An Ethical Issue Essay Example for Free

An Ethical Issue Essay Euthanasia is a hotly debated ethical issue these days, and there are certain arguments for and against its practice. Arguments against euthanasia are usually based on the sanctity of life, and such arguments are often compatible with religion, but arguments for euthanasia concern individual liberty, and a desire to prevent more suffering than is absolutely necessary. In this paper, I intend to address arguments for and against euthanasia, and explain why it is an ethical issue, and conclude that euthanasia, in some cases, should be permissible. Euthanasia is defined as the painless termination of someone’s life, but the ethical dilemma surrounding the topic has to do with whether or not it is alright to euthanize someone who is in a vegetative state, and can no longer think for him or herself, and whether or not assisted suicide is morally acceptable. The first of these scenarios would entail someone, such as a family member or physician, ending the life of someone who is in great pain following an accident, but cannot express their own wishes (whether or not they wish to remain on a feeding tube, or on life support) because of physical body damage, and this is known as passive euthanasia. The other issue, the one of physician assisted suicide, entails someone like a physician assisting someone who is in great pain, but not in need of life support, in committing suicide, maybe by administering a lethal dose of medication, to alleviate the patient’s pain, and this is known as active euthanasia. Both active and passive euthanasia are highly debated ethical issues, as they concern the value of life, and whether or not people are justified in prolonging a life of anguish, or terminating a life of misery. Recently, there have been many controversial cases of euthanasia, or its possibility in cases where it seems necessary to some, such as the cases of Doctor Kevorkian, and Terry Schiavo. The main ethical issues in the cases where Dr. Kevorkian euthanized (performed physician-assisted suicide on) some of his patients regards whether or not a patient should have the potential to decide his or her own fate, and then whether or not a physician should be held accountable for supporting, and aiding in a patient’s decision to end his or her life. This fundamentally boils down to the question of whether or not someone can choose to end their life when that person is in constant pain, but the issue would be complicated by the efforts needed in determining who is in enough pain to be permitted to actively end his or her life, which brings up the question of why everyone cannot choose to terminate their lives. And patients in hospitals do have the right to passively kill themselves, by starving, or refusing treatment, so in some cases, when a patient is prepared to take such measures to end his or her life, it would seem morally permissible for a physician to painlessly facilitate that patient’s suicide. In the case of someone’s euthanasia by the pulling of a feeding tube or the termination of life support, the ethical dilemma surrounds the family, or physician’s authority, when it comes to forcing the person who has brain damage to forfeit medical attention. A patient who is not in a vegetative state can refuse treatment, as that is not actively killing him or herself, but the question in the case of passive euthanasia is whether or not anyone other than the patient who might or might not refuse treatment due to severe pain if he or she were not in a vegetative state would have the authority to pull the plug on that person’s behalf, if the patient had not made his or her desired wishes clear. Religion plays a huge roll in helping people to believe that euthanasia should not be morally permissible, as most religions include some aspect about the sanctity of life, and based on that, they discourage suicide or killing in any form. Christianity in particular regards suicide as a sin, and that makes it difficult for people who wish to die because they are in too much pain, but their religion preaches against suicide. It is even against the law to commit suicide, but lately there have been questions coming out about whether people who are intensely pained by there illness should be exempt from this law, and whether or not doctors would be allowed to aid these suffering patients by providing them with lethal pills, or putting them to sleep by giving them extra doses of their medication. This is active euthanasia, where a patient, or doctor, or the combination of the two, take action to terminate life, rather than let it painfully continue for a long time, as the patient takes medicine and food, or making it drag on for a short, immensely painful period in the case where a patient refuses medication and food. For the most part, any argument against euthanasia must somehow be based on a view that life is sacred, and should never be sacrificed, at any cost, even when there is great pain to be dealt with if the life is prolonged. â€Å"Religious people dont argue that we cant kill ourselves, or get others to do it,† a BBC article about religion and ethics reports. â€Å"They know that we can do it because God has given us free will. Their argument is that it would be wrong for us to do so. They believe that every human being is the creation of God, and that this imposes certain limits on us. Our lives are not only our lives for us to do with as we see fit. To kill oneself, or to get someone else to do it for us, is to deny God, and to deny Gods rights over our lives and his right to choose the length of our lives and the way our lives end. † This summarizes a religious viewpoint that holds that euthanasia is not morally permissible. But for people who are not religious, a more basic argument in favor of euthanasia seems to arise, and that is simply whether or not people should be allowed to forfeit their lives if they are completely unsatisfied with them, or are severely pained by them. So, that might concern a simple case where someone is slowly dying of a terrible disease, and his medication deters the pain to some degree, but he is still miserable. Should that person be allowed to actively (or request that a physician actively) end his life, because he would rather forfeit his life than live on in pain and suffering? That seems to be a highly controversial issue, and from this perspective, it seems that euthanasia should be supported, at least to some degree. This could easily be a pro-euthanasia argument, as the person in pain has the right to forego medication, and refuse food and other life-sustaining attributes, which would lead to the patient’s death after a period of maximal pain, but the patent, without euthanasia, would not have the right to forfeit his life without enduring the pain from the scenario where he refuses treatment if active euthanasia is not permissible. â€Å"Some experts are gunning for a compromise. Zhu Tiezhi, a media commentator,† A China Daily article reports, â€Å"suggests the right-to-die prerequisites: the applicant must have a terminal illness that causes agonizing pain, and the diagnosis must be verified by at least two doctors; the applicant must be in a clear state of mind when he applies for it, and the application process should be repeated at least twice to make sure it is not a spur-of-the-moment thought. † This article was written after a patient who had throat cancer jumped out of a window to end his life after he was told that physicians were unable to assist him in doing so. So it seems that in certain cases, euthanasia is a more humane way for one to end his or her life than to manufacture a way him or herself. Our job is to save lives, and we dont have the right to mercy killing, said an official at the Changsha hospital,† an official at the hospital in the Hunan Province of China, where the man committed suicide, stated. But in certain cases, lives may only be prolonged, painfully, for a short time, so euthanasia would then represent a painless way of alleviating a suffering patient’s agony. â€Å"Chantal Sebire knows shes forcing people to make an agonizing decision, but agony is something she knows far too much about,† Bruce Crumley includes in his article, entitled Making a Case for Euthanasia. â€Å"The 52- year-old Dijon schoolteacher suffers from a rare disease that has left her disfigured by facial tumors, which will also damage her brain over time and eventually kill her. Her demand that French political leaders loosen laws against euthanasia has been rebuffed, so Sebire now awaits a judges decision on whether existing legislation allows doctors to assist her in ending her pain-racked life. ‘I no longer accept this enduring pain, and this protruding eye that nothing can be done about,’† Crumley writes. And unfortunately, the legal system of most countries do not recognize euthanasia as a permissible alternative to prolonged suffering, which causes many to live on in pain, wishing that they could terminate their lives instead of continuing on in agony. This seems like a reasonable right that everyone should be entitled to exercise if the time is right. People should not be forced to, because of the legal issues surrounding the issue, and anyone (such as a physician) involved, be forced to live on in agony when they could end it all by euthanasia. It seems that laws forbidding active euthanasia, or mercy killings, is based on the principle that all life is sacred, and that even extreme suffering should be fundamentally imposed on people if it could occur without their death. So death is legally regarded as impermissible when it is in any way caused by man. But what about the death penalty? There is a scenario where the government does not view life as the most sacred institution, so if exceptions are allowed, why not provide one that alleviates the constant suffering and agonies that plague people who have certain medical conditions, but are not allowed to self-terminate? â€Å"A French woman suffering from an incurable and disfiguring cancer was found dead on Wednesday, two days after a court rejected her request for medical assistance to help end her life, a source close to the government said,† an article from reuters. com reported of the woman who had petitioned to have a physician assist her in suicide. â€Å"Chantal Sebire, 52, whose face was swollen and distorted by a rare tumour in her sinuses, won heavy media coverage and the compassion of many French people in her bid to set a legal precedent for patients like her seeking to end their suffering. A court in the eastern city of Dijon ruled on Monday that Sebire could not have a doctor help her die because it would breach both the code of medical ethics and the law, under which assisted suicide is a crime. † But it seems that the code of medical ethics should make exceptions in certain cases of euthanasia. Forcing someone to die slowly in accordance with some debilitating disease is in no way more ethical or more humane than permitting that person to terminate his or her life painlessly. â€Å"After nine years, 130 deaths, and six trials, ‘Dr. Death’ Jack Kevorkian finally faces jail time for killing a desperate man who came to him for ‘help’ and found only death,† Liz Townsend writes in her article, Kevorkians Nine-Year Euthanasia Crusade Leads to Murder Conviction. â€Å"Thomas Youks death by lethal injection, administered directly by Kevorkian and nationally televised on 60 Minutes, led to a second-degree murder conviction March 26, but Youk was only one of many people who died to advance Kevorkians euthanasia crusade. ‘We believe the verdict should have been premeditated murder, but were very elated by the second-degree verdict,’ said Diane Coleman of the disability-rights group Not Dead Yet, according to the Associated Press. ‘We want to see Jack Kevorkian imprisoned for life. Its clear he has no respect for people with disabilities. ’ But is assisted suicide really a violation of the rights of someone who is disabled? In cases of physician-assisted suicide, the patient would not think so. A violation of the rights of the disabled would be ignoring a plea for assisted suicide, which would end pain and suffering. But perhaps the most basic argument for permissability of euthanasia, in at least extreme cases, should be in regards to everyone’s personal liberty. By that argument, people may say that everyone should have the right to do as they please when it concerns their own body. But an argument against personal liberty might state that similar arguments would allow drug use and other impermissible activities. So What is to be done? It seems that the best thing to do would be to, when physician’s can gauge someone’s mental aptitude, allow them to actively euthanize themselves, or assist him or her in doing so, if the patient is mentally competent, and wishes to end his or her life. And in the case of a family pulling the plug on someone (passive euthanasia) it should be permissible at all times if the patient had previously expressed a desire to die rather than remain on life support. Works Cited Appleton, Michael et al. At Home with Terminal Illness: A Family Guide to Hospice in the Home. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1995. Barnard, C Good Life, Good Death a Doctors Case for Euthanasia and Suicide. Hbk 146pp Prentice-Hall 1980. Bold and provocative work by the famous heart surgeon. Battin, Margaret P. The Death Debate: Ethical Issues in Suicide. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1996. The Law Society the British Medical Association. Assessment of Mental Capacity Guidance for Doctors Lawyers. Pbk 152pp British Medical Association 1995. Randall, F, Downie, R. Palliative Care Ethics A Good Companion Pbk, 202pp Oxford University Press 1996.

