Managing oganisational relationships Essay Example for Free

Managing oganisational relationships Essay Introduction No Organisation can hope to keep up with the fast pace of change of the world today without enthusiastically embracing change within itself. [www.thecommonwealth.org 2005] The above statement is very powerful, but one I strongly agree with, because changes are taking place everyday and if managers dont respond to these changes then the business is most likely to suffer. Managers may have little ability to prevent change, but awareness that change is coming can make it easier to deal with. If an organisation is prepared to handle an event, then many problems can be prevented or solved without difficulty. Management versus Leadership There is a continuing controversy about the differences between management and leadership. I think its obvious that a person can be a leader without being a manager and vice-versa. According to the management theorist Mary Follett: Management is the art of getting things done through people [M.Follett 1989] However, the idea that a Manager only manages people I think is over-simplified. This is because managers hold many responsibilities. I have outlined below the role of a manger: Decision Maker Are held responsible for results Have conflicting goals to achieve Need to Plan and Budget Work with and through people organise staff. Whereas, leadership is; the ability of an individual to influence, motivate and enable others to contribute toward the effectiveness and success of the organisation. [House et al., 1999] From the above statement I can gather that the role of a leader is to mainly to: Communicate Motivate and, Encourage employees Leadership is a managerial activity where employees work together towards achieving company goals. The difference between managers and leadership is that managers are elected to supervise the work of other people in the organisation and carry out formal duties. While, leaders influence the behaviour or actions of others. Managers value stability, order and efficiency. Meanwhile, leaders value flexibility, innovation and adaptation. Managers are concerned more about how things get done and try to get people to perform better. Whereas, leaders are concerned with what things mean to people and try to get people to agree about the most important things to be done. As you can see there are many differences between management and leadership. I believe leaders are more effective than managers, as they influence workers to achieve company targets and their leadership approach is usually very effective. At Morrisons the leadership style is very effective as the leader has many good characteristics. I have outlined these below; * Good communication skills * Is decisive * Good at delegation These characteristics help employees feel more valued as they know what is going on in the company and so try harder for the company to achieve targets. There are many approaches leaders can emphasise on: Trait approach Behaviour approach Power-Influence approach Situational approach Integrative approach There are strengths and weaknesses to each of these approaches and the approach used highly depends on the nature of the organisation and the situation they are in. I would say that at Laurens cake factory, the managers implements a behavioural approach. They are very authoritarian where they focus on power, decision making and hold authority with the leader. The management style they hold is Task Management. This is when they: * Focus on production * Expect schedules to be met * Problems arise from other peoples mistakes I dont believe, that this approach is very effective because employers dont involve employees in decision-making and dont provide opportunity for training and development. I think this would make staff feel less valued and not part of a team so, will not motivate them to perform better to achieve targets. Performance Management performance management includes activities to ensure that goals are consistently being met in an effective and efficient manner. [www.managementhelp.org 2005] Performance management can focus on performance of an organisation, a department, processes to build a product or service, employees etc. Performance management reminds us that training, strong commitment and working hard alone are not results. The major contribution of performance management is its focus on achieving results. Performance management redirects our efforts away from business and gets managers to think towards effectiveness. Recently, organisations have been faced with challenges of increasing competition from businesses across the world. This means that all businesses must choose effective strategies to remain competitive. Employees must commit to these to ensure strategies are implemented effectively. This situation has put more focus on effectiveness, to achieve results. All of the results across the organisation must continue to be aligned to achieve the overall result for the organisation to survive and thrive. It is only then that organisations can really tell if they are performing. Culture of an Organisation Every organisation has its own unique culture, based on values of the top management who direct the organisation. However, over time individuals attempt to change the culture of their organisations to fit their own preferences or changing marketplace conditions. This culture then influences the decision-making processes and effects styles of management. Mullins defines the culture of an organisation