Personal Constructs Theory (PCT) Analysis

Personal Constructs Theory (PCT) Analysis Personal Constructs Theory – A Systematic Study Title/Abstract In this study we aim to provide an analysis of a subject’s problems using the Personal Constructs Theory (PCT) suggested by Kelly. The subject is a 35 year old female full time employee working in the same company as the researcher and has shown no barriers to construing. The subject’s problems with her relationships have been determined using the Repertory grid interview and we discuss results and provide an analysis of the findings following the interview and data collection. The interview was done to identify elements within the client’s relationships and all interview limitations have been considered for the study. We provide an analysis of Personal Constructs Theory in general giving a brief overview of its main premises and principles and then move on to its applications including the Grid interview technique on our client. We discuss the results and analyse the findings accordingly. Introduction George Kelly’s Personal Construct Theory (PCT) emphasises that the world is ‘perceived’ by a person according to the meaning the person applies to it and the person has the freedom to choose a meaning according to what he or she wants (Kelly, 1955). Thus a person has the freedom to choose a meaning in terms of which he perceives the world and can apply alternative constructions or meanings to his past, present and future events. Thus a person is not a victim of his events but can liberate himself from unpleasant events by reinterpreting and redefining them. According to Kelly (1955) PCT attempts to explain why a man does what he does and is a theory about ‘how the human process flows, how it strives in new directions as well as in old, and how it may dare for the first time to reach into the depths of newly perceived dimensions’ Kelly states that a ‘persons processes are psychologically channelized by the ways in which he anticipate the events’(1955). Here, the subject is the process and the individual is a behaving organism who may need an external force to initiate an event. The processes include those of self-definition and relationships with others, and how we interpret events around us as well as the events we perceive and tasks at hand (Kelly 1955). Kelly based his theory of PCT on ‘man as the scientist’ model and the basic points were as follows: the individual creates his or her own ways of seeing the world and interprets events according to how he perceive them the individual builds percepts and constructs; these constructs are organized into systems, or group of constructs which embody relationships; two or more systems may contain the same events, yet the events are separate from any of the systems; any individual’s systems have a definite foci The term construct is a concept that represents the view a person has constructed about the world as he experiences it. Constructs also represent the way a person is likely to construe the world and the construct system as a whole represents the history and predisposition to perceive the world in a particular way. Kelly also distinguished between social reality, individual reality and communality. Individuality denotes that every individual differ from each other in how they construct or perceive the world, communality refers to the underlying similarities or common elements in perception and how the construction of experience in one person is similar to that of another (Kelly, 1955). Social reality is perception of how one person construes the construction processes of another person and how they are involved in a social role. Personal construct theory has been used in several sociological and scientific disciplines and it has been emphasised that social reality and communality should be considered along with the individual or personal reality and both have to be considered together in developing an understanding of the psychological processes (Dalton, 1992). The theory of Personal Constructs, points out that it is our personal psychological constructs that make the world predictable. We use construct systems to help in perception of the world and respond to all situations according to these perceptions. Our construct systems help us to make sense of the world, to make it predictable, to draw conclusions about causes and effects and we learn from experiences and adjust our behaviour accordingly (Fransella, 1995). Kelly wrote that the construct systems influence our expectations and perceptions and reflect our past experiences according to which we shape our future expectations. For example since we known from our past experiences that winters are cold, we would take adequate measures of protection during winter because we expect winters to be cold. However according to Kelly, our construct systems grow and change and are not static and are either confirmed or challenged when we are conscious. We adapt and immunise our constructs according to the situation and alter our feelings according to our experiences. We also tend to think and react according to our construct systems and some constructs represent values and key relationships which are difficult to change and fixed whereas some other constructs are less complex and more flexible and adaptive. The truth about the world as understood and experienced determines the nature of the construct system. Construct systems are not generally judged according to any objective truth and depend on an individual’s personal feelings, perceptions and choices (Dalton, 1992). One individual’s construct system may be different from another’s and when there is a general disagreement in constructs, it is generally denoted by prejudice or preconception. Although conflicts and differences of opinions are unpleasant, these events help us to understand differences in people and help us to learn how other people perceive things (Stevens, 1996). However construct systems