Introduction To Leadership Following And Communication Management Essay

Introduction To Leadership Following And Communication Management Essay Introduction to Leadership Leadership is a very important interpersonal behavior that a managerial position employee or employer should have. What is leadership anyway? The definition of leadership is: Leadership is a process whereby an individual influences a group of individuals to achieve a common goal. Northouse (2007, p3) There are four main factors in leadership which will greatly affect the quality of an individual to be a leader: Leader As a leader, he must be able to gain the trust from the followers, as nobody else will determine whether the leader is successful or not. In order to gain trust from them, the leader must have a good understanding on who he is, what he know and what he can do. If he failed to be honest to himself, the followers will lack of confidence on him and left uninspired. Followers For a successful leader, he must do his work and know the nature of his every single follower. By doing this, he will be able to have a good understanding of the followers nature, needs, emotions and motivation, as the followers play an important role of getting the job done. Communication Always lead through two-way communication. Feedback will be useful when collecting data and information needed for making decisions. Besides, while receiving feedback or suggestions from the followers, the leader can know what the followers needs and problem. At the same time, it is also consider an act of concerning the welfare of the followers. Situation Every situation that a leader had faced before might be different with another. Therefore, whenever a new situation happens, a leader must observe carefully and use his judgment to decide the best way of solving the situation or else the problem will be still existing and causing more problems. Question A According to Weber (1947), charisma is described as a certain quality of an individual personality, by virtue of which s/he is set apart from the ordinary people and treated as endowed with supernatural, superhuman, or at least specifically, exceptional power 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. Such leaders have a very charming, persuasive personality about them, whom are skilled at communicating with others and can be very convincing at times. Many leaders are looked on as born naturally with charisma, but it does not mean it cannot be acquired. Charisma is often considered as to be a trait, an internal character which is acquired. However, charisma is an exception, as it is inborn in everyone but at different quantities. But this does not mean the level of inborn charisma is static throughout our lifetime. Developing other characters such as communication and social skills may further enhance ones charisma levels. Charisma also depends on people perception. A person is only charismatic if people feel he or she is charismatic. So, charisma can be acquired. Charisma is not a mandatory requirement to be an effective leader. Many world leaders today do not possess much of charisma, but nonetheless, remain as leaders of their nations. Other factors such as creativity and innovation can drive a leader towards effectiveness. Trust is another factor that can be forged between a leader and follower which leads to a more effective leadership, with the absence of any charisma. Charisma can be considered as an additional boost but not a requirement to become an effective leader as they may have other leadership qualities. Even without charisma, one can still be an effective leader. Question B Charismatic leadership is not the same as transformational leadership. Both of the leadership have a different concept from each other. Charismatic leadership can be defined as people with a great confidence in themselves, having a clear vision of their actions and most importantly, they have their own individual charm, personality or influence over the society. Charismatic leaders are able to know the needs of their supporters. Therefore they can create a vision that will allow everyone to know future will be improved (Awan, 2010). Martin Luther King, Jr. is a good example of a charismatic leader. He is able to include a vision of colour blind society within the Americans value. He inspired the Americans to accept Afro-Americans in the country and give equal treatment to them. On the other hand, transformational leadership is a leadership that helps subordinates to improve themselves and create a better vision for them so that they can become a leader as well. Transformational leaders focus more on motivations, inspirations and encouragements. Besides that, they have good communication skills which allow them to build good relationship with others (Kurnik, 2010). They also appreciate their subordinates efforts, ideas and contributions so that they will continue to work harder. One good example of a transformational leader is Abraham Lincoln. He is one of the greatest presidents of The United States. He had a vision for the country, which is develop the country into a successful country. Sometimes he visited his front lines troops to encourage and motivate them so that they do not lose their spirit. Transformational leadership and transactional leadership are both different types of leadership. In transformational leadership, subordinates are expected to achieve higher than their original goals. However, in transactional leadership, subordinates are motivated at a normal standard level. Transactional leaders also relate rewards that are desired by subordinates with the goals and achievements. Besides that, transactional leaders only provide necessary resources to their subordinates and clarify their expectations. They will only monitor their subordinates from aside but only involved when the performances standard is not met. Other than that, transformational leaders focused on the ends while transactional leaders negotiated over the means (Sir MacGregor Burns, 1978), which means transactional leaders focus on the whole process while transformational only focus on the achievements or results. Question C Culture is briefly described as the group norms, beliefs and values that makes an organizational unique and also, defines its nature of business. Organizational culture, referred as corporate culture in some organization is the system consisting of shared actions, formal rituals, procedures and protocol, values that develops in the organization to act as guidance on how the members should behave. Strong culture refers to an organization that has a deeply shared value system and the norms and beliefs are followed by the members without fail. As a result, it leads to higher level of business performance. Being able to understand one another, they are able to synchronize, improving their efficiency and effectiveness without wasting the organizations time and resources. In addition to that, a stable social system is developed and the need for bureaucratic controls is reduced. Organizational culture would also impede the business progress of an organization, as Fons Trompenaars [1] stated that culture is the way in which a group of people solves problems. Thus, choices to solve the problems and how may vary as the cultures vary in different organizations. Rather, they would agree on other peoples idea but their own. As stated by Bruce M. Tharp, there are four types of organizational cultures that impede business progress. They consist of control, compete, collaborate, and create. Firstly, control or hierarchy culture is the rules and procedures that guide the members to perform their tasks and control their behavior. Strong culture would impede business progress, because members would not respond to any changes in the organization as they adapted to the shared value system. For example, members of the organization are always given extra time to prepare for incoming projects but the new rule (change) enforced states that the extra time is unnecessary and members have to start the projects as soon as they receive them. Next is compete, otherwise referred to as market culture. Fierce competition from other organizations is also another factor, making it harder for the organization to achieve its goal and success in the market. The organization has to be both efficient and effective to provide a strong competition. However, strong culture impedes faster learning and improvement to the organization which could result in losing the business to competitors. Moving on to collaborate, also known as clan culture is to describe the organization as a whole team. By coming together as a team to tackle problems, problems can be solved quickly. However, this would impede business progress by having the same point of views. There are no second or third opinions involved as the members would have the similar mindset and way of thinking. Therefore, the members would agree on the decision without thinking much from a different perspective or comparing opinions. One of the last culture that impede business progress is create/adhocracy culture. Being flexible and innovative is also important in assuring the organizations and business success, as well as being ahead of others. Creativity is also a part of the adhocracy culture. However, the strong culture of sharing the same values and beliefs would prove difficult for members to come up with fresh and innovative ideas. In addition to strong culture, members of the organization are not able to adapt and troubleshoot complex problems. In the end, strong culture impedes the progression of business. Conclusion Leadership is an essential value for managerial person, no matter in which area the person in. Therefore, one must do his best on setting a good example to the followers and trust their ability to complete their work, so the followers will be inspired and always give their best towards the leader or the organization. Even though that theory can understand and memorize easily, one must still put some effort on practicing on it as it cannot be obtained easily like a technical skills. Furthermore, when a person has leadership lies within himself, the followers will believe and respect the decision made by the leader, and thus perform the work efficiently and effectively. In conclusion, the organization will be benefit and the employees will do their best all the time.

