Personal Values And Ethics Of An Italian Essay Example for Free

Personal Values And Ethics Of An Italian Essay Values are defined as â€Å"the deepest beliefs and we sentiments we subscribe to†. Every person has values that they put into practice in their lives whether they realize this or not in other words we all apply values in our day-to-day lives both consciously and unconsciously. An individuals’ set of personal values guides him or her on how to live his or her life. Once these values have been implemented, they enable the implementer to achieve great things in life that they would otherwise not have been able to accomplish. Once an individual has implemented his or her personal values in his or her life, these values then energizes the individual and enables him or her to tackle issues that were previously seen as impossible in other words personal values allow an individual achieve what they dream of. Once a person has identified the values that are important to them they go further and develop strategies to be used in implementation of these values. Upon implementation, these values are said to be able to work wonders in a person’s life in that the person now has a direction in life that guides them in making decisions that are in line with their overall aim. When one identifies a mission philosophy or belief that is meaningful to them in their lives, then that becomes their value. There many categories of values whereby they are ranked as either commonplace or those that is special and psychological. An individual day-to-day life including relations with others and how they approach their work is determined by their personal values. These values are the ones that determine the success of an individual in whether action they dedicate themselves to. Once they are applied it becomes very easy for the person to excel in the workplace and personal life. They are said to have the ability to multiply the impact of an action and in turn the consequences of the act. Italians are very religious people and the biggest percentages of them are Catholics. They follow the tenets of the Catholic Church very strictly. They are very emphatic on the importance of the family and especially the mothers. They come together as families as often as possible and even conduct their businesses as a family. The men are always seen as the bread winners in the house and the women are to take care of the family in all ways. Being brought up in such a setting has shaped my values in to confirming with a lot of the traditional that I found when I was born and grew up in. In 1884, the Italian Republic made an agreement with the Vatican regarding religious education in schools. There was then a provision made that ensured that there would be religious teachings offered in all schools that are below the university level (http://www. beginningwithi. com). Since Italy is a catholic state, it therefore means that these teachings are mostly catholic in nature. This therefore ensures that all Italians who are born and bred in Italy have an option of getting religious teachings in school. It was however noted that not everyone is a catholic or even a Christian. This then led to need to make these teachings optional to those who wanted to learn. Those whose parents did not want them to learn had an option of refusing to allow their children not to learn. Since my family was and still is a very strict catholic follower, I never had the option to even refuse to attend these lessons. In fact this was seen as an added advantage since I would be able to learn more about Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary alongside the various teachings found in the bible. This would in the long run make me a better Christian and it actually did. Having grown up in a catholic family and also an extended one made my personal values to develop in a way that enables me cope with then. My personal values include success commitment fairness faith family feeling hard work and tolerance. The church I have grown up in has taught me to have faith in what I do and in god and hop that all will end well. This has sustained me all through my life especially at times when I feel emotional and psychologically unstable. At these moments I prefer to go to church and say prayers to calm me down. It has also taught me to be committed and this is what has enabled me to hold one position for 15 years in the same store. In Italian culture, one tends to live with the extended family and this is expected of all people. It is customary for the grandparents to care for their grandchildren which they d thus one has to cope with having a house full of relatives and this makes one tolerant. This has gone a long way in enabling me work with other employees without losing my temper. In under standing their weaknesses I am able to correct them without causing the formation of negative altitude towards me and weakness I am able to correct them without causing the formation of negative altitudes towards the job and me. When correcting their mistakes, I do so just as I would if it were my family member and this makes them feel appreciated and thus workers are motivated. I am currently studying for my B. S in criminal justice. The desire to study this course was prompted by my belief in fairness. I have a very strong conviction that everybody of what his or her previous life has been like. As a Christian I believe that any person can change given the chance. It is also true that there are quite a number of people who are wrongfully accused and convicted and it is necessary to correct such wrongs. By learning the different theories propounded in the course study. I can be able to use them in my workplace and in my day-to-day life to blame where it his not due I avoid unnecessary confrontations with other people. In my 15 years of working at the Vons Grocery store, I have met a number of personalities made a positive impact in my life. Michelle Valverda and Shielha Mosley. These people have taught me how to deal with other employees in order to maximize their output. They have taught me the value of success. It has been