Advertisement for LibraTech Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Advertisement for LibraTech - Research Paper Example otes and documents from the convenience of their homes, and without having to carry heavy text books.The exact answer to all these problems being faced by different scholars has been solved by LibraTech Company.LibraTech is a Company that deals with information technology and that has tried to come up with a way of solving the reading problem of different individuals.The main objective of the company is ensuring accessibility and reducing unwieldy procedures in reading.The Company is seeking a situation where readers can access any type of book online without any difficulty.With this advanced technology,readers will also be able to read their documents very fast and easily due to the flip-page technology.In addition,eReading will also make articles which normally seem boring to be interesting due to the use of different colors and patterns.Thus,the technology also improves the reading morale of the reader and builds his or her interest.The technology is very convenient and very cruci al for any person irrespective of the work that they may be doing. This is because; people can also access novels, travel books and even academic notes using the eReading version. Therefore, any individual who is seeking to access a wide variety of readings ranging from novels and notes to journals, should look no further than the LibraTech Company. In addition, individuals seeking to cut down on the time spent when reading books and manuals should embrace the flip-page technology in order to save on their precious time. Furthermore, the technology will also help them to save on time spend when searching for a book. This is because; as opposed to case where a person has to walk from one bookstore to another searching for a book, with the eReading technology all a person has to do is type the book title and click the enter button to search for it. The product will be named the ‘Read Engine’. The name is very suitable for the eReading technology since; eReading is like a type of formula that is mainly trying to help individuals to enlarge their reading capacity and save time. From Physics, an engine or machine is defined as something makes work easier. Therefore, the name indeed fits the product perfectly since; It is trying to make the reading work easier for all readers. In addition, eReading is also like an engine since it will be managing a lot of data at the same time. It will be being accessed by a large number of persons and thus; it will involve heavy duty running just like any other machine. The other reason as to why I chose this name for the product is because; it is a name that will build curiosity in many people thus; attracting a large number of customers to try out and prove if indeed the name describes it perfectly. The name will indeed create the brand image that the Company is seeking since; it is very unique and intriguing. Therefore, people will want to know what indeed is meant by the name ‘Read Engine’. Consequentl y, out of curiosity they will end up knowing about the technology and thus applying it in their studying too. Advertisement Plan Target Market In order to launch a perfect advertising campaign, the plan for LibraTech will first have to indicate the key target market of the company. In the use of this technology, generally the product can

Art of Negotiation - effective negotiation skills Assignment

Art of Negotiation - effective negotiation skills - Assignment Example require managers that can negotiate with businesses located in overseas regions as managers will have to bargain an effective and profitable deal for their own business if they want to operate overseas (Katz, 2011). Another issue that is taking place due to globalization is that the level of competition between organizations has increased. Organizations do not only complete in their host nations, they even have to compete in global regions. Due to this it has become essential for organizations to obtain resources while paying the lowest cost. In order to obtain resources and services at low cost managers need to have good negotiation skills (Benoliel, 2011). Good negotiation skills have even become very important for managers in order to deal with people from different backgrounds. A manager cannot use the same negotiation skills while dealing with people and business from different parts of the world. Therefore, a manager needs to have diverse negotiation skills in order to understa nd the likes and dislikes of people around the world and negotiate with

Whether Red Bull Should Invest In The Formula 1 Racing Championship Essay

