“Life is too easy for young people today. They lack challenges and don’t have to fight for anything.” This quote sparks numerous debates. However, I disagree because I believe young people’s lives are easier due to the numerous restrictions imposed upon them. Modern societies have become more stringent, limiting the actions and behaviors of young individuals. They are often looked down upon and considered troublemakers even if they have committed no wrongdoings. Certain activities that allow young people to express themselves are deemed disruptive to the public, leading them to seek solace indoors through social networking or browsing the internet. This behavior is unfairly labeled as antisocial.
Adults often perceive young people as having an easy life because they tend to successfully and correctly complete difficult tasks on behalf of them, while the youth struggle or make mistakes. However, it is important to note that not all young individuals fit this perception. From my perspective, school and college pose the most challenging obstacles for those under 18. While primary school may not be a problem, high school presents an entirely different set of challenges. Based on personal experience, young people encounter stress from homework, endure despised lessons, and spend time with unpleasant individuals. The coursework and school assignments themselves are already demanding, particularly for those who have difficulty comprehending the concepts and instructions provided.
Struggling and impressing the teacher is necessary for better understanding, while some young individuals find academics easy but struggle to make friends. Making friends is important in school as they will spend a significant amount of time with these peers throughout high school and college. Furthermore, 1% of primary children experience social anxiety, complicating their ability to fit in. Additionally, individuals under 18 face exam stress at some point in their lives, requiring them to concentrate on specific subjects and overcome challenges as pressure increases.
Style Of Problem Solving In The Company
Concluding Case
In the case study, The Law Offices of Jeter, Jackson, Guidry, and Boyer we can see the firm growing and during that process many components were not looked into or analyzed. When the evolution began, the firm’s main focus and vision was put aside and the result was that it began to lose its essence, employee morale, and its customers. In regards to Howser’s suggestion to just “sit tight and ride out the storm” I would have to disagree and believe that the partners should get involved immediately. The decision to just do nothing and let it try to correct itself is an inadequate statement to make. The partnership can take that in many ways, but the fact of the matter is that it shows no interest or an attitude of “I don’t care”. For this, the partnership has to get involved because Howser’s attitude is straining the partnership and the employees. The partners should have Howser step aside so that new changes can be implemented to bring the business back to its core to bring back the organizational structure that was in place, where the employee morale was high and business was growing. Obviously, the main focus by the partners should be on looking for ways to improve the internal relationships first and then proceed externally.
To better the morale within the company, they have to go back and implement the flexible schedules to the employees and offer rewards, more freedom and independence to make decisions on their own, thus empowering the staff. The focus should not only be in one location, but the message should be spread throughout the three towns that they have offices in as well as seek ways to augment and maintain the customer base by looking for ways to offer better services, and this is where empowering the employees could prove beneficial. With our current society and where a business succeeds or fails depends on understanding, approaching and taking care of its customer base, it is important to address the issue of the customer (Simonds, 2013). There are many ways in which a customer could be provided with better service and one could be that of the payments for the services rendered.
This would be because of the demanding of payment from their customers which have been loyal for many years, they have sought other businesses. With the most important piece to keep its client base which can be done by offering a discount if payment is paid early could help or maybe offer the ability for the businesses to delay their payments after all, they have always paid, even if they took months to pay. With the company having internal and external issues, the partners have to address them to look for ways to get the trust back from the communities that they serve the business partners and their own employees. They would have to be ideas in which all areas are involved which could be by offering educational programs for the immediate community, thus putting out the name and in the process rebuilding the trust that it had before the transition period. And this could be achieved by having the employees volunteer their time or pay them, again providing the employee with the freedom and flexibility to do as they choose, after all, the company is only as good as its employees.
After looking into the various leadership styles and types and looking into the current situation of the company and where it’s heading certain type would bode well. That would be that of the style being a transformational leader. This leadership style brings with it social equality that it’s lacking as well as the flexibility that seems to be the most important part of its success. This leadership style would be best to bring in, after Howser changed his style to that of an authoritarian leader which proved to be unsuccessful due to his decisions. And basing it on his prejudices and judgments (Cherry, 2013), and not taking into account the partnership and this by saying, “sit tight and ride out the storm”. With the individual having a transformational leadership style, positive relationships within could be maintained and in turn this would help the employees in improving their performance by this transformational leadership style. Due to their various strengths, transformational leaders have the ability to adapt (adaptability) and make difficult decisions when necessary (Hogg, 2012).