clarified in my mind what success really means and not just in monetary terms but also in emotional, psychological and physical well-being. These two people have reminded me the importance of leading a round life without neglecting any part of my life since all are important and are required in measuring the success of an individual. When I joined college to study for the criminal justice course, I met other people who added to my list of personal values. One of them is Ian Barrimond who is a fellow student. He has strengthened my value of tolerance because he is becoming more enjoyable when I do not keep getting angry with people for minor mistakes. Furthermore Ian is really committed to his studies and thus has introduced a new value to my life that is commitments. Apart from attending college he has a very demanding job that does not leave him with much time for himself yet he still manages to find time to dedicate his studies. My teacher is also a major influence to my list of values since he is always insisting on the necessary of hard work. Steven Fraitas insists that only by hard work can one be able to achieve what they want from life. The other major influences in my life are my parents who have always insisted on the family unity. They have never allowed my siblings and I to be on bad terms with each other for long and they have always ensured that any problem that crops up among us is quickly resolved before it goes too far. Also they have used the many family gatherings that we hold to invite all of us including the members of the extended family to make sure that we all remain close. None of us feels like a stranger or outsider because we have never been allowed to have time to drift apart to a point of becoming strangers to each other emotionally. This has made me become even more committed to my own family in the hope that it will be as unified as the family that I grew up in. I work hard so as to provide for my family and make sure that they live as comfortably as I can make them. This is encompassed in the value of family feeling. In Italian culture, one tends to live with their parents long after they have reached the age of maturity (Giannotti E. Rocchi R. 2004). It has been argued by some people that this makes them vulnerable to emotional and mental instability. I beg to differ with this conclusion because instead of destabilizing me this has made me a stronger person in aspects in life. There is an assumption that we should all be married at a certain age but by waiting until the right moment allows one to be able to choose the right partner in life. This is important because in the catholic church one is not allowed to divorce and thus it is necessary to choose someone who one will be able to stay with for the rest of their lives. I am among those people who lived with their parents long after the time that is set as standard for people to move out of their parent’s house. I can testify to the benefits that I reaped from this. Since almost all my brothers and sisters were also living with my parents, we were able to develop our relationship into our adulthood. Not only have we remained close with my brothers and sisters but also with my parents. Since I did not start my family until I was old enough to appreciate what I needed in a spouse, I am then able to treat my spouse the way it has always been in the Italian culture. I was also able to learn a lot from my parents on how to live in peace and harmony in the same house with your spouse.

Life Of Fredrick Douglass :: essays research papers fc

Breaking the Shackles   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   If there is a theme that has been present in writings since the beginning of time, it is discrimination. Since the creation of man, discrimination has been a problem in society. The theme of discrimination is illustrated through the novel, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass; the essay, “Indian Civilization Vs. White Civilization;'; and the speech, “I Have a Dream.'; The theme of discrimination is clearly present in Frederick Douglass’ Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass. Frederick Douglass was born in Tuckahoe, Maryland around 1818. He had no accurate knowledge of his age. Douglass was born to a black mother and a white father, who he believed was his master (Douglass 19). By secretly studying books, Douglass learned to read a crime punishable by death. He escaped slavery when he was barely an adult and wrote the story of his life and how discrimination affected it. Not only is discrimination the theme of Douglass’ novel, it is also the cause of his horrible condition. In his autobiography he claims he “was made to drink the bitterest dregs of slavery'; (73). Throughout the novel Douglass never encounters a slave who is not black. “Why am I a slave,'; Douglass asks (Douglass 73). This is surely a question asked by every victim of prejudice. Another piece that illustrates discrimination is Joseph Brant’s, “Indian Civilization Vs. White Civilization.'; Joseph Brant was born in 1742 and died in 1807 (Barnett et al. 938). Brant, or Thayendanega, was educated at Wheelock’s Indian school in Connecticut. He served the British in the French and Indian war and the American Revolution. Being a Mohawk Chief, Brant was subject to much racially motivated discrimination. Discrimination, though most author would like you to believe otherwise, is never one sided. “ Indian Civilization Vs. White Civilization,'; looks at the reactions of those victimized by racial discrimination. Joseph Brant initially takes a defensive stand, but quickly turns to criticism of white society. In this piece Brant is “obliged to give [his] opinion in favor of [his] own people.'; (Brant 939). He describes the white people’s judicial system a pompous parade'; (Brant 939). In conclusion of this piece Brant never overcomes his bitterness for white people and their actions calling them “tenfold more the children of cruelty'; (Brant 939). In addition to this essay, Martin Luther King Jr.’s speech , “ I Have a Dream'; also contains the theme of discrimination.