Whether Red Bull Should Invest In The Formula 1 Racing Championship Next Year Or Not - Essay Example s a good decision on part of the company to start up with this heavy investment marketing activity†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 10 Finding 2 11 4.2 Objective 2: Analyze and compare the past results of the Formula 1 championship over the last six years and identify the success position of Red Bull Racing during this time span†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..11 Finding 3 18 4.3 Objective 3: Find out whether the Formula 1 championship has created an impact on the brand’s image and did it help increase the energy drink’s sale†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 18 Finding 4 †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.19 4.4 Objective 4: Recommend whether the company should invest in the Formula 1 racing championship next year i.e. 2011†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦19 5. Conclusion and Recommendations †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.20 5.1 Conclusion 20 5.2 Recommendations 22 References 24 Introduction Red Bull was founded in 1984 by Dietrich Mateschitz. He fine-tuned the formula of a tonic drink and developed a unique marketing concept for the drink. In 1987 Red Bull energy drink hit the market for the first time and started selling on the Austrian market. Red Bull entered its first foreign market Singapore in 1989 and then Hungary in 1992. United Kingdom followed in 1995 and in 1997 United States. Since then, over 30 billion cans of this popular energy drink have been consumed, highest consumption being in 2010. Red Bull is currently being served in more than 160 countries with annual sales of approximately 4 billion cans (Red Bull Company,...Red Bull entered its first foreign market Singapore in 1989 and then Hungary in 1992. United Kingdom followed in 1995 and in 1997 United States. Since then, over 30 billion cans of this popular energy drink have been consumed, highest consumption being in 2010. Red Bull is currently being served in more than 160 countries with annual sales of approximately 4 billion cans (Red Bull Company, 2011) Red Bull is not just an energy drink, it’s a brand. Red Bull has become a renown brand and has well-managed to create its strong brand image worldwide. Red Bull energy drink is associated with adventure and targets the consumers who have a taste and longing for thrill and extra-ordinary excitement levels. Its target market is basically the group of people with fun active lifestyle. Red Bull has a blend of certain high-quality ingredients that vitalizes body and mind. These ingredients together improve stamina, alertness, concentration, speed of reaction and also stimulates metabolism (Red Bull Company, 2011) Red Bull has always believed in heavy brand investment. As its marketing strategy, Red Bull avoided usual methods of marketing and relied heavily on buzz marketing or word of mouth. Other than the buzz marketing Red Bull has developed an international campaign of sponsoring events. These events mainly comprise of sports events like mountain biking, surfing, snowboarding, rallies, Formula 1 racing, etc.

Motivation and Leadership Effect on Job Performance Essay Example for Free

Motivation and Leadership Effect on Job Performance Essay Introduction Leadership and motivation traditionally play a very important role in the functioning of organizations. Nowadays, the role of leadership and motivation increases even more significantly because of the growing competition and the increasing significance of human resources for the progress of organizations. In fact, it should be pointed out that leadership and motivation are closely entangled concepts which constitute an important part of the success of an organization. It is obvious that the effective leadership and motivation can contribute to the progress of an organization, while poor leadership and the lack of motivation can weaken the normal functioning of an organization and lead to the crisis within an organization that will naturally affects its performance. In this respect, it is important to underline the fact that leadership and motivation affect considerably the organizational behavior and culture and they define the formation of the effective relationships between the personnel of an organization. In such a situation, it is necessary to fully reveal the significance of leadership and motivation in the current business environment in order to assess adequately perspective of the improvement of the effectiveness of leadership and motivation within an organization. At the same time, the analysis of theoretical framework only, it appears that insufficient for the understanding of the significance of leadership and motivation for the performance of an organization. Consequently, it is also necessary to pay a particular attention to the practical aspects of leadership and motivation  that means that it is necessary to analyze some practical examples that could reveal the significance of leadership and motivation for the performance of a n organization Review of Literature Motivation and Job Performance * The level of performance of employees relies not only on their actual skills but also on the level of motivation each person exhibits (Burney et al., 2007). * Motivation is an inner drive or an external inducement to behave in some particular way, typically a way that will lead to rewards (Dessler, 1978). * Over-achieving, talented employees are the driving force of all firms so it is essential that organizations try hard to motivate and hold on to the best employees (Harrington, 2003). * The quality of human resource management is a critical influence on the performance of the firm. Concern for strategic integration, commitment flexibility and quality, has called for attention for employee’s motivation and retention. Financial