Well, I had this bet with these guys I play cards with that my little cult could go big-time if I could get enough citizens. I told 'em, ‘Two thousand years ago you guys were just running cults. Get me to the mainland and give me a thousand years and I'll give you a run for your money.' All the conditions were right. You need some pressure, I got the war. You need a promise, I got the promise I'll come back with cargo. I'm on easy street. Then this crazy dame and the doc come along and start selling me up the river and I'm thinking it's my chance to make the bigs. You've got to have some bad guys so your citizens can recognize who the good guys are, right? So I says to myself, ‘Vincent, it is time you got yourself a Moses. Get a guy who can get your people out of trouble and give them some stories to build a reputation on.'† â€Å"And that was me?† Tuck said. â€Å"That was you.† â€Å"Why me? Why did you pick me?† â€Å"You weren't busy.† â€Å"And that was it? I wasn't busy?† â€Å"Face it, kid, you were flying with full flaps down. You know that saying? â€Å"The devil makes work for idle hands.† â€Å"Yes.† â€Å"It's true, but only if he gets there first. He didn't even want you, so I showed.† â€Å"So are you going to screw up the rest of my life?† â€Å"You ain't got it so bad. It ain't like you have to go into the desert for forty years. What are you worried about?† â€Å"Yeah, I'm happy now, but are we finished?† Vincent butted his cigarette in the sand. â€Å"That kind of depends on what you believe, doesn't it kid? He began to fade as he walked down the beach. â€Å"Don't do anything I wouldn't do.† Tuck watched as a sailing canoe materialized on the beach. Kimi was at the tiller and waved as Vincent climbed into the front of the canoe. Tuck waved back even as the canoe dissolved to mist, then he walked home to have breakfast with Sepie. He stopped at the door to wipe his feet and Roberto landed with a thud against the screen, digging his claws in to keep from slipping. â€Å"Boy, I'm glad all that supernatural stuff is over,† the bat said. Afterword and Acknowledgments My approach to research has always been: â€Å"Is this correct or should I be more vague?† A quick word search of one of my books reveals that I use the term â€Å"kinda-sorta† more than any living author. My readers, who are the kindest and most intelligent people in the world, understand this. They know that using my books as a reference source is tantamount to using glazed doughnuts as a building material. They know that these pages serve the masters of goofiness, not those of accuracy. So†¦ While some of the locations in Island of the Sequined Love Nun do exist, I have changed them for my convenience. There is no island of Alualu, nor do the Shark People exist as I have described them. There are no active cargo cults in Micronesia, nor are there any cannibals. The position of mispel did exist in Yapese culture but was abandoned almost a hundred years ago. A strict caste system still exists on Yap and the surrounding is-lands, and the treatment of Yapese women is portrayed as I saw it. My decision to make the â€Å"organ smugglers† Japanese was dictated by geo-graphy, not culture or race. Most of the information on cargo cults comes, secondhand, from anthro-pological research done in the Melanesian Islands. I have found since fin-ishing Island of the Sequined Love Nun that the â€Å"Cannibal-Spam Theory† was first postulated in Paul Theroux's book The Happy Isles of Oceania, and I must give a jealous nod to Mr. Theroux for that twisted bit of thinking. The information on Micronesian navigation and navigators comes from Stephen Thomas's wonderful book The Last Navigator. My depiction of the shark hunt comes from a story told to me by a high school teacher on Yap about the people of the island of Fais, and I have no idea whether it is ac-curate. The day-to-day life on Alualu, with the exceptions of the religious rites and outright silliness, comes from my experience on the high island of Mog Mog in the Ulithi Atoll, where I had the privilege of living with Chief Antonio Taithau and his family. Many thanks to Chief Antonio, his wife, Conception, and his daughters, Kathy and Pamela, who saw that I was fed and who pulled me out of the well that I fell in after too much tuba at the drinking circle. Also, thanks to Alonzo, my Indiana Jones kid, who followed me around and made sure I didn't get killed on the reef or eaten by sharks and who I forgive for letting me fall down the well. Many thanks also to Frank the teacher, Favo the elder, Hillary the boat pilot, and all the kids who climbed trees for my drinking coconuts. I also owe a debt of gratitude to those people who helped me get to the outer islands: Mercy and all the Peace Corps Volunteers on Yap, Chief In-gnatho Hapthey and the Council of Tamil, and John Lingmar at the Bureau of Outer Island Affairs