Sunday, December 29, 2019

Specifics of Childrens Understanding of the Earth Free Essay Example, 1750 words

In addition to the biological and environmental factors affecting child development, their age is the manner in which questions of the study are posed. The exact nature of questions as they are presented to a child may have an effect on how that child perceives the physical phenomenon and how they are then able to apply conceptual ideas to explain that phenomenon. One of the most basic divisions on how questions are posed to study participants is whether the question is open ended or close ended. Either type of question has its advantages and disadvantages and may have an effect on how the child s responses are formulated and rated. While one might anticipate that open-ended questions would allow the child the greatest leeway in their answers and offer the greatest insight into the participant s level of scientific consistency, this is not always the case. For example, a recently composed questionnaire was created that contained 40 open ended questions. This survey was easy to create and implement, but experienced difficulties once the participants had completed it. In particular, the respondents provided a large amount of extraneous information that was difficult and time-consuming for the researchers to sift through and the responses themselves were often difficult to quantify for comparison (Henning, 2009). We will write a custom essay sample on Specifics of Childrens' Understanding of the Earth or any topic specifically for you Only $17.96 $11.86/pageorder now These issues illustrate how, while they allow participants greater leeway in providing information to the facilitator, open-ended questions can prove problematic in analysis and quantification once the data has been collected, problematic for scientific research. In turn, forced-choice or close ended questions are nearly the opposite of open ended questions in their advantages and disadvantages. The first significant difference is that these questions can be more difficult and time consuming to write than their open ended cousins. Care must be given to the selection of choices offered by each question, specifically to not clutter the selection with highly unlikely options, to arrange the choices in an appropriate manner that does not unduly influence the selection process, and to include all commonly selected choices as options.

Friday, December 20, 2019

Comparison of Emily Dickinsons Because I Could Not Stop...

Comparison of Because I Could Not Stop for Death and A Time Past Emily Dickinsons Because I Could Not Stop For Death recounts the narrators final ride and how she is accompanied by a chivalrous Death. In the poem, the narrator describes major landmarks that have made an impact on her life, as well as provides a description of her final resting place. Likewise, in A Time Past, Denise Levertov looks back at her life, noting how the changes that have occurred to set of stairs parallel the changes that have taken place in her life. In both poems, Dickinson and Levertov write about change, memory, and death and establish a somber, yet reminiscent tone in their poetry. In Because I Could Not Stop For Death, the narrator describes how she is accompanied by Death, who is described as a gentleman caller. The narrator notes, Because I could not stop for Death/He kindly stopped for me.../We slowly drove, he knew no hast/And I had put away/My labor, and my leisure too,/For his civility (Dickinso n lines 1-2, 5-8). Through this description, the narrator is able to establish a somber, yet accepting tone in which she does not feel that she has to fight death, but rather accept it as a part of life. Through the narrative of the poem, the narrator is able to demonstrate change through the different landmarks that she passes on her journey. In the poem, change is emphasized through the anaphora that is used to describe the carriages journey. For instance, the narrator notes

Thursday, December 12, 2019

Corporate Governance Australian Securities and Investment Commission

Question: Discuss about the case study Corporate Governance for Australian Securities and Investment Commission. Answer: Introduction: In the context of Australia, Public companies are commonly enlisted to the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX). As mentioned by Gibson and Brown (2012), these enlisted companies are the subject of broad and strict directives and they are subjected under the regulations of Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC). However, in most of the recent cases it has been found that the CEOs or other managerial authorities are not satisfying the legal or ethical cravings of the organization. Here, the cases of Enron, HIH, One.Tel Ltd and many other companies can be discussed. In most of the cases, the CEOs have found guilty of ethical behaviour and lack of control of the Board of directors over them has led the companies to corporate failures. In the cases like Harris Scarfe Ltd. it has been found that the CEO was incapable and indecisive to work in favor of the company. On the other hand, in case of Parmalat, fraudulent account handling has criminalized the management. In such a cont ext, these public listed companies need to focus on the corporate governance and compliance to the ASIC norms. Purpose: From the above discussion, it can be said that the corporations need to focus on creating a better ethical and responsible environment within the company. Hence, it is needed for them to delineate the authorities between the BOD and the CEO. Moreover, to uphold good corporate governance the corporations need to take some strategic steps. Discussion: As discussed by Tricker (2015), aboard of directorscan be identified as body of nominated or selected members who in cooperation supervise or administer the activities of an organization or a profit making company. On the other hand, a CEO can be identified as the chairperson of the board. As discussed by McCahery et al. (2016), CEO is the highest executive liable for the maneuver and administration of a company. The prescribed role and responsibilities of the Board of directors: Foundation of the vision, mission and values of the company: As discussed by Erkens et al. (2016), the members of the board of directors should determine the companys vision and mission. As they are the supervisors of the management and operation of the company, they need to set the path for the members of the organization. As opined by Solomon (2014), the board of directors needs to have a better control over the corporate entities in the context of corporate failures. Hence, it is needed for the directors to determine and ingrain the values of the company among the members. The corporations are accountable to the stakeholders, hence, it is the responsibility of the board of directors to review the company goals and determine the company policies (Dean et al. 2014). According to the Legitimacy theory, the companies need to ensure that they are operating within the standards of existing society (Rezaee and Kedia 2012). Hence, the directors need to focus on laying down the values and vision of the company according to the societal norms. It is important to include non-executive directors to the board. As he/she is not liable to the management, he/she can be more independent regarding their decision and choices. The number of them must be significant. It will make the board more independent from the management. Recruit, supervise, retain, and evaluate: As opined by Christensen et al. (2015), Recruiting, supervising, retaining, evaluating and compensating the CEO or general manager are probably the most important functions of the board of directors. Within the framework of corporate governance, it is important to hire the right persons for the posts like CEO, CFO, President and many more. As discussed by Solomon (2014), in most of the cases, corporate failure has usually been attributed to behavioral factors such as exuberance, greediness and hubris in economic boom and consequences in taking of excessive risk by companies. Hence, it is important for the Board of Directors to identify the right persons and recruit them. Setting of strategy and structure of the company: As discussed by Hamilton and Micklethwait (2016), it is important for the directors to evaluate the opportunities and threats to the business operation and outline the pragmatic strategies. The directors need to prevent insolvent trading. They need to be informed of the financial status of the company. They have a statutory power to restrict insolvent trading and they are personally liable to the debts during insolvency. According to the Australian Accounting Standards (AASB), the directors are also liable to prepare the financial reports (Gibson and Brown 2012). Delegate to management: The board needs to allocate the roles; monitor, and evaluate the implementation of the strategies. They need to exercise effective internal control. In performing this task, the board needs to communicate with the senior management. Accountability to the shareholders: The board needs to ensure a proper communication and information channel back and forth with the shareholders. They need to take account of the interest of the shareholders. The board must maintain a good will with the shareholders (Anderson 2014). Other roles: The board needs to align, compensate and monitor the key executives and the board members in with the company shareholders. They need to ensure transparent and formal board nomination and election procedure. The board needs to look after the disclosure and communication procedure (Dean et al. 2014). In this context, the distinct roles of each member can be identified as following: The independent directors: They will be consulted for the issues placed before the board mainly the financial issues of the corporation. The CEO: He will be accountable for the management issues. The CFO: He will be in charge of the financial management. An executive director: He will be in charge of the risk management committee. Other members will also be there in the board. A non-executive director: He will be in charge of the audit committee. Other members should be non executive too. An executive director: He will be the charge of the appointment committee. The CEO also can be a part of the committee. On the other hand, the responsibilities of a CEO can be designated as bellow: Financial, Tax, Risk and Facilities Management: To be particular, a CEO needs to lay down the budget of the company for the boards approval. He needs to manage financial issues in accordance to the company laws and governmental regulations. Community Relations and HRM: It is one of the major duties of the CEO to present the company mission and vision in a positive manner to the society. He must be a personality who is capable enough to deliver his jobs and make his employees deliver their tasks. As mentioned by Solomon (2014), the CEO needs to promote the corporate culture that upholds ethical observance, support individual uprightness, and fulfils societal and ecological responsibility. Board Administration and Support: It is also important for the CEOs to maintain operations and management of the Board by providing recommendations and informing the members the organizational data and facts. He is also responsible for implementing the strategies developed by the board. He needs to prepare and administer the realization of key corporate policies (McCahery et al. 2012). The service: The CEO needs to investigate the design, promotion, delivery and quality products and services of the company. The CEO needs to ensure that the concerned managers are rightly administering the routine business dealings of the company and risk management can be performed when needed (Christensen et al. 2015). A number of cases can be cited as examples of corporate failures due to the lack of valuing good corporate governance in the investment decision-making models of the companies. Research and findings: If a review on the case of the American energy production company Enron can be done, the importance of good governance can be noticed vividly. The collapse of the company was a result violation of number corporate principles. As mentioned by Soltani (2014), the existence of off-balance sheet liabilities hidden in Special Purpose Entities (SPE) was used to move financing off-balance sheet and avoid consolidation of the SPE. Moreover, Enron boosted its reported income from allegedly laissez-faire transactions. The SPE also allowed the company to increase its reported cash flow. On the other hand, the key personalities of the company found guilty of ethical degradation. As mentioned by Smith (2015), the Chairman Ken Lay, CEO Jeffrey Skilling and CFO Andrew Fastow were found guilty of fraud. The CEO ware found following the senior executives blindly and avoided any review of the company proceedings. In addition, the company was following poor internal controls that led to accounting malpractices. The auditor Arthur Andersen was also ineffective and criminal and fraudulent proceedings led to the companys collapse (Lessambo 2014). On the other hand, in the case of One.Tel Ltd. in Australia, an excessive risk taking, poor costing, credit administration, and dominant management led the company to corporate failure (Anderson 2014). Whereas, in the case of Harris Scarfe Ltd. the issue was with the bad administration and fraudulent account handling and exposure irregularities for more than six years (Smith 2015). In addition, in the case of HIH, the company was led to failure due to deception by directly manipulating the accounting records, failed management, and ignorance of the shareholders rights. As discussed by Hamilton and Micklethwait (2016), the same thing happened in the case of Parmalat in 2003. The company tasted failure due to absence of power and autonomy of the non-executive directors, over dominating management, poor accounting and lack of internal control. As mentioned by Anderson (2014), the company was also a victim of insider trading and undisclosed related party transactions of senior corporate officers. However, if a review on the success stories can be done, it can be noticed that following a good corporate governance practice has helped the companies to obtain a better investment return as well as public acceptance. In the case of theCoca-ColaCompany, strengthening the board and management accountability, establishing Corporate Governance Guidelines, regular reviews of the corporate culture, establishing charters for all the board committees helped the company to develop good corporate governance (McCahery et al. 23016). Establishment of Codes of Business Conduct, disseminating the information regarding the method of reporting apprehensions about the organization and its public policy, helped the company to attain a huge rage of investor return, public trust and company eminence. However, from the above stated discussion it can be said that the companies need to follow some strategies to uplift their good corporate governance practices and increase their rate of investor return. Recommendations: The companies need to build a strong and competent BOD: As opined by Solomon (2014), it is important for the companies to uphold a strategy of electing the board members by the shareowners. Thus, it will ensure the maintenance of the interest of the shareholders and the long-term health and overall success of the business and its financial strength. The board should be comprised of the members, who are competent, decisive and possess strong ethics and integrity, diverse backgrounds and skill sets. As discussed by Rezaee and Kedia (2012), the majority of the directors must be independent. It will ensure unbiased judgment. Moreover, it is also important to educate the directors and make them familiar with the business, respective roles and the boards expectations. A regular review of the board mandates and assessment of the directors performance is also needed. As opined by Balkaran (2013), the corporations must develop an engaged Board where directors ask questions and challenge management and don't just "rubber-stamp" management's recommendations. Distinct roles of the management and executives: Clearly written mandates for each executive and typical committee (audit, compensation and others) need to be maintained. As described by Kandukuri et al. (2015), role descriptions for the board members, the CEO and executives should be preserved. Integrity and ethical dealing: It can be identified as one of the major principles of good corporate governance. As opined by Denis (2016), the corporations need to implement a conflict of interest policy and a code of business conduct. A structured procedure to report and treat disobedience, and a Whistleblower policy should also be maintained. Moreover, the management needs to ensure that the directors would abstain from voting over the issues in which they have an interest. Evaluation: The board has to ensure that the fees will attract the suitable candidates but it will not limit the director's autonomy or fulfillment of his job roles. Establishing a performance target for the executives including the CEO and evaluating it and tie compensation to performance is also needed. Risk management: The corporations must look into the issues of risks potential to be faced. These can be financial, reputational, industry-related, operational, environmental or legal. As discussed by Tricker (2015), lack of independence leads to risk taking behavior. The board need to establish strategic leadership for the organizations risk tolerance. A clear framework for managing risks needed to be found and evaluated regularly. Moreover, as opined by Solomon (2014), the BOD should challenge management's assumptions and the adequacy of the company's risk management processes and procedures. Conclusion: Hence, it can be concluded that to ensure a better performance, the corporations need to focus on their management and operation pattern. The shareholders can be identified as the foundations of a public listed corporation. Hence, as discussed by various theories, it is important to follow a good corporate governance to earn their trust and uphold their interest. In the recent decades, a number of companies have faced disastrous corporate failures by disregarding the principles of corporate governance. Hence, the public listed corporations must concentrate to this and take the appropriate actions. References: Anderson, H., 2014. Pressing the right buttons: Australian case studies in the protection of employee entitlements against corporate insolvency.International Labour Review,153(1), pp.117-142. Balkaran, L., 2013. Auditing the Corporate Governance Effort in an Organization.EDPACS,48(4), pp.12-18. Christensen, J., Kent, P., Routledge, J. and Stewart, J., 2015. Do corporate governance recommendations improve the performance and accountability of small listed companies?.Accounting Finance,55(1), pp.133-164. Dean, G., Clarke, F. and Egan, M., 2014. Corporate capers, accounting and governance reform.Governance Directions,66(9), p.541. Denis, D.K., 2016. Corporate Governance and the Goal of the Firm: In Defense of Shareholder Wealth Maximization.Forthcoming in the Financial Review. Erkens, D.H., Hung, M. and Matos, P., 2012. Corporate governance in the 20072008 financial crisis: Evidence from financial institutions worldwide.Journal of Corporate Finance,18(2), pp.389-411. Gibson, B. and Brown, D., 2012. ASIC'S expectations of directors.UNSWLJ,35, p.254. Hamilton, S. and Micklethwait, A., 2016.Greed and corporate failure: The lessons from recent disasters. Springer. Kandukuri, R.L., Memdani, L. and Babu, P.R., 2015. Effect of Corporate Governance on Firm PerformanceA Study of Selected Indian Listed Companies.Overlaps of Private Sector with Public Sector around the Globe (Research in Finance, Volume 31) Emerald Group Publishing Limited,31, pp.47-64. Lessambo, F.I., 2014. Corporate Governance, Accounting and Auditing Scandals. InThe International Corporate Governance System(pp. 244-263). Palgrave Macmillan UK. McCahery, J.A., Sautner, Z. and Starks, L.T., 2016. Behind the scenes: The corporate governance preferences of institutional investors.The Journal of Finance. Rezaee, Z. and Kedia, B.L., 2012. Role of corporate governance participants in preventing and detecting financial statement fraud.Journal of Forensic Investigative Accounting,4(2), pp.176-205. Smith, H., 2015. Australia's Company Law Watchdog: ASIC and Corporate Regulation. Solomon, J., 2014. Corporate Governance and Accountability. 4th Edition, Wiley, USA. Soltani, B., 2014. The anatomy of corporate fraud: A comparative analysis of high profile American and European corporate scandals.Journal of Business Ethics,120(2), pp.251-274. Tricker, B., 2015.Corporate governance: Principles, policies, and practices. Oxford University Press, USA.