as: a collection of traditions, values, policies, beliefs and attitudes that constitute a pervasive context for everything we do and think in an organisation. [Mullins 2002] A key role for culture is to differentiate the organisation from others and provide sense of identity for its members. At Accordia the culture is very democratic as the manager delegates responsibilities on others. It is also creative and innovative because they are always open to new ideas. They build their culture around quality based upon commitment to the company as a whole. Cross Culture As a business becomes more global the need to understand cultural differences is critical to success. [M. BERGER 1996] Berger highlights the importance of cultures. I think it is essential to understand the basics of good cross-cultural relationships, because when people do things differently, they are not necessarily wrong they just dont follow this in their culture. I have drawn out a table below giving an example of how UK and France have different styles of conducting meetings: UK France Purpose of meetings is to agree actions and make decisions Acceptable to astray from agenda in discussions Stick to agenda, deviate only if new priorities emerge Purpose of meetings is to give input to decisions, not necessarily to make decisions Time conscious Dont challenge the Big Boss Defined follow-up actions are generally agreed The key decision-maker may not be at meeting People are expected to attend on time and stay through out the entire meeting Not time-conscious people come and go during meetings, there can be side discussions. Figure 1 [M. Berger 1996] As you can see there are many cultural differences. The UK and France have completely opposite managing styles. From respect and understanding people can find ways to work together based on mutual strengths. I think cultural values affect attitudes and behaviours around the world and we need to examine how one can adapt their skills to the cultural approach in which they find themselves in. Flexible Working Flexible working is the term used to describe the ability to employ people when and where required in the interests of everybody. [R. Pettinger 2002] There has been a huge movement towards flexible working over the years and Neatly Hurstfield found that: Employers were making increasing demands on all employees to become more flexible, both in working hours and in functional flexibility. [Hurstfield 1995] Flexible working involves the creation of work patterns and arrangements which are based on the need to maximise organisational output, customer and client satisfaction and staff expertise and effectiveness. I found out that there are many approaches to flexible workforce Atkinson was one of them, where he produced the flexible firm model in 1984. Diagram flexible firm I believe that this model has more relevance today because when we look at the retail sectors every employee is flexible. For example; At Woolworths they have their core managers who work contracted hours. And then all the other employees are part time workers with high flexibility hours. I think they take advantage of the functional flexibility, where they recruit more staff and create short-term contracts when sales are likely to be high, eg) Christmas. This maximises flexibility as they are getting workers in only when needed. I think the flexible firm model shows that the environment is more competitive and the need for cost effectiveness is important. I think Atkinson was well ahead of his time and predicted accurately. I consider the greatest emphasis was based on the flexibility in part time working as many retailers implement this model. Psychological Contract The term Psychological contract is; the perceptions of the two parties, employee and employer, of what their mutual obligations are towards each other. [www.adelphi-associates.co.uk] It is the psychological contract that effectively tells employees what they are required to do in order to meet their side of the agreement, and what they can expect from their job. There has been conflict in employees not commiting to their contract, but due to the changes occuring recently, employees have been persuaded to taking the contract more seriously. I have listed the changes below: The nature of jobs more employees are on part time and temporary contracts, so, functional flexibility is more popular Organisations have downsized and delayered so individual employees are carrying out more tasks. Markets, technology and products are constantly changing customers are becoming more demanding. So, quality and service standards need to be of high standards Traditional organisational structures are becoming more inflexible so, new methods of managing are required. The effect of these changes is that the ability of the business to add value, rests on employees, where they are seen as the key business drivers. Organisations that wish to succeed have to get the most out of their resources. In order to do this, employers have to know what employees expect from their work. This is where the psychological contract is used as a framework for monitoring employee attitudes. Since 1990s employees have low job security due to the impact of globalisation. This has completely changed the traditional contracts where there is no job for life. The new contract mainly focusses on fair pay and treatment and also opportunities for training and development notion of continuous learning. On this analysis, employers can no longer offer job security and this has underminded the