Quantity Surveying Estimating Methods Impact

Quantity Surveying Estimating Methods Impact In view of the fact that the profession was being introduced in the country, Quantity Surveyors are construction professionals which being patronized under the Institution of Surveyors, Malaysia and its Board of Quantity Surveyor Malaysia. Advices are given by Quantity Surveyors on aspects of financial and contractual administration (ISM, 2004). ISM (2004) define, the Quantity Surveyor as the experts of capable in cost and management of construction projects and also need to price the Bills of Quantities, negotiating and agreeing schedule of rates. According to Andrew Doyle and Will Hughes (1997), the Quantity Surveying profession is constantly scrutinised, with regular demands for higher accuracy estimating. Besides, Mohammad Barzandeh (2009) defines estimating as the process of calculated guessing by looking into the future costs of a construction project before start work. It happens before construction has started. The Quantity Surveyor is responsible for these estimates which serve to make sure that construction project will have a successful financial outcome. Phuwadol Samphaongoen (2009) states construction cost estimating as a cumbersome process. An accurate estimate takes a long time for the Estimator to complete it. Contractors Estimator has to prepare cost estimates quite often for new projects. According to Skitmore, et al (1990), the aim of construction price estimating is to provide an estimate of the market price for the construction contracts. In the other hand, Holm et al (2005) defines cost estimating as the process of analysing a specific scope of work which predicting the cost of performing the work. Cost estimating also involves collecting, analysing and summarising all available data related to a construction project. Hira N. Ahuja Walter J. Campbell (1998) define a simple definition of an estimate which is a prediction of probable cost. According to Mohammad Barzandeh (2009), estimating is one of the most important functions for a successful construction project. These Estimates also influence the decisions made for budgeting and assist in Clients decisions for selection of the Contractor. 1.2 Problem Statement Cost overrun is a very common phenomenon as most of the construction projects in Malaysia facing this problem. Cost overrun occurs when the final cost or expenditure of the construction project beyond the original estimation cost. Cost overrun occurs in both developing and developed countries. (A.S. Ali S.N. Kamaruzzaman, 2010) Besides, Kai Zhu (2005) emphasises, cost estimation and planning is a very important and fundamental aspect in the construction process, it facilitates effective and efficient control of the construction projects. Despite their importance, often in practice because of time constraints, its requirements are not usually fulfilled which in the long run affect a projects quality, duration and budget. According to Kai Zhu (2005), one of the factors that cause cost overrun in Malaysia construction industry which is the inaccuracy of cost estimation prepared by Quantity Surveyors, the possible consequence of cost overrun is abandon of construction project due to underestimate. On the other hand, overestimated cost could result loss of opportunities by the Client and loss of contract award by the Contractor, both the Client and the Contractor could incur significant losses due to underestimated cost. In addition, Stephen D. Schuette et al (1994) emphasises that inaccurate construction project estimates might have a detrimental effect on all parties involved. Many additional factors which might affect the future events of construction project such as labour productivity, material availability, financial markets, weather, constructability issues, equipment availability, contract types, ethics, quality issues, control system, management ability and others. 1.3 Objectives Objectives: To identify the factors that affecting the accuracy of estimation by Quantity Surveyor during pre-tender and tender stage. To identify the impact of inaccuracy in estimation to the Client and/or the Contractor. To make recommendation for minimise the inaccuracy of estimation during pre-tender and tender stage. 1.4 Rationale of study Keith Potts (2011) states, the estimating process is very important, as it enables construction companies to determine their direct costs and provides a bottom line cost below which it would not be economical for them to carry out the construction work. Leng (2005) also states, cost estimation is one of the most important activities of the entire project duration. An over-estimate could lead to tender not being accepted by the Client and losing potential work. An under-estimate could lead to Contractor losing money. According to Hira N. Ahuja Walter J. Campbell (1998), cost estimate play the major role in the decision-making process which leads from concept to completion of a construction project. Cost estimating has become very important under economic conditions with high inflations and fiscal constraints. As mentioned by Keith Potts (2011), the basic challenges faced by the Contractors Estimator is to estimate the costs of constructing a project schedule for the specific construction activities and after that build the construction project within the estimated cost and schedule. Contractor to build a construction project profitably, the cost estimating and cost control skills are very essential for the Contractor. Kai Zhu (2005) recommends that the factors which affect the accuracy of estimation should be identifying in order to increase the accuracy of estimation. Besides, accurate cost estimation minimise the risk of cost overrun, provides confidence on construction project outcomes to the management and contributes to the strategic management of the organization. According to Zaitoun Shadeed Al-Khaldi (1990), there are many factors that affect the accuracy of construction cost estimating and it should be taken into account in the early stage of an estimate. Some of the factors can increase costs and the possibility of contractual disputes between the various parties involved. 1.5 Research Methodologies As stated by Richard Fellows Anite Liu (2008), there are two major approaches being employed for data collection, which are primary data and secondary data. Primary sources allow the researcher to obtain as close as possible to what actually happened during a historical event or time period. A secondary source is a work which interprets or analyses an historical event or phenomenon. It is generally at least one step removed from the event and is normally based on primary sources. According to Richard Fellows Anite Liu (2008), primary sources can be categorise into qualitative, quantitative or a mixed method research. In qualitative approaches seek to obtain insight and to understand peoples perception. Quantitative approaches tend to relate to positivism and seek to obtain factual data, to study relationship between facts and how such facts and relationships accord with theories and the searching from any research executed previously. Interview will be conducted in order to derive primary data. Besides, Quantitative approach such as questionnaires will be employed and conduct through postal delivery and e-mail. According to Denscombe (2007), secondary data provide the researcher theoretical background and knowledge. Secondary data will be collected by literature review method, which include reading journal, articles, published electronic, thesis or dissertation done by other students, news and books. For this project dissertation, majority of the secondary data is collected through books, articles and journals. Chapter 2: Literature Review 2.1 Factors affecting the accuracy of estimating According to Hira N. Ahuja Walter J. Campbell (1998), accuracy in estimating relies on freedom of avoidable mistakes. Estimates errors may also be attributed to technical errors in calculations or simply to careless blunders. Some ordinary blunders are misplacing a decimal point, failing to include the total of every estimate sheet in the final summary, errors in transferring figures from one sheet to another, simple multiplication or addition mistakes and misreading a number because of unclear handwriting. Any one of these types of errors can lead a significant effect on the accuracy of an estimate. 2.1.1 Construction items 2.1.1.1 Complexity of project Michael kitchens (1996) emphasises that the construction industry has become increasingly complex through the years as a result of improvement and advance in technology, natural evolution and litigation. H. van Meerveld, et al (2009) states that the level of complexity of a construction project is a function of three features which include organisational complexity, resource complexity and/or technical complexity. Cost estimation might influence by organisational complexity, resource complexity and/or technical complexity. As mentioned by Michael kitchens (1996), organisational complexity is the number of people, departments and organisations that are involved. Organisational complexity might lead to a loss of information due to communication becomes more difficult when more people are involved. The information that is lost can sometimes be necessary for acquiring an estimate. Organisational complexity can also indicate that Estimators work simultaneously on the same project. In this case, Estimators have to put more effort into coordinating this simultaneous work. According to H. van Meerveld et al. (2009), resource complexity is the volume of resources involved constantly assessed through the budget of the construction project. Resource complexity means that the overall amount of work needed to estimate increases which also increase the chance of making mistakes or errors. H. van Meerveld et al. (2009) note that technical complexity is the level of innovation involved in the product or the construction project process or novelty of interfaces between different parts of that process or product. Technical complexity means that Estimators will have to make manual adjustment to acquire a more accurate estimate on the particular construction project. In projects that are more complex are subject to a higher chance for the change of design. The Estimator has to re-estimate the complete project or parts of it depending on the sort of design changes. H. van Meerveld et al. (2009) state that in general there are two issues influence the estimating activities on more complex projects, which include a higher demand for coordination and structure to prepare an estimating for the construction project. Besides, if complexity increases estimating will need more effort to acquire an estimate and the probability of making mistakes increases. However, according to A. Ashworth et al., the complexity of modern construction industry and the variety of processes used have limited the availability of reliable feedback of information. In practice, the Estimator will have to use his own standard outputs and couple these with an expectation of future performance. 2.1.1.2 Labour productivity As stated by Donald F. McDonald et al (2004), on construction projects there are numerous circumstances and events that may cause productivity to decline which the Estimator might not anticipated when estimating the construction cost. Estimating labours and equipments costs requires more knowledge of construction techniques and experienced judgment as compare with estimating material cost. As estimating labours and equipment cost has the greatest uncertainty is in predicting the productivity of the labours and equipment that used on the construction project. According to Aiyetan Ayodeji Olatunji (2010), construction productivity is influenced by many factors which including material, equipment, tools, construction methods, management skills in terms of adequacy and accurate application. Donald F. McDonald et al (2004) mention that as a result of poor project management may be caused by the failure to properly schedule and coordinate the work and the Estimator might not expected that event of the poor project management. According to Donald F. McDonald et al (2004), work that is not scheduled properly which might lead to shortage of critical construction equipment or labours and incorrect mix of labour crews may result in decreased productivity of the labour because the labour may not able to work as efficiently as they could. Improperly planned and implemented project initiation procedures might also lead to lost labour productivity. Donald F. McDonald et al (2004) also states that if material, tools or construction equipment are not available to particular labour at the right location and timing, the productivity of the particular labour probably suffer as they may be unable to proceed in a consistent manner. Productivity of the labour might suffer if the wrong tools or improperly sized equipment is provided. In addition, poor site layout design can affect the productivity. In addition, Lee Holm et al. (2005) emphasise that estimating should be vary depend on site conditions, labour size, labour experience and equipment selected for the particular construction project. As lost productivity of labours are not tracked normally or cannot be discerned separately and contemporaneously. 