Thursday, December 5, 2019

Accounting Project The Banking Organization

Question: Describe about the Accounting Project for The Banking Organization. Answer: Introduction: The banking organization plays a very important role in economic development and financial system of any nation. Therefore, the estimation of its effectiveness is very crucial. This research proposal presents the comparative analysis of Australian and Canadian bank organizations economic performance. Throughout the past 2 decades, significant empirical and theoretical attention is being given on financial and economic performance and development. Banking organization has crucial impact on the urbanization and industrialization process of any country. Banking organization manipulates the economic performance through three important factors, which are: (1) increase rate in private savings (2) the improvement and effectiveness on the intermediary performance of finance (3) the development of social capital productivity. Generally, productivity growth is highly dependent on financial performance. Hence, if smooth performance of financial system is disturbed by financial crisis, it will h ave considerable negative effect on the banking organizations as well as economic performance of any country (Joshi et al. 2013). Australian banking organization consists of various banks operated under the Banking Act, 1959. Banking system in Australia is competitive, liquid and well-developed. At present, there are four major banks who are dominating the banking organization in Australia. They are: National Australia Bank, Commonwealth bank of Australia, Westpac banking Corporation and Australia and New Zealand Banking Group. On the other hand, banking organization in Canada started through the establishment of Bank of Montreal in the year 1817. In day to day business, the banking organization in Canada, are divided into two major categories, such as: (1) five large national banks (2) smaller banks in second tier. Five major banks in Canada are: Toronto Dominion Bank, Bank of Montreal, Royal Bank of Canada, Bank of Nova Scotia and Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce. Some remarkable second tier banks are: Canadian Western Bank, Laurentine Bank, ATB Financial, HSBC Bank of Canada, Desjardins Group and Tangerine Bank (Grigoroudis, Tsitsiridi and Zopounidis 2013). Literature Review: Westpac Banking Corporation (Australia): Background: Westpac is Australias first bank. Westpac was founded in 1817 and known as Bank of New South Wales under the merger offered by Governor Lachlan Macquarie. It converted its name to Westpac Banking Corporation in October 1982 after the acquirement of Commercial Bank of Australia. They started their business with Joseph Hyde, who was their first employee. He used to receive an annual remuneration of 25 pounds along with weekly ration from Kings store. In the year 1821, they faced huge loss as the chief cashier of New South Wales absconded with half of their subscribed capital, out of which not a single penny was recoverable. The bank began their major expansion through the gold fever in 1851 when they found a prospect to set up buying agents for gold with regard to the requirement of merchants and miners. They had grown to 37 branches from a single branch in Sydney, by the year 1861. At present, Westpac has 5 divisions for serving near about 13 million customers. Their operating structu re and business are lined up with the need of their prime customers. (Strong, Cater-Steel and Lane 2014). Five key segments of Westpac are: Business bank: They are liable for customer service and sales of their agribusiness and commercial customer and small to medium enterprises. This division also helps the expertise in equipment and asset finance. Consumer bank: They are liable for service and sales of their Australian customer under Westpac. BT Financial Group of Australia: They manage the Australian insurance and wealth business. They are liable for management of the fund, distribution and manufacturing of investment, financial planning, private banking, broking and margin lending. Institutional bank of Westpac: They provides a wide range of financial deals to corporate, commercial, government and institutional customers, connected to New Zealand and Australia (Cummings and Durrani 2016). Westpac of New Zealand: They are accountable for service and sales of insurance, wealth, and banking products for business and institutional consumers around New Zealand. Other divisions of business of the group involves: Group Technology, Business and Customer Services, Core support and Treasury department (Islam, Jain and Thomson 2016). Bank of Montreal (Canada): Background: Bank of Montreal was founded in the year 1817 as a wide financial service provider in North America. They provides wide range services and products like investment banking, wealth management, retail banking to more than 12 million consumers. Bank of Montreal carry on their business through the operating groups like: Capital market of BMO, Wealth Management and Commercial and Personal banking. They serve the customers of Canada through the Bank of Montreal, Nesbitt Burns of BMO and Capital Markets of BMO. They help their clients to make money through offering the widest variety of financial services by a single point contact. Their experts from financial service segment always offer services to their customer around the whole enterprise, in case they need any kind of service (Allahrakha, Glasserman and Young 2015). Primary services provided by the Bank of Montreal are: Start plan for business: Under this plan, clients are offered to get banking plan for business with low-fee and no minimum monthly balance obligation. Builder 1 Plan for Business: Under this plan, customers are provided with a banking plan of business for a charge of $20 per month and with no minimum balance requirement for up to 35 transactions per month. Builder 2 Plan for Business: As per this plan, clients get banking plan for business for a monthly charge of $45, up to 70 dealings per month and with advanced electronic system for banking solutions (van Knippenberg 2016). Problem Statement: The main problem statement of this research proposal is to analyze the economic performance of Westpac Corporation Bank of Australia and Bank of Montreal from Canada and the types of services offered by these banks to their clients (Thomas, Silverman and Nelson 2015). Research question: Main questions of this research proposal are: What are the contributions of Westpac Banking Corporation in Australia? What are the contributions of Bank of Montreal in Canada? How these banks are contributing to the nations economic development? How these banks are providing services to their customers? Research design and Objectives: This research proposal is proposed to analyze the contribution of Westpac Corporation Bank and Bank of Montreal towards the economic development of Australia and Canada. The main objective of this research proposal is to find out how these banks are providing services to their client and the range of services provided to them (Creswell 2013). Research Hypothesis: The hypothesis of this research proposal is: H0: Economic performance of Westpac Corporation Bank of Australia is better H1: Economic performance of Bank of Montreal of Canada is better. Research methodology: The plan for research includes the way in which the research is required to be completed. This research proposal is about the comparative analysis of the economic performance of Westpac Corporation Bank of Australia and bank of Montreal of Canada. This research proposal involves Quantitative Secondary research. The quantitative secondary research involves collection of data from the official websites of Westpac Corporation Bank of Australia and Bank of Montreal of Canada. Analysis of data shall be based on the existing information available in their official website (Pickard 2012). Research Philosophy: There are three types of research philosophy. The first type of philosophy is known as realism philosophy. Human feelings and emotions are mainly taken into account in realism philosophy. The conclusions are drawn by taking into consideration the feelings and emotions. Positivism is the second type of research philosophy. In this case, the human feelings and emotions are not at all considered. The conclusions are drawn from collected information and figures. The third type of research philosophy, that is, interpretive research philosophy, considers both the human emotions and feelings along with collected data and figures. For example, when a research is carried out, the part where an individual supports a particular cause or does not fall in the section of data collection, then a particular attitude of the people regarding the social cause falls under realism research philosophy. The chosen research philosophy for this research work is positivism research philosophy. The research will be carried out based on the collected data. The research is mainly based on secondary data. The emotions and feelings are not taken into account in this kind of research work (Robson and McCartan 2016). Gantt Chart: The Gantt Chart for this research proposal is given below: Week 1 Week 6 Week 8 Week 13 Week 14 Identification of research problem Literature review Data collection and analysis Conclusion and final presentation Final business research thesis due Figure: Gnatt Chart for the research proposal (Source: Created by Author) Research process: Research process is the way through which research is to be carried out. In the first week of the research, the research problem is required to be identified and the problem report of the research will be arranged. In week 6, literature review shall be completed. In week 8, collection and analysis of data shall be completed. Conclusion and final presentation shall be completed by week 13 and final business thesis is due for week 14 (O'Leary 2013). Data Collection: Secondary data collection for quantitative data will include data from the official website of Westpac Corporation Bank of Australia and Bank of Montreal of Canada. There are number of clients who use the services of these banks. The data can also be collected from the services provided by the bank to their clients (McMillan and Schumacher 2014). Research Strategy: The research strategy states the ways by which the research is being carried out. The research strategies can be of four different types qualitative research design, quantitative research design, logical theoretical research, participatory research and others. The qualitative research design refers to using secondary research. In the case of quantitative design, the primary data is being used. The primary data can be collected by the help of questionnaire. The logical research refers to drawing consequences from initial assumptions (Hair 2015). The participatory research refers to the research approaches used in social systems for studying. The research strategies used for this research work is Quantitative Secondary approach. The data is being collected regarding the economic performance of Westpac Corporation Bank of Australia and Bank of Montreal of Canada from the official website of these banks (Silverman 2013). Time Horizons: The time horizons refer to the time points from where the data is being calculated. The data can be collected over a single point of time or repeatedly over different points of time. When the data is being collected over a single point of time, then the design is referred to as cross sectional design. When the data of different variables are repeatedly collected in different points of time, then the design is known as longitudinal study design. The cross sectional study design is used for the purpose of this research. The study involves collection of data regarding the economic performance and service to clients by these banks. It also states the various types of services provided by the banks to their clients (Bell 2014). Expected Research Outcomes: The research proposal must give an apparent idea about the Economic performance of Westpac Corporation Bank, Australia and Bank of Montreal, Canada. The research proposal also gives a clear idea regarding the collection and analysis of dataset. The possible conclusions of the analysis shall also be stated in the proposal. The research proposal will help to analyse the economic performance of banks in Australia and Canada. References: Allahrakha, M., Glasserman, P. and Young, H.P., 2015. Systemic importance indicators for 33 US bank holding companies: an overview of recent data.OFR Brief, (15-01). Bell, J., 2014.Doing Your Research Project: A guide for first-time researchers. McGraw-Hill Education (UK). Creswell, J.W., 2013.Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches. Sage publications. Cummings, J.R. and Durrani, K.J., 2016. Effect of the Basel Accord capital requirements on the loan-loss provisioning practices of Australian banks.Journal of Banking Finance,67, pp.23-36. Grigoroudis, E., Tsitsiridi, E. and Zopounidis, C., 2013. Linking customer satisfaction, employee appraisal, and business performance: an evaluation methodology in the banking sector.Annals of Operations Research,205(1), pp.5-27. Hair, J.F., 2015.Essentials of business research methods. ME Sharpe. Islam, M.A., Jain, A. and Thomson, D., 2016. Does the global reporting initiative influence sustainability disclosures in Asia-Pacific banks?.Australasian Journal of Environmental Management, pp.1-16. Joshi, M., Cahill, D., Sidhu, J. and Kansal, M., 2013. Intellectual capital and financial performance: an evaluation of the Australian financial sector.Journal of intellectual capital,14(2), pp.264-285. McMillan, J.H. and Schumacher, S., 2014.Research in education: Evidence-based inquiry. Pearson Higher Ed. O'Leary, Z., 2013.The essential guide to doing your research project. Sage. Pickard, A., 2012.Research methods in information. Facet publishing. Robson, C. and McCartan, K., 2016.Real world research. John Wiley Sons. Silverman, D., 2013.Doing qualitative research: A practical handbook. SAGE Publications Limited. Strong, B., Cater-Steel, A. and Lane, M., 2014. Prudential risk management of IT sourcing strategies: a case study of an Australian bank. Thomas, J.R., Silverman, S. and Nelson, J., 2015.Research Methods in Physical Activity, 7E. Human kinetics. van Knippenberg, D., 2016. Making Sense of Who We Are.The Oxford Handbook of Organizational Identity, p.335.