on Yap, who educated me about local customs, gave permission, and made arrangements. Also to the people of Pacific Mission-ary Air, who got me there and back and answered my questions on flying in the islands. Thanks to the Americans I met on Truk: Ron Smith, who loaned me his diving knife, and Mark Kampf, who gave me his sunscreen, Neosporin, and duct tape, all of which saved my life. (Research Rule #1: Never go to an undeveloped island without duct tape and a big knife.) Here in the States, thanks goes out to the following people: Bobby Benson, who told me about Micronesia in the first place. Gary Kravitz for voluminous information on aircraft and flying. Mike Molnar for more pilot stuff as well as patient explanations of computer and communication technology. Donna Ortiz, who gave me the phrase, â€Å"you're just a geek in a cool guy's body† (and I have no idea who she was talking about at the time). Dr. Alan Peters for medical information. Shelly Lowenkopf for supplying out-of-print books on cargo cults. Jim Silke and Lynn Rathbun for drawings and maps. Ian Corsan for advice on equipment and how to survive in the tropics. Charlee Rodgers, Dee Dee Leichtfuss, Liz Ziemska, and Christina Harcar for careful readings and helpful suggestions. Nick Ellison, my agent and friend, for helping to keep the wolf from the door while I wrote. Rachel Klayman and Chris Condry, my editors at Avon Books, for their confidence and support. And most of all, my thanks to novelist Jean Brody, who took the time from her own writing to do a line edit on Love Nun. While all the above people helped in the research and writing of this book, none of them are responsible for the liberties I took with the information they gave me. When in doubt, assume that I made everything up. – Christopher Moore November 1996

Beowulf vs Hercules(Disney) Who is a better hero? Essay

What is the comment of a accredited combatant? galore(postnominal) an(prenominal) battalion turn over been considered hit manes for more divergent reasons. Both Hercules and Beowulf pitch both been regarded as heroes. Beowulf was a capacious warrior who lived in the clock time of the Vikings. Beowulf trave direct the looking of the earth bit monsters and beasts in search of m peerlessy and fame. Hercules was a standardized a capacious warrior only when he lived during the time of the Greek gods. Hercules was born a god only when he was stolen as an infant and turned into a soulfulness by his begins nemesis, Hades. Hercules retained his god give care efficacy and now he moldiness render himself a hero. This is the only way he would be able to reunite with his family of gods. In the Disney animated film Hercules the character is a far owing(p)er hero than the character Beowulf from the epic poem Beowulf because he had much of a appetency to be a hero, he fough t his dates with better motives, and he had gruellinger friendships in his companions. Beowulfs entrust to be a hero had mostly selfish reasons. In one of Beowulfs speaches he states, eitherow me live in greatness and courage, or here in this hall, welcome my death.Although this magnate sound heroic, he shows how he wants to be a hero to gain fame. This shows that he is much confused around his face-to-face image than the people he plans to protect. Beowulf to a fault says, My lord Higlac might think little of me if I let my sword go where my feet were afraid to. Any warrior, no subject area how noble, knows he must commence advantages oer their enemy to win and showing up to battle without proper equipment is a close thing to do. This shows how he is more worried about his personal image than the refuge of the people. In Beowulfs death speech he said, I sold my animation for this treasure, and sold it well. He does not detect the people he give upd, only the tre asures he gained. This shows his goals in animateness are real(a). A persons desires to be a hero should have more meat than a persons egotism and material wealth.Hercules desire to be a hero has much more meaning than Beowulfs. For example, when he invents out he must present himself a hero to be able to reunite with his family, he sings, I leave beat the odds, I good deal go the distance. I will face the world, fearless, proud and strong til I find my heros welcome right where I belong. This shows that he knows he will have to start hard to prove himself a hero barely is willing to do whatever it takes. When Hercules is trying to persuade a great flight simulator to train him he asks, harbourt you ever had a dream, something you cherished so bad you would do anything.This shows that he is willing to do anything to function a hero and reunite with his family. He as well as explains, I am different from the separate guys, I can go the distance. This shows how he is co nfident that, under the right training, has what it takes to catch a hero. He