2.1.1.3 Insufficient time David G. Carmichael (2002) emphasises that construction projects involving design time of months or years which request the Contractors to digest the tender documents and submit the tender within a relative short period. The planning, estimating, developing a work method, studies and others are prepared within a short period or an insufficient time is allowed. The Contractors is required an appropriate tender period to develop thorough the tender. David G. Carmichael (2002) states that as insufficient time is given to the Contractor for estimating and pricing the tender in rushing process, the Contactor might miss out any prior consideration. Binnington Copeland Associates (2012) also state that as the failure to allow the Estimator adequate time to carefully consider and pricing for risks which might result in excessively high tender prices where substantial contingency is allowed by the Estimator to cover unexpected situation, as the Estimator had not enough time to deal with it. Besides, according to David G. Carmichael (2002), this presents a challenge to the Estimator who has to prepare and complete several estimates and tenders in a relative short period of time. Tang Wai Kuen, Raymond (2005) emphasises that insufficient time for cost estimating is the prior factors which cause inaccurate cost estimating incur, as construction programmes are very tight and designs are frequently changed. The performance of cost management adversely affects the Estimator to estimates as insufficient time is provided. 2.1.1.4 Inadequate information According to Aiyetan Ayodeji Olatunji (2010), majority of the Contractors Estimator facing problem when tendering for a construction project which the information provided is insufficient. Under this circumstance, the Estimator must make his or her own estimation and assumption on it, if inaccurate estimation has been made, it may lead the Contactor overestimate or underestimate. Overestimate might cause the Contractor unable to award the construction project, underestimate might cause the Contractor unable to gain profit from the particular project or more worst still abandon of work due to insufficient financial to run the construction project. 2.1.1.5 Lack of availability of equipment There are two major circumstances which faced by the Estimator when estimating or pricing the tender. Firstly, the Estimator might require estimating the fluctuation of the price of equipment for relative long of period as the construction period normally last for few years. Secondly, during tendering stage the Estimator might require deciding whether own the equipment or hire the equipment from specialist company if the project require certain equipment which the Contractor does not own the equipment (Zaitoun Shadeed Al-Khaldi, 1990). According to Zaitoun Shadeed Al-Khaldi (1990), the Estimator has to evaluate and select one particular piece of equipment, it is essential to determine its hourly cost very accurately. Some factors have to be considered during this stage, which are number of hours used per day, month and year, severity of job conditions, the way the equipment has been maintained and the demand for equipment owned by the Contractor when it is sold. In addition, the price of the equipment might be increase due to inflation or many mega projects are run concurrently which might cause the unavailability of the equipment. 2.1.1.6 Incomplete drawing and detail design Lee Holm et al. (2005) emphasise that the accuracy of estimate also will depend upon the completeness of the contract documents provided and others. In addition, the factors of incomplete drawing and detail design as the factors which cause inaccuracy of estimation in construction project. During tendering, the Contractors Estimator is carrying out the estimating work due to drawing is unclear and none very detail shown in the drawing. The Estimator has to make his or her own assumption for estimating and pricing the tender. This factor will increase the chance of inaccuracy estimation for the particular construction project. 2.1.1.7 Computerised estimating software The actual use of the computer for estimating is varied within the construction industry. Some companies use the computer for all construction projects with a high degree of sophistication and some other companies do not use the computer at all. (Stephen D. Schuette Roger W. Liska, 1994) Phuwadol Samphaongoen (2009) defines detailed cost estimating as a cumbersome process that involves a lot of data and calculations, improvement in technology that could assist the estimating process of construction cost; it could reduce the Estimators work load. Computers are considered to be effective tools for assisting Estimators during the pre-tendering and tendering stage. Computers provide many benefits to the Estimator, which including reducing estimation errors, the time required and others. Stephen D. Schuette Roger W. Liska (1994) state that the early uses of computers by the construction companies were limited to accounting functions only. The improvement in micro-computering have increased knowledge of computer capabilities construction managers have begun to use computers in everyday construction operations to make quick and accurate decisions. Phuwadol Samphaongoen (2009) states estimating technologies which include spreadsheets, builds soft, microsoft excel, cost estimating software, digitizing tablets, on-screen digitizing systems and the yet to be matured 3-D CAD parametric estimating software and others. During the detailed cost estimating process various software packages are available to assist the Estimator. The capabilities of software packages vary greatly, as some of the software is include labour, equipment and material cost databases, after the database is set up which could facilitates the estimating process. According to Phuwadol Samphaongoen (2009), a spreadsheet is a computer application which simulates a paper worksheet. It arrange for the user with cells that are compiled into rows and columns. Each of the cells can contain either text, numerical values or formula, it can be defined in cells to obtain calculated value from the related cells. Complicated mathematical calculations can be automated with a change or alter of a single cell with the use of formula in the spreadsheet. Estimator uses the worksheets to accelerate the estimating process. A template can be set up by the Estimator with saved formula in the spreadsheet. Quantity take-off calculations can perform within a spreadsheet by the Estimator. Although a spreadsheet requires a lot of input from the Estimator, it could remove the cumbersome and error prone manual calculations during the quantity take-off and pricing. As stated by Mofti Bin Marjuki (2006), Global Estimating is an estimating program which has been tailored for commercial use in the construction industry. Bills of Quantities or detailed Estimates and Cost Plans can be produce through this program. Designed primarily for use by commercial building Contractors and professional Quantity Surveyors it includes features which allow it to be used in other industries where estimating is required. The grouping columns in this program are very powerful as it can be re-sorted or analysed the entered information. For example, the estimate can be summarised to produce totals by area, block, stage, cost centre, accounting group, or any user defined set of codes. Mofti Bin Marjuki (2006) mentioned Microsoft excel can be used for contains or store industry standard cost data in the CSI format for all cost categories covering general construction. Unit prices include material and labor including labor hours. This software provide easily modify and add cost data to suit local conditions and business. Besides that, Microsoft excel instantly creates user-modifiable, onscreen or printed estimate reports including price quotation. In addition, this software can save time, improve accuracy and achieve greater success. Phuwadol Samphaongoen (2009) notes that a digitizing tablet is a computer input device which uses a stylus and a tracking surface to capture the drawing on to the computer system. The drawing traced on the tracking surface transfers point coordinates to a computer; it can be used for many different purposes which including construction cost estimating. Digitizing tablets purpose in construction cost estimating is to digitize the paper-based blueprints provided by Estimator or the designer. For example, the Estimator can get the length, perimeter and area out of the drawing by the scale provided in the blueprints. These parameters are available when using the digitizing tablet through software package. After the paper blueprints have been digitized and the quantities for all work items have been determined, the Estimator might those quantities to estimate the prices of items, but quantity takeoff using the digitizing tablets may cause errors from unstable hand during tracing the drawing. Digitizing require a large number of blueprints which is very time-consuming process to the Estimator. (Phuwadol Samphaongoen, 2009) Phuwadol Samphaongoen (2009) mentioned that 3-D computer aided drawing (CAD) models allow estimators visualize what is going to be built in the 3-D environment. The ability to digitally extract and transfer data can speed up and facilities the cost estimating process. A building model allow the user seen in many different views which include details of elements, dimensions can be extracted and transferred to the estimating software. In the other hand, Stephen D. Schuette Roger W. Liska, (1994) state that the duties of the Estimator might change if the Estimators company implements the use of the computer in the estimating process. Before computerisation estimating process the Estimator spent the greatest amount of time determining the quantities of materials and performing math calculations. Computers accomplish these tasks rapidly and accurately permit the Estimator to give more attention and concentration to alternative construction methods, material supplier negotiations, predicting the productivity of labours, developing accurate cost information and bidding strategies. Everything that comes out of the computer, the Estimator should not accept it blindly or rely totally on the computerised system as the computer cannot make judgment. The result of the computerised estimate software should always review by Estimator to avoid errors and mistakes; as computerised estimate software is not immune to technical faults which are likely not to be detected easily and early as recommend by Stephen D. Schuette Roger W. Liska (1994). Besides, Stephen D. Schuette Roger W. Liska (1994) state that computerised estimate software could also be susceptible to technical limitations such as inability to work under certain conditions, inability to work well with other tools and limited to technical support. It might trigger severe consequences on estimating processes due to the Estimators lack of knowledge on those computerised estimate software. The manifestations of tool based error are which included: software construction, faults from programme performance frameworks, errors from a secondary source, end-users inappropriate use, inability to interact perfectly with other applications and others (Oluwole Allfred Olatunji, 2010). In addition, Oluwole Allfred Olatunji (2010) mentions that computerised estimate software could obsolesce of standards due to evolution of information technology in the estimating industry, especially description libraries and databases used for automatic estimating. Estimators or applications must be updated frequently when built into a programme as reference standards for reviewed, otherwise that the program possibility miss-apply the standards. 2.1.1.8 Experience or qualification of Quantity Surveyor Estimator According to Skitmore et al. (1990), expert Quantity Surveyors in the UK provided evidence of significant differences in estimating accuracy between the individual surveyors involved. Lee Holm et al. (2005) emphasise that the accuracy of estimate also will depend upon the completeness of the experience of the Estimator and others. As stated by Hira N. Ahuja Walter J. Campbell (1998), the Estimators knowledge can provide a measure of insight and accuracy that is unobtainable from any other information sources. According to Skitmore et al. (1990), construction contract price estimating practice is, with very few exceptions, heavily dependent on the skill of the Estimator. This skill is associated with the other factors affecting the quality of Estimator which are the nature of the target, information, technique and feedback and the personal attributes of the forecaster himself combining to provide the general term of expertise. Besides that, Mudd (1984, p.1-2) has described that Contactors Estimator should associated with certain qualities. These include: good basic numerate and literate education, reasonable time spent on site, interpret drawings, ability to communicate, facility to make accurate mathematical calculations, application of logic and common sense, patience, able to cope with a vast volume of paper, a working knowledge of all the major trades, close relationship with those peoples who are responsible for construction, a knack of picking up useful information, flexibility and others. 