Thursday, November 28, 2019

Approaches to Resolving Conflicts

Approaches to Resolving Conflicts First, the approach is supposed to produce a wise agreement that is if there is a possibility of an agreement. A wise agreement should ensure that the interests of both parties have been attained to the best possible limits. This is in addition to attempting to give fair solutions to conflicting interests, as well as being long lasting and considering the interests of the bigger community (Fisher, Ury and Patton 1991, p.4).Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Approaches to Resolving Conflicts specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Schmidt’s interests were that he wanted the museum to be the leading in the Midwest and to be among the top five nationally. This would call for extensive fund raising and media coverage. This made him to be focused on generating more funds, hiring excellent curators and, acquiring and showing the most outstanding art work. On the other hand, Smithâ€℠¢s desire on the other hand was for the MCA to expand its scope in the number of hosted artists and audience base. He was prepared to team up with his wife to donate funds that would facilitate the expansion of the facility. These were varying interests and it would cost the museum facility a great deal if they were all to be met. Therefore, instead of the lack of agreement on these interests drawing them apart, they should have accessed the possibility of at least meeting some from each side at a cost that the museum facility can afford at the time. The practicality of meeting all of one person’s interests may just be as unpractical as meeting the demands of both the parties. However, a mutual agreement should be reached to an extent where each party feels involved. Apart from ensuring the interests of each party have been represented to a given extent, it should also aim at providing fair solutions to conflicting interests. For instance, whereas Schmidt is particularly preo ccupied with the quality of the services offered by the facility, Smith is more concerned with the quantity in terms of the capacity of the structure and the number of participants. These are two conflicting interests. To reach at a common ground, there should be fairness to ensure that interests from each side have been thoroughly compared, rationally analyzed and fairly adopted based on the organization’s ability to implement and sustain them at that period.Advertising Looking for report on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More For the resolution to be wise, it should also be long lasting in the sense that after negotiating the interests that are held by both the chairman and director of the museum facility, a decision should only be reached at based on sustainability of the interest that is likely to be implemented. Moreover, a wise resolution should prioritize the interests of the organization, and no t those of individuals. Therefore, in resolving the conflicting interests of the two museum leaders, the entire museum facility’s interests should preside over those that are personal. This can be reached at after an in-depth scrutiny of each interest. In addition, disputing over pockets is unwise. It may only serve to generate more heat than light as the parties tend to be confined within their positions. Schmidt talks with defensive connotations to his docket as both the professional manager and leader of the museum facility. He terms Peter’s concerns as intrusive and thus turns purely defensive. Smith on other hand strongly defends his chairmanship, thinks that Keith’s suggestions are fiscally unsound, and feels that he is the final authority who must therefore have the final word in all matters pertaining to the organization. This focus on their positions closes the window for any wise negotiation on the museum’s agenda making them not be able to reso lve anything. Secondly, the approach should be efficient. An argument that is centered over positions is not efficient. This is because it creates incentives that increase the difficulty of reaching at a consensus. Positional bargaining enables one to improve the probability of any decision arrived at favoring them. This enabled them to start with a hardliner stand, stubbornly clinging on it and deceiving the other party as to your certain views and by making minor compromises, just to keep the negotiation flowing. This applies to the other party too. Each of these aspects interferes with arriving at a consensus quickly. The time it takes to agree on any argument is determined by the size of the concessions and the extremeness of the opening stands. The two leaders of the museum facility start with extreme defense of their positions which none of them is willing to shed off from their perspectives of resolving the conflict at hand. Eventually, we see the conflict remaining unsolved. Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Approaches to Resolving Conflicts specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Thirdly, a good conflict resolution approach should not damage the relationships of the parties involved. Positional bargaining normally encourages rivalry of wills. Each party tends to put across what he will or will not do. For instance, Smith feels that he is the final authority and is unwilling to let Keith air his concerns on the facility’s matters. Keith on the other hand sees Smith as an intruder and is unwilling to negotiate with him over what he believes to be right. In the long run, Peter Smith exits the organization when he realizes that his point of view has been thwarted. His relationship could not have continued being the way it was prior to the resolution because of the positional bargaining that the conflict was centered about. Implementing a Collaborative Strategy In most organizations, de cisions affecting the running of the organizations are often reached at collectively and rarely unilaterally. Making decisions as a team of two or more people ensures that there is objectivity, broad perspectives, as well as thorough analysis of all necessary factors that may be required to be considered before implementing any strategy. To carry out an effective strategy implementation, the parties involved are supposed to have known each other for quite some time, be of similar philosophy if possible, be united, have a clear understanding of one another, be of the same vision and share similar goals and objectives. A good example is that of Peter and Catherine Smith. Their friends have always seen them as united, they have known each other for a long time, both have careers in the legal sector, and are both interested in collection of art works. When Peter is joins the museum board, we see the two determined to make donations that can enlarge the facility’s capacity. Implem enting this strategy will therefore be easy since the two have been together long enough to ensure that trust and unity has been established. The opposite of Peter and Catherine is vividly seen in the case of Smith and Keith. The two have worked in different places before, gained different experiences and do not trust each other. They have not worked together long enough to understand one another. They have rivalry of interests, which makes them fail to agree on implementation of their interests. Each of them is preoccupied with his position.Advertising Looking for report on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More They have diverse goals and objectives, which stifles agreement on implementation of some of the organization’s strategies. Additionally, asking questions is also important before implementing any collective strategy. For example, when Keith comes up with a proposal to expand both staffing and office space, Smith asks several questions, just for clarification and also to allow for objective and broader analysis of Keith’s proposals. The same is also seen when Fischer is chairing the board in determining what should be done the case of Smith’s unhonoured pledge. She seeks the opinions of other members, which finally results to a more balanced conclusion on the matter. Moreover, apart from discussing the proposed strategy as a team, it is important not to impose it on members but to let the majority have their say. The decision to adopt Keith’s ideas is reached at by the majority of board members. A democratic approach effectively works in implementing a co llective strategy. In addition, a collaborative strategy should only be implemented when all necessary preparations are in place. For example, the new building should not have been put up before all pledges were collected. Where does power come from? From the ongoing case, it is evident that power comes from one’s aggression ability, a degree of one’s relationship with others, the position, and experience occupied by someone. Peter Smith is elected as the chairman after his lobbying to make the museum facility expand its capacity for artists and audience. He also expressed his generosity and ability to support the museum fiscally through donation. He had also been within the museum for a long time during which he had supported it. Both Keith and Smith use their positions as platforms to wield power. Smith asserts his final authority on financial matters of the organization as its chairman. Keith on other part draws his power from his twelve-year experience during which he has been working as a director. This makes him feel like the overall leader and manager and regards Smith’s opinion as intrusive. Finally, power emanates from a positive rapport that one has developed with others. Fischer is able to coordinate other board members into coming up with non-heated balanced resolutions due to the positive relationship that she has established with each one of them. Harnessing the Science of Persuasion and its six principles Persuasion is an aspect that is applicable at almost all levels in the society especially in leadership and management. To tap into the power of persuasion, there are some principles that ought to be embraced. First, there is the principle of liking (Cialdini, 2001, p.3). Research shows that people will tend to like those who like them. Developing a good relationship and praising people has in most cases been seen as ways of making them feel liked which makes it easy to persuade them into making a given decision. Fischerâ⠂¬â„¢s good relationship with board members makes them persuade her into not treating Peter’s failure to honor his pledge legally. Peter’s good relationship with most board members also makes them make a decision in his favor. Secondly, there is the principal of reciprocity. Managers should model the behavior they want to see from others (Cialdini, 2001, p.4). This is whether it is an element of trust, cooperation, or attractive demeanor. Fischer’s support to the museum and her good rapport with other board members make her receive maximum support and cooperation from them when it comes to deliberating on essential facility agenda. The next principle is authority. Research shows that a display of someone’s expertise makes them have an upper hand when it comes to implementing some decisions. For example, Keith’s experience and ability to come up with balanced sheets portrayed his expertise. That could have had a lot of impact when they were voting a gainst him or Smith since he got the majority’s support. Fourthly, there is the principle of social proof that suggests that people are influenced by what their peers do. There is a lot of peer influence from Rich Steiner’s objection towards filing a law suit against the Smiths. His position influences that of John Stuart, Lee and Fischer. The fifth principle is consistency. People would in most cases not just be satisfied by merely liking you but also by feeling committed to what you would like them to accomplish. For instance, it is true that Fischer is liked by most of her board members. However, most of them feel satisfied with her leadership because she gives them an opportunity to air their views on most of the matters that affect the museum facility. They feel obligated to contribute to the decision making of the organization because their perspectives are appreciated. Through this, Fischer is able to persuade them into participating efficiently. Lastly, there i s the principle of scarcity which requires managers to present offers not in terms of what employees stand to benefit, but in terms of what they stand to drop incase they do not take initiative on the information. For instance, as one of the board members suggests, it is not prudent to take Smith’s matter legally because the museum might lose a lot financially in trying to implement such a strategy. Can’t Beat Them? Then Join a Coalition If decisions cannot be reached at from a personal perspective, it is always prudent to make them collectively. For instance, Keith and Smith could not define the fate of their interests since they were ever in dispute and could not therefore agree. This is why, in a bid to seek popularity, Keith approaches Richard Lang whom he shares his concerns with. Smith on the other hand approaches Jennifer Lee to try and form a coalition against the director. Building and Maintaining Coalitions Coalitions are teams of people or organizations that function together to achieve a certain objective (Ayer and Bunn, 2004, p.2). Coalitions serve to provide people with safety, credibility, a chance to increase public support, improve decision making and provide an opportunity to empower the civil society. Building a lasting coalition requires trust, respect and a commitment to doing things as a team. The coalition between Peter and Catherine is a good example of this. Because it is established on respect, trust and commitment, we do not see it fading. The two even leave the organization together. Also, Smith’s coalition with Jennifer Lee is maintained since in the latest meeting with the new chairperson, she is strongly opposed to filing a legal suit against him. The coalition between smith and Keith in the management of the museum could not have worked due to the absence of trust and respect. However, Fischer’s coalition with other board members is likely to last because it is founded on sustainable ingredients. Doin g things collaboratively Working together as a coalition requires commitment. There should be regular meetings that will enable all members be enlightened, participate and be motivated. An effective decision making process is also required for a coalition to work. This should be based on democracy and equality. In addition, there should be good communication to enable members exchange information freely, promptly and effectively. All these aspects are vividly captured in the way Fischer is leading the museum. When and how to Use Third Party help Occasionally, third party help is essential in dealing with some issues that pertain to the organization. However, a third party should be involved under special circumstances. One is when there extreme disagreement between members like the case of Smith and Keith. In another case, where there is an issue that is beyond the control of the organization, legal intervention is necessitated, like in the case of Smith’s disappearance befor e honoring his pledge. References Ayer, V. and Bunn, C. (2004). Advocacy Expert Series: Building and Maintaining Coalitions. Web. Cialdini, R. B. (2001). Harnessing the Science of Persuasion. Web. Fisher, R. Ury, W. and Patton, B. (1991). Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving in. New York: Houghton Mifflin Company. Web. This report on Approaches to Resolving Conflicts was written and submitted by user Kody D. to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Sunday, November 24, 2019

