Leadership Styles Research Project free essay sample

I would like to give special acknowledgement to XXX director, XXX for his consistent support and motivation. I am grateful to XXX, Associate professor in XXXX , for his technical expertise, advice and excellent guidance. He not only gave my project a scrupulous critical reading, but added many examples and ideas to improve it. 2 I am grateful to XXX (Sr Hr executive and whole staff members of XXX co for providing me an opportunity to complete my project under their guidance. I am highly indebted to them for the same. Teamwork is essential for competing in todays global arena, where individual perfection is not as desirable as a high level of collective performance. In knowledge based enterprises, teams are the norm rather than the exception. Team leadership plays a critical role in fostering commitment, accountability, and team success. The Team leader must ensure that the right mix and level of skills are resident on the team. We will write a custom essay sample on Leadership Styles Research Project or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page They are also responsible for effectively managing 5 relationships outside the team, overcoming obstacles to success, and creating leadership opportunities for others. Good leaders are made not born. If you have the desire and willpower, you can become an effective leader. Good leaders develop through a never ending process of self-study, education, training, and experience. To inspire your workers into higher levels of teamwork, there are certain things you must be, know, and, do. These do not come naturally, but are acquired through continual work and study. Good leaders are continually working and studying to improve their leadership skills; they are NOT resting on their laurels. Before we get started, lets define leadership. Leadership is a process by which a person influences others to accomplish an objective and directs the organization in a way that makes it more cohesive and coherent. Leaders carry out this process by applying their leadership attributes, such as beliefs, values, ethics, character, knowledge, and skills. Although your position as a manager, supervisor, lead, etc. ives you the authority to accomplish certain tasks and objectives in the organization, this p o w e r does not make you a leader Leadership differs in that it makes the followers w a n t to achieve high goals, rather than simply. All teams must shape their own common purpose, goals and approach. While a leader must be a working member of the team who contributes, she also stands apart from the team by virtue of her position as leader. A team expects their leader to use that perspective and distance to help them clarify and commit to their mission, goals, and approach. Do not be afraid to get your hands dirty (lead by example), but always remember what you are paid to do (get the job done and grow your employees). The term styles has become more prominent in popular culture over the last decades, but its origins lie in psychological research on learning and personality. The original concept of style is that we all have preferences for the WAY we do things think, relate to others, interact, learn. Kurt Lewin, in the 1930s identified three major styles autocratic, democratic, and laissez faire, while Rensis Likert defined Exploitive 6 If you have the time and want to gain more commitment and motivation from your employees, then you should use the participative style. Participative (democratic) This type of style involves the leader including one or more employees in on the decision making process (determining what to do and how to do it). However, the leader maintains the final decision making authority. Using this style is not a sign of weakness, rather it is a sign of strength that your employees will respect. This is normally used when you have part of the information, and your employees have other parts. Note that a leader is not expected to know everything this is why you employ knowledgeable and skillful employees. Using this style is of mutual benefit it allows them to become part of the team and allows you to make better decisions. Delegative (free reign) In this style, the leader allows the employees to make the decision. However, the leader is still responsible for the decisions that are made. This is used when employees are able to analyze the situation and determine what needs to be done and how to do it. You cannot do everything! You must set priorities and delegate certain tasks. This is not a style to use so that you can blame others when things go wrong, rather this is a style to be used when you have the full trust and confidence in the people below you. Do not be afraid to use it, however, use it wisely! Forces A good leader uses all three styles, depending on what forces are involved between the followers, the leader, and the situation. Some examples include: 13 o Using an authoritarian style on a new employee who is just learning the job. The leader is competent and a good coach. The employee is motivated to learn a new skill. The situation is a new environment for the employee. Using a participative style with a team of workers who know their job. The leader knows the problem, but does not have all the information. The employees know their jobs and want to become part of the team. o Using a delegative style with a worker who knows more about the job than you. You cannot do everything! The employee needs to take ownership of her job. Also, the situation might call for you to be at other places, doing other things. o Using all three: Telling your employees that a procedure is not working correctly and a new one must be established (authoritarian). Asking for their ideas and input on creating a new procedure (participative). Delegating tasks in order to implement the new procedure (delegative). o Forces that