basis of employee commitment. Conclusion To conclude, I have found out that change within an organisation is inevitable and managers need to respond to these changes for their business to remain successful. The trend towards globalisation is accelerating as foreign competition intensifies. This leads to a change in managerial responsibilities where managers must be able to understand and communicate with people from different cultures. Cultural diversity is increasing within the workforce where managers require the understanding of values, beliefs and attitudes of people from different cultures. I believe it is necessary for managers to have the understanding of building mutual relationships and have respect for diversity so they can work together without difficulties. Flexible working has also become very popular, where employers are constantly seeking flexible staff. This is so they can fully utilise their resources effectively. Organisations are familiar with the notion of high-quality staff willing to work when required. This is due to the fact that the staff, expertise and resources have to be engaged when customers and clients demand. The psychological contract enables employers to look at the welfare of employees. eg) what employees want: fair pay, continuous learning, opportunity for training and development etc. Overall, I have found out that the nature of organisations are changing with the times and both employees and employers are benefiting from these particular changes. Also, these changes have a huge impact on Managerial theories today. References Books: STREDWICK. J. (2005). An Introduction to Human Resource Management. Elsevier Butterworth Heinemann: Oxford. PETTINGER. R. (2002). Managing the Flexible Workforce. Capstone Publishing: Oxford. BERGER. M. (1996). Cross-Cultural Team Building, McGraw-Hill: London. BJERKE. B. (2001). Business Leadership and Culture. Edward Elgar: Cheltenham. MARTIN. G, KEATING. M. (2004). Managing Cross-Cultural Business Relations. Blackwell: London. MILES. R. (1975). Theories of Management: Implications for Organisation Behaviour and Development. McGraw-Hill: Oxford. WATERS. M. (1995).Globalization. Routledge: London. STREDWICK. J, ELLIS. S. (1998). Flexible Working Practices. Institue of Personnel Development: Wiltshire. YULK. G. (2002). Leadership In Organisations. Prentice Hall: New Jersey. ATCHINSON. T. (1978). Management Today. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich: New Harcourt Brace Jovanovich: New York. Web Sites: (2005). Culture of Organisations. [online]. Available at: URL:http://www.cardiff.ac.uk/learn/business/aim/culture [Accessed on 20/1/2006]. (2003). Employee Peformance Management. [online]. Available at: URL:http://www.managementhelp.org [Accessed on 20/1/2006]. (2005). Psychological Contract. [online]. Available at: URL:http://www.cipd.co.uk/subjects/empreltns/psycntrct/ [Accessed on 21/1/2006]. (2005). Academic leadership: Online Journal. [online]. Available at: URL:http://www.academicleadership.org/ [Accessed on 27/1/2006].

Risky Business :: essays research papers

Risky Business   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the 1983 smash hit Risky Business, director Paul Brickman takes his audience on a wild ride through Chicago. The film spans across the Chicago land area, and beyond. From a small high school, to a world famous hotel, it really shows what Chicago is made of. But it also holds a dark side to itself, when the dangerous and socially perverse world of prostitution comes into play.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Joel Goodman, played by Tom Cruise, is an average high school senior. He has regrets and doubts when it comes to his life and is constantly wondering how will his parents take the next disappointment that he bring to them. But following his parents little getaway, and following some of his friends advise Joel gets himself involved with a small time prostitute named Lana, played by Rebecca DeMornay. In class we touched upon the topic; does this movie glorify prostitution? There is no clean-cut answer to this question, because on one side Joel profited over eight thousand dollars from his little endeavor into essentially being a pimp for a night. And on the other hand you have the actual pimp of Lana being a mean and greedy man, the type of person that would sell your sole for quarter. So to state whether the message of the film was glorifying or to denounce prostitution is up the audience, it is their own opinion.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Risky Business has some more to offer its audience than a heated debate. It also has a great setting for such a fantastic plot. We see many of Chicago’s finest and most revered landmarks. It takes us not only to Chicago but is neighboring suburbs. Niles East high school is where Joel Goodman had his hard times finding an open door. The airport where Joel drops his parents off and you hear that very familiar yet shallow: â€Å"Yea, I got it†¦don’t worry†¦okay†¦alright.† Is at O’Hare international airport located in the western suburbs of Chicago. More people pass through O’Hare airport in one day than in any other airport in the world. The two places most famous on the list, is the Drake hotel and the John Hancock building. At the Drake hotel, Joel and one of his good friends are having an eight-dollar cup of hot chocolate while they wait for Lana; Joel’s soon to be business partner. On the 95th floor of the Hancock building is a place where usually the elite can only find a table.