change and may not be altogether internally consistent. People may react or perceive things differently even in similar circumstances and this is normal as there is a certain degree of internal inconsistency in perception of events. Distortions of judgement due to internal inconsistency of personal constructs can be harmful for a person as he may suffer from personal distress. The extent to which one person can appreciate and react to another person’s constructs is a measure of empathy or how one perceives another (Banister, 1985). One person’s construct system may be markedly different from another person’s constructs yet one should be able to infer the other person’s construct in order to empathise and develop a sense of social oneness and responsibility. Kellyâ €™s theory is one of the most effective theories in social research and helps to provide a psychological explanation of social similarities and differences. The applications of Kelly’s theory of Personal constructs are wide and varied as it helps to provide mathematical representations of constructs systems. Construct systems are multidimensional mathematical models and a person’s language is used to classify his or her experiences. Kelly developed a number of mathematical models and representations of construct systems and tested hypotheses that followed from basic personal construct theory (Fransella and Bannister, 1977). To understand people’s personal construct systems the repertory Grid Interview technique was developed, also known as the Role Construct Repertory Test. The repertoire of constructs that a person develops represents some form of perception, judgement or evaluation and is always comparative. Thus judgement of anything good is in comparison with the concept of bad. Thus in using a Grid interview three elements are considered and then two are paired in contrast with a third. The theory of personal co nstructs can be applied to personal experiences and relationships and so parents, relations, friends, colleagues and the individual are largely responsible for the formation of constructs (Smith et al, 1995; Kalekin-Fishman et al, 1996). Kelly elicited a patient’s constructs, rated the different elements on the constructs and used the resultant grid to point out to the client what his primary problems or concerns were. This helped to decide which therapy would be important and helped to determine the progress and effectiveness of therapy. For example one could find the two elements in a personal relationship of a patient and his mother and use this technique to find out differences between a patient’s perception of himself and what his mother would like him to be. The patient would then be encouraged to provide a self description and work through means of making his relationship with his mother more pleasant and productive. If there are paranoid elements recognised in a patient’s perception of himself or his relationships, appropriate therapeutic interventions are suggested. The Repertory Grid interviewing technique was developed by Kelly to overcome some of the methodological limitations of the interview method. The main steps of the Grid technique include Selecting a set of elements – this could be anything from relationships to issues and the elements could be people involved in these relationships with the client. The elements are taken in groups of three and the client is asked to pair two of them separating the third according to a special characteristic (Adams-Webber, 1983). Thus here the differentiation is done according to constructs determined by the client and is done on a bipolar scale with the interviewer setting up the question but the client determining the content (Anderson, 1987). The constructs are examined in some detail and after the interview the constructs are made into scales of 1-5 and the interviewee is expected to rate every element for every construct on this scale. The result is a matrix and this is then analysed statistically to show the client his problems and how they can be tackled. The statistical analysis helps to give measurements of individual people characteristics and compares people’s perceptions before and after the interview. The Grid is thus a statistical, and content free process and although the interviewer initiates its functions, it is the patient who drives it allowing him to come out with his own perceptions thus giving the process a freedom from any interviewer bias and allows complete transparency(Anderson, 1987). Since it is also a standardised interviewing technique any interviewer can read the interview and understand its implications. Russell and Cox (2003) and Morrison (1991) have stressed on the importance of repertory grid in the analysis of individual perceptions. Considering Kelly’s constructivist alternativism, we can assume that all our present perceptions of the world could be subject to changes and revisions and accordingly our perceptions of people and subsequently our interpersonal relationships could also be changed according to this principle. Method A 35 year old female colleague, Marie Oliver was selected for the interview process. The client was having some relationship problems, especially with her work colleagues and has been showing maladjustment along with problems of anxiety, depression and lack of productivity at work. The participant was apprised of the purpose of the interviewing and was asked to participate suggesting that participation in the interview would help her in overcoming her personal problems. A Repertory Grid Interview was done and the first step was identifying elements or grid components. For this all the possible elements including people in relationships were identified. Thus elements are work colleagues known to the participant and to the researcher, and the participant used triad method with the elements to create constructs around any one chosen topic. Elements were then compared by asking participant to take 3 elements and ascertain where 2 are similar and 1 is different, and the participant was en couraged to continue until all possible combinations were exhausted of 3 elements from the set of 10. The instruction given in this case was , ‘choose any three of these known people and group two of them together separating a possible third to show why two of them are similar and how they differ from the third person.’ This process was used to identify similarities and differences of individuals until the participant ran out of constructs. Several mini-grids were developed in advance to ensure that the participant was comfortable with the process of grid construction. Then the Participant followed the process, generated the first grid, to ascertain whether each element is more like the similarity pole or difference pole by marking with ‘x’ or ‘o’ respectively. The participant then generated a second grid to rate each element on each of the 10 constructs using 1-5 point scale, but presented the grid to experimenter without ratings, experimenter then created the final grid as the participant. The main aim and purpose of the interview was agreed with the participant and views about other work colleagues were thus taken. The participant was fully informed from outset regarding the possibility that the revelations from the Grid Interview could be unsettling for her. However for these purposes, participant’s consent form was also signed in advance and the constructs were then set up on the grid allowing to be revealed. In the process of the interview, the researcher made notes on participant behaviour and perceptions as verbally revealed. In this case, the participant Marie was asked to identify the elements in her workplace that could be considered in her relationships with colleagues. Marie identified 10 colleagues at her workplace and separated two of them as distinct from a third. The common points and the differences were noted. Each of the 10 constructs chosen were rated on a 1-5 scale and the grids were created with similarity and difference poles marked by x or an o. This was done in case of determining constructs and relationships with work colleagues. After the formation of a grid, an analysis was drawn up. Findings/Analysis The two assumptions of the Grid Interview by Kelly were as follows: 1. If we can identify an individuals construct map there is a strong possibility we can predict that individuals behaviour. 2. We may be able to modify an individuals map, and therefore behaviour, by some form of training. The two aspects of the Repertory Grid are 1. Elements which are the objects of an individuals thinking and to which they relate their concepts or values. These elements may be people with qualities like effective, unprofessional, etc or they may be objects or abstract, concrete concepts like the interview or a test 2. Constructs are the qualities used to describe the elements in our personal, individual relationships thus a person is effective because he has a pleasant relationship with his staff which reflects personal construct as applied to the element of an effective individual The main elements in an analysis when a grid is applied to an individual are: 1. The results relate to that individual alone 2. Only one grid has to be analysed for an individual’s report. 3. A grid scoring form is used to perform the analysis The Findings and Analysis help us to probe the following questions: To what extent was the study helpful in understanding the participant’s view of the topic of examination? Identification and justification of apparent areas of understanding and lack of understanding Is a pattern of understanding evident? How does the analysis link with the notes made prior to completing grids on expected areas of degree of understanding? What is the meaning revealed by the participant’s choice of elements and constructs? Do the elements and constructs reveal a similar or different view of the topic of analysis chosen? What does the degree of the match imply? Was the study any more helpful when conversation elaboration was also used as an extended method? Is some analysis of new understandings reached during feedback conversation helpful for the process? What do the notes and quotes as revealed by the client suggest? The findings are given as follows: (Mostly worked together with these individuals) Close agreement on 4, 5, 6 – elements Less agreement on 9 – element (Mostly worked separately with these individuals) Little agreement on 1,2,3,7,8,10- elements with different negative personal experiences working with E7 and E8 on particular projects. Close agreement on 6 – constructs (professional conduct). Upon discussion, views were similar regarding the meaning of professional conduct and who could be trusted. Less agreement on 1,3,4,5,7,9 – constructs. Upon discussion, researcher and client shared similar/same definitions of each construct. Little agreement on 2,8,10 constructs. Upon discussion, our definitions were different, hence our measurement of each element came from a different understanding of constructs. The elements identified by Marie were individuals at the workplace and Marie revealed that she worked closely with elements 4, 5 and 6 although had less agreement with element or colleague 9. Marie revealed that she has worked separately and had negative personal experiences with colleagues identified as elements 1, 2, 3, 7, 8 and 10 although she said she was working on the same project with two of these negatively perceived colleagues 7 and 8. Mari suggested a close agreement with 6 on professional conduct and said that her views with 6 were similar regarding professional conduct, friendships and trust issues as to who in the office should or should not be trusted. Marie suggested that her constructs were either in contrast to or were not compatible with those of 1, 3, 4, 5, 7 and 9 elements or colleagues identified. Marie and the researcher had some discussions on the nature and definition