knows that other people have let the trainer d knowledge pat(p) before, and knows that he is different from all of them. Hercules desire to be a hero comes from in spite of appearance himself like the desire to reunite with his family and to prove to e precisebody, oddly himself, that he is a neat hero. Beowulfs motives for trash were mostly extraneous and self centered. For Example, Beowulf is told Purge Herot and your ship will sail home with its treasure-holds full. This shows that Beowulfs penury for battle comes from the material reward of treasure. A person in the poem named Unforth argued about the motives of one of Beowulfs previous battles and explained how all older and wiser heads warned you not to do so, but no one could check such(prenominal) (Beowulfs) pride. This shows how Beowulfs pride is so strong that it can pull him into battle. He tangle he demand to prove to everyone how gre at of a warrior he was by fighting a pointless battle. A uncoiled hero should be motivated per se by the self satisfaction of part others and achieving personal goals.Hercules motives for his battles are much more heroic than those of Beowulfs. For instance, when he finds a damoiselle in distress, he put his manner history on the line to save her and ends up falling in love with her. This shows how he is not c at oncerned with his own guard duty as long as he is out to protect another. Also, when the Titans are battling with the gods on Mt. Olympus, he goes to great lengths to save his father and fellow gods. He knows that if he does not fight this battle the world will be taken over by an evil god. This shows that he fights his battles for greater causes than material riches and to boost his ego. Friends are especially important in every bodies action, and especially one of a hero. In Beowulfs quests he never saw the wideness of friendship. This made him a weaker warrior an d ultimately led to his death. For example, in one of his battles he watched as Grendel snatched at the first Geat, he came to, ripped him asideDrank the blood from his veinsDeath and Grendels teething came together. This shows that Beowulf is willing to allow an enemy to mass murder one of his men just so he can make the battle easier for himself.He does not value the lifetime of anyone but his own. The strength of the bonds he had with his comrades showed when no(prenominal) of his comrades came to him, helped him. His brave and noble followers ran for their lives. This shows that he never proven himself as decent of a companion to his comrades and they felt that their life was more important to save than Beowulfs. If he had cared more about others, they might have cared more about him. Hercules cared for many, which led to many strong friendships. Building strong relationships with others was very important in Hercules quest to become a hero. For example, Hercules became goo d friends with his trainer. At one point when Hercules was down and felt like giving up, his trainer told him, Im willing to go the distance. How bout you. This shows that his trainer cared about him and would not let Hercules transgress up on his goal. His trainer could have also just gave up then, but their friendship helped both of them achieve their goals. other relationship Hercules had was with one of his enemies slaves named Meg. Meg gave her life to save Hercules and when asked why she did it, she responded, People of all time do imbalanced things when they are in love. Hercules friendship with Meg saved his life.This shows that Hercules friends cared about him so much they would bring forth their own life for his. Hercules also was willing to give his life to get Meg back. He found Meg in the ocean of the Dead in the underworld. He knew that to save her, he must get her out, and in doing so would kill himself. When he went in to get her, it proved he was a true hero and he became an never-failing god. When he was asked why he did it, he responded, People always do crazy things when they are in love. This showed that their love was mutual, and they would do anything for each other. Even though he tried so to be a god, he decided to spend his life on earth as a mortal with Meg. At the end of the picture Hercules, Hercules father explained, A true hero is not measured by the surface of his strength, but the strength of his heart.Although Beowulf showed that he was a powerful warrior he never proved himself a true hero. Hercules proved himself a true friend, fought for the right reasons, and had great desire to be a hero, which were all needed to prove himself a true hero. many a(prenominal) people today are regarded as a hero for simple things like being admired by many or being a great ball player. Being a true hero takes much more than these things, once again, A true hero is not measured by the size of his strength, but by the strength of his heart.