‘Friends’ and the play of ‘Neville’s Island’ Essay

The hit sitcom ‘Friends’ started ten years ago when we were first introduced to Monica, Rachael, Phoebe, Chandler, Ross and Joey and today I am going to compare the sitcom of ‘Friends’ with the play of ‘Neville’s Island’ which was written by Tim Firth. Neville’s Island is not only a play. It has also been recently made into a film starring Timothy Spall, Martin Clunes, Jeff Rawle and David Bamber. ‘Friends’ on the other hand was written and still remains for television and for the past ten years it has been broadcast over the Atlantic to millions of eager viewers both in America and the U.K. In America ‘Friends’ is broadcast over the television network of NBC compared to the U.K where it is received through Channel 4. When we first observe the film of ‘Neville’s Island’ we are introduced to four businessmen, who, when their boat sinks, find themselves stranded on a small island, called Rampsholme in the middle of the Lake District’s Derwent Water. The Four Characters in Neville’s Island are on a team-building weekend, they are Neville, (Jeff Rawle), has become the elected Captain of the group, who then proves he is unfit for his position when he leads the team in the wrong direction. He does his best to maintain order in the group’s arguments, and works well as a go-between as he proves to be very reasonable with his fellow peers, and he seems to be the most adjusted member of the group to ‘island life’, He is dressed in an Anorak and wears glasses. He tries his hardest to keep the peace between Angus and Gordon, (Timothy Spall) who is extremely sarcastic towards his fellow peers and seems to pick up on every little flaw in their character, whi ch later show him to be a bully, his cruel sarcasm gives us many funny moments throughout the play of Neville’s island, such as â€Å"all Christians are like Radio hams†. Gordon seems to have many rants at his fellow colleagues most of which result in â€Å"handbags at dawn† style tension between him and Angus, (David Bamber) whom at the start of the play; he comes across as a good-natured person who is full of optimism. Angus seems to have dressed out of the camp shop side of his wardrobe so to speak as he is dressed constantly in cagoules, anoraks and knitted hats. Angus turns out to be a bit sad as he seems to bore everyone stiff, with his numerous attempts at cracking jokes. Also, later in the play where all hope seems to have to been lost he suddenly reveals a hidden sausage, which in the heating of proves to be very funny. He may also later have hindered the groups rescue as he seems to have bought the entire stock of a camping shop and told nobody about it, his shopping list includes a 18-inch knife, climbing rope†¦and for some reason unbeknown to his fellow standees†¦..a dinner suit! Roy, (Martin Clunes), is a born-again Christian who has an un-kempt appearance. Roy has recently returned to work following a prolonged breakdown, after the death of his mother, Lucy, he literally hangs onto his sanity and Gordon’s rant about how old people only become religious because ‘they are scared stiff, and there just grabbing, grabbing, grabbing at the rope, and no-ones holding the other end’ doesn’t help either as this near-enough sends Roy into a relapse, and he disappears into the undergrowth with an 18-inch knife, so the group fear he may do something to harm himself, but later he is found, sat up a tree wearing only his underwear, but after he returns the knife to Neville, they fear he may take his own life again as Angus’ almost ‘mile’ long piece of rope has gone missing, and they think he may hang himself†¦ he also reveals to Neville that he helped his mother to end her own life†¦Roy is also a keen birdwatcher, and he takes his time on the island to observe a rare falcon, and is called among st many other things by Gordon†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢Doo-lally’ ‘Friends’ is all about 6 friends who all live in the same block of apartments in New York, the show takes us through their individual strengths, weaknesses, problems and goals†¦most of all their intertwining relationships with each other. The characters in friends are Joey Tribbiani – (Matt Leblanc.) Joey is broad-shouldered, wide-eyed and thick-headed. Joey comes from New York and is a lover who has had many partners. Joey is a not-so-good actor who never has to play-act being a good guy or a better friend, but he wants to hit the big-time as an actor. He is cheeky, and most of his jokes are sexually orientated, followed by hand gestures. Joey is sarcastic. Chandler Bing – (Matthew Perry) Wise-cracks, and sets off development in characters & storyline. Chandler appears to be over-qualified at work and he seems to be afraid of wife Monica. Chandler gives really bad advice. Ross Geller – (David Schwimmer) Ross is the personification