2.1.1.9 New/innovative techniques or materials The implemention of Industrialised Building System (IBS) is still not widespread in the industry despite the government has encouraged the implementation of IBS towards reducing percentage of foreign works and improving quality, productivity, safety and competitiveness through IBS construction method. IBS is a construction process that utilises techniques, products, components or building system which involved prefabricated components and on-site installation (CIDB 200). Salihudin Hassim, Mohd Saleh Jaafar and Saiful Azri Abu Hasan Sazalli (2009) emphasise that since the first project of IBS in year 1964 till today, IBS in Malaysia is not well accepted by the construction parties because of failure to adequately deal with risk in the IBS projects. The failure to keep in cost estimate in IBS project is still common in Malaysia and it is one of the reasons that limit the development of IBS in Malaysia construction industry. 2.1.1.10 Availability of historical price data Martin Brook (2008) states that estimating method used for cost planning and estimating which relies on historical cost data during early stages, whereas current price apply by analytical estimating approach to resource for a well-developed design. According to Hira N. Ahuja Walter J. Campbell (1998), most established companies make it a policy to keep records of actual costs incurred on their various construction projects. As mentioned by Hira N. Ahuja Walter J. Campbell (1998), the estimator can determine if his estimated costs were accurate or otherwise through comparing records of estimated costs. If the estimating is not accurate, whether the discrepancy was due to Estimator own lack of expertise or rather or incur some unforeseen cost-incurring conditions. In addition, these cost records serve another function, which is providing reliable cost data for preparing future estimates. Tang Wai Kuen, Raymond (2005) mentions that there are several historical databases available that provide current values for estimating costs of the several units of work for a project. The example of historical price data such as databases are collect from records of actual project costs or companys own past experience and on-going price quotations from suppliers and are published annually in the form of books, CDs and computer-based extranets. Stephen D. Schuette Roger W. Liska (1994) suggested that it is important that accurate database information be received to develop the estimating information data bank. In the other hand, according to Tang Wai Kuen, Raymond (2005), applying published data or software database pricing without first adjusting for the particular aspects of the project it might cause underestimate or overestimate. As every project in construction is unique as every project with a distinct set of local factors, for examples; size of project, level of competition, flexibility of specifications, work site, working hour restrictions and others. As stated by Tang Wai Kuen, Raymond (2005), review each line item by the professional Estimator is required when the estimating system attached to a price database, such review for the Estimator to make sure it is applicable. Inaccurate estimates can be caused by the Estimator applying these database prices blindly. Historical can be constitute a major cause of inaccurate cost estimate, if the Estimator store incorrect or inaccurate data as price database, in future the Estimator prepare cost estimation relies on inaccurate or incorrect database cause occurrence of inaccurate estimate. On the other hand, Hira N. Ahuja Walter J. Campbell (1998) emphasis, estimating publications have increase greatly, these guides are invaluable to Estimators who do not have access to actual job records. Published data are useful during all stages of estimate development. Although it is certainly not recommended that published data alone be used for an entire estimate, but it is undoubtedly useful in filling in the gaps in cost information where no other source is unavailable. 2.1.2 Financial factors Aiyetan Ayodeji Olatunji (2010) states that the performance of construction projects negatively affects by financial risk, financial risks might include high inflation and increased construction of the project. These factors affect particular projects where materials and goods are required for construction have to be imported from foreign country. The exchange rate changes on a daily basis are high so that the interest rate subject to change, it increases the percentage or chances of inaccuracy estimation occur. As mentioned by Laeeq Hassan (2010), financial risk associated with construction projects which include paucity of funds, delay in payment and others. All construction parties or compani

The Implications Involving Dinosaur DNA Essay -- Exploratory Essays Re

The Implications Involving Dinosaur DNA Of course it was the movie Jurassic Park who seemed to coin the phrase â€Å"Dino DNA.† This movie gave the public the thought that, a) it is possible to find dinosaur DNA and b) we can clone dinosaurs from this DNA. This essay is not going to pick apart Jurassic Park’s scientific value, however it will share the current knowledge and information on dinosaur DNA. The discovery of DNA is important because it may uncover different bits of information. The idea of cloning dinosaurs, especially at this point is out of the question. It is really hard to clone living animals today, with full DNA and genome strands, we can’t even think about recreating animals millions of years ago. DNA is a protein molecule that is proven to contain the genetic sequence of any particular species. Every species has a different type of DNA. This is how we differentiate between different species today. Humans have different DNA than rats. Rats have different DNA than mice, etc, etc. However, we know that DNA hold-up needs a living body to keep â€Å"alive.† Therefore, DNA decomposes with soft tissue, as the animal decays over time. For the most part of dinosaur studies, finding DNA from these dinosaurs was unheard of because dinosaurs lived over 65 million years ago. Until recently, it was previously thought that DNA, under optimal circumstances, could perhaps be preserved for only about 10,000 years. This is long after dinosaurs roamed the Earth (Pittman, 2004). Some research has reported finding insects fossilized in amber, containing species such as a termite (30 million years ago), and a weevil from approximately 130 million years ago. These are extraordinary findings, but of course disputed. ... ... but there can still be the possibility of contamination. Although we can only do so much with DNA and protein fragments, they are still discoveries, which are going against previous intuitions. Again, no cloning of dinosaurs are going to take place any time soon, but DNA may help to link dinosaurs with other species around today. These two articles, the research article and the review article show strong evidence that preserved proteins, including DNA can survive under the perfect circumstances. Of course more research will need to be done, and hopefully more findings will conclude the same results. References Pittman, S.D. 2004. Fossilized DNA. http://www.naturalselection.0catch.com/Files/fossilizeddna.html. Received April 3rd, 2004 Woodward, S.R., Weyand, N.J., Burnell, M. 1994. DNA sequence from cretaceous Period. Science, v266. pp 1229. The Implications Involving Dinosaur DNA Essay -- Exploratory Essays Re The Implications Involving Dinosaur DNA Of course it was the movie Jurassic Park who seemed to coin the phrase â€Å"Dino DNA.† This movie gave the public the thought that, a) it is possible to find dinosaur DNA and b) we can clone dinosaurs from this DNA. This essay is not going to pick apart Jurassic Park’s scientific value, however it will share the current knowledge and information on dinosaur DNA. The discovery of DNA is important because it may uncover different bits of information. The idea of cloning dinosaurs, especially at this point is out of the question. It is really hard to clone living animals today, with full DNA and genome strands, we can’t even think about recreating animals millions of years ago. DNA is a protein molecule that is proven to contain the genetic sequence of any particular species. Every species has a different type of DNA. This is how we differentiate between different species today. Humans have different DNA than rats. Rats have different DNA than mice, etc, etc. However, we know that DNA hold-up needs a living body to keep â€Å"alive.† Therefore, DNA decomposes with soft tissue, as the animal decays over time. For the most part of dinosaur studies, finding DNA from these dinosaurs was unheard of because dinosaurs lived over 65 million years ago. Until recently, it was previously thought that DNA, under optimal circumstances, could perhaps be preserved for only about 10,000 years. This is long after dinosaurs roamed the Earth (Pittman, 2004). Some research has reported finding insects fossilized in amber, containing species such as a termite (30 million years ago), and a weevil from approximately 130 million years ago. These are extraordinary findings, but of course disputed. ... ... but there can still be the possibility of contamination. Although we can only do so much with DNA and protein fragments, they are still discoveries, which are going against previous intuitions. Again, no cloning of dinosaurs are going to take place any time soon, but DNA may help to link dinosaurs with other species around today. These two articles, the research article and the review article show strong evidence that preserved proteins, including DNA can survive under the perfect circumstances. Of course more research will need to be done, and hopefully more findings will conclude the same results. References Pittman, S.D. 2004. Fossilized DNA. http://www.naturalselection.0catch.com/Files/fossilizeddna.html. Received April 3rd, 2004 Woodward, S.R., Weyand, N.J., Burnell, M. 1994. DNA sequence from cretaceous Period. Science, v266. pp 1229.

Queers, Bums, and Kids in the City of Roses :: Free Essays Online

Queers, Bums, and Kids in the City of Roses Throughout the history of our country it has happened over and over. Development and urbanization come to a small area, city or even an entire region and a new commercial market brings new wealth to a section of people, businesses open up, population increases and everyone is supposedly better off. However, this development and gentrification always seems to alienate a group of society even more than it is already. Portland is a place where that is occurring today, specifically among the queer and homeless communities. However, this does not have to happen; with some changes not only in policy, but in thinking, no one needs to be left behind. The City of Roses is home to half of Oregon’s citizens as well as one of the economic and cultural centers of the west coast. In the past twenty years the area has grown rapidly due to the shift from lumber and manufacturing to technology. The city has a great reputation, so great that Money magazine named it the most livable city in the country, â€Å"Three decades of keen planning have reined in urban sprawl and given rise to a mini-metropolis with short, easy-to-stroll blocks renowned for java joints, brewpubs and bookstores. A superb light rail network and a new streetcar system are helping to make it a cinch to get around. There's loads of culture, from the Portland Art Museum to local rock clubs.† In States of Desire Edmund White gives an amazingly accurate description of the area immediately outside downtown. Up and up we wound on curving lanes past large, comfortable houses set back from the road, the neighborhood I had dreamed of while I pored over my first-grade reader: safe, suburban, sheltered. At any moment I expected Dick and Jane to race by with Spot, as Father stepped out of his Hudson, a smile on his young face and the evening paper under his arm. (71) Yes, it is a great place to live, if you are not a part of certain groups. I grew up in all areas of the greater metro area and loved it. I always felt safe, and even though the weather is notoriously horrible it is easily conceded in exchange for the beauty of the region. Amid all this newfound greatness lies a stark contrast. Portland has one of the highest populations of runaway youth in the country.