An Analysis of Othello by William Shakespeare Essays

An Analysis of Othello by William Shakespeare Essays An Analysis of Othello by William Shakespeare Essay An Analysis of Othello by William Shakespeare Essay In the drama Othello by William Shakespeare Iago plays the maestro operator and manages to lead on many of the other characters particularly Othello and Cassio. It can be said that his motivations are based entirely on his insecurities due to the fact his end in the drama was to destroy Othello’s life. He does this by utilizing psychological use on Othello’s ideas and makes him believe that Cassio and Desdemona are fond of each other. Which fundamentally means that he targets anyone that brings out his insecurities. which gives him a ground to flog out and kill or harm these people. to do himself experience better. In the beginning of the drama Iago makes it look as if his hatred towards Othello is because he has made Cassio his lieutenant. As the drama goes on you subsequently realize that Iago’s hatred extends even more. I hate the Moor. and it is thought abroad that twixt my sheets. he has done my office: I know non if’t be true. but I. for mere intuition in that sort. will make as if for surety. . There seems to be some rumours about Othello and Iago’s married woman Emilia. the rumours are that Othello and Emilia have slept together. In the quotation mark above he states that he doesn’t attention if the rumours are true and that he is traveling to continue with his program as if they are true. Throughout the drama Iago invariably reminds himself of why he’s targeting Othello. I do surmise the lustful Moor. Hath leap’d into my place: the idea whereof. Doth. like a toxicant mineral. gnaw my inwards ; And nil can or shall content my psyche. boulder clay I am even’d with him. married woman for married woman. His hatred towards Cassio is more directed. Iago hates Cassio because he has gotten the place of lieutenant even with his deficiency of experience in the field as he is a more tactical making schemes individual. More than a old maid. unless the studious theoric . Iago fundamentally states that Cassio’s deficiency of manfulness attention deficit disorder to his hatred towards him. Each individual in the drama get manipulated in a manner that merely suits them. For illustration Roderigo is blinded by his love for Desdemona. and is prepared to make anything to win her heat this give Iago the advantage to take his failing and utilize it against him. Equally guiltless as Iago’s words seem Othello Lashkar-e-Taibas Iago’s manipulative words counteract with his thought and this is where you could state he has officially planted the seed devising sure he has Othello’s ear. As Othello asks for cogent evidence Iago is one time once more able to pull strings Othello by doing him conceal and hear a conversation Iago has with Cassio. Now will I question Cassio of Bianca. A homemaker that by selling her desires. Buys herself staff of life and apparels. It is a animal. that dotes on Cassio. as ’tis the strumpet’s pestilence. To juggle many and be beguiled by one. He. when he hears of her. can non forbear. From the surplus of laughter. Here he comes. Iago says this one time Othello withdraws and one time Cassio corners him starts discoursing Bianca but allows Othello to believe they are discoursing Desdemona. He whispers so Othello would non hear him and by making that he agitates Othello and that causes him to be delusional. As mentioned before Cassio is besides manipulated by Iago. The first manner in which Cassio is deceived is when he acquire pressured into imbibing and so get downing a battle which accordingly ruins Cassio’s repute. If I can fix but one cup upon him. with that which he hath intoxicated tonight already. He’ll be as full of wrangle and discourtesy. as my immature mistress’ Canis familiaris. Now my ill sap Roderigo. Whom love hath turned about the incorrect side 1 out. To Desdemona hath tonight caroused. Drafts pottle-deep. and he’s to watch. Three chaps of Cyprus. baronial swelling liquors. That hold their awards in a wary distance. The very elements of this militant isle. Have I tonight flustered with fluxing cups. And they watch excessively. Now ’mongst this flock of rummies. Am I to set our Cassio in some action. That may pique the isle. This is Iago’s monologue where he really reveals his manipulative side. At first. Iago told Cassio he should imbibe on behalf of Othello although he knew that he did non desire to and was non capable of it. Iago has manipulated Cassio to make something unethical. Othello and Cassio both get exploited by Iago because they both find honest. good friend and have a difficult clip judging character. Iago Acts of the Apostless like he genuinely cares about Othello by giving him warning marks about Cassio. Iago besides fools Cassio into believing he cares whether he has a good clip or non. Another manner Iago manipulates Cassio is when he workss the hankie in Cassio’s Chamberss. I know non neither. I found it in my chamber. I like the work good. Ere it be demanded. As like enough it will. I would hold it copied. Take it and make ’t. and go forth me for this clip. . Cassio says this when he gives it to Bianca. Cassio has no thought as to how the hankie got into his room. Iago left it at that place to put him up and do it look as if he is holding an matter with Desdemona. Iago exploits Cassio’s limited cognition since Cassio did non cognize that the hankie belong to Desdemona. In both scenarios Iago manipulates Othello and Iago by sugar surfacing the truth from them. Iago does experience better after pull stringsing the characters in the narrative this is shown throughout the narrative as Iago manipulates and controls every other character so good that they seem like marionettes that he controls. At the terminal of the drama. Iago’s use has left a trail of devastation that has killed Othello and Cassio. every bit good others and has destroyed the lives of many who remain. The motives and thoughts Iago has are really delusory and cunning. and his ability to influence is really astonishing. Iago’s actions define of a adult male who will halt at nil until he exacts retaliation on everyone who he feels has threaten him in one manner or another. Shakspere has presented Iago as a sort and baronial soldier he has besides been known as honest Iago. this screening that everyone is non as what they seem on the outside. Already cognizing that Iago has a hatred for his superior Othello and now Cassio Thou told’st me thou didst hold him in thy hatred. Said Roderigo. Despise me if I do non. Iago answers. This during the gap scenes in the drama. Iago fools Othello by supplying ocular cogent evidence but didn’t allow him to listen or understand decently. As for Cassio. he used his friendly relationship to works the hankie. Both Othello and Cassio are naif have a difficult clip judging character. are excessively proud to believe that person is gulling them and their limited cognition as to what was traveling on around them allows Iago to Successfully in the terminal manipulate the head of Othello and sent him insane and 2 left Cassio in a state of affairs that he didn’t belong in. Othello and Cassio were both victims of Iago’s use due to the fact that they had something Iago did non. 3 Bibliography William. S. ( 01. 22. 14 ) . Othello. Great Britain. Oxford University. JONATHAN. L. ( 28. 01. 2010 ) . HOW DOES IAGO MANIPULATE DIFFERENT CHARACTERS IN ORDER TO ACHIEVE HIS AIMS? OTHELLO. RETRIEVED ( 02. 27. 2014 ) . FROM Hypertext transfer protocol: //WWW. MARKEDBYTEACHERS. COM/AS-AND-A-LEVEL/ENGLISH/HOW-DOES-IAGO-MA NIPULATE-DIFFERENT-CHARACTERS-IN-ORDER-TO-ACHIEVE-HIS-AIMS. HTML The Theme of Deception in William Shakespeare’s Othello. Retrieved ( 02. 27. 2014 ) . from hypertext transfer protocol: //sites. Google. com/site/thethemeofdeception/home Joshua. A. ( 2013 ) . Protestant epistemology and Othello’s consciousness. Retrieved ( 03. 01. 14 ) . from Gale Academic One File.

Thursday, November 21, 2019

What is grammar Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

What is grammar - Essay Example (Aitchison, 1993 p. 125) Respectively, grammar can be formal, notional, and functional. Formal grammar concentrates on the study of linguistic forms; it may apply formalized techniques of logic and mathematics. Notional, or semantic, grammar studies the meaning of linguistic patterns; it assumes the existence of extralinguistic categories in order to define grammatical units. Formal and notional grammars are competence grammars that center on the speaker’s knowledge of language (the rules the speaker must know to use the language properly). Competence grammar contrasts with functional grammar which studies the use of linguistic patterns in speech and writing. Competence grammars are primarily linguocentric; they study the language without its relation to the speakers and the situation of speech. Performance grammars are mostly anthropocentric; they consider the linguistic patterns used in speech and influenced by the characteristics of the speakers and the communicative situations. Lingocentric and anthropocentric grammars can be practical and theoretical. Practical, or normative, grammars are prescriptive; they attempt to establish rules for the correct use of language in society. The speakers of language use practical grammars as reference books. Theoretical grammars are descriptive; they provide a precise account of language in its actual usage. A theoretical grammar may go beyond the study of individual languages, in which case it uses linguistic data as a means of developing insights into the nature of language as such, and into the categories and processes needed for linguistic analysis. (Aitchison, 1993 p. 148) Theoretical grammars describing the linguistic patterns at a particular period of time are called synchronic grammars. Synchronic grammars comparing the systems of two or more languages are called comparative grammars. Along with synchronic grammars, there are diachronic, or historical, grammars that