of particular perceptions and constructs and the general definition of these identified by th e researcher were similar to that of the subject. The subject’s perceptions, feedback and opinions on the constructs were noted separately. Marie identified that two of the colleagues were friendly and amicable and compared with the other person who in contrast has been described as unfriendly and not easy to get along with. The Repertory Grid Scoring sheet is drawn as follows: The process of producing the Repertory Grid can be broken down into the following steps: Step One The participant Marie identifies ten colleagues whom she knows well. Among these ten colleagues Marie should go along well with at least two of them ideally. Step Two – Marie is given six pieces of card or paper on which she is asked to write the names of the people she has identified. These are the elements described. A number can also be added to the card/paper to signify description and added at the head of column on the scoring sheet. Alternatively, the name itself of the element identified can be entered on the scoring sheet as well. Step Three – Three cards are selected, for example 1, 2 and 3, and Marie is asked to identify some aspect related to these colleagues’ behaviour which makes two of the three people selected different from the third. The construct word or phrase is written in the top left side of the vertical columns. In the top right side of the vertical columns is written the description of the person one who is different from the other two. This process of obtaining constructs from the three people is continued until no further constructs or perceived characteristics could be elicited from the participant. Step Four – Once the constructs have been completely elicited and entered on the scoresheet, the cards are returned. Each element person is then given a score on a scale of 1 to 5. A score of 1 or 2 is allocated to those who are suited to the description in the left-hand column, the column with the description of the pair. Scores of 5 or 4 are allocated to those who match with the description in the right-hand column, the description of the odd person out Step Five – A different set of three cards is then selected, cards 4, 5 and 6 and the process in steps 3 and 4 is repeated, ensuring that the description of pairs is recorded in the left-hand column and a score of 1 or 2 relates to the pairs similarity and score points of 4 and 5 relate to the description of the single person. A score of 3 is average score. A score of at least one 1 and one 5 is helpful when allocated usually from the set of three people for whom the constructs are being elicited. Step Six – Step five is repeated and the various combinations of the elements are aimed to be covered until the participants run out of perceived characteristics or constructs that could be entered on the card. After the grid consideration, the grid scoring sheet is used to record the views of the participant for each element against each construct which has been offered. The data collected is then subject to analysis. A manual analysis can generate and extract considerable information from the grid and all the constructs are related to the personal characteristics of each work colleague considered in the study by Marie. Step Seven – In this case study we consider the behavioural aspects of work colleagues of Marie which is related to their overall friendliness, therefore at the end of the grid Marie is asked to rate the elements in a single, given construct over a scale of friendly to unfriendly. The scoring for friendliness is then compared with other individual aspects to highlight differences and to provide indicators for friendliness. Step Eight – The scores for each construct are obtained by marking the difference for each element against the general friendliness figure. Step Nine – In this phase, we analyse the various constructs on the basis that if the score is low the aspect measured is significant in the ranking for friendliness It is the duty of interviewer to remain without any bias and to refrain from giving any suggestion to the participant on what constructs should be drawn. Forming the constructs is entirely dependent on the participant and the researcher has no role in its formation. They must be according to the thoughts and perceptions of the individual who is being interviewed in this case, Marie although the constructs must be clear, meaningful. Here the analyst has helped her in one or two cases when she couldn’t describe the construct and sought help of the analyst to come out with the right word. After the constructs are listed against the elements, the grid results are scored and are ready to be used for analysis. From the example used in this study -the aspects which go towards the behavioural skills of colleague at work, are identified as follows: Has empathy with other colleagues Has a proper work culture and attitude Has an ethical sense Is friendly and amicable Is knowledgeable and professional Always has a good style and appearance Is a team oriented person Is a leader in the group Comes out with fresh new ideas Is helpful and cooperative Discussion In this study we selected Marie Oliver, a 35 year old colleague who was suffering from some initial maladjustment in the workplace. Marie was asked to participate in the Repertory Grid Interview process to identify the reasons of her problems, categorise them and come out with possible suggestions. The approach taken was qualitative analysis by using the Personal Constructs theory developed by Kelly and a final analysis using scoring sheet and identifying elements through the Repertory Grid Interview technique. Marie was asked to select characteristics and constructs of persons in her workplace. She identified the most desirable and friendly characteristics in her colleagues against the least desirable ones. The notes taken during conversation with Marie reveal that Marie felt she got