motivation has become the most concern in today’s organization, and tying to apply Maslow’s basic needs, non-financial aspect only comes in when financial motivation has failed. * According to Greenberg and Baron (2003, 2000) definition of motivation could be divided into three main parts. The first part looks at arousal that deals with the drive, or energy behind individual (s) action. People turn to be guided by their interest in making a good impression on others, doing interesting work and being successful in what they do. The second part referring to the choice people make and the direction their behavior takes. The last part deals with maintaining behavior clearly defining how long people have to persist at attempting to meet their goals. * Motivation can be intrinsic and extrinsic. Extrinsic motivation concerns behavior influenced by obtaining external rewards (Hitt, Esser, Marriott, 1992). Praise or positive feedback, money, and the absence of punishment are examples of extrinsic or external rewards (Deci, 1980). Intrinsic motivation is the motivation to do something simply for the pleasure of performing that particular activity (Hagedoorn and Van Yperen, 2003). Examples of intrinsic factors are interesting work, recognition, growth, and achievement. *  Several studies have found there to be a positive relationship between intrinsic motivation and job per formance as well as intrinsic motivation and job satisfaction (Linz, 2003). This is significant to firms in todays highly competitive business environment in that intrinsically motivated employees will perform better and, therefore, be more productive, and also because satisfied employees will remain loyal to their organization and feel no pressure or need to move to a different firm. * Deci and Ryan (2000) conducted and replicated an experiment that showed the negative impact of monetary rewards on intrinsic motivation and performance. A group of college students were asked to work on an interesting puzzle. Some were paid and some were not paid for the work. The students that were not being paid worked longer on the puzzle and found it more interesting than the students being paid. When the study was brought into a workplace setting, employees felt that their behavior was being controlled in a dehumanizing and alienating manner by the rewards. It was discovered that rewards would seriously decrease an employees motivation to ever perform the task being rewarded, or one similar to it, any time in the future. Another observation of the study was that employees would expect a reward every time the task was to be completed if the reward was offered at one time. Employees would require the reward in order to perform the job and would probably expect the reward to increase in amount. If the rewards were not increased or if they were taken away they actually served as negative reinforcement. * Deci and Ryan (2001), in collaboration with two of their colleagues, conducted a study to examine the effects of performance-contingent rewards on an employees intrinsic motivation. * (Cameron, Deci, Koestner, and Ryan, 2001). These types of rewards are very controlling since these rewards are directly associated with an employees performance of some task. In that respect, performance-contingent rewards undermine intrinsic motivation; however, if the reward given to the employee conveys that the employee has performed on a truly outstanding level, the reward would serve to solidify that employees sense of competence and decrease the negative effect on that employees intrinsic motivation. Also significant in the study was the importance of the interpersonal atmosphere within which the performance-contingent rewards were distributed. * When Cameron et al. (2001) compared the administering of rewards in a controlling climate and in  a non-controlling climate, they discovered that the performance-contingent rewards given in the more controlling interpersonal climate undermined intrinsic motivation. To prevent the decrease in employees intrinsic motivation, the interpersonal climate when distributing performance-contingent rewards should be more supportive. * Vroom (1964) proposes that people are motivated by how much they want something and how likely they think they are to get it he suggest that motivation leads to efforts and the efforts combined with employees ability together with environment factors which interplay’s resulting to performance. This performance interns lead to various outcomes, each of which has an associated value called Valence. * Adams (1965) on his part suggests that people are motivated to seek social equity in the rewards they receive for high performance. According to him the outcome from job includes; pay recognition, promotion, social relationship and intrinsic reward. To get these rewards various inputs needs to be employed by the employees to the job as time, experience, efforts, education and loyalty.He suggests that, people tend to view their outcomes and inputs as a ratio and then compare these ratios with others and turn to become motivated if this ratio is high. Leadership Effectiveness and Job Performance Leadership, or more specifically effective leadership, is every bit as crucial (if not more so) in African Organizations as it is throughout