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Western Art Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Western Art - Essay Example Classical architecture is based on the ‘symbolism’; a unit which is designed by categorization is mainly by the type of column used. Each order use to designed from the column, plus its base, plinth, or pedestal (if any), the crowning feature of the shaft, and the attractive horizontal member that triumphs of column, divided into three bands—architrave, frieze, and cornice. The Greeks used to have three orders, to get progressively slimmer and more ornately decorated: Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian, named after regions of Greece in which they are said to have been first used. The Romans later added two more orders—Tuscan, a starker form of Doric, and Composite, the richest of all. It was the combination of the features of Ionic and Corinthian—but Corinthian was the representation of the great order of the imperial Rome. Vitruvius discussed the orders, and from this resulted in the revival of the idea which represented their proportions and detailing which were codified and demonstrated in countless architectural treatises. Neolithic architecture appeared around 5500 to 8000 BC but there has been some evidence indicating that early Neolithic architecture appeared as early as 10000 BC in Syria and Iraq. Early Neolithic people especially in Mesopotamia were great builders who primarily used mud bricks to raise houses. More often than not these houses were painted with intricate landscapes of humans and animals probably depicting the way life were led in those times. These people also made elaborate tombs for their dead, a very good example of which is the Mane Braz megalithic tomb in Brittany, France. Stonehenge  is a  primitive  monument  located in the  English  county of  Wiltshire, which is the most famous prehistoric sites of world; Stonehenge is  earthworks  surrounded with large standing stones in a circular setting.  Archaeologists  believed that the iconic stone monument was erected around 2500 BC. Now if we

Monday, November 18, 2019

Customer Service Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Customer Service - Research Paper Example For government agencies, it gets more complex as the customers are the public. Government agencies are now required to account for and minimize expenditure and upgrade services delivered to the citizens. Managements of these agencies are often turning to human resource training and technology to deliver services fast and competently to achieve satisfactions for all queries, complaints or inquiries. Customers have been accustomed to attention from the private sector, and they now want the same from their government agencies. Government agencies have adopted standards of measuring citizens’ satisfaction in responding to their needs through electronic or manual reviews (Newby and McManus, 2002, pg 13). NTPFES is the Northern Territory Police, Fire and Emergency Services, a government agency providing policing, fire and rescue, and emergency services response across the Northern Territory of Australia (NTPFES, 2010, pg10). Such is an example of an organization that has embodied customer service to improve service delivery to customers. Customer Service in g overnment agencies exists to bridge the gap between governments’ service delivery and their citizens’ satisfaction. There has been a shift in the management systems from an emphasis on product quality to Total Quality Management for customer satisfaction. This change focuses on continual improvement of organization’s output. Quality of outputs in this case very much includes all products and services and the processes that are involved in the production of the products or services. The shift is intended for the sole purpose of meeting, if not surpassing customer expectations. Customer service provision requires the co-operation of all levels of management within the organization. Achievement of excellent customer service is guided by tools and principles. The tools are the so-called ‘hard’ aspects of customer service. They include the