influence the style to be used included: task. o Internal conflicts. o Stress levels Type of task. Is it structured, unstructured, complicated, or simple? o Laws or established procedures such as OSHA or training plans. Positive and Negative Approaches There is a difference in ways leaders approach their employee. Positive leaders use rewards, such as education, independence, etc. to motivate employees. While negative employees emphasize penalties. While the negative approach has a place in a leaders repertoire of tools, it must be used carefully due to its high cost on the human spirit. Negative leaders act domineering and superior with people. They believe the only way to get things done is through penalties, such as loss of job, days off without pay, reprimand employees in front of others, etc. They believe their authority is increased by freighting everyone into higher lever of productivity. Yet what always happens when this approach is used wrongly is that morale falls; which of course leads to lower productivity. Also note that most leaders do not strictly use one or another, but are somewhere on a continuum ranging from extremely positive to extremely negative. People who continuously work out of the negative are bosses while those who primarily work out of the positive are considered real leaders. 14 Use of Consideration and Structure Two other approaches that leaders use are: Consideration (employee orientation) Leaders are concerned about the human needs of their employees. They build teamwork, help employees with their problems, and provide psychological support. Structure (task orientation) Leaders believe that they get results by consistently keeping people busy and urging them to produce. There is evidence that leaders who are considerate in their leadership style are higher performers and are more satisfied with their job. Also notice that consideration and structure are independent of each other, thus they should not be viewed on opposite ends of a continuum. For example, a leader who becomes more considerate, does not necessarily mean that she has become less structured. Paternalism Paternalism has at times been equated with leadership styles. Yet most definitions of leadership normally state or imply that one of the actions within leadership is that of influencing. Leadership is influencing people by providing purpose, direction, and motivation while operating to accomplish the mission and improving the organization. The Army further goes on by defining influence as a: means of getting people to do what you want them to do. It is the means or method to achieve two ends: operating and improving. But there? s more to influencing than simply passing along orders. The example you set is just as important as the words you speak. And you set an example good or bad with every action you take and word you utter, on or off duty. Through your words and example, you must communicate purpose, direction, and motivation. While paternalism is defined as (Webster): a system under which an authority undertakes to supply needs or regulate conduct of those under its control in matters affecting them as individuals as well as in their relationships to authority and to each other. o Thus paternalism supplies needs for those under its protection or control, while leadership gets things done. The first is directed inwards, while the. Latter is directed outwards. 15 It seems that some picture paternalistic behavior as almost a barbaric way of getting things accomplished. Yet, leadership is all about getting things done for the organization. And in some situations, a paternalistic style of decision-making might be required; indeed, in some cultures and individuals, it may also be expected by not only those in charge, but also the followers. That is what makes leadership styles quite interesting they basically run along the same continuum as Hofstedes PDI, ranging from paternalistic to consultive styles of decision making. This allows a wide range of individual behaviors to be dealt with, ranging from beginners to peak performers. In addition, it accounts for the fact that not everyone is the same. However, when paternalistic or autocratic styles are relied upon too much and the employees are ready and/or willing to react to a more consultive type of leadership style, then it normally becomes quite damaging to the performance of the organization. There are a number of different approaches, or styles to leadership and management that are based on different assumptions and theories. The style that individuals use will be based on a combination of their beliefs, values and preferences, as well as the organizational culture and norms which will encourage some styles and discourage others. †¢ Charismatic Leadership †¢ Participative Leadership †¢ Situational Leadership †¢ Transactional Leadership †¢ Transformational Leadership †¢ The Quiet Leader †¢ Servant Leadership Additional research †¢ The Managerial Grid: Blake and Moutons people-task balance. †¢ Lewins leadership styles: Three original styles. †¢ Likerts leadership styles: from autocratic to participative. †¢ Six Emotional Leadership Styles: from Mr. Emotional Intelligence, Daniel Goleman and friends. †¢ Post-hoc Management 16 Charismatic Leadership Charismatic Leadership is defined by Max Weber as resting on devotion to the exceptional sanctity, heroism or exemplary character of an individual person, and of the normative patterns or order revealed or ordained by him. He defines Charisma as a certain quality of an individual personality, by virtue of which he is set apart from ordinary men and treated as endowed with supernatural, superhuman, or at least specifically exceptional powers or qualities. These are such as are not accessible to the ordinary person, but are regarded as of divine origin or as exemplary, and on the basis of them the individual concerned is treated as a