the world. African organizations are no different from others Worldwide in terms of striving for performance in order to be globally competitive. The South African situation, however, is incredibly complex as many organizations are caught in the middle of a web of authoritarian hierarchies and traditional leadership approaches, as well as bureaucratic hierarchies mixed with modern approaches to leadership * (Grobler, Wà ¤rnich, Carrell, Elbert and Hatfield, 2002). It is argued that effective leadership has a positive influence on the performance of organizations (Maritz, 1995; Bass, 1997; Charlton, 2000). Ultimately it is the performance of many Individuals that culminates in the performance of the organization, or in the achievement of organizational goals. Effective leadership is  instrumental in ensuring organizational performance. * (Cummings and Schwab, 1973; Hellriegel, Jackson, Slocum, Staude, Amos, Klopper, Louw and Oosthuizen, 2004). As a result, many leadership theories have been proposed in the last fifty years which are claimed to have influenced the overall effectiveness of the organizations where they have been employed. In the competitive world business environment it is vital that organisations employ leadership styles that enable organisations to survive in a dynamic environment. * (Maritz, 1995; Bass,1997) Performance has been defined by Hellriegel, Jackson and Slocum (1999) as the level of an individual’s work achievement after having exerted effort. * Cummings and Schwab (1973) and Whittenand Cameron (1998) believe that performance is ultimately an individual phenomenon with environmental variables influencing performance primarily through their effect on the individual determinants of performance – ability and motivation. * Behling and McFillen (1996) confirmed the link between high performance and leadership in the United States by developing a model of charismatic/transformational leadership where the leaders’ behaviour is said to give rise to inspiration, awe and empowerment in his subordinates, resulting in exceptionally high effort, exceptionally high commitment and willingness to take risks. It has been widely accepted that effective organizations require effective leadership, and organizational performance will suffer in direct proportion to the neglect of this (Maritz, 1995; Ristow, Amos and Staude, 1999).

Terror management theory

Terror management theory The effects of terror management theory on political decisions Summary The terror management theory suggests that feelings of anxiety and fear are caused by thoughts of death (mortality salience) which may affect our thoughts, decisions and actions. The fear/anxiety caused triggers off defence mechanisms which cause individuals to feel closer to their beliefs and what they regard as a good and valued way of living (cultural worldview). The study will be looking at how the manipulation of mortality salience affects the ratings of two world leaders, predicting that they will rate highest the world leader which identifies the most with their cultural worldview. The participants will be British University students and the design of the study is an independent measures design. The participants will be asked to fill in an identification scale on being British, a word search where the experimental condition will contain mortality salience and the control condition will not, they will also be asked to fill in small maths calculations and they will be finally as ked to rate two world leaders (Englands prime minister Gordon Brown and Russias president Dmitry Medvedev) on a scale indicating how strongly they feel about the statements about each world leader. The ethical issues in the experiment are confidentiality, informed consent, anonymity, mortality salience and the use of findings. These issues will be dealt with by gaining presumed consent, the right to withdraw from the experiment at any time and debriefing each participant at the end to make sure they are comfortable and satisfied with the information they provided. Mortality salience will be kept as minimal as possible via using a word search and a distracter task which will be used afterwards to ensure that as little harm or no harm at all is caused to the participants. Introduction Terror management theory was developed by Jeff Greenberg, Sheldon Solomon and Tom Pyszczynski and is based on death. Humans are unique as they are the only living species that are aware of their inevitable death and this causes fear (terror) which would make carrying on with daily tasks impossible. Therefore, it is suggested that when an individual is reminded of death (mortality salience) they instantly use two defence mechanisms to protect themselves and get rid of these thoughts of death. The first defence mechanism is when an individual has their own personal views and standards on how they should live their life and therefore, individuals strive to meet those standards to feel as valued members of society (cultural worldview). Culture also provides individuals with symbolic immortality such as, being part of families and ethnic groups, because even after their mortality these groups will still exist and individuals will still be remembered as parts of them. The second defence me chanism is self-esteem which reduces