Friday, November 15, 2019

Concepts of similarity and complementarity in romantic relationships

Concepts of similarity and complementarity in romantic relationships Once upon a time, John met Jenny. They fell in love. They married, had children and presumably will live happily ever after. This is a common love story, and leads us to wonder why people become attracted to each other. Is it because they are similar? Research (Byrne, 1971) has shown that people are attracted to those immediately similar to them and this could lead to marriage. However, arguments for complementarity contend that opposites do indeed attract, and this attraction would also lead to long-term relationship and marriage. Such views are further reinforced by research like that of Shiota and Levenson (2007), which suggest that complementary couples are more satisfied in the long run. Thus, this essay seeks to evaluate the concepts of similarity and complementarity, analysing the relevant researches in the context of a romantic heterosexual relationship. Whilst there are many theories given on the process of mate selection, of particular interest is the recent emergence of the popular notion that opposites attract. However, this idea is open to interpretation, because it is expected that if a couple is not alike, they would tend to have more conflict, which will reduce the quality of their relationship (Pieternel Dick, 2008). Felmlee (2001) has shown that relationships developed from attraction based on complementarity often end prematurely. Nonetheless, there is also evidence supporting the complementary need theory (Winch, 1954), contending that for attraction and therefore a happy marriage, there must be potential gratification of needs for both John and Jenny. An example of such need-gratification is when younger females tend to be more attracted to older males who are financially stable (Eagly Wood, 1999, as cited in Pieternel Dick, 2008). Nevertheless, there has not been enough support in recent findings for Winchs hypothesi s, and reasons for this will be discussed. Conversely, the contrasting thought to the concept of complementarity is the established theory of similarity; simply put, that birds of a feather flock together. According to Hill, Rubin and Peplau (1976), there is a tendency for people who are similar in physical attractiveness, religion, education, age, and even height to be attracted to each other. However, there has been suggested that such tendencies may not exist, due to invalid testing procedures. This thought is suggested by research showing only small degrees of similarity between spouses personality in marriage (Eysenck, 1990), and in some reported studies (Antill, 1983; Peterson et al., 1989) no degree of similarity was observed, because couples are paired on a random basis. The theory of similaritys influence on ones attraction therefore needs examination in its methodological aspects and will be treated accordingly in this essay. Examination of Similarity and its theory in Romantic Relationships Summary of Similarity and its theory Similarity, the more accepted theory, suggests that we will be more romantically attracted to people who are similar to us in aspects like physical attractiveness, intelligence, socio-economic background, and overall attitude towards life. According to Byrne (1971), this can be explained through the theories of classical conditioning, and in particular, the idea of positive reinforcement. In a relationship consisting of two like-minded individuals, sharing the same viewpoint allows them to feel that their opinions are validated, and thereby their own confidence increases, enhancing the relationship. However, there is a distinction between the perceived and actual similarity. Many have argued that actual similarity is not as important as perceived similarity. A suggestion for this is that the individual experiences the positive reinforcement; regardless of them believing that the similarity is there even though it is not (Montoya, Horton Kirchner, 2008). However, a possible flaw in this is that if only one partner experiences such feeling of similarity whilst the other does not, then the attraction may not exist. Nonetheless, there is also contradicting evidence of people whose actual similarity is low, but are still highly attracted to another, which support the idea of complementarity (Winch et al., 1954). This is important, as it reminds us that similarity is only a positive correlate to the process of attraction, and is not the absolute factor that determines the formation of a romantic relationship. Methodological Concerns in Measuring the Effects of Similarity in the Formation of Attraction It has been shown in various recent researches post-dating Byrnes studies on attraction that whilst similarity exists in the formation of attraction, mate selection still operates on a random basis (Antill, 1983; Peterson et al., 1989); or at most, according to Eysenck (1990), the presence of similarity is only lightly significant. The reason for this can be attributed to the methodologies use to measure the effects of attraction. Such is the claim by the meta-analysis conducted by Montoya, Horton and Kirchner (2008), where they concluded that whilst similarity does lead to attraction, this occur mainly in a laboratory setting and not in existing relationships. This criticism is the product made by the use of the bogus stranger, which resulted in artificial responses and lack of ecological validity. The method originates from Byrnes studies in which given a set of characteristics similar to their own, the participants are asked if they will be attracted to an absent imaginary person unknown to them (Byrne, Clore Smeaton, 1986). This involves no interaction between the participant and the stranger, as well as requiring the assistance of a third person called a confederate, a trained interviewer. While the technique has been heavily criticised, its focus on attraction is clear-cut and minimises other external factors that could influence how much the stranger can be perceived as attractive to the participants. Other advantages to this method are that it is inexpensive and not very time consuming, and thus is viewed as more open for a wider pool of participants. Another technique is one that involves little to some interaction between the participants and the confederate or fellow participant in the context of a dyad relation. This can last from a few minutes to several hours. However, there have been some contradicting evidences (Dryer Horowitz, 1997) produced through the use of this method, which some has criticised because the nature of the exchange that involves mainly shallow and polite niceties. A final method that has been in favour recently is the use of couples in an existing relationship. Whilst this is a strong method in that it examines the attraction that then result in a real relationship, its weakness is the sample is often small because of its exhaustive nature, expensive and time consuming. (Montoya, Horton Kirchner, 2008). Summary of Birds of a Feather Dont Always Fly Farthest (Shiota Levenson, 2007) Given these concerns, it is interesting to see that the study of Shiota and Levenson (2007) proposes the alternative for the concept of similarity in the context of marital satisfaction as opposed to attraction. It is a longitudinal study that examines the effects of high level of similarity in the Big Five Personality on marriage satisfaction, which predicts the possible outcome in terms of a linear trajectory that is then supported by the negative correlates or negative result. The authors discuss the significance of this result in terms of different stages of marriage life, which contain different roles and responsibilities that will affect their satisfaction of marriage. For example, the first stage is explained as the newlyweds who still try to please their partner and therefore, their similar personalities will then be important for their daily social interactions. However, later in their mid-marriage life, when their passion has waned off, this will result in conflicts on issu es like child rearing rather than agreement because spouses competing with each other in similar performance domains and clashing when attempting to complete the same task (Shiota Levenson, 2007, p. 672). In addition, the authors also provide a quick overview of some of the weaknesses in past studies. An example of this is the lack of distinction in examining the similarity of husband and wifes personalities as opposed to how an individuals personality might affect the marital satisfaction. Another is when past studies have chosen to only examine similarity in existing relationship in a cross-sectional view. The author improved the studys method by conducting a long term study but at the same time, also provide a linear trajectory that can be used to predict further development from the given twelve years study. Some limitations that have been self-identified by the authors include the cultural and generational effects that were resulted from the voluntary nature of the samples selection and also for the convenience of the research. More importantly, in their discussion, Shiota and Levenson (2007) have also explicitly referred to how complementary couples in terms of the Big Five personality may perhaps achieve higher level of marriage satisfaction. Their research also investigated on older couples who have been married for at least thirty-five years and again, this show the decline in marriage satisfaction that occurs over time in couple who share a high level of similarity. However, as stated by the authors, this may not be true for other social domains of personality such as the dominant/deferent trait that was tested in Winchs studies on complementarity. Nonetheless, the study provides the stepping-stone on the investigation of the concept of complementarity that will be discussed as followed. Examination of Complementarity and its theory in Romantic Relationships Defining complementarity In this essay, complementarity can be understood as people who are different in their personality liking one another because they would fill in the gaps present in one anothers life. Formal definition for this term is borrowed from Winchs definition of need-complementarity in which an individual will be attracted to that person who gives the greatest promise of providing him or her with maximum need gratification (Winch et al., 1954, p. 242). Other terms used are complementary, an adjective used to describe how compatible two partners are even when they are different; and complementariness, a noun that is used by Winch to refer to the degree in which two people can complement. Winchs Study and Theory of Complementary Needs in Mate-Selection Winch, Ktsanes and Ktsanes (1954) made a proposition, the theory of complementary needs in mate-selection that supports the idea of opposites attract. This is made after Winch has conducted a study that involves twenty-five, 19 to 26 years old, white, middle-class, childless married couples who had been married for less than two years, and in which at least one member of each couple was an undergraduate student (Winch et al., p. 245). He uses triangulation to investigate his supported hypothesis, which is people marry based on their complementary needs. The different methods that Winch has used within triangulation include a need-interview, which is to identify the type of need pairs present; a case history interview of participants, and TAT, an eight-card thematic apperception test (Winch et al., p. 244). However, there are possible limitations within Winchs method namely the choice of participants where they are clearly culturally biased towards the developed, Western views and the generational effects of participants involved. Winchs theory requires that one of two conditions; either Type II or I must be met for complementarity between partners to exist. Type I is the difference in intensity, where one partner will be highly expressive in a certain need-pattern but the other partner will be very low in expressing the same pattern. For instance, a person who needs to be dominant in their relationship will complement with someone who have a very small amount of this need. Conversely, Type II is the difference in kind of the interactions between two individuals where both partners will be highly expressive but their needs are opposite to each other. An example is a person whose need to be dominant complements with a person who has the need to be deferent. It is important that there are two types of complementary needs because in the case of abasement as one of the need pair, there are situations where both abasement-autonomy and abasement-hostility exist, which gives a different continuum that cannot be expla ined sufficiently by Type I. (Winch et al., 1954) Evaluation of Winchs Need Complementarity One of the weaknesses in Winchs study (Winch et al., 1954) is the lack of evidence in which there has not been enough proof to support his theory despite numerous attempts being made (Bowerman Day, 1956; Schellenberg Bee, 1960). However, Levinger (1964) attempts to justify these discrepancies by explaining that there are different needs for different level of relationship as identified by Winch when he postulates his theory, i.e. a married couples needs to complement differ from two friends needs to complement. Therefore, since most replicated studies uses the Edwards Personal Preference Schedule (Edwards, 1953, as cited in Levinger, 1964), which is aimed for a general peer relations to test for the validity of Winchs theory of need-complementarity for married couples, the results are therefore considered to be inconclusive in regards to Winchs theory. Furthermore, Winchs theory has also been criticised for insufficient explanation on the two types of complementarity. According to Levinger (1964), given the example of a hypothetical man who is average in both intensity and kind in his needs, it would not be possible for him to meet a complementary partner because