This leader type can help mitigate the change by explaining to the employees of why it’s needed thus bringing on board the employees and certainty of their support as well as being open minded. This leadership type is always and willing to adapt to challenges and with the constantly changing business environment, is crucial. More so, by having the ability to make tough decisions could mean success, because the decisions of a transformational leader are set to their vision, values, goals and objectives. In regards to my leadership style (participative leader), I’d be prone to seek ways to garner the support of the entire staff. A participative leader makes the final decision, but takes into consideration the team members and may be a slow process (Leadership styles: Choosing the Right Style for the Situation, 1996-2013), but with the current situation, proceeding methodically would be the best course of action. This way, positive relationships could be created because it would lead to the employees speaking and in turn would allow me to listen and get the feedback. At this point, the approach that the company wants to take and move forward with would be communicated so that they would not feel left out of the equation, but rather part of the solution. Next the GM position would be brought up and why it would be the best decision for the future of the organization. With this, feedback would also be received from the staff which would allow the facilitation of communication amongst the entire staff. References
Cherry, K. (2013). What Is Autocratic Leadership? Retrieved October 25, 2013, from psychology.about.com: http://psychology.about.com/od/leadership/f/autocratic-leadership.htm Hogg, B. (2012, March 13). 10 Characteristics of Transformational Leaders. Retrieved October 26, 2013, from www.billhogg.ca: http://www.billhogg.ca/2012/03/10-characteristics-of-transformational-leaders/ Leadership styles: Choosing the Right Style for the Situation. (1996-2013). Retrieved October 23, 2013, from www.mindtools.com: http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newLDR_84.htm Simonds, L. (2013, July 9). The 4 Keys to Killer Customer Service. Retrieved October 24, 2013, from business.time.com: http://business.time.com/2013/07/09/the-4-keys-to-killer-customer-service-2/
Theme Of Materialism In American Literature
Outline & Thesis
I. Introduction
A. Growing “The Rocking Horse Winner” by D.H. Lawrence and “The Destructors” by Graham Greene are two thought-provoking short stories that include a lot of truths in it.
B. The seeds of materialism are sown and nurtured in lives of the characters.
C. Materialism grows into the desired conclusions by its characters.
E. Thesis
1. For an individual to escape the illusion of differences and fully appreciate or recognize the similarities of Lawrence’s short story “The Rocking Horse Winner” and Greene’s “The Destructors”, he must inspect or examine the assortment of aspects included in each short story.
II. Similarities in Themes
A. Both short stories greatly revolve around the lives of the children and how they lose their innocence.
1. In Greene’s “The Destructors”, the children are basically teens who call themselves “Wormsley Common Gang”.
a. They are already losing their childish innocence in order to favor the worldliness and complexity around their lives.
b. They believe that they are no longer innocent and turn to rebelliousness, selfishness and cynicism.
c. Evidences
1. T. destroyed the house of Mr. Thomas.
2. T. disrespects Mr. Thomas.
3. T. looked upon Mr. Thomas with doubt and mistrust.
2. D. H. Lawrence’s “The Rocking-Horse Winner” tells the tale of a young boy named Paul.
a. Paul is about the age of 12 he is often referred to as “boy”.
b. His childish innocence is replaced by materialism, and the quest for money.
c. Evidence
1. He did not use the rocking chair as a toy.
2. He used it to foresee winning horses and eventually earn him money.
3. He died after pushing his self too much in order to gain more money.
III. Differences in Styles
A. D.H. Lawrence’s “The Rocking-Horse Winner”, is presented in a manner that resembles a fairy tale.
1. Starts with a statement that “There was a woman who was beautiful, who started with all the advantages, yet she had no luck” (Lawrence, 1966).
2. There are also several supernatural elements of fable used by the author in the story.
3. D.H. Lawrence also uses a style that presents the seriousness of life.
B. Greene’s “The Destructors”, greatly demonstrates or lays reality to its audience.
1. It bares the unsteadiness of postwar England.
2. Changes are occurring in the social dynamics of the story.
3. Children no longer see the link or correlation of the present to the past
4. Paradox in “The Destructors”.
a. Greene writes, “He protested with the fury of the child he had never been” (1993).
IV. The historical context which influenced the style of the authors.
A. The commencement of World War I in 1914 marked the beginning of modernist period in the English literature.
B. Both D.H. Lawrence and Graham Greene are considerably influenced by the World War I.
C. Evidences.
1. D.H. Lawrence started writing by the early parts of the 20th century.
2. Graham Greene became a well-known writer in the 20th century.
V. Conclusion
A. “The Destructors” and “The Rocking-Horse Winner” differ from each other.
B. By carefully looking at some of its contents readers see that they are very much alike.
C. From the shallow differences of the two novels, there are actually deeper similarities.
Deeper Similarities beyond Shallow Differences
“The Rocking Horse Winner” by D.H. Lawrence and “The Destructors” by Graham Greene are two thought-provoking short stories that include a lot of truths in it. At first, it seems that these literary works are completely two different stories, however, it can be deduced that they are the same. May it be in the case of the real-life like story of “The Destructors” or the fantasy like story of “The Rocking Horse Winner”, the seeds of materialism are sown and nurtured in lives of the characters. Moreover, the facet of materialism which is imbedded in these two short stories increases and amalgamates into desired conclusions by its characters. For an individual to escape the illusion of differences and fully appreciate or recognize similarities of Lawrence’s short story “The Rocking Horse Winner” and Greene’s “The Destructors”, he must inspect or examine the assortment of aspects included in each short story.