leader ( ). How the quality in question would be ultimately jud ged from an ethical, aesthetic, or other such point of view is naturally indifferent for the purpose of definition. Charismatic people have a remarkable ability to distill complex ideas into simple messages (I have a dream); they communicate by using symbols, analogies, metaphors and stories. Furthermore they relish risk and feel empty without it, they are great optimists, they are rebels who fight convention, and they may seem idiosyncratic. Charismatic leaders are pictured as organizational heroes or magic leaders who have the social power basis to orchestrate turnarounds, launch new enterprises, inspire organizational renewal, and obtain extraordinary performance from organizational members. These leaders inspire trust, faith and belief in themselves. Of course none of this is a guarantee that the mission will be correct, ethical, or successful. Origin of the Charismatic Leadership model.

Business Success Essay Sample

Business Success Essay SampleIf you are looking for a way to turn your writing skills into the kind of experience that will increase your success in life, then take a look at an excellent set of professionally written essay samples. If you take a little time and work with these samples, you will discover that they will make a big difference in the way that you write and thus improve your writing skills.You will find that by following one of these samples, you will be able to significantly improve your writing abilities, making it much easier to create successful business proposals, reports, letters and presentations. Furthermore, you will also learn how to write for different audiences and work toward the completion of an impressive assignment.It is very important to find out which audience you are writing for before you begin writing your perfect audience, so that you can avoid making mistakes when you need to make them. These samples will help you do this. If you are working on a b usiness proposal or presentation, for example, you will want to find out who your perfect audience is before you start writing.If you find that you want to write a thesis or an essay for college, you will want to find out whether or not it is a requirement for your professional development or if it is simply a choice you have made. There are a number of subjects in which a thesis can be required, such as business, psychology, government and history.As a matter of fact, if you are currently writing for a professional development or internship program, you will find that if you choose to do so, you will also be required to write a thesis. This is usually because the subject of your subject is a requirement for your professional development, or as a result of something that is a requirement for your internship.Whether you are required to write a thesis requirement, both tend to involve a set of similar topics, which include describing your accomplishments and skills in an objective man ner. Both tend to involve very strong writing styles and give you opportunities to really put your expertise on display.Whether you are currently in a professional development program or whether you are planning to start one, you will want to find out what your requirements are and how to best go about achieving them. By taking the time to find out how to write a thesis or even a business proposal for college, you will be able to dramatically increase your success and help others achieve their own academic and professional goals.

Importance Of Physical Fitness In Life Essays - Physical Exercise

Importance Of Physical Fitness In Life Essays - Physical Exercise Importance Of Physical Fitness In Life If a sensible man is asked to answer the question as to what he does prefer, health or wealth, naturally he will answer without much hesitation 'Health' because wealth without a good health becomes useless. The westerners pay more attention to their health than the people of the orient. In bBritain they have the Central COuncil of Physical Recreation, the Scottish Council of Physical Recreation, the National Playing Fields Association. THe function of these various bodies is to keep the nation fit, not only physcially but mentally alert also. In modern education, physcial education and training forms part of the curriculum. In singapore schools, physical training is imparted to the young with the view to keep the young fit so that the future citizens of the country will be healthy. Only by enjoying good health can we think of enjoying wealth. Physical fitness is a must to both the young and old. THe best time to have exercise is early in the morning and late in the evening. If we cannot have a strenuous exercise, it is better to have at least a free hand exercise daily. In som countries like India and Britain, the yoga exercises are practised by some people. It is said that the best form of physical exercise is to stand on one's head. Experiments have proved that this exercise enables the man to get the required movements of the inner as well as outer organs and the result is man is also made mentally alert. People who do not take regular physical exercise are the ones who easily fall ill. The diseases such as diabetis and rheumatism can be prevented if we take regular physical exercises. A body without exercise can be compared to a machine that is kept inactive. Inactivity will lead to the machine getting rusty and in the long run becoming ueseless, so also is it the case with human body. The Japanses are an envy to the rest of the world. From a very young age the children of Japan are trained in Physcial fitness and the result is tremendous. Japan has one of the healthiest populations in the world and the mortality rate in Jpaan is low. Needless to say, physcial fitness is imperative evn among women and many of them do not seem to realise the importance of this. It is a folly to be so.