of an intellectual geek as he is an expert in Palaeontology. Ross is still looking for love after 3 divorces. He has always loved Rachael. Ross is quite nerdy, and (most of the time) sticks to the rule book. Rachael Green – (Jennifer Aniston), Rachael comes across as an IT/ Daddy’s girl. She dither’s a lot, and is meant to be with Ross, even though they have drifted apart many times. Monica Geller Bing – (Courtney Cox Arquette) used to be a high-school fatty, but now has slimmed down to obsessive and cleaning mad Monica. She is a good sister to Ross and a friend to everyone. After marrying Chandler, Monica seems to have made him find his maturity. Phoebe Buffay Hannigan – (Lisa Kudrow) a hippie chick who has led a traumatic life, her mother killed herself, her stepfather went to prison, and she lived on the streets for some of her life. She drives people mad with her out-of-key folk songs that she writes with her guitar. Phoebe can be quite dippy, but she is kind-hearted, a good spirit, and seems to take everyday as it comes. She near enough floats around and I think would have fit in perfectly in the 60’s. – Very off-the-wall. The sitcom of friends is set in New York and it appears to be aimed at the younger generations of the 90’s and 00’s, this is mainly caused by its humour and that the characters themselves are very young. In comparison to this the play of ‘Neville’s Island’ is set in a remote island in the middle of a lake in the Lake District and its characters are all middle-aged around 40 years old and ‘Neville’s Island’, I think can appeal to all ages as the comedy and mishaps that occur between the four characters of Angus, Roy, Gordon and Neville could almost happen to anybody of any age. The four men in ‘Neville’s Island’ are all executives of a water company and they have been sent on this team-building exercise. The friendships in either drama are very different, as the 6 friends in ‘Friends’ are all immensely close and after being so for ten years they appear to have a love for each other which comes with a bond that makes their friendships so special to them, even though the group is half men, half women apart from sexual tension between Monica and Chandler, Ross and Rachael this appears to not affect their friendships whatsoever. These bonds of friendship could not be more different than in the play of ‘Neville’s Island’ by Tim Firth as the four colleagues seem to have been forced to be together and this creates lots of tension between them particularly with Roy and Gordon with his rants about â€Å"all Christians are like radio-hams†. The four colleagues seem to be each putting up with each other constantly and we get a sense that if they had not worked in the same workplace, these four individuals would never had considered becoming friends with e ach other. The Two drama’s of ‘Friends’ and ‘Neville’s Island’ have been written in the same decade and they include many moral issues and information about current affairs for example the mood of ‘Friends’ was slightly changed for a while during the aftermath of the September 11th terrorist attacks on the World trade centres. The home life/lifestyle has affected the personalities of all the characters in either drama such as Phoebe is slightly mad and sometimes eccentric. This may have been caused by her circumstances as a child as her mother killed herself, her stepfather went to prison, and she lived on the streets for some of her life. In ‘Neville’s Island’ we see Gordon who appears to bully most people he sees by picking up on every flaw in their character and using it as ammunition against them, Gordon appears to be in denial as in fact he is very lonely but refuses to admit this. There are many themes/issues that arise from the two dramas of ‘Neville’s Island’ and ‘Friends’ such as Status; in ‘Friends’ the 6 characters stand almost as individuals and they respect each other because of it and apart from minute outbursts from such characters as Monica giving rants about â€Å"Crummies†, but this is simply a part of Monica’s character and does not distinguish her as having more power over fellow friends. In contrast to this there is use of Status/Power in ‘Neville’s Island’, and this comes mainly from the character Gordon bullying people and bossing them about. Gordon is not however the chosen leader of the group, who is Neville but Gordon, underestimates his given authority on the island and simply does what he wants and says what he wants regardless of their feelings. Gordon always makes sarcastic and negative comments about his fellow colleagues; this makes him feel superior and p owerful to the rest of the group. Friendship is a key theme in both pieces of drama as in ‘Friends’, the entire purpose of the sitcom is to display the friendship between the 6 characters however ‘Neville’s Island’ meddles with the idea of leaving work-place