Leadership Attributes Of Mark Zuckerberg Essay

Mark Zuckerbreg was born on 14 May 1984 at White Plains, New York. He is best known as CEO of Facebook. Mark Zuckerberg is a technology innovator, CEO, Internet Tycoon and philanthropist who earned multi-billionaire status by his mid-20s. As the cofounder, chairman, and CEO of Facebook, Zuckerberg redefined the social media market and connected people in ways never thought possible. Zuckerberg recently topped a list of â€Å"Highest Rated CEOs† from online career community Glassdoor. The list was the result of employee reviews over the past 12 months. Technology Sensation Born into a well-educated family in New York, Zuckerberg developed an interest in computers at an early stage. He created his own messaging program at the age of 12, dubbed â€Å"Zucknet,† which his father used in his dental office. He would create games and programs under a private computer tutor, who later told reporters that it was hard to stay ahead of the technology prodigy. While still in high school, companies like AOL and  Microsoft expressed interest in buying his software and hiring him, which he declined. Later enrolling at Harvard University, Zuckerberg developed a reputation as a strong programmer and software developer. He created programs like CourseMatch, which helped students choose their classes based on the selections of their peers, and Facemash, which compared pictures of two students and allowed users to vote on who was more attractive. While popular, none of these programs matched to the later success of Zuckerberg’s development of Facebook. Approached by Divya Narendra, and Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, Zuckerberg began working on a project called The Harvard Connection, a sort of dating site for the Harvard elite. Zuckerberg later dropped out and began working on his own site with friends Dustin Moskovitz, Chris Hughes and Eduardo Saverin. This site, which started as thefacebook.com, allowed users to create their own profiles, upload photos, and network with users at specific universities. Run out of a dorm room at Harvard until June 2004, thefacebook.com thrived, and Zuckerberg dropped out to pursue it full time. By the end of 2004, Facebook boasted 1 million users. The site began to evolve. At first, it was only available to certain schools. Thanks to investments from venture capital firms, the site eventually opened up to other schools, then to the general public. Early on, Zuckerberg was turning down offers from Yahoo! and MTV Networks. â€Å"The thing that we are trying to do at Facebook is just help people connect and communicate more efficiently,† he said. Instead of taking lucrative offers (Yahoo! reportedly offered Zuckerberg $1 billion), Zuckerberg focused on expanding the site to bring as much value to users as possible. But legal troubles from his early dealings with The Harvard Connection plagued him, as depicted in the Academy Award-nominated movie â€Å"The Social Network.† Zuckerberg later noted that much of the story was exaggerated for Hollywood. â€Å"I just think people have a lot of fiction,† he said. â€Å"But the real story of Facebook is just that we’ve worked so hard for all this time. The real story is actually probably pretty boring, right? We just sat at our computers for six years and coded.† Despite some of the negative depictions in the movie and the lawsuit filed by the Winklevoss twins, Zuckerberg and Facebook continued to thrive. He was named Time magazine’s Person of the Year in 2010, and Forbes has ranked him at No. 36 on its 400 list, estimating his net worth at $13.3 billion as of March 2013. Transformation from a Hacker to  a CEO and then to a Leader With Facebook’s stock price crashing and employee morale sinking, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg stepped up and delivered a home run he would never have been able to hit even just a year ago. Zuckerberg has been under fire the last few months for Facebook’s plummeting stock price. A darling of Wall Street before its IPO, Facebook fell to half its IPO price in just a few months. As a result, a growing chorus of critics has called for new leadership at Facebook. Some have even called for Zuckerberg himself to resign. Zuckerberg answered his critics at the TechCrunch Disrupt conference. During a wide-ranging interview with CrunchFund’s Michael Arrington, Zuckerberg addressed everything from the company’s plummeting stock price to its plans for mobile. By all accounts, Zuckerberg did a spectacular job. As a result, shares of Facebook have surged by 13 percent since then. It is a clear step in the right direction. If we compare his performance to his previous interviews, we can clearly see the change in his personality. He was stumbling during the interview and when he was asked few tough questions, he started sweating on stage. The new Mark Zuckerberg on stage at Disrupt didn’t look anything like the guy who squirmed at the D Conference just two years prior. No, this Zuckerberg was poised, confident, and articulate. He spoke fast, but only because he was clearly excited by Facebook’s future. Zuckerberg was able to simultaneously rally the Facebook troops and Wall Street with just his words. This is something he would never have been able to do even just a year ago. He wasn’t born with Steve Jobs’ onstage charm — instead, he had to work up to the comfort level he exuded on stage at Disrupt. We can witness a new chapter in Zuckerberg’s maturation. He was once a hacker who had to become a CEO. Now he’s a CEO who’s transforming into an articulate leader, the type a public company with sky-high expectations needs. Personal Traits There is one important element which can help or makes a particular person to achieve success; it is the personality of the person itself. Personality basically is the kind of personal characteristics which influence the behavior as well as perception and attitudes. It is an inner psychological  characteristic which cannot be copy such as emotion and taught. It can be build from the influence of heredity, or early childhood experiences. No doubt, personality of a person can be change due to the major life events and by the gradual maturing process. There are many personality classification methods; we had chosen the Big Five Model of Personality traits which are the most widely accepted way to classify personalities and to describe the personality which in Mark Zuckerberg. This model has been divided to five major dimensions i.e. Surgency, Agreeableness, Adjustment, Conscientiousness, and Openness to experience. Surgency personality dimension includes leadership and extraversion tr aits. Mark showed his strong surgency as he wants to be the person who is in charge instead of being the dominance of the others. Mark did not really accept or commit with the twin Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss idea which they try to hire Mark to build a dating, a social site which they called Harvard Connection. As a high surgency person, Mark does not like to be the dominance of others so he creates the website Facebook instead of working for the Winklevoss. The strong surgency has lead Mark to the success that he is enjoying today; if he had chosen to work for Winklevoss, he might still be a small potato and not much people would know about him. Dimension of agreeableness includes traits related to getting along with people. Besides that, if a person has high agreeableness, that person might be more sociable and spent more times with his or her friends. According to Mark Zuckerberg’s friends, he is an introverted person as they said he is kind of a geek who feels little uncomfortable around other people. Furthermore, they even speculated that that introverted personality of him had helped him deal with his creation of Facebook. The adjustment personality dimension includes traits related to emotional stability. Mark shows that he does not have a good adjustment personality; he created the facemash when he feels upset about a girl. Facemash is software where it uses to compare students to what kind of farm animals which seems like unethical to others. This software had helped him in the path of success as this software lends him some idea while creating Thefacebook.com. The high degree of conscientiousness of Mark has leaded him to the way of success, he is a hardworking, and always willing to put in extra time and effort to accomplish goal to achieve success. His willingness to put in extra time to complete something, such as he uses eight hours to  create the Facemash site. So, we can see that when he got an objective that need to be achieved, he will show his high conscientiousness to work on that aim in order to achieve success. The high openness to experience in Mark had made a big contribution to his success path, as he is a person who is willing to try and always willing to change. The Facebook which he had launched made a huge change in the connection between everyone in the world. Besides that, he keeps on developing the Facebook which was named as Thefacebook previously, in order to help people to connect, find new friends and share photos. He states in his Facebook account that his personal interest is about openness, making things that help people connect and share what is important to them, revolutions, information flow and minimalism. Besides that, from the beginning of Course Match until Facebook, the personalities of Mark willing to try and change had helped him to come out with something which can really connect people easily – Facebook. Situational Leadership style Leadership is the process of the influencing made by the leader to the follower to change them to achieve the organizational goal. Leadership is an important element for a successful leader, as the leader needs to have enough potential and abilities to influence his/her followers to work according to the leader’s objective or goal. However, if a good leadership style is being implemented, it can more or less help the employees to create organizational citizenship. Furthermore, the effective behavior of the leader may also determine the future or fate of the organization obviously. Besides, for Mark Zuckerberg leadership is basically about creating focus. It is about ensuring we are focused on the right stuff and getting good people in to help build what we are trying to do. From the way he doing things, we can see that Mark is actually quite a democratic style leader. He does not really act like a dictator as he is open to take and listen to others opinion and suggestion. When there was some crisis where people started to dislike Mark and said that Mark should be replaced, Reed – the recruiter of Facebook had talked to Mark. She told Zuckerberg what should he do in order to gain the favor and trust from the followers, then he did take her advice and started to get lessons on how to be an effective leader by seeing an executive coach. From the incident above, Zuckerberg shows his  high degree of acceptance to his dominance or followers ideas. Besides that, Zuckerberg is one of the people-oriented types of leader. He had asked for help from Sean Parker, who is a very talented person who created Napster, but had a bad reputation of getting around with bar, alcohol, drugs and always surrounded by girls. Zuckerberg did not concern about his bad reputation but he wanted the talent of Sean Parker who is also described as a business artist. In the end, Parker did help Zuckerberg with a lot of things in order to achieve the success of Facebook with the talent which Parker has. Zuckerberg is a good leader as we can see that he lead the Facebook to a greater and successful path. Without having the good behavior and guidance in him, Facebook would not able to be success and his followers love to work with him. Traits of Effective Leader, as seen in Mark Zuckerberg Dominance Dominance is the one of the most effective and major trait of leadership. Successful leaders want to take the charge and the responsibilities. Dominance trait effects all the other traits related to effective leaders. Mark has shown a very strong dominance trait as he has always shown this thing that he wants to take the charge and have a dominant personality. As mentioned above, if he had just followed what he was asked to do, he might not even have invented Facebook. High Energy To be a good leader, to go places, you must be willing to go further than others have and do things others won’t. He worked his ass off, did things he was uncomfortable with (like travelling across continents to speak to audiences about his vision) and did what had to be done to build his company. Intelligence No one can doubt about the intelligence of Mark Zuckerberg. Starting from very young age, inventing his own software programs, and then getting into an IVY League university and last but not the least, invention of Facebook, this all shows the very strong trait of Intelligence in Mark Zuckerberg. Flexibility Mark Zuckerberg has shown flexibility in his character. He has always been  open to change and has never been afraid of taking new steps and doing something new. Perhaps no Internet businessman has spit in the face of this attitude more than Mark Zuckerberg. Despite Facebook’s status as a social networking giant, Zuckerberg and Co. have never shied away from changing the user interface (sometimes in the face of protests) or shaking things up in the effort to break new ground. Though not all of his changes have been successful, a surprising majority of them have stood the test of time and boosted Facebook’s following. Integrity Mark Zuckerberg faces criticism for his unconventional leadership of Facebook as a business. Facebook was not originally created to be a company. It was built to accomplish a social mission that was, to make the world more open and