Introduction to business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Introduction to business - Essay Example While the first wave of public management reforms happened between 1979 and 1999, the turn of the millennia has shown increased reforms aimed at better servicing the public. The example of the way in which government employees are put into a culture of purpose, a social contract in which pay is only a part of the reward system, shows the way that reforms of the conservatism that hampered the system are being healed. The public management field is concerned with the areas of interest that are defined by the needs of the public. In order to fully understand this field, it is important to have definitive understanding of what the word public means. According to Bovaird and Loffler (2009), public refers to â€Å"collective choice and activity† in which â€Å"it has the ultimate responsibility for constituting a society as a political community which has the capacity to make public choices† (p. 5). The concerns of the public are the concerns of creating a community in which the needs of the individual are addressed in such a way that they best benefit the needs of the community as a whole. One of the prime concerns for public management is increasing the value of the money that is spent in serving the public, in creating the best possible result for the least amount of money in order to create the broadest number of services. In understanding the services of public management, it is beneficial to contrast it to the purposes of public administration and governance. Public administration is concerned with holding the budget, with administering the finances and how they are spent Governance is concerned with determining the structures through which decisions will be made and judging if those structures have been effectively followed. Both of these types of control are determined a great deal by the way in which the public perceives the effectiveness of their application (Bovaird and Loffler 2009 p. 6). Public management is concerned with managing the need s of the public through efficient use of the funds that are available so that the most people see the best and greatest amount of benefit. An example of the difference is shown by Bovaird and Loffler (2009) through a simplified consideration. When considering the topic of clean streets, governance is concerned with the actions of the citizens in preventing further littering, while management will be concerned with how to improve street cleaning services (p. 9). While this is a very simplified version of the differences, those differences can be viewed through the lens of this example. In the year 1999, Pollitt and Bouckaert wrote about the need for public management reforms. There are five areas of interest that define the reasons that reform was called for during this time. The examples of public management within Finland and Sweden could not be reached due to differences in the structure of the United Kingdom. The first difference that is remarked upon is that the U.K. reflects a deeper complexity of political governance. The second difference is within the per capita wealth of the country. The third concept is within the capital growth within the country. The fourth is within the differences that can be appreciated general governance expenditure. The final aspect that must be considered when approaching reforms in order to reflect the nature of the U.K. social and political structure is in the wide variations in wage and price increases

THE LABOR MARKET Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

THE LABOR MARKET - Essay Example No individual firm can influence the wages of labor, and neither can labor unions, whose primary role is to fight for better work conditions and better pay for its members. In the short-run, the curve for labor demand is not flexible and is steep because, in a short time, firms do not get the adequate opportunity to respond to rapid changes in the market (Flinn, 2010). But in the long-run, this curve is flexible and flat since firms can adjust their schedules and processes to meet market changes. In a competitive market, a company will only hire some workers whose marginal benefit in productivity is the same as the marginal cost of labor. The company will only employ the number of employees it will be able to afford at the wage rate set by the market. When a firm uses cheaper substitutes of labor, like machines, the demand for labor will decrease. If these tools are readily available, more efficient than manual labor, and the cost of employing labor substitutes is less than the marginal cost of labor, firms will demand less of labor. Availability of labor alternatives is being enhanced by rapid changes in technology, which produces equipment and machinery that can easily replace human labor. Another factor that would lead to a decrease in the demand for labor is a change in the number of firms in a particular industry. When there are numerous barriers to entry into an industry, the firms there will be few, and demand for labor will not increase when all other factors are held constant. Where there are few or no barriers to entry, an industry becomes very competitive so that firms can easily enter and trade. An increase in firms increases the demand for labor since human capital is needed to run these new companies. If the market price of the product or service a company produces increases, the demand for labor will increase in the short-run and reduce in the long-run. When the prices rise, sales will yield