along only with a few colleagues only three as mentioned. There were basic differences in professional ethic and conduct with at least two colleagues she was working in collaboration with. The behaviour al skills Marie identified as important in defining her good relationship with the colleagues are empathic characteristics in others; any concept of an ideal colleague is also associated with being able to follow a proper work culture and having a proper attitude. Having an ethical sense, a sense of justice and being knowledgeable, professional with a good sense of humour are also identified as important characteristics in a proper friendly colleague. Marie indicated that being friendly, amicable and with good style and appearance has been noted in at least two of her colleagues and this is stark contrast to a third colleague she identified and with whom she doesn’t seem to get along. If we consider Kelly’s perspective of constructive alternativism, it is possible to have alternative perceptions as our perceptions of the world depend completely on our personal constructs. Marie also identified leadership skills, helpfulness and cooperativeness, being able to come out with fresh ideas and following a proper work culture as important aspects of professional behaviour and gave high scores on these aspects to at least two of her colleagues. Overall, a Repertory Grid Interview on Marie showed that she has good and easygoing relations with two of her colleagues but doesn’t seem to go well with many of them. The negative implications of the findings which suggest why Marie did not get along with most of her colleagues and seem to show anxiety and depression symptoms as well as dissatisfaction with her workplace were revealed in her perception of constructs on most of her colleagues. Marie suggested that some of her colleagues were low on cooperativeness and helpfulness, friendliness and proper professional attitude making the atmosphere competitive and hostile. The dynamics of Marie’s actual relations with her colleagues were thus revealed usin g this Grid interviewing procedure and Marie’s own perception of her work situation, perception of her situation and role in the office, and perception of her relations with her colleagues and her job were also revealed through this study. As Morrison (1991) used the repertory grid technique to understand nurses’ perception of care and their evaluation of caring attitudes in nursing, Marie’s perception of her work culture could easily reveal her ideal understanding of a workplace and what she sought in her colleagues. Her inner constructs, precepts and how she saw the world as an individual were revealed and so were her expectations in the future. Considering Marie’s perceptions, some psychological counselling to improve her working and professional relationships was recommended. Limitations: The methodological limitations and concerns of interview as a means of knowing people’s construct system were many, as noted by Kelly. These are: Interview Bias – sometimes the interviewer and the school he belongs to whether behaviourist or psychoanalytic could determine the way the session goes and this undermines the objectivity and validity of the study Dependence on the interviewer – the role of the therapist should be minimal and the therapist should just be a tool to facilitate self perception according to Kelly. Most individuals have the capacity to understand his or her problems and any overdependence on the researcher should be avoided. There may be problems with measuring and predicting individual or group characteristics. Although psychology seeks to understand laws of human behaviour, large scale studies showing correlations of different behaviour may not be helpful for study of personal constructs which is based on the understanding of individuals or a small group of people. These methodological limitations have been kept in mind while conducting the interview and interviewer bias and any dependence on the interviewer has been kept to a minimum. Interviewer intervention has also been minimal. Conclusion: In this discussion, we set out with an overview of the Personal Constructs Theory proposed by Kelly (1955). We discussed the different tenets of the constructs theory, the inconsistency of personal constructs and how constructs tend to vary in different people or in same people in different situations. Thus situational factors seem important in constructs and perceptions on other people. Individual constructs form the construct systems and Kelly established the grid method to determine the different elements in a social situation that can be considered as responsible for an individual’s disturbed social relationships. In our study of Marie Oliver, a 35 year old employee, her social relationships and possible disturbances were studied using the Repertory Grid Interview technique and her analysis of good and bad characteristics of ten of her colleagues were indicated on the card given to her. The scores were drawn up and according to the analysis the desirable characteristics th at Marie perceived in some of her workmates and not in others, were found out. Marie’s behavioural problems and her unique relationships with her colleagues are then analysed suggesting whether Marie needed any further psychological help for her anxiety, depression and other work related maladjustments. Bibliography Kelly, George Alexander The psych

Comparison Between Dulce Et Decorum Est & the Man He Killed