politics behind in order the group of them to survive, whilst on the island though we realise that this group of colleagues don’t actually like each other and seem to have been forced into this team-building weekend. There are many relationships in both pieces of drama, some sexual but some arise form tension and the clash of personalities like that in ‘Neville’s Island’ between Roy and Gordon. Gordon is convinced that Roy is faking his religion for attention/acceptance and goes on many rants about this for example when he tells Roy that â€Å"all Christians are like radio-hams†. Gordon continues to cause tension between the group when there is a clash of personalities between Angus and himself as Angus is constantly trying to tell jokes, but none of them are funny as Angus often gets the joke mixed-up, this irritates Gordon even further, and he reached the height of his irritation when he discovers that Angus seems to have an entire camping shop worth of supplies in his backpack, along with climbing rope, an 18-inch machete†¦and even a 3-piece dinner suit! Gordon continues to irritate Angus by simply picking on him, but this ends when Gordon accuses Angus’ wife of being adulterous and that right now she is â€Å"screaming in ecstasy on the bread shelf in Sainsbury’s†. Relationships in ‘Friends’ that are of a sexual sense come from Ross and Rachael as since the beginning of the series they have been attracted to each other and after 3 divorces Ross seems to have found his perfect match, this applies to Rachael; and in the final episode Ross and Rachael finally get together. Another relationship in the sitcom ‘Friends’ comes from Monica and Chandler, they get married and later find out that they cannot have children so in the final series they have a surrogate mother and she agrees to give them her baby, but when the baby is being born in the final episode they find out that instead of one baby, they are having twins. The two remaining friends who do not get it together are Joey and Phoebe, there has never been an attraction between them and Phoebe marries a man called Mike and becomes Phoebe Buffay-Hannigan. Co-operation plays a big part in the play of ‘Neville’s Island’ by Tim Firth, the entire purpose of the team-building is to bring the four characters together as a team, so that they can co-operate together in this or any environment, but this proves difficult as the four colleagues are completely incompatible and in the end simply get on each others nerves. The characters in ‘Friends’ co-operate completely with each other, they help each other out in any circumstances and they work together perfectly. The social context of the sitcom ‘Friends’ by David Crane takes us through an entire decade of events through the years of 1994 -2004. ‘Friends’ is set in the city of New York and focuses on city life and the glamorous lifestyles of 6 friends in ‘coffee culture’ which is centred around their meeting place – a coffee house by the name of ‘Central Perk’. The social context of ‘Friends’ takes us before, during and through the aftermath of the 11th September attacks on the World Trade Centre, which all Americans including the characters in friends come out of this very patriotic. The Sitcom of ‘Friends’ focuses more on the social lives of the friends rather than their work places, this is mainly shown through Chandler as we get a sense that he is successful in his job, but this is shrouded in mystery as we never find out what he does or indeed what his workplace looks like. A convention of an American sitcom is that it shows Americans in an ‘ideal’ lifestyle and there is no hint of poverty or depravation and they appear to be at the higher ‘middle-class’ and American viewers hope to aspire to this. These conventions are used in the sitcom ‘Friends’. ‘Friends’ is filmed in a studio and no-matter-what shot is used, we never get to see that elusive ‘other wall’ in contrast to this in the play ‘Neville’s Island’ the weather appears to mirror the emotions of the characters, this is pathetic fallacy, and instead of being filmed in a studio, ‘Neville’s Island’ is filmed in a natural environment on location. ‘Neville’s Island’ is set in the 1990’s and in a rural setting as the entire play occurs outdoors. ‘Neville’s Island’ is set in the time where John Major from the conservative party was Prime Minister, and the negative attitudes towards the situations used through Gordon mirror that of the time as John Major was trying to shake off and fight Margaret Thatcher’s â€Å"Everyone for themselves† view. ‘Neville’s Island’ is a black comedy as it uses the juxtaposition of morbid and farcical elements to give a certain effect. The humour within ‘Neville’s Island’ is created because of the contrasting characters and the way that they interact with each other. Each character has their own individual sense of humour; Gordon