both the conditions stated for Type I and Type II required a person to be on either end of the spectrum in the intensity of the personality traits. However, Levinger offers a solution to this problem by suggesting that if both partners express the same behaviour in equal amount and has the need for it in moderation then they would complement as well as be similar to each other. Nevertheless, Levingers seemingly logical explanation of his suggestion is questionable because he based his assumption yet on another hypothetical example, which is like using X to prove X. Levinger assumes that if there is a given situation where both partners express the same need in moderate qua ntity and it has also been shown that they complement with each others need, then they are showing complementarity. Nonetheless, Levinger acknowledges the loose footing of his hypothesis and suggest that it should be tested for empirical evidence. Another weakness in Winch et al. (1954)s theory that has also been stated by Levinger (1964) is that Winch does not give clear guidelines to determine how a need would complement or be similar to another. Rather, Winch only gives examples of need-complementary pairs such as dominance-deference and nurturance-succorance. This lack of clarification may question the validity of the theory because it would be difficult to replicate the study using different complementary-need pairs such as practicality-impracticality, which can be a possible need pair. Nonetheless, this problem of deciding the criteria for which characteristic complements another, as offered by Levinger can be inferred by Schutzs theory of need compatibility (Schutz, 1958, as cited in Levinger, 1964). Even though it is limited to only Type I in Winchs theory but it provides the basis for complementarity where, for two people, person A and B, to complement one another in a relationship, person A should express the same am ount of specific need that person B wants to receive and vice versa. Nonetheless, Edwards (1953, as cited in Levinger, 1964) points out that Schutzs method would be difficult to test in married couples because it was intended to be used for testing general peer relations like friendship. Alternatively, we can also use the various circumflex models for interpersonal behaviour (Kiesler, 1982; Wiggins, 1982, as cited in Orford, 1986) to determine the possible complementary need pairs. However, similar to the criticism of Schutzs way, these models were composed for the purpose of non-romantic relationships such as friendship and family interactions rather than the romantically-natured relationship between married couples, which might demand a different kind of structuring in Kieslers Interpersonal Circle. Empirical Research on the Complementarity Hypothesis Perhaps the main weakness in conducting researches to support the complementarity hypothesis in married couples is that there is the lack of clear criteria to determine what is considered as complementarity or more specific to Winchs (1954) study, the conditions required to form the complementary need pairs. This is important because complementarity is often simplified down to the loosely used phrase of opposites attract for ease when explaining to the general population. This is troublesome because there is no clear definition of what is considered as opposites or how can a certain thing attracts another thing. For example, it is assumed that the general population of men are attracted to the opposite gender, which is women, demonstrating the complementariness. However, how can we explain the similar attraction between men and men, also known as homosexuality? This is where the definition of complementarity can be misleading and ambiguous. If this is taken back to the studies conduc ted to find support for the complementarity hypothesis, we can see that this confusion on what complements and what does not in a romantic relationship reflected in the methods of various studies, in particular the one followed below. Review of Complementarity in marital relationships (Saint, 1994) A somewhat recent study conducted by Saint (1994) aims to seek support for the theory of complementarity as a factor in mate selection for marriage. Using a questionnaire that contains nine statements, which the participants have to choose on a scale of nine from strongly disagree to strongly agree, Saint surveys twenty-eight couples who have been married for an average of twenty years. According to Saint, the mean age in the study for men are forty-seven years old and for women, it is forty-two years old and they are located in Oxford, England. Saint has concluded that result does not have enough support for the complementarity hypothesis. There are many weaknesses in the method that Saint (1994) uses to source participants. By using the method of door-to-door solicitation, there is an implication that the participants are concentrated in local area since it is unlikely that the researchers will travel long distance to recruit participants. This assumption is supported when Saint states the geographical demographics of participants are suburbs of Oxford and nearby village. This small and narrow geographical population sampling can suggest a high degree of cultural bias in which there is a tendency to focus on the western individualistic views and also, questions on whether the results and the conclusion drawn can be used for the general population. However, Saint clarifies this doubt by concluding that this study is a good indicator for complementaritys little impact on the Westerns selection of marriage. Thus, this gives the study its strength but still, it should be maintained that modern society are slowly changing and integrating both the Western and Eastern views (Zhuang, 2004). Therefore, the study cannot be used exclusively to explain that complementarity is not very influential in ones selection for marriage, regardless whether it is from an Eastern or Westerns viewpoint. An example is interracial marriage (Lewis, Yancey Bletzer, 1998), which would be possible fifty years ago but now is a common occurrence in our society. Saint (1994) comments on the weak support of his study for the complementarity hypothesis, which can be reflected back to the design of questionnaire. To some extent, it is a forced response despite the varying scale of agreeableness to a statement. Even if this assumption is wrong and that participants do not feel restricted in their response, the scale of nine levels is still a weakness in Saints method. This is because given such a range for different responses; there is only a small sample of twenty-eight couples. More importantly, there is also the scarcity in the numbers of statements that can be used ascertain the reliability of answers and given the big range of at least eighteen different responses between couples, the only logical conclusion would be that the results would be statistically insignificant. When summarising the results, Saint gave three statements that result in a significant negative correlation, which indicates the presence complementarity. They are when socialising I seek a high level of eye contact, using public transport is a stressful experience, and when socialising I will raise the level of my voice to make myself heard. Saint indicated earlier in his abstract in that he aims to investigate complementarity within the social domain of social dominance, social confidence and communication initiation. Whilst there are presence of these elements embedded in each statement but the relevance to married couple is not substantial, i.e. anyone can do the questionnaire whether with their friends or family members, and the chance to obtain a negative correlation is still probable. This indicates that these statements are not valid for testing and therefore, questions Saints conclusion that complementarity have little influence on mate selection for marriage. Yet, we must not forget the strengths in the design of Saints (1994) study. One such strength is how individuals (husband and wife) have to work independently to complete the questionnaire. This increases the confidentiality of the answers because there are less comparisons and attempts to modify ones answer, which engenders more honest responses obtained from participants and reliable information. Furthermore, questionnaires are economical when compared to other types of measurements like interview, easy to control and is replicable to confirm the findings. Thus, if this study is to be repeated, improvements could be made on the sample size and demographics. Moreover, changing the nature of the statements and increasing the number of statements to increase the reliability of the response could also help in seeking support for certain trends in participants answers. Hence, from the studies of Winch (1954) though not so much of Saint (1994), it can be said that complementarity do exist in married couples. However, further investigations need to be made to confirm the claim that complementarity increases marital satisfaction over time. Conclusion It has been implicitly suggested throughout the essay that attraction is linked with similarity and couples have higher marital satisfaction when they have complementary needs. However, there is no definite conclusion that this is the case. Criticisms of Winchs theory demonstrate the uncertainty and lack of clarification in certain aspects of his concept of need-complementarity. An example of this is the undefined need pairs such as dominance/deference, which later affects later studies like that of Saint (1994). However, in his evaluation of Winchs concept, Levinger (1964) also explain that the replicated studies that did not support Winchs theory is not conclusive either because the method used is more suitable for testing non-romantic dyadic relationship. Likewise, the concept of similarity leading onto attraction may seem obvious and indeed there are numerous studies to support this hypothesis. However, the majority of them use the method of a bogus stranger to determine the effects of attraction. In addition, the use of partners in existing relationships was not common because of limited time and resource. This lead to the conclusion in that perhaps similarity leading to attraction is only valid in laboratory environment and not real life situations. In both cases, the main problem that prevents proper investigation of the issue lies in both the methodological and theoretical aspect of the studies. A possible suggestion for improvements could be to have longitudinal researches instead of cross-sectional that involve couples in existing relationships. This is the biggest obstacle for researchers because of limited budget and time. Another is to increase the sample size theoretically by doing a meta-analysis of all the studies conducted over the years. In addition, more accurate and fitting instrument could also be developed to measure the degree of similarity or complementarity such as a revised version of Edwards Preference Schedule that is targeting romantic relationship and not general peer relationships. Reference Books Byrne, D. (1971). The attraction paradigm. New York: Academic Press. Journal Articles Antill, J. K. (1983). Sex role complementarity versus similarity in married couples. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology , 45, 145-155. Aube, J., Koestner, R. (1995). Gender Characteristics and Relationship Adjustment: Another Look at Similarity-Complementarity Hypotheses. Journal of Personality , 63, 879-904. Bowerman, C. E., Day, B. R. (1956). A Test of the Theory of Complementary Needs As Applied to Couples During Courtship. American Sociological Review , 21, 602-605. Byrne, D., Clore, L. G., Smeaton, G. (1986). The Attraction Hypothesis: Do Similar Attitudes Affect Anything? Journal of Pereonalily and Social Psychology , 51, 1167-1170. Dijkstra, P., Barelds, D. P. (2008). Do People Know What They Want: A Similar or Complementary Partner? Evolutionary Psychology , 6, 595-602. Dryer, C. D., Horowitz, L. M. (1997). When Do Opposites Attract? Interpersonal Complementarity Versus Similarity. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology , 72, 592-603. Felmlee, D. H. (2001). From appealing to appalling: Disenchantment with a romantic partner. Sociological Perspectives , 44, 263-280. Hill, C. T., Rubin, A., Peplau, L. A. (1976). Breakups before marriage: The end of 103 affairs. Journal of Social Issues , 32, 147-168. Kiesler, D. J. (1983). The 1982 Interpersonal Circle: A Taxonomy for Complementarity in Human Transactions . Psychological Review , 90, 185-214. Levinger, G. (1964). Note on Need Complementarity in Marriage. Psychological Bulletin , 61, 153-157. Lewis, J. R., Yancey, G. (1997). Racial and Nonracial Factors That Influence Spouse Choice in Black/White Marriages . Journal of Black Studies , 28, 60-78. Montoya, M. R., Horton, R. S., Kirchner, J. (2008). perceived similarity Is actual similarity necessary for attraction? A meta-analysis of actual and perceived similarity. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships , 25, 889-922. Orford, J. (1986). The Rules of Interpersonal Complementarity: Does Hostility Beget Hostility and Dominance, Submission? Psychological Review , 93, 365-377. Saint, D. J. (1994). Complementarity in marital relationships. The Journal of Social Psychology , 134, 701-703. Schellenberg, J. A., Bee, L. S. (1960). A Re-Examination of the Theory of Complementary Needs in Mate Selection. Marriage and Family Living , 22, 227-232 . Shiota, M. N., Levenson, R. W. (2007). Birds of a Feather Dont Always Fly Farthest: Similarity in Big Five Personality Predicts More Negative Marital Satisfaction Trajectories in Long-Term Marriages. Psychology and Aging , 22, 666-675. Winch, R. F., Ktsanes, T., Ktsanes, V. (1954). The Theory of Complementary Needs in Mate-Selection: An Analytic and Descriptive Study. American Sociological Review , 19, 241-249. Zhuang, X. (2004). We or I? Collectivism-Individualism in Chinese and American Values. Sociology. University of Victoria.