anxiety when self-esteem is high and this is achieved by individuals believing and maintaining that they live up to the standards that are parts of their cultural worldview. When individuals are successful this causes high self-esteem which reduces the anxiety caused by threats. Furthermore, when others have the same cultural worldview as ours (in groupers) it suggests that our view is right and we need this confirmation from others to keep believing in our cultural worldviews. However, defence mechanisms are triggered off when there are threats against ones world view and beliefs. The thought of death and other individuals with different cultural worldviews (out groupers) could challenge our beliefs leaving us with feelings of anxiety which makes individuals want to live up to their cultural worldviews even more. Many studies have tested the mortality salience hypothesis such as Rosenblatt, Greenberg, Solomon, Pyszczynski and Lyon (1989) who used twenty two judges in a study where half of the judges were reminded of their own death (mortality salience), before setting bail to a prostitute and the other half were not. The judges who were reminded of their death set bail at $450 and judges who were not reminded of their death set bail at $50. This shows that the knowledge of death causes individuals to maintain their cultural worldviews which is reflected onto the amount of bail set as generally prostitution would be seen as wrong in many individuals cultural worldview. The terror management theory also assumes that when people are reminded of death this affects their decisions towards certain important issues such as politics. Studies show that when mortality is salient many individuals support people with the same political views as their selves and act hostile and negatively towards people with different political views. For example, Landau et al. (2004) found that when individuals were reminded of the 9/11 attacks they seemed to be more supportive of President Bush whereas, in control conditions less than half supported his decisions. This shows us that the thought of death can have effects on our political decisions and views and this knowledge of fear seems to be used by politicians to receive more support from the public. Other studies have also showed that death increases nationalism. In one study on American participants, when they were reminded of death they were more positive towards people who thought positively of America and were more negative towards people who thought negatively of America (Greenberg et al.,1990). Different countries also found similar results such as in Germany when Germans were reminded of death they sat closer to other Germans and sat further away from Turks (Ochsman and Mathay, 1994). These studies show us that when individuals are afraid of their mortality they feel closer to their cultural worldviews than ever before as a way of protecting themselves. This causes attitudes and beliefs to strengthen which in turn causes individuals to view any other belief as wrong and negative. This may cause extreme behaviour such as terrorist attacks, hate crimes and violence. As a result of all of these, individuals would feel closer to a president who knows exactly what they are doing, are devoted and sending out a strong message. Rationale (purpose) and aims of study: The aim of the study is to show that thoughts of death affect our lives and the decisions we make, including decisions about politics. The study will be testing to see how British participants will react towards their very own world leader prime minister Gordon Brown and another world leader, Dmitry Medvedev Russias president. Participants should prefer Gordon Brown rather than the other world leader when reminded of death as he is closer to their cultural worldview. Research questions: When mortality threat is salient will individuals have a stronger attitude towards their beliefs and their cultural worldview? Hypotheses: Individuals political orientation will be closer to their cultural worldview when mortality threat is salient. Method: How hypotheses addresses aims of study: The aim of the study is to show that thoughts of death affect our political decisions as well as general decisions and the hypotheses relates to this as it is suggesting that individuals will feel closer to the world leader which identifies with their cultural worldview the most. Operationalised variables: 1) Mortality salience is manipulated by the word searches, ones neutral; one has death related words and 2) asked to rate world leaders on a scale about whether they are good/satisfying world leaders. Design: The participants will be randomly assigned and the design used will be an independent sample design, as different participants will be used for the two different conditions. The independent variables are the manipulation of the mortality salience (control condition and experimental condition) and the two different world leaders. The dependent variable is the results from the rating scales of the two different world leaders. Participants: British university students, male and female. Around 50 participants will be used. Materials: Identification scale, two word searches, small maths calculations and profiles of the two world leaders including the rating