The war poetry I am going to compare was written by Wilfred Owen and Thomas Hardy. Wilfred Owen was born in Wales in 1893. He wrote poetry as a teenager and at the age of 20 he began teaching English in France as an assistance teacher. 2 years later he joined the Manchester regiment and fought in World War 1 and 3 years later in 1918 he died near the Belgian border whilst taking his men across the Sambre canal at Ors. Therefore we know his writing shows his personal experiences. rdy was born in 1840 in the south of England. He began writing in 1867. He was more famous for his novels but also wrote about the Boer war.In Dulce Et Decorum Est Wilfred Owen makes war seem horrific. When describing the soldiers, he says ‘Coughing like old hags’. From this we can see that he is implying that the young soldiers have become old and ill. Furthermore when describing the soldiers caught out without a gas mask during a gas attack, he says ‘the white eyes writhing in his face â €™. He describes the soldiers death in graphic detail as he writes that he can hear ‘the blood, come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs, obscene as cancer, bitter as the cud ’. From these two quotes we can see that the wounded are going to suffer and die.The language he has used is extremely disturbing. These injuries even caused nightmares as he says, ‘In all my dreams, before my helpless sight, he plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning. ’ Within his poem, Owen uses many poetic devices and techniques. He makes use of alliteration, assonance, imagery, metaphors, similes, iambic pentameters, enjambment, meter, onomatopoeia, personification, 1st person, repetition, rhyme and stanzas. He makes use of alliteration when he says, ‘Knock-Kneed’ which suggests that the soldiers are crippled from their exertions.Also he uses it when saying ‘watch the white eyes writhing. ’ In this line he is trying to describe the soldiers' ey es as though they are attempting to exit their sockets. Also he practises the use of assonance. He unifies the first three lines with the words ‘sacks’, ‘hags’ and ‘backs. ’ These words imitate the coughing sound made by the soldiers. Furthermore when his Imagery uses the sense of touch when he says ‘an ecstasy of fumbling, Fitting the clumsy helmets just in time. ’ He uses sight when he says, ‘As under a green sea, I saw him drowning. He uses taste when he says, ‘Bitter as the cud. ’ Finally he uses hearing when he says, ‘If you could hear, at every jolt, the blood, come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs. ’ Furthermore, metaphors also play a vital role in his poem. For example ‘Men marched asleep’, ‘Drunk with fatigue’. This suggests that all their senses are dulled and because of their tiredness, they are as good as dead. ‘Incurable sores on innocent tongues. à ¢â‚¬â„¢ This phrase informs us that the soldiers were innocent and were being punished for no reason. Similarly, his uses of similes are evident in every stanza.He describes soldiers ‘like old beggars’ and ‘Coughing like hags. ’ However the more graphic similes are used in stanzas 2 ; 3 where the soldier in caught in a gas attack. ‘Floundering like a man in fire or lime’ suggesting the burning effects of the gas. ‘As under a green sea, I saw him drowning’ portrays how intense the gas attack was that in encompassed the soldiers completely and how there was no escape. In the third stanza he describes the aftermath of the gas attack when he says, ‘His hanging face, like a devil's sick of sin. This brings to mind very illustrative pictures of hell and the state of its inhabitants who will be tortured for all eternity. Iambic pentameters are used on all the lines except those that he wishes to emphasise. Enjambments are used as th e lines flow into each other making it more pragmatic. He has used onomatopoeia to make a more vivid description of the vile sounds that could be heard during war. For example, ‘Guttering, choking’ and ‘gargling. ’ Also he says, ‘Gas, gas’ which imitates the hissing sound that could be heard from a gas canister.Within this poem there is only one instance in this poem wherein he uses personification and that is when he describes the remains of the bomb shells, ‘disappointed shells. ’ This poem is told in the first person for example, ‘I saw him drowning. ’ ‘In all my dreams. ’ This shows us that he is speaking from personal experience. With regards to repetition he repeats the word drowning to exemplify the gravity of the attack. Furthermore he repeats the word gas to demonstrate the instant rush and panic that the gas attack caused among the soldiers.In this poem Owen use the rhyming pattern of abab cdcd i n stanza 1. In stanza 2 he uses efef gh and in the final stanza he uses gh ijij klkl mnmn. In the first stanza he describes the atmosphere prior to the gas attack. In the second he takes us moment by Moment through the gas attack and in the final stanza he illustrates the repercussion of the gas attack. He concludes the poem by saying ‘The old Lie; Dulce et Decorum est Pro patria mori’ showing that he feels that his experiences are far from beautiful or even honourable. The man he killed was written at the time of the Boer war.This poem has some controversy with the setting in which it was written because it does not specifically refer to the Boer war but it could refer to any war. The poem was a conversation between the killer and the killed. He remarks about how much he and the victim had so much in common and how petty of a reason they had to kill each other. This poem is a very interesting piece of work. As easy as it is to read, it is in fact deeply burdened with i rony and surprisingly colloquialism. Starting with the title, he has made use of 3rd person when he says ‘man HE killed. This is fascinating because, the entire poem is written in 1st person. The ‘He’ man is the individual who is trying to rationalise his slaying of another soldier. In this poem, the soldier who is talking defines all the parallels between him and his prey. He romantically reminisces how he could have been enjoying liberties of life with the man whom he killed and he uses analogies of wetting, nipperkin to show the frankness in tone and meanings. In the 2nd stanza, the narrator intensely describes how ‘I shot at him as he at me’ and ‘killed him in his place. Also he says where him and his foe met, Ranged as infantry’. He is reasoning that he had no choice in what happened. In