possesses a sarcastic, negative and almost child-like sense of humour. Angus’ jokes are more centred on farcical subjects that when told aren’t very funny at all, but they appear to have been funny in Angus’ head as he laughs at his own jokes a lot. Roy doesn’t really have a sense of humour as he appears to be too wrapped up in his religion, but sometimes he can appear to be quite argumentative and almost psychotic. The sitcom ‘Friends’ is also centred on comedy and the humour is directed at and centred on the characters. The characters all respond differently to different situations but comedy is usually created by the use of facial expressions, accents, off-the-wall comments and the immense use of timing and pauses. From both plays there are many ideas that I would like to experiment with and include in my improvisation unit of â€Å"Stranded†, such as * Being stranded * Comedy/Sarcasm * Characters, with similarities to that of Neville’s Island and friends * One of the characters has a secret. * Tension * The types of characters that have been created for example Joey’s use of timing and comments, Monica’s obsessiveness, Phoebe’s eccentrics, Roy’s almost psychotic state of mind and his belief in religion or Gordon’s sarcasm and use of negative comments. The themes used within these two dramas, for example I have decided to base my â€Å"Stranded† improvisation work to create a piece that is focused on a shipwreck, like that of ‘Neville’s Island’. The different social settings have interested me and I understand how they affect the piece, we have decided to set our drama on a ship that is in the middle of the Irish Sea and it is full of escaped convicts/murderers that steal the boat and hold its occupier hostage, who for coincidence the criminals know, They are all Irish.

The Rise Of Christianity Essay - 1320 Words

The rise of Christianity in philosophy One influential cult was based upon a mystical interpretation of Plato. Neo-Platonism was like a rational science that attempted to break down and describe every aspect of the divine essence and its relationship with the human soul. An Alexandrian Jew named Philo tried using Greek philosophy to interpret the Jewish scriptures. He wanted to unite the two traditions by suggesting that the Greek philosophers had been inspired by the same God who had revealed himself to the Jews. But only Christianity had the right combination of ingredients to appeal to both the masses and also eventually the ruling elite. Based on ancient scriptures, with a solid creation myth, its own collection of inspired†¦show more content†¦Augustines writings became sacred in their own way. His books still form the backbone of Catholic philosophy today. He died during the barbarian invasions around the year 430. Augustine wrote ... When the question is asked, what we are to believe in regard to religion, it is not necessary to probe into the nature of things, as was done by the Greek scientists. We need not be alarmed should the Christian not know the number of elements; the motion of the heavenly bodies; the shape of the cosmos; the species of animals and plants; the nature of stones, rivers, and mountains; about time and distance; the signs of coming storms; or about a thousand other things which these scientists have either found out, or think they have found out. However, the rediscovery of Aristotle and other ancient philosophers had a profound effect on European thought. This caused the Catholic Church to become deeply concerned. Those whose ideas strayed too far from Christianity were accused of heresy. Scholars tried to defend themselves by arguing that there was no contradiction between philosophical reasoning and religious faith. The most influential scholar of the time was an Italian monk who became known as Saint Thomas Aquinas. His writings helped to ease the growing conflict between faith and reason. Aquinas believed that although observation and rational thinkingShow MoreRelatedChristianity : The Rise Of Christianity1512 Words   |  7 PagesBefore the rise of Christianity as a major religion in the European area, Paganism was a belief that was common among all people across Europe. Paganism involved polytheistic beliefs with ritualistic tradition and animal sacrifice. This belief was common in the Anglo-Saxon tradition, which is from where the epic poem Beowulf is thought to have originated circa 550 AD. Due to the origins of Beowulf being surrounded by Pagan tradition and culture and reliance on the method of oral recitation of theRead MoreRise Of Christianity : Christianity1456 Words   |  6 PagesRise of Christianity Essay Christianity is one of the largest religions in the world. With 2.2 billion adherents, it ranks above Islam, Atheists, and Hinduism. So why is this religion so well known? How did it get where it is today? Where did it start? It started with Jesus of Nazareth