connected. Zuckerberg has shown strong integrity in his leadership by remaining consistent with his mission to make the world more opened and connected. He went incredibly far to make absolutely sure that this mission would not be compromised by maintaining a majority stake of the voting shares of Facebook. Locus of Control Recently, Facebook has had a lawsuit against them with the Beacon advertising system. After the court ruling, Zuckerberg made a public apology for the system and took full responsibility for the mistake. This shows that Mark Zuckerberg has an internal locus of control. Instead of blaming some other force, he took control of the situation. Self Confidence Even though Mark Zuckerberg seems to be quiet and humble, he’s also extremely self-confident. He has always had strong faith in himself and in his vision. He didn’t let naysayers along the way deter him or bring him down. He is able to persevere through criticism and any obstacles or setbacks because he continues to believe in himself no matter what anyone else says about Facebook. Sensitivity to Others Initially, it looked like Mark isn’t that much sensitive to others, as he was accused of using the idea of his class fellows and then cutting them out of the plan. But, since in 2012 he was named as the Best CEO and from the feedback that was given by his employers, it became apparent that he has  changed himself and had become sensitive to others and their feelings. Stability Mark shows that he does not have a good adjustment personality; he created the facemash when he feels upset about a girl. But as this has been mentioned earlier before, Mark has gone through a lot since he has became the CEO of the Facebook and has brought a lot of positive changes in himself, and stability is one of them as well. He has shown very strong emotional stability at various places and incidents. He has taken criticism openly and has faced all the difficulties while staying strong. Leadership Grid Theory Leadership grid theory explains leadership behavior on the basis of two dimensions which are concern for production and concern for people. Mark Zuckerberg is one of people oriented types of leader and He is also more concerned for quality and good work by employees. Due to these reasons he falls in The Team Leader style which is 9.9 in Leadership Grid Theory. Leadership Continuum Theory If we have a look at the Leadership Continuum Theory then we can see that Mark falls somewhere around 6th defined trait. He has received a 99% approval rate from his employees and they have said that they love working at Facebook reason being that what they say and think is considered and it matters to mark. Every decision taken at Facebook is a group decision. PATH-GOAL THEORY. Zuckerberg’s leadership style has been in question and will be in question as Facebook prepares to switch its funding to IPO. I believe Zuckerberg is a perfect example of path-goal theory. Path-goal leaders as we know need to adapt their style to one that allows their subordinates to achieve a specific goal. This can be done by being directive, supportive, participated, and achievement oriented. Zuckerberg fits all criteria. Throughout the growth  and development of Facebook he has changed his style to continuously achieve their overall goal. To start he began the company as a directive leader; providing guidance and instilling the psychological structure that the company needed in order to have constant expansion. It is hard to convey an idea to another, especially if it is one that could change the way society operated. Once Zuckerberg set the foundation of psychological structure, he could sit back and play a more supportive role. Being supportative allows for the vision of Facebook to take hold. Currently though Zuckerberg is the best demonstrator of a participative style. Facebook is now self sustaining and doesn’t need a hard-nosed leader under its ranks. The best way we can see this style of leadership in action is through his own Facebook page. He is currently promoting the need for driven individuals such as himself to work for the company. The Myers-Briggs Test Zuckerberg is known to be incredibly confident and decisive in his decisions. When he strives for something he reaches it and stands strong on the decision. This was shown to the many Facebookers years ago with timeline. When timeline was introduced, many users did not like it, but Zuckerberg stuck to his guns and kept it. Along with his decisiveness, Zuckerberg tends to be ‘robot like’ and socially awkward. People that have interacted with him say this because when having a conversation, Zuckerberg is straight to the point. As Time Magazine states, â€Å"He approaches conversation as a way of exchanging data as rapidly and efficiently as possible, rather than as a recreational activity undertaken for its own sake. He is formidably quick and talks rapidly and precisely, and if he has no data to transmit, he abruptly falls silent.† This shows him as being very analytical and specific. Zuckerberg is known to be an introvert as well. He doesn’t openly talk about himself and is well reserved. Even when in an interview, he answers the question that’s asked, but gives no additional or side information. From the above examples and descriptions, when taking the Myers-Briggs test, Mark Zuckerberg would be an ISTJ (Introvert, Sensing, Thinking, and Judging). ISTJ’s are quiet, serious, practical, logical, orderly, and loyal. Additionally, Mark Zuckerberg tends to have high  self-efficacy. Zuckerberg has confidence in his abilities. People with self-efficacy tend to overcome obstacles and work toward a specific goal. Zuckerberg has done this with the success of Facebook. Recently, Facebook has had a lawsuit against them with the Beacon advertising system. After the court ruling, Zuckerberg made a public apology for the system and took full responsibility for the mistake. This shows that Mark Zuckerberg has an internal locus of control. Instead of blaming some other force, he took control of the situ ation. Theory Y Working for Facebook is not your typical job. The word â€Å"Hack† is written on every wall in the building. Zuckerberg’s own personal innovation encourages employees to produce new codes to wow users and attract new one. He encourages employees to constantly innovate and think of outside the box. They attempt to eliminate failure out of the equation and the programmer’s mind. The environment is geared to help employees figure out what exactly they would do without the fear of failure. Fail harder: they are encouraged to fail in a triumphant blaze of glory. For Facebook, â€Å"the riskest risk is taking no risks†(Careers at Facebook). Without complete focus and effort, the employee might never know if the project was possible. Trying new things is always encouraged. This is the kind of effort Mark Zuckerberg put into Facebook to make a huge success. He encourages his employees to put everything they have into a project. This type of support shown to employees can satisfy McGregor’s Theory Y. Facebook’s full support and belief in the abilities of their employees motivates them to give their full effort in a project. Maslow’s Self Actualization Facebook’s view on recruiting is to â€Å"discovering top talent and serving our employees seriously†(Careers at Facebook). Facebook only hires the smartest and passionate people who are ready to hard and quickly. This could give Facebook employees pride for being the Best of the best. â€Å"We expect everyone at Facebook to focus every day on how to build real value for the world in everything they do†(Careers at Facebook). This type of emphasis on building social value and create social change through their job can help employees achieve Maslowe’s self actualization. This personal  growth and higher order achievement fulfillment can inspire employees to work harder and innovate. This type of social value can suggest a need for power. Employees want their work to influence others and create a change in the world. MCCLELAND’S NEED FOR ACHIEVEMENT In the early days of Facebook, Zuckerberg was known for his exuberance and sense of urgency. He would initiate a companywide lock down to launch a new campus. These â€Å"Hackathon† turned into a party including a keg and DJ in reward of the work. Zuckerberg maintains the mantra that is â€Å"done is better than perfect†(Careers at Facebook). They launched features before they are done. Facebook attempts to stay on the edge of technology, and is willing to risk flaws and imperfects to stay on the cutting edge. Facebook is â€Å"less afraid of making mistakes than we are of losing opportunities†(Careers at Facebook). This shows McCleland’s need for achievement. Facebook strives to be on the cutting edge of technology and be the first to develop new features for the site. With each new update to Facebook, they have achieved a new goal while continuing to improve on the site. Facebook does not let anything get in the way of a deadline to stay on top. Five IMPORTANT LESSONS MARK ZUCKERBERG TAUGHT US ABOUT Business Lesson 1: Be passionate about what you do If there is any way to create something that hundreds, thousands, or even millions of people will eventually use on a daily basis, you better be sure to create something that you would have passion and dedication in creating. The aforementioned isn’t exactly a revelation to anyone, but if you are not genuinely interested in what you are creating, why would anyone else be? They wouldn’t. It’s a serious problem for many entrepreneurs of both young and old. Mark Zuckerberg, however, is one of the most prominent examples in recent history of someone who has the passion. Not only did he care about his project, but he also turned down billions of dollars in order to let his company thrive. Lesson 2: Constant evaluation There are generally two types of people in business: those who prefer to play it by gut instinct and those who analyze every little measurable detail.  Both have their pros and cons; having a mix of both couldn’t hurt. Generally a person gravitates towards one or the other. Mark Zuckerberg is the analyzer. Zuckerberg always insisted that his employees create powerful analytics dashboards. Their purpose was simple: allow him and fellow employees to gauge the interest in newly released features to coordinate their global domination. While other companies were still figuring out which advertisements could be placed at which spot and generate the most return, Facebook focused on optimizing the performance of the user experience. He wanted to know which features worked and which did not. Lesson 3: Be willing to experiment In Facebook’s infancy, its founder preferred to push out enhancements and never look back. This is, admittedly, easy to do when you have a few thousand users; they expect things to change at a rapid clip. But Facebook was different. People relied on Facebook in more ways than most other websites — it was a service that connected people to each other. At this point, failure is unacceptable. Still, Zuckerberg preferred the gung ho method of development. He would regularly introduce new features — adding the â€Å"Wall,† introducing chat functionality, allowing third-party development, and changing the site’s layout. Lesson 4: Be aware of opportunity Before Facebook, there was CourseMatch, an application that allowed students at Harvard University to compare their course selections for that semester. With this, Zuckerberg indulged students’ desires to know which classes their friends were joining. He exploited an opportunity. Facemash was a similar expereince. It was Harvard’s Hot or Not for students. These students were interested in knowing where they stood socially — in some ways, we all do. And Zuckerberg, once again, saw an opportunity to exploit this as well. It isn’t magic. But it does require looking at things in a different way — to see things for what they could be, as opposed to only what they have been or currently are. Zuckerberg’s ability to notice these opportunities and execute on them gave him the edge in creating and maintaining products that  people believed in. Opportunity exists everywhere — especially with the Internet, where the ability to reach millions is easier than ever. Perhaps there is so much opportunity out there that, perhaps, we have become ignorant to spot the most obvious of opportunities. But being able to spot opportunity is an invaluable skill. Lesson 5: Make something useful Facebook isn’t simply another interesting website to visit every once in a while. It is a tool that millions of people use to connect to each other. People use it for sharing experiences and creating new ones. Most importantly, Facebook does something that no other website has been able to do as efficiently, effectively, and with such impressive scale: it creates a virtual environment to interact with your real friends. The 600 million plus members tells us how famous Facebook is. Yet it is this usefulness that makes the company a success. It is a recurring theme that all successful companies build upon. It is also something that many startups don’t seem to comprehend. Explaining what makes a product or service useful is simple: it is something that people are using repeatedly and on a regular basis. So the lesson to learn is, make something which is a everyday use thing, just like Zuckerberg did. Conclusion In order to conclude, we can say that Mark has emerged and evolved as an Employee Centered CEO, with a democratic style. He has come a long way to reach this stage with bringing a lot of changes in him. When it comes to personality traits, without any doubt his strongest trait would be his openness to experience and the willingness to always try something new which in result, has kept Facebook on the top among all other social media sites.