Merck & Co. Performance Appraisal System Essay

1) WHY? Brief Background on Merck & Co. Performance Appraisal System The past and existing performance appraisal of Merck & Co. was ineffective to identify and reward performance to a certain extent. Although the company was paying their employees around seven to eight percent more than the average compensation in other large companies, the performance appraisal system did not clearly identified outstanding performance, which caused inequity in rewarding performance and led to unhappiness among the employees, especially the high performers. Compared to the average performers, there was only marginal increase in salary for outstanding performers. Without proper recognition and rewards, the company was at risk of losing its high performers and keeping the worst performers. Core Problems and Its Causal Identification: High Degree of Criterion Deficiency and Criterion Contamination The core problems identified for inequity in performance appraisal was the high degree of Criterion Deficiency and Criterion Contamination in performance appraisal, forced distribution in performance rating and biasness in performance appraisal. There were 3 causal for the core problems. The 3 causal were namely: 1) the company’s absolute performance rating scale, 2) company’s salary determination under the old plan and 3) superiors’ biasness in appraisal. Recommendation Using Core Concepts to Solve the High Degree of Criterion Deficiency and Criterion Contamination The 3 proposed recommendation to address the 3 causal are namely: 1) identifying conceptual criteria through employees’ job analysis to eliminate criterion deficiency and contamination in performance appraisal, 2) employee comparison models (rank-order method) to identify outstanding performers under salary determination and 3) introducing an ongoing assessment to eliminate superior’s biasness. 2) WHAT? Causal 1: Performance Appraisal under the Old Plan (Criterion Deficiency & Criterion Contamination) The Absolute performance rating scale could only rate the individual’s performance independent of the performances of other employees. In my opinion, this individual’s performance rating scale was no longer relevant or sufficient in big company like Merck & Co in the present. From the case, it was noted that an employee was dissatisfied that the company’s performance was average and 83 percent of the employees  were actually exceeding job expectations. This had proven that the performance appraisal system was inaccurate in measuring the employee’s performance. For example, it might be due to the fact that the effectiveness of the company depends on an individual’s performance, that was interdependent on his subordinates, superior and even colleagues in a team context. Thus, an absolute performance rating scale would be ineffective in identifying and rewarding true performance as it had caused a criterion deficiency of excluding the team performance as one of the important criteria for performance appraisal. Causal 2: Salary Determination under the Old Plan (Forced Distribution for Performance Rating) In Merck & Co., the salaries of the employees were determined by a salary line formula comprises of the Hay points system. The employees would then get their actual salary based on their percentage for compa-ratio on the control point. On the surface, this system seems to be structured in rewarding based on merit, but in fact, it was not effective in rewarding outstanding performers. Firstly, an employee’s compa-ratio would always be capped at the maximum of 125 percent. In other words, an employee can only earn a maximum of 25 percent more of the normal 100 percent salary even he had performed exceptionally well in his job. Secondly, consisten t good performers were unable to maintain compa-ratio of 120 percent and above due to the annual revision on the control points. When the control points increased, the compa-ratio of an employee would dropped for most of the time, regarding his performance. Thirdly, an outstanding employee with high compa-ratio would get lower pay increase compared to an employee with average compa-ratio, given the same performance ratings. This salary determination system discouraged outstanding employees to continue to perform as the reward they get out of this system was capped and limited, and similar to what average employees would get for their effort. From the case, one of the employee had actually voiced out that it was demoralizing and demotivating as no matter how hard he work, he will still get the same rating as everyone else and the same 5 percent increase in salary. In addition, as reflected from the case, the vast majority of the employees received 3 or 4 while very few received 1,2 and 5. There was a forced distribution for performance