Wednesday, November 13, 2019

Manaqeb Xani and Fazayel Xani Essay -- Iranian Storytelling

Over the years, Iranian Storytelling (Naqali) has been divided into various kinds and it has taken many different functions. Among them, Religious Storytelling has been assigned a propagandistic function. It was used as a device for the promoting Shiite and Sunnite Religions. There are many branches in Iranian religious Storytelling; Manaqeb Xani and Fazayel Xani are two to be noticed. This article is focused on both of these two types. Knowing that, Storytelling is an oral art and less attracting in spite of Ta‘ziyeh for many years, the threat of being forgotten is undeniable as the role of Storytellers in the society is diminishing. Therefore, it is essential to pay more attention and evaluate this art through documented studies and researches. Noticeable is that, these arts affect many Ta‘ziyeh’s plays with great roles in Iranian religious performances. Thus, in order to study Iranian drama, we need to have a comprehensive knowledge about Iranian Storytelling. The word uses information sources including books, articles, and masters of the field, who devoted many years to study rituals and custom and preserve them through ages. Moreover, they do their best to record these arts and make them a reliable document for future use. An Introduction to Iranian Storytelling Beside XeymÉ™ Ã… ¡ab-bÄ zÄ « and Ta’zÄ «ya, Storytelling (NaqqÄ lÄ «) is the most important type of Iranian real performance, that through ages is has become part of Iranian life and it is considered as a part of their spiritual cultural legacy. This art has an old antiquity and rooted in ancient Iran. Storytelling has been widespread during AÃ… ¡kÄ nÄ «yÄ n’s (250 B.C.-224 A.D.) and SÄ sÄ nÄ «yÄ n’s (224-651 A.D.) eras and it is believed to be belonged to these eras or even earli... ... says: â€Å"in the 10th century A.H Manaqeb Xani gave its position to Rowzeh Xani† (AÃ… ¾and 34). Beyza’i also talks about the descending trend of Manaqeb Xani: â€Å"even when the cause of this (propagative side) was diminished, Manaqeb Xani remained as a marginal side for Storytelling or popular entertainmentØ› it still has a role in popular performances or Iranian Storytelling the performer or Storyteller read about the Manaqeb of Ali† (BeyzÄ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢Ã„ « 71). Conclusion Over the ages of competition between Shiite and Sunnite in Iran, Storytellers of Manaqeb Xani (Manaqebis) had an important role in Shiite’s gradual dominance and Sunnite’s doubling. Sunnite created a type of narrating technique known as Fazayel Xani to fight back Manaqeb Xani (Religious telling of Shiite). Accordingly, the competition between Sunnite and Shiite had been reflected in Fazayel Xani and Manaqeb Xani. Manaqeb Xani and Fazayel Xani Essay -- Iranian Storytelling Over the years, Iranian Storytelling (Naqali) has been divided into various kinds and it has taken many different functions. Among them, Religious Storytelling has been assigned a propagandistic function. It was used as a device for the promoting Shiite and Sunnite Religions. There are many branches in Iranian religious Storytelling; Manaqeb Xani and Fazayel Xani are two to be noticed. This article is focused on both of these two types. Knowing that, Storytelling is an oral art and less attracting in spite of Ta‘ziyeh for many years, the threat of being forgotten is undeniable as the role of Storytellers in the society is diminishing. Therefore, it is essential to pay more attention and evaluate this art through documented studies and researches. Noticeable is that, these arts affect many Ta‘ziyeh’s plays with great roles in Iranian religious performances. Thus, in order to study Iranian drama, we need to have a comprehensive knowledge about Iranian Storytelling. The word uses information sources including books, articles, and masters of the field, who devoted many years to study rituals and custom and preserve them through ages. Moreover, they do their best to record these arts and make them a reliable document for future use. An Introduction to Iranian Storytelling Beside XeymÉ™ Ã… ¡ab-bÄ zÄ « and Ta’zÄ «ya, Storytelling (NaqqÄ lÄ «) is the most important type of Iranian real performance, that through ages is has become part of Iranian life and it is considered as a part of their spiritual cultural legacy. This art has an old antiquity and rooted in ancient Iran. Storytelling has been widespread during AÃ… ¡kÄ nÄ «yÄ n’s (250 B.C.-224 A.D.) and SÄ sÄ nÄ «yÄ n’s (224-651 A.D.) eras and it is believed to be belonged to these eras or even earli... ... says: â€Å"in the 10th century A.H Manaqeb Xani gave its position to Rowzeh Xani† (AÃ… ¾and 34). Beyza’i also talks about the descending trend of Manaqeb Xani: â€Å"even when the cause of this (propagative side) was diminished, Manaqeb Xani remained as a marginal side for Storytelling or popular entertainmentØ› it still has a role in popular performances or Iranian Storytelling the performer or Storyteller read about the Manaqeb of Ali† (BeyzÄ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢Ã„ « 71). Conclusion Over the ages of competition between Shiite and Sunnite in Iran, Storytellers of Manaqeb Xani (Manaqebis) had an important role in Shiite’s gradual dominance and Sunnite’s doubling. Sunnite created a type of narrating technique known as Fazayel Xani to fight back Manaqeb Xani (Religious telling of Shiite). Accordingly, the competition between Sunnite and Shiite had been reflected in Fazayel Xani and Manaqeb Xani.