Ralph Waldo Emerson and Frederick Douglas in Relation to Self-Reliance Essay

Ralph Waldo Emerson was born in 1803 in Boston although his family were not wealthy they were well connected, privileged and educated. Emerson attended Harvard, Harvard Divinity School and became a minister interested in such topics as non-conformity, the individual and the soul. Frederick Douglass was born in 1817 in Maryland the son of a slave and white man. He was born into slavery, saw his mother only a few times and did not know his father. Douglass went on to be an abolitionist, an editor of a newspaper, an avid writer and lecturer. These two men couldn’t have been from more diverse worlds. They may as well have been from different planets. While walking the green sunlit quads of Harvard, Emerson was fleshing out his esoteric thoughts on the soul, nonconformity of the individual and the subtleties of self-reliance. In contrast, Douglass was in a dark barn being beaten on his bare flesh by a brutal overseer who held the key to the gate of slavery. This beating took place in August of 1833 while Emerson had already written a few of his ideas in his journal for his essay, Self-reliance by 1832. (Self -Reliance was first published in 1841). Slavery was a subculture set up for the benefits of farmers, plantation owners and rich city folk who could afford to buy people – not hire them but buy them. The slaves were isolated McTeigue 2 physically and mentally from the rest of the community and the world in order to maintain control and keep them within the bounds of the strict unspoken codes of slavery set up by the their owners. The codes signed, sealed and delivered by the overseers or the masters of the slaves. And when that didn’t work they were sold and separated from any family and friends they had. The system of slavery didn’t allow and didn’t encourage the development of the individual person. Man or woman. Instead as Douglass states relating to the slave, â€Å"It is necessary to darken his moral and mental vision, and, as far as possible, to annihilate the power of reason. He must be able to detect no inconsistencies in slavery; he must be made to feel that slavery is right; and he can be brought to that only when he ceases to be a man† (Douglass 1790). Douglass transforms the collective mindset of him the slave to that of an individual, self-reliant man without the ivy clad buildings in which Emerson ruminated, pondered and wrote. For slavery to exist there could be no individual man or woman that had ownership rights over his or her own body or mind; despite this truth Douglass escapes from slavery and clearly steers destiny into his homeport of freedom hitting all the main points of Emerson’s theories on SelfReliance; trusting-self, non-conformity and intuition on the way there. Trusting yourself on the path to Emerson’s, Self-Reliance, and becoming an individual is one of the main tenets of Emerson’s writings. â€Å"A man should learn to detect and watch that gleam of light which flashes across his mind from within, more than the lustre of the firmament of bards and sages† (Emerson 1334). Frederick Douglass’s first â€Å"gleam of light† was in the songs the slaves sang on the way to their masters main house. He describes the songs which were McTeigue 3 sung in deep tones like anguished souls as prayers for deliverance from slavery. Douglass states, â€Å"To those songs I trace my first glimmering of the dehumanizing character of slavery† (Douglass 1754). A seed was planted and took hold in his soul. He continued to listened for clues along the way to trust and believe. A pivotal opportunity to trust himself in a new revelation was offered to Douglass while learning the alphabet and simple words at the home of his new master’s in Baltimore. When the father of the house found out that his wife was teaching the slave boy how to read, she was told that for one thing it was against the law. But the main point of his disapproval was this as told by Douglass, â€Å"if you teach that nigger how to read, there would be no keeping him. It would forever unfit him to be a slave. He would at once become unmanageable, and of no value to his master. As to himself, it could do him no good . . . It would make him discontented and unhappy† (Douglass 1762). Douglass explains that it was in this moment that he understood what the key was from slavery to freedom. It was learning to read, write and become an educated man. He trusted this truth. To quote Emerson, â€Å"To believe your own thought, to believe that what is true for you in your private heart is true for all men,-that is genius† (Emerson 1334). In having this truth revealed to him he also later instructed other slaves how to read and write. He knew it wasn’t going to be easy from this point on to learn but he did any way he could. He learned from boys on the streets of Baltimore and from his master’s child’s school books. Trusting himself on this new information was the key piece to freedom which firmly planted him on his path to escaping slavery. To speak of non-conformity as another one of the elements of Emerson’s, Self-Reliance, that leads to the path of self is to scream to the conformity of slavery. To quote Emerson, â€Å"What I McTeigue 4 must do is all that concerns me, not what people think. The rule, equally arduous in actual and intellectual life, may serve for the whole distinction between greatness and meanness† (Emerson 1337). But to non-conform as a slave was to beaten regularly by the overseer or master and if that didn’t work the slave was sold and sent away. In one extreme case Douglass tells the story of an overseer shooting a slave in the face in front of other slaves because the slave didn’t get out of a creek when told to by the overseer. When asked by the owner of the plantation why he shot the slave, Douglass recalls the justification, â€Å"He was setting a dangerous example to the other slaves,-one which, if suffered to pass without some such demonstration on his part, would finally lead to the total subversion of all rule and order upon the plantation† (Douglass 1758). With these experiences and stories slaves were kept down from entertaining thoughts of freedom or individuality. They conformed not only because it was a way of life; it was survival. Non-conformity came at a price even death as just revealed but for a few the risk was worth the price for possible freedom even if it was only one step toward intellectual freedom from a master. In a pivotal event toward breaking away from the mindset of slavery Douglass rises up against one of his master’s, Mr. Covey and engages in a physical brawl. Mr Covey was going to tie up Douglass and begin another round of beatings following the first round from the previous day. Not only did Douglass physically beat up Covey, he also told him that yes he was going to continue the fight because he had been abusing him for the past six months. Douglass explains in his narrative that this event gave him confidence and the determination to be free. He states, â€Å"My long-crushed spirit rose, cowardice departed . . . and I now resolved that, however long I might remain a slave in form, the day had passed forever when I could be a slave in fact† (Douglass 1779). Douglass crossed the line that day from conformity to non-conformity. McTeigue 5 Douglass’s actions in the above example and the way he progresses through his life’s journey embodies this profound paragraph of Emerson’s whereby he explains that â€Å"conforming to the usages that have become dead to you . . . scatters your force. It loses your time and blurs the impression of your character† (Emerson 1337). He goes on to say that by conforming so much of your life force is taken away from your real purpose that no one can detect who you really are. â€Å"Do your work, and you shall reinforce yourself† (Emerson 1337). Douglass hits the path of non-conformity and never looks back. His life was spent hard at work for the abolitionist movement and the well being of other slaves still trapped in slavery. Intuition is layered into both elements of Emerson’s thoughts of trusting one’s self and non-conformity; as intuition is the soul force that leads us into and out of the sublities of our mind and eventually to our own individual actions. Emerson says about intuition, â€Å"In that deep force, the last fact behind which analysis cannot go, all things find their common origin. . . Here is the fountain of action and of thought† (Emerson 1341). Intuition is not learned or taught it is there in all people. It can be cultivated and tended to by the individual if they stop to listen, to hear and to trust even it means going against the grain of popular thought or what someone else might think is right for that individual. As stated earlier in the essay Douglass all along seems to be â€Å"listening† and â€Å"trusting† and â€Å"taking action.† But he starts to develop a cognizant understanding of intuition and the soul as he becomes more literate and knowledgeable. In an anthology he reads different passages that as Douglass states, â€Å"They gave tongue to interesting thoughts of my own soul, which had frequently flashed through my mind, and died away for want of utterance. . . The reading of these documents enabled me to utter my thoughts† (Douglass 1765). Aside from taking actions towards his freedom and being an McTeigue 6 individual man he now is able to articulate and write down his personal thoughts formulating arguments against slavery and other subjects. A flow from his intuition, mind and soul begins to emerge that was there all along. Douglass explains at the risk of being called superstitious, â€Å"From my earliest recollection, I date the entertainment of a deep conviction that slavery would not always be able to hold me within it’s foul embrace; and in the darkest hours of my career in slavery, this living word of faith and spirit of hope departed not from me, but remained like ministering angels to cheer me through the gloom† (Douglass 1761). Like divine interventions Douglass pays attention to these unsolicited angles and lets them lead the way towards becoming a free man. These two extraordinary men grabbled with the ideas of individuality and self-reliance simultaneously through two different modes of exploration; Emerson intellectually and Douglass experientially. It’s like Douglass’s narrative is the case study for Emerson’s theories on selfreliance. Their studies and paths eventually led them to similar conclusions on the subject; although Emerson’s self-reliance had a more â€Å"soulful† twist and Douglass’s self-reliance had a more practical hands-ons twist. These differences stemmed from their different backgrounds and experiences. Both these men listened to their intuition, trusted them selves and were not afraid to be non-conforming and became self-realized free men. But in the case of Frederick Douglass not only did he became intellectually free but physically free from slavery using all the same tools spelled out in Emerson’s, Self-Reliance. To end, Douglass shares an exchange with one of his masters, â€Å"He told me, if I would be happy, I must lay out no plans for the future. He said, if I behaved myself properly, he would take care of me. Indeed, he advised me to complete thoughtlessness of the future, and taught me to depend solely up him for happiness. He seemed McTeigue 7 to see fully the pressing necessity of setting aside my intellectual nature, in order to contentment in slavery† (Douglass 1792). Douglass flings, deflects and resists each point listening only to his ministering angels until they flew him into the hands of freedom. McTeigue 8 Works Cited Perkins, George and Barbara Perkins. The American Tradition in Literature. 12th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill. 2009. Print. Douglass, Frederick. â€Å"Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglas.† Perkins and Perkins 17541792. Emerson, Ralph Waldo. â€Å"Self-Reliance.† Perkins and Perkins 1334-1341.