The Image of the Cyborg as it Appears in Metropolis and Blade Runner Essay Example for Free

The Image of the Cyborg as it Appears in Metropolis and Blade Runner Essay The appearance of the â€Å"cyborg† in science-fiction cinema began with the emergence of the dystopian science-fiction film— both events started with Fritz Lang’s silent film â€Å"Metropolis,† released in 1927 in Weimar Republic Germany, just before the rise of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi party. Lang’s film, made as political allegory, shocked audiences with its complex plot, special effects, and political and religious themes. â€Å"Lang described Metropolis as a battle between modern science and the occult a kind of romantic fatalism that became the directors trademark in later works–[] scene after scene depicting a mechanized world gone madwhich influenced countless other filmmakers. † (Roberts 33)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Among these filmmakers was Ridley Scott, whose 1982 film Blade Runner (based on Philip K. Dick’s novel â€Å"Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?) stands as an accomplished descendent of Lang’s pioneering work.   While neither film features traditional cyborgs (which are beings created from a synthesis of biological and robotic components) each film features the concept of technologically engineered, sentient life, which closely resembles human life, as a central symbol for the exploration of spiritual and moral themes.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Central to Lang’s dystopian vision is a â€Å"mechanized world gone mad,† personified by the creation of a robotic double for the film’s heroine, a Christian leader named Maria, who is opposed by an evil scientist, Rotwang. The opposition of science and religion indicated by the character’s conflict demonstrates Lang’s intention to use themes which inject modern concerns (robotics and science) into the ages-old debates that had historically been associated with religion and philosophy. Lang’s vision is of a robotic construction of artificial life, whereas Ridley Scott, in Blade Runner used genetically engineered â€Å"replicants† as an example of artificially created life. The image of the â€Å"cyborg† is, for Lang, part-human and part-The Image of the Cyborg as it Appears in Metropolis and Blade Runner  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Page   -2- mechanized, a mechanical recreation of human form; for Ridley Scott, â€Å"replicants† are the image of the cyborg, being genetically altered, genetically specified humans designed by a corporation. For both film-makers, the image of the â€Å"cyborg† resulted in an image of evil and danger for humanity.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     The very inclusion of modern technologies, or technologies which are closely extrapolated from existing technologies, presents a deviation from the hitherto prevailing â€Å"classical† visions of the Church. â€Å"Dystopia is very much part of the late twentieth-and early twenty-first-century mindset. We see it in films and adverts that dwell on dank futuristic images from a world where the last vestiges of individualism are slowly being expunged and machinery is our enemy.† (Mourby)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The enemy in â€Å"Metropolis,† as personified by Rotwang’s â€Å"evil† robotic doppleganger, presents a new hazard in the modern landscape: if human beings can create sentient life, what are the repercussions of this god-like power and for what purposes will this power be unleashed? The mission of Rotwang’s creation is to vilify and destroy the saintly Maria and in doing so, obfuscate her vision and her message of self-liberation to the oppressed laborers of Metropolis. Rotang aims to â€Å"ruin Maria by creating a robot in her imagea mechanical evil twinto deliver false testimony.