scale. Procedure: First of all participants will be seated and the first thing they will fill out is their gender, age and an identification scale on how British and close to their culture they feel. Then they will do a word search, however, there will be two conditions in the experiment one will be the controlled condition where participants will receive a normal word search and will not involve mortality salience, whereas, the experimental condition will involve mortality salience. After the word searches participants will work out small maths calculations, then they will receive profiles of two world leaders one is Gordon Brown Englands prime minister and the other is Dmitry Medvedev Russias president. In order to eliminate the effect of order effects I will have some profiles with Gordon Brown presented first than Dmitry Medvedev and vice versa. Participants will have to rate the statements of the world leaders on a scale indicating how strongly they feel about each one. Ethical issues: The ethical issues in the experiment are confidentiality, informed consent, anonymity, mortality salience and the use of findings. These issues will be dealt with by gaining presumed consent, the right to withdraw from the experiment at any time and debriefing each participant at the end to make sure they are comfortable and satisfied with the information they provided. Mortality salience will be kept as minimal as possible via using a word search and a distracter task will be used afterwards to ensure that as little harm or no harm at all is caused to the participants. Analysis of results: The results will be analysed by a 2 by 2 mixed factor Anova. The IVs are mortality salience (experimental condition and controlled condition) and the world leaders (Gordon Brown and Dmitry Medvedev). Schedule for completion of project: Collect all data by December Analysis of data in the Christmas break Write up of results and report January/Febuary till March

Influential Thinkers In Enlightenment

Influential Thinkers In Enlightenment The most significant development in the 18th century was intellectual progress, known as the Enlightenment. It is a thought movement which gathered various conceptions of god, nature and human beings to a kind of world outlook. Many people approve it. The movement caused revolution changes in art, philosophy and politics. It also advocated reason, suspected church authorities and Feudalism. The ideas of the Enlightenment thinkers had a deeply impact on the European and the Euro-American societies. The most important factor of the Enlightenment was the scientific revolution. Between the 17th century and the 18th century, based on direct observation and mathematical reasoning, astronomers and physicists saw the earth and the universe in a new vision. Relying on observation and mathematics, scholars transformed the natural science in a process which is known as the scientific revolution. Some astronomers and mathematicians also made contribution to the revolution. Ptolemy wrote a book known as the Almagest that combined opinions about the universe. He thought that the earth was at its centre. However, in 1543, Nicolaus Copernicus published a treatise On the Revolution of the Heavenly Spheres that broke with Ptolemaic theory and argued that the sun stood at the centre of the universe. Kepler demonstrated that planetary orbits are elliptical. Gailleo who invented the telescope used it to view the universe. He popularized the idea that the universe is rational and subject to the laws of mathematics (Bentley, 2002). Another powerful figure was Isaac Newton who culminated the new approach to science. He combined mathematical modeling and scientific observation to derive his famous laws of motion and theory of universal gravitation. Newtons vision of the universe was so powerful and persuasive that its influence extended well beyond science. His work suggested that rational analysis of human behavior and institutions could lead to fresh insights about the human as well as the natural world (Bentley, 2002). Inspired and supported by three innovative astronomers, physicists and mathematicians. European and Euro-American thinkers started an ambitious project to transform all human thought. They abandoned Aristotelian philosophy, Christian religion, and other traditionally recognized authorities, and they began to analyze the world where they live in a rational way. Enlightenment thinkers sought to discover natural laws that governed human society. John Lock, the English philosopher, is the founder of empiricis. He sought to identify the principles of psychology and argued that all human knowledge comes from sense perceptions. He threw away Rene Descartess innate ideas and argued that experience offered spiritual conception to humans heart. He believed the world is consisted of material. His empiricism was continuously developed by later people and became the European main philosophy trend. In politics, he held constitutional monarchy and natural right which includes life, freedom and prop erty right. Between 1689 and 1690 he wrote the most important political treatises The Government. In the first treatise, he disproved Filmers idea that god conferred the monarch authority. In the second treatise, he advocated the rulers authorities