who was born in Bethlehem, the Messiah to the Jewish people, and crucified by the Romans. His life, works, death, and resurrection is what started Christianity. But that wasn’t the end of it. Christians would faceRead MoreChristianity And The Rise Of Christianity Essay1468 Words   |  6 Pages Christianity in the 21st century is the largest religion in the world and has over two billion followers. Christians classify themselves under 34,000 different denominations. This popular religion is all about the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. When a religion is born so is a holy book to remember it by. The bible is considered the word of God and is known for its infamous stories and sayings. The Bible contains rules and righteous acts to live by. Many question as to how ChristianityRead MoreChristianity And The Rise Of Christianity1395 Words   |  6 PagesChristianity is the historical religion stemming from the teachings of Jesus Christ in the 1st century AD. â€Å"Of all the great religions Christianity is the most widespread and has the largest number of adherents.† It is the world’s largest and most influential religion in history. Christianity can be found on every corner of the globe with nearly two billion followers at the beginning of the 21s t century. It is the predominant religion in Europe, the Americas, and Southern Africa. This religion basedRead MoreThe Rise Of Christianity And Christianity1816 Words   |  8 PagesChristianity began its succession into the most dominant worldwide religion after Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection. â€Å"We heard Him say, ‘I will destroy this temple made with hands, and within three days build another made without hands.† Upon Jesus’ death and resurrection, he completed this task setting forth the development of Christianity. Since Jesus left no formal authoritative power, organization, or agreed upon scriptures, a wide variety of sects gained popularity in the development of ChristianityRead MoreThe Rise of Christianity vs. the Rise of Islam740 Words   |  3 PagesThe Rise of Christianity vs. the Rise of Islam The rise of Christianity and Islam happened during a turbulent time in history, when major civilizations like the Roman Empire and the Persian Empire were in decline due to political infighting, disease, and outside barbarians constantly applying pressure. Christianity was adopted in the heart of the Roman Empire, as a way to continue the influence of Rome, while not being able to control all of Europe militarily. (Rise of Christianity, 2012) ThereforeRead MoreThe Rise And The Spread Of Christianity Essay1154 Words   |  5 PagesThe rise and the spread of Christianity   The Christianity thought to have been rise at the time when Jesus began to predicate his lessons to his followers in Judea and Galilee round the year 30 A.D. Then, it was spreaded through the Hellenistic world including all Greek speaking cities administrated from the Roman Empire.   The   key figure of Christianity is Jesus, about him we learned only in the Paul`s letters, one of his followers lived during the 50`s – 60`s A.D.   Jesus born round 4 B.C.E in NazarethRead MoreEssay The Rise of Christianity Analysis944 Words   |  4 Pages Why has Christianity grown so fast and how it’s spread through so many different counties. From what I have gathered from the readings I think some of the major events that happened was the temples getting destroyed over and over until they finally just kind of gave up. Also, how they stayed with other people no matter poor rich hungry cold, they even stayed and help people when the plague was there. That was when the religion really started to spread, due to people seeing more Christians surviveRead MoreThe Contributions Of Paul On The Rise Of Christianity750 Words   |  3 PagesCharles Ellis HUM 1101 June 8, 2015 Chapter 4 Discussion Explain the contributions of Paul to the rise of Christianity. Paul of Tarsus is the most essential figure in early Christianity. His transformation to Christianity opened doors for the religion. Paul s associations, political aptitudes, and Roman citizenship gave opportunities other Christian pioneers needed. Paul s work made Christianity open for the masses and expanded its range past the Holy Land (Fiero 98). Paul was a Roman citizenRead MoreThe Rise Of Christianity By Don Nardo1737 Words   |  7 Pagesthe Nicene Creed unified the beliefs of Christianity? The investigation will attempt to answer this question as best as possible. The focused time period will be from 313 AD to 325 AD. This is because practicing Christianity was made legal in Rome in 313 AD and the Nicene Creed was created and made the official statement of Christian beliefs in 325 AD. Also the investigation will focus mainly on events taken place in Rome. Unity, or lack thereof, in Christianity, events before and after the creation