An individual comparing the two short stories would first think that they are two different stories, but by observing the themes comes a surprising similarity. First of all, both short stories greatly revolve around the lives of the children and how they lose their innocence. In Greene’s “The Destructors”, the children are basically teens who call themselves “Wormsley Common Gang”. At a young age, they are already gradually losing their childish innocence in order to favor the worldliness and complexity around their lives. On the contrary, the Wormsley Common Gang already believes that this childish innocence has already vanished or moved out, changed or substituted by rebelliousness, selfishness, and cynicism. A part in the story tells how T. destroyed the house of Mr. Thomas. In addition to this, he treated Mr. Thomas with disrespect and looked upon him with doubt and mistrust. Conversely, T. does not hate Mr. Thomas. His actions of tearing down Mr. Thomas’s life are not due to personal reasons but rather a reflection of his current situation or environment. On the other hand, D.H. Lawrence’s “The Rocking-Horse Winner” tells the tale of a young boy named Paul, who in his early age about 12 years old and often referred to as “boy”, have already realized the situation of his family. His childish innocence is replaced by materialism, and the quest for money. As such, he decided to go on an adventurous path of luck to get money. Instead of playing with the rocking-horse to entertain his self, he used it to foresee the winning horses. Paul’s win and continuous earnings for his family inspired him. However, in the end, it corrupted him into worldliness and materialism. He died after pushing his self too much in order to gain more money.
It can be argued that the two short stories are different if a point of view on the style used by the authors is used as a basis. D.H. Lawrence’s “The Rocking-Horse Winner”, is presented in a manner that resembles a fairy tale. On the contrary, he does not use the famous line “once upon a time”, but rather, starts with a statement that “There was a woman who was beautiful, who started with all the advantages, yet she had no luck” (Lawrence, 1966). Such statement is a conscious effort or endeavor of D.H. Lawrence to utilize the traditional oral storytelling technique in order to catch the attention of his readers or audience. There are also several supernatural elements of fable used by the author in the story. This includes the protagonist’s ability to foresee the winners by simply riding his rocking horse. D.H. Lawrence also uses a style that presents the seriousness of life, including an unhappy marriage and an unhealthy greed or yearning and coercion of one’s self to obtain riches. As a whole, D.H. Lawrence introduces the story in a simple fable-like manner. However, he concludes it with a serious message on the subject of wasted lives. Greene’s “The Destructors”, greatly demonstrates or lays reality to its audience. More specifically, it bares the unsteadiness of postwar England. This can be observed in the presentation of contrasting forces all throughout his short story. In addition to this, the forces reveal the change that had occurred in a society that had experienced and endured a trauma. Changes are occurring in the social dynamics of the story. Moreover, the children no longer feel the connection between their generations to the past generations. They no longer see the link or correlation of the present to the past. Greene’s writing includes a lot of paradoxes in “The Destructors” and these paradoxes are responsible for the atmosphere of the story. Because of these paradoxes, the audience or readers are able to see the role of the Wormsley Common Gang and the functions of their lives. This paradox can be observed as Greene vividly describes the thoughts, feelings and actions of T. towards Mr. Thomas. By the time that Mr. Thomas was able to get to their home earlier than expected, T was shocked. T, as what the old man said before he left, thought that he would be gone for a longer period of time. Greene writes, “He protested with the fury of the child he had never been” (1993).
On the contrary, by looking at the historical context which influenced the style of the authors, one would understand the similarities of the two short stories. The commencement of World War I in 1914 marked the beginning of modernist period in the English literature. Literature and writers during this time illustrate or describe the world’s experiences. D.H. Lawrence started writing by the early parts of the 20th century (Maddox, 1996) and it goes the same for Graham Greene, who became a well-known writer in the 20th century (Donaghy, 1986). Both D.H. Lawrence and Graham Greene are considerably influenced by the World War I and this is reflected in their novels “The Destructors” and “The Rocking-Horse Winner”.
“The Destructors” and “The Rocking-Horse Winner” differ from each other. They are created by two different authors. Their titles are not related nor mean the same thing as the other. The protagonist of “The Rocking-Horse Winner” is an individual, while it is a group in “The Destructors”. Audience or readers can further have this illusion by looking at the styles used. However, by carefully looking at some of its contents, such as themes and historical context or influences on the author, readers see that they are very much alike. From the shallow differences of the two novels, there are actually deeper similarities.
Works Cited
Donaghy, Henry J. Graham Greene. The Netherlands: Rodopi B.V., 1986.
Greene, Graham. The Destructors. New York: Creative Company, 1993.
Lawrence, D.H. The Rocking-Horse Winner. New York: Dramatic Publishing Company, 1966.
Maddox, Brenda. D.H. Lawrence. New York: W.W. Norton and Company, 1996.