the 3rd stanza, he confesses as to why he killed him. However on two occasions in the stanza, he begins to hesitate. The first is when he repeats th e word, ‘because- Because he was my foe. ’ This hesitation also represents doubt. The second is where he mentions ‘my foe’ twice. This is significant because first there was the hesitation, and then there is him having to clarify his killing twice. This creates an atmosphere of even more tense and uspicion. To top it up, he makes it look as though what he did was downright typical by saying, ‘That's clear enough. ’ The ‘of course’ and ‘That's clear enough’ are palpably sarcastic. This is because nobody is enemies for no reason, despite him saying at the beginning ‘We should have set us down to wet(have a drink). ’ In stanza 4, the narrator explains the reason as to why his ‘foe’ was in the army. Again he draws comparisons between himself and his ‘foe’. He does this when he says, ‘Off-hand like–just as I–. He implies that he and ‘foe’ both never joi ned the army for patriotic reasons but they joined it because they both were ‘out of work. ’ ‘No other reason why. ’ In the final stanza, the poet tries to sum up his philosophy for killing the other man who was just like him. He confesses and says that wars are ‘strange-quaint’ and ‘curious. ’ The last line obliquely impregnates the real purpose of killing that man ‘quaint and curious war is’ showing how war breaks all the rules of civilised behaviour as in civilian life he would have probably give the man help, buy him a drink or even give him a hand out. ‘Help half a crown’

International Business - 1097 Words

The American College Chapter 5 Question No 1: Describe the four basic levels of international business activity.Do you think any organization will achieve the fourth level?Why or why not. Question No 2: For each of the four globalization strategies, describe the risks associated with that strategy and the potential returns from that strategy. __________________________________ Answer for question No 1: The four general levels of international business activity are: 1. Domestic business 2. International business 3. Multinational business 4. Global business. Domestic Business: Is the one that acquires all of its resources and sells all of its products ot services within a single country.(8/143) Interational†¦show more content†¦Nationalized: Taken over by the government. Tariff: A tax collected on goods shipped across national boundaries. Quota: A limit on the number or value of goods that can be traded. Export restraint agreements: Accords reached by governments in which countries voluntarily limit the volume or value of goods they export to or import from one another. Economic community: A set of countries that agree to markedly reduce or eliminate trade barriers among member nations ( a formalized market system). Social orientation: A persons beliefs about the relative importance of the individual versus groups to which that person belongs. Power orientation: The beliefs that people in a culture hold about the appropriateness of power and authority differences in hierarchical such as business organizations. Uncertainty orientation: The feeling individuals have regarding uncertain and ambiguous situations Goal orientation: The manner in which people are motivated to work toward different kinds of goals. Time orientation: The extent to which members of a culture adopt a long-term versus a short-term outlook on work, life, and other elements of society. Bibliography Griffin 8th edition Management Ricky W. Griffin Texas AM University Houghton Mifflin Company Boston NewShow MoreRelatedInternational Business Ventures2671 Words   |  11 PagesInternational Business Ventures Measuring a potential business venture has many aspects which the international manager must be aware of in order to convey the correct information back to the decision makers. Being ignorant to any of the aspects can lead to a false representation of the project, and hence an uninformed decision being passed. In order for a business to survive it must grow. For growth to be optimal, management must first be able to identify the most attractive prospective leadsRead MoreChallenges of International Business Management1037 Words   |  5 PagesCHALLENGES OF INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT What are the challenges of International Business Management? 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International business such as an essential subject for students around the world because international business is vital ingredient in entrepreneurshipRead MoreInfluential Factors of International Business and International Business Environment4145 Words   |  17 PagesA Business Growth and Strategy Project On INFLUENTIAL FACTORS OF INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS AND INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT By: Ankit D Jethani 6937 Business Environment consist of every factors influential to the business operations. These factors are classified into two broad categories. These are: a) External or UncontrollableRead MoreInternational Business Environment6667 Words   |  27 PagesModule specification INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT Code: PGBM04 Credits: 15 Level: Masters FBL, Business School Board: Postgraduate Business Studies Learning Hours: 150 of which 30 CONTACT hours Rationale 1. The international business environment is multi-dimensional, including economic, political, socio-cultural and technological influences. While each can be viewed in specific national settings, increasingly they have become interrelated through processes of globalisation. In particularRead MoreInternational Business5797 Words   |  24 Pagesof world output and world exports accounted for by the United States and other long-established developed nations is unlikely. FALSE 23. (p. 21) A current trend in international business is the growth of medium-sized and small