† (Roberts 33)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Lang’s use of the robot as a symbol of oppression and of deception marks his prosecution of the film’s religious allegory: the robot facsimile of Maria is intended as an ironic variation of the Creation myth, the Biblical notion of the creation of Adam and Eve. Rotwang functions as an inversion of God the Creator, and as Man the Creator â€Å"his main evil act is creating a false robot copy of a Christian leader, Maria. In other words, he gets his minion to pass as a Christian. He The Image of the Cyborg as it Appears in Metropolis and Blade Runner   -creates the robot to foment riots which will lead to the dictatorship of the master of Metropolis† (Tratner). In â€Å"Metropolis† the robot looks and appears as human, though it is actually a mechanical construction; in Ridley Scott’s later film â€Å"Blade Runner† the replicants are indistinguishable from human beings without a sophisticated series of psychological and neurological tests.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The concept of robotics functions, for Lang, as a direct inquiry into the moral bearing of humanity and what significance human ethics play as the role of technology expands in society. If robots can be constructed so cleverly, so efficiently that they can â€Å"pass† for humans in society, then what societal consequences arise from this technology? In â€Å"Metropolis† the robot is envisioned as a minion of perverse human will; its likeness to humanity presents a special problem of evil int hat the robot, programed with foul intentions, can walk among humanity undetected for what it really is— as in the (particularly Hebrew) legends of the golem. However, the robot in â€Å"Metropolis,† while being similar to the golem myth, is a distinctly modern conception and one which carried the ancient Biblical connotations of Creation Myth and the human will to power, which in both traditional Christian terms and in the context of the film â€Å"Metropolis† is portrayed as â€Å"sinful.†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Lang’s strategy, as revealed in â€Å"Metropolis,† is to contrast the human will-to-power as illustrated by the mad scientist, Rotwang’s, efforts to gain the power of Creation, with the human will-to-individuality and liberty, which is portrayed via the workers’ struggle and Maria’s spiritual vision. In the end, Joh and Rotwang’s scheme â€Å" backfires as the socialites debauch and the workers revolt, unleashing a flood that nearly drowns a horde of innocent children. In the end, Freder and Maria prevail, reconciling Joh with the workers with the slogan, The mediator The Image of the Cyborg as it Appears in Metropolis and Blade Runner between brain and hands must be the heart. (Roberts 33)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Lang’s ground-breaking film influenced untold subsequent film-makers and artists in all mediums; among them, Ridley Scott, whose dystopian science-fiction film â€Å"Blade Runner† incurs much debt to Lang for not only the visual and thematic ideas of â€Å"Blade Runner,† but for- the film’s central theme of genetically engineered human life-forms, which, like Lang’s treatment of robotics in â€Å"Metropolis,† comprises a symbol for ethical and religious themes.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Scott’s genetically engineered life-forms are called â€Å"replicants† and, as such, they are dissimilar from Lang’s robot in that replicants are biological, rather than mechanical, beings with physical, emotional, and mental characteristics selected and engineered by human scientists.   The central premise of the story is that a number of the replicants, having discovered that they were engineered to have only 3 year life spans, escape from their assignments in the off-world colonies and become renegades on earth in search of their creators, in search of life-extension.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   While Lang’s film asked â€Å"What would happen if man could create a perfect robotic likeness of man and program it to do malevolent things?† Scott’s film asks â€Å"What moral decisions would artificially engineered beings make once they realized they were alive?† The resulting narrative, with its dystopian overtones, presents a variation on the Biblical Satan-as-God’s-Enemy. Satan, being the most glorious of God’s angels, rebels against his Creator, God, because of his great pride. In â€Å"Blade Runner† the replicant, Roy, is received by his creator Tyrell as the â€Å"prodigal son;† he then proceeds to murder his creator, Tyrell, because of his existential angst, being a mortal creature with merely his subjective experience in three years as â€Å"eternity.