should be agreed by the ruled and the only purpose of building country is protecting the security and peoples right. When the government went against the purpose, people have the right to take back the authority by taking action (John Locke, 2010). The Scottish philosopher Adam Smith devoted special thought to the nature of early capitalist society and the principles that made it work. In 1776 he published a lengthy book An inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations, a wide-ranging work that uphold free, unregulated markets and capitalist corporation as the main factor of prosperity. The source of Smiths optimism about capitalism is his conviction that society as a whole benefits when individuals pursue their own economic interests and trade on a free market (Bentley, 2002). France , the center of the Enlightenment, produced many prominent intellectuals known as philosophes who advanced the cause of reason. For example, the French nobleman Charles Louis sought to establish a science of politics and discover principles that would promote political liberty in a prosperous and stable state. Different from philophers, philosophes addressed their works more to the educated public than to scholars. Instead of formal philosophical treatises, they mostly composed histories, novels, dramas, satires, and pamphlets on religious, moral, and political issues. The leader of the Enlightenment is Voltaire who is a philosophe, a writer and a philosopher. Voltaire championed individual freedom and attacked oppressive policies with encouraged witty remark and intense irony. He held nature right and thought that people are equal in nature and before the law. He also waged a long literary campaign against the Roman Catholic church, which he is in the charge of crazy, intolerance and incalculable human suffering. He considered that the church is a factor of oppression (Voltaire, 2010). As the earlier famous philosophe, Hobbes created machine materialism. He thought that the universe consisted of all the moving extension object. He tried hard to explain humans emotion and desire by the principle of mechanical motion. His moral thought includes natural rights and natural laws. The former one means that humans natural character is egoism. The latter means that humans reason rules morality. He disproved the idea that god confers the authority to rulers. He advocated absolute monarchy. He also considered that society had to follow the general will (Hobbes, 2010). As one of the representative of the Enlightenment, Rousseau is a radical who made the most fierce and severe criticize on French feudal society. His ideological essence and basic principle is sovereignty of the people. He considered that all rights belongs to people, government and officials are appointed by people, people have the right to appoint the government, people have the right to replace them, even have the right to revolt in order to abolish rulers who oppress people. He also thought that citizens should observe the law because it is free behaviour. In education, he proposed the idea return to nature that let childrens body freely develop (Rousseau, 2010). Although Enlightenment thinkers reached common ground on the excellence and the effect of humans reason, yet they hold different opinions on detailed issues in politics, religion, philosophy and so on. In politics, Locke, Rousseau, Voltaire and Hobbes all supported with natural rights. Locke and Hobbess nature rights includes life right, freedom right and property right, they thought that people have the right to gain legal property; however, Voltaire thought that the unequal property right can not be avoided and Hobbes thought that natural rights is egoism. Locke and Hobbes both objected to innate ideas and Voltaire and Rousseau both approved with innate ideas. Locke and Rousseau advocated revolutionary legitimacy. But Hobbes insisted on the opinion that people must obey if the ruler was conferred authority. Locke, Voltaire and Rousseau all advocated freedom and equality. Rousseau considered that the law is very important, people should accept it. Hobbes and Voltaire did not agree w ith division of power. Voltaire thought that rulers power came from the ruled, the only purpose of building country is protecting the security and peoples right, when the government went against the purpose, people have the right to take back the authority by taking action. But Locke advocated distribution of power. Locke, Rousseau and Hobbes all advocated social contract. Rousseau considered private ownership is the source of unequal state. In philosophy, Locke and Voltaire both admitted the idea that the world is consisted of material. Rousseau and Voltaire both considered that acknowledge rose from experience. Locke thought peoples heart was just like a paper and experience offered mind conception to it. Hobbes considered that material can not be separated from idea and material did not rely on our thought. In religion, Voltaire and Rousseau are both deist. Voltaire and Hobbes both disproved religion, they thought religion is requisite to maintain social order. The ideas of these Enlightenment thinkers made a lot of contribution to the community. What worth being mentioned is that their ideas not only exert great influence on the