multinationals, known as mini-multinationals. TRUE 24. (p. 22) Today, the risks involved in doing business in countries such as Russia are low, but so are the returns. FALSE 25. (p. 23) If the free market reforms in China continue for two more decades, China may move fromRead MoreInternational Trade As A Tool For International Business1707 Words   |  7 Pagesfourteen asks some very important questions regarding international trade as SME and MNE evolve globally due to technology. Therefore as international business continues to evolve companies are find easier ways to find importers and exporters from the comfort of their offices without the costly methods of travel and due diligences trying to find reputable companies to handle their needs. Using a variety of sources I will analyze international trade through the use of websites and go into detail aboutRead MoreBusiness Administration International Business Essay1784 Words   |  8 PagesBUSINESS ADMINISTRATION amp; INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS In the literal meaning, Business refers to an organized approach to providing customers with the goods and services they want. Business Administration has over the years taken the form of a formal field of knowledge, besides engineering medical and even closely-related Economics. In the 20th century, with the development and growth of business schools in America and Europe, the dynamics of business administration changed. With more research conductedRead MoreThe Problem Of International Business842 Words   |  4 Pages International business c Trade occurring between one or more countries worldwide. Balance of trade Difference in value of a countries imported and exported goods. Balance of payments Also known as BOP, is the monitoring of all international money transactions during specific times. Global dependency The dependency of one nation to another. Competitive advantage The advantage a company has over its competitors, allowing them to achieve greater

Learn About the Different Types of Cells Prokaryotic and Eukaryotic

The earth was formed about 4.6 billion years ago. For a very long period of the earths history, there was a very hostile and volcanic environment. It is difficult to imagine any life being viable in those types of conditions. It wasnt until the end of the Precambrian Era of the Geologic Time Scale when life began to form. There are several theories about how life first came to be on Earth. These theories include the formation of organic molecules within what is known as the Primordial Soup, life coming to Earth on asteroids (Panspermia Theory), or the first primitive cells forming in hydrothermal vents. Prokaryotic Cells The simplest type of cells were most likely the first type of cells that formed on Earth. These are called prokaryotic cells. All prokaryotic cells have a cell membrane surrounding the cell, cytoplasm where all of the metabolic processes happen, ribosomes that make proteins, and a circular DNA molecule called a nucleoid where the genetic information is held. The majority of prokaryotic cells also have a rigid cell wall that is used for protection. All prokaryotic organisms are unicellular, meaning the entire organism is only one cell. Prokaryotic organisms are asexual, meaning they do not need a partner to reproduce. Most reproduce through a process called binary fission where basically the cell just splits in half after copying its DNA. This means that without mutations within the DNA, offspring are identical to their parent. All organisms in the taxonomic domains Archaea and Bacteria are prokaryotic organisms. In fact, many of the species within the Archaea domain are found within hydrothermal vents. It is possible they were the first living organisms on Earth when life was first forming. Eukaryotic Cells The other, much more complex, type of cell is called the eukaryotic cell. Like prokaryotic cells, eukaryotic cells have cell membranes, cytoplasm, ribosomes, and DNA. However, there are many more organelles within eukaryotic cells. These include a nucleus to house the DNA, a nucleolus where ribosomes are made, rough endoplasmic reticulum for protein assembly, smooth endoplasmic reticulum for making lipids, Golgi apparatus for sorting and exporting proteins, mitochondria for creating energy, a cytoskeleton for structure and transporting information, and vesicles to move proteins around the cell. Some eukaryotic cells also have lysosomes or peroxisomes to digest waste, vacuoles for storing water or other things, chloroplasts for photosynthesis, and centrioles for splitting the cell during mitosis. Cell walls can also be found surrounding some types of eukaryotic cells. Most eukaryotic organisms are multicellular. This allows the eukaryotic cells within the organism to become specialized. Through a process called differentiation, these cells take on characteristics and jobs that can work with other types of cells to create an entire organism. There are a few unicellular eukaryotes as well. These sometimes have tiny hair-like projections called cilia to brush away debris and may also have a long thread-like tail called a flagellum for locomotion. The third taxonomic domain is called the Eukarya Domain. All eukaryotic organisms fall under this domain. This domain includes all animals, plants, protists, and fungi. Eukaryotes may use either asexual or sexual reproduction depending on the organisms complexity. Sexual reproduction allows more diversity in offspring by mixing the genes of the parents to form a new combination and hopefully a more favorable adaptation for the environment. The Evolution of Cells Since prokaryotic cells are simpler than eukaryotic cells, it is thought they came into existence first. The currently accepted theory of cell evolution is called the Endosymbiotic Theory. It asserts that some of the organelles, namely the mitochondria and chloroplast, were originally smaller prokaryotic cells engulfed by larger prokaryotic cells.