†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Scott’s take on the â€Å"man against machines† paradigm is a near-future vison for humanity, severed from superstition or magic (where there are traces of occultism in â€Å"Metropolis†) and The Image of the Cyborg as it Appears in Metropolis and Blade Runner lodged firmly within the capitalistic, technology-driven society that is our modern experience. The idea of hostile machines seems all-too-familiar and in fact plays a central thematic role in mid-to-late twentieth century American medai:   this innovation might result in   the creation of machines that would one day prove intelligent enough to attack us, an idea that lies behind such classic dystopian films as Metropolis, Bladerunner and the Terminator trilogy. (Mourby)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   â€Å"Blade Runner’s† replicants evolve the notion of apocalypse as being human engineered, rather than as the will of God. Humanity will bring about its own apocalypse, and part of this apocalypse are the replicants themselves, a symbol, not of man (or Satan’s) vanity, but of his greed. For Scott capitalism and greed take the place of â€Å"evil† and â€Å"sin† in Biblical reference. Where previously men had imagined: â€Å"The end would occur when the Divine Being had finally had enough of us and it would all be pretty nasty for all except those who had managed to get on the right side of him† man must now manage (by Scott’s reckoning) to throw â€Å"off its glum medieval certainties† and dare, like Lang, to speculate â€Å" about what life might hold in store for us long term.† (Mourby)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   For both film-makers, the image of the cyborg, robot, or replicant offered a glimpse into the negative capacities of technology and scientific knowledge. Because in each case, the â€Å"cyborgs† closely resemble human beings, the image of the artificially created life-form is viewed as both negative and dangerous to humanity. The lesson of the images seems to be that the act of the Creation of life, though possible for humanity, is better left to God or Nature than to mankind. Works Cited Mourby, Adrian. Dystopia: Who Needs It? Adrian Mourby Shows That the Nightmare Scenario Can Be Both Dire Warning and Escapist Fantasy. History Today Dec. 2003: 16+. Roberts, Rex. Auld Lang Syne: A Restored Print of the Silent Classic Metropolis Includes Footage Not Seen since 1927. Insight on the News 5 Aug. 2002: 33. Tratner, Michael. Lovers, Filmmakers, and Nazis: Fritz Langs Last Two Movies as Autobiography. Biography 29.1 (2006): 86+.

Wife of Bath in Chaecers Canterbury Tales Essay -- The Wife of Bath E

In the Canterbury Tales written by Geoffrey Chaucer the story tells about men and women going on pilgrimages, among them the Wife of Bath in search of her 6th husband, who go on a journey to pay their respect to Sir Thomas à ¡ Becket. During the story the Wife of Bath strongly expresses herself as a very strong woman and knows what she expects with the men shes with. As well as this, with all her beauty and respect she was given in life the Wife of Bath displays herself highly. Finally, she ideals her actions with the knowledge she knows from the Bible. Therefore, because of her control, beauty, and knowledge the Wife of Bath is a woman that most women would look up to. With the Wife of Bath's five different husbands and the search of a new one, she didn't only know what she wanted but how to get it, she did this through ways of being controlling and selfish, but still, came out succeeding at the end of her relationships. The Wife of Bath, with her simple words of the five men she had been with, it was easily detailed with what mattered to her "they were good, and rich, and old, they were scarcely able to keep the statute by which they were bound to me" (p. 191). This is an explaination of exactly what she wanted and how she was able to be continue to be stable. Her unbelieveable control for the husbands she had, in which she thought they would be her "debtor and slave" (p. 189). Chaucer is expressing the sexual, as well as, the controlling side of the Wife of Bath, this also shows the unrealistic expectations she brought forth. At last, she tells exactly how she feels "you should speak thus and put them in the wrong, for no man can perjure hi mself and lie half so boldly as a woman can" (p. 193). Convicing her husbands ... ...ity, this knowledge was important. Chaucer details of society in that day in age, as well as, his detailed information of the Wife of Bath encompassed values in which women still admire today. Women still seek to have a more powerful role in society, even though still today there is a struggle to reach the top. Still today, the perfection you bring to your personal appearance gets your farther in life. Finally, when the reliance in the Bible and how still to this day church and state combine ideas, having a knowledge of the stories in the Bible shows a woman that is full of morals, values, and a good standard of living. Because of all of this, the Wife of Bath showed many sides of herself that may be hard to believe but yet still the backbone of all of it, is what most women try to do with their lives: be stable, powerful, happy, beautiful, and good morals.