scholars, but also affect the European political world, including the most influential figures at that that time such as Napoleon and Queen Catherine. Influenced by the ideas of the Enlightenment, Napoleon who overthrew the Diretory and became a French military dictator created a united legal code for France. The code included that equal before the law, careers open to talent, free belief, protection of private property, abolition of feudalism and a secular state (Napoleon, 2010). Napoleon also valued education. As the most able Russian monarch, Catherine also influenced by the ideas of the Enlightenment. She encouraged nobles to travel in Western Europe and building school to educate aristocrats. She often communicated with some philosophes. She regarded herself as an enlightened despot. She limited the punishment s that the nobles inflicted on the serfs. She also abolished the death punishment. But when the thoughts challenged her rule, she began to object to it (Catherine, 2010). Although the ideas were not carried out completely to the end, it also shook some traditional thoughts. The impact of Enlightenment on human history should never be undervalued. It weakened the influence of organized religion. It also encouraged the replacement of Christian values, which had guided Europeans on religion and moral affairs for a very long time. Furthermore, it encouraged political and cultural leaders to rationally analyze the society and intervene actively in the Enlightenment matters for the interests that brought from promoting progress and prosperity. In many ways, the Enlightenment thought continues to influence European and Euro-American societies in the following centuries. Reference List Bentley Jerry H. (2002). Adam Smith on the capitalist market. Traditions Encounters. The McGraw-Hill companies. Retrieved May 22, 2010, from p657 Bentley Jerry H. (2002). The limits of westernization. Traditions Encounters. The McGraw-Hill companies. Retrieved May 22, 2010, from p786 Bentley Jerry H. (2002). Science and enlightenment. Traditions Encounters. The McGraw-Hill companies. Retrieved May 22, 2010, from pp658-662 Hobbes. (2010). Baike baidu. Retrieved May 22 2010, from http:// baike.baidu.com/view/34984. htm Locke, J. (2010). Baike baidu. Retrieved May 22, 2010, from http://baike. baidu.com/view/51406.htm Napoleon. (2010). Baike baidu. Retrieved May 22, 2010, fromhttp://baike.baidu.com/view/4866.htm Rousseau. (2010). Baike baidu. Retrieved May 22, 2010, from http;//baike.baidu com/view/6499.htm Voltaire. (2010). Baike baidu. Retrieved May 22, 2010, from http://baike.baidu.com/view/view/4782.htm

Militarism Caused WWII Essay -- World War II WWII WW2

Militarism On Sunday June 28, 1914, a member of the terrorist group The Black Hand, assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand. Many historians say that this event was the cause of World War I. There is also a theory that the assassination of the Archduke was only a trigger and that the war itself was caused by numerous other historical events and developments including imperialism, militarism, and alliances. Militarism was the leading factor in the outbreak of war. Militarism is the philosophy that a country’s significance is shown through its military might. Such a violent ideal promotes a unnecessarily strong military force and an aggressive demeanor while negotiating national interests. Without it the World War I would not happen on such a grand scale, if it would have happened at all. Militarism has always been present in countries around the world, but it had never become such a major force until the new Kaiser of Germany, William II, rose to power. He grew up as a cadet in Potsdam and it was there that he acquired a fondness for military pomp. While receiving his education, instead of insight and wisdom, it filled him with bigoted and absurdly romantic notions of war (Schulezed et al 69). Although Bismark, the previous prime minister, dismissed the new youthful Kaiser, he was forced out of power, marking the turning point of when German militarism moved to a forefront and became the ideal of the nation, and all rational calculations were put on the back burner (Schulezed et al 70). When Germany began to build its army, there was no going back. The Social Democratic Party, the main political party at the time, was unsuccessful in opposing naval growth because military provided the working class with tens of thousands o... ...l in times of peace. He argued that military elites had too much power in European countries and World War I was a consequence of their desire for the military power and disdain of democracy. He supported the removal of rulers such as Wilhelm II, an end to aristocracy, and militarism in any shape or form. Unfortunately his ideas were implemented only after the world suffered through the second World War when history had repeated itself without anyone learning their lesson. Bibliography â€Å"Naval Rivalry.† Europe. 3rd ed. 5 vols. Beresford, Charles W., Volker R. Berghahn, Herwig H. Holger, Lambert A. Nicholas, Arthur J. Marder, Jon T. Sumida, and Lawrence Sondhaus. Farmington Hills: Tomson Gale, 2006 Schulze, Hagen. German - A New History. Massachusette: Harvard University Press, 1998. Stratachn, Hew. The First World War. New York: Penguin Group, 2004