rating. This system had caused criterion deficiency as the determination of the employees’ salary was not clearly assessed on their performance and thus,  making the outstanding performers to feel inequity. Causal 3: No fairness in the Performance Measures (Biasness) There was a significant amount of complaints from the employees on the performance appraisal system as there were no fairness in the performance measures. This was caused by the biasness of the appraiser. The contributory factors of biasness could be vanity, narcissism, laziness and frivolity (Michael, 2007). For vanity, the appraiser would want to give high ratings to his subordinate so as to make his people and department to look good and get good bonuses and other rewards. In the case, an employee who was an appraiser commented that he was unable to rate his people objectively as other directors were giving all their people a rating of 4, and it makes him hard to give his people a rating of less than 4. For narcissism, the appraiser would measure performance using his own point of view. An employee reflected that managers were afraid of giving experienced people a rating of less than 4 but willing to give new people a rating of 3. The managers’ point of view was that experienced employees would get a rating of 4 and above while new employees would get a rating of 3. In the case of laziness, the appraiser measures assumed performance without any thoughts and efforts. This cou ld be related to the case whereby the experienced employees would be rated higher than the newcomers as it was assumed by the appraiser that the experienced employees were better than the newcomers in term of performance. Lastly, for frivolity, the appraiser was not serious in the appraisal and would look for ways to blame others rather than shouldering the responsibility for improving performance. From the case, an employee who performed well was not given a rating of 5 by his supervisor, as his supervisor did not get a 5 for his performance appraisal. It might be due to the supervisor’s self-interest that made him reluctant to give a rating of 5 to his subordinate. These errors of appraisal had caused the performance measures to lose its values and resulted in criterion deficiency and contamination as the appraisers were not doing their appraisal properly. 3) How? Recommendation 1 to address Causal 1: Identify Conceptual Criteria through Employees’ Job Analysis Firstly, the company should use job analysis as the procedure to find the criteria and job performance scope for its employees in order to eliminate criterion deficiency and contamination and increase  criterion relevance. Job analysis would help to identify conceptual criteria such as observable job behaviors and characteristics of the job environment. Based on a relevant set of performance criteria, the management would then be able to measure and reward their employees’ performance effectively and would in turns, accurately reflects the effectiveness of the organization and eliminate cases whereby most of the employees exceeded job expectations when the company was only doing average in performance. Recommendation 2 to address Causal 2: Employee Comparison models (Rank-order method) as the Appraisal Method for Salary Determination Secondly, in order to improve on the way that the company determine the employees’ salary, the management can implement rank-order method as the performance rating for salary determination. In the company’s existing performance appraisal program, the management used forced distribution whereby the vast majority of the employees were given an average ratings and very few employees were given in the high and low ratings. This was reflected in the salary determination for the employees where there were no significant difference in the salary among the employees. It was ineffective to some extent in rewarding the outstanding performers as only a small proportion or percentage of the employees would get high ratings for their performance. Thus, it was recommended for the management to use the rank-order method so as to force the appraiser to p erform detailed analysis on the employees and rank them in order of their performance. Unlike forced distribution, the rank-order method can be motivating for the employees to perform as it objectively identify the worst and outstanding performers without the restriction of the quotas to meet in these two categories. When the salary determination system was paired up with Rank-order Appraisal method, according to the order of employees’ ranking, it can create a distinct gaps in terms of Hay points and Compa-Ratio between poor to average and high performers. Also, the employees in top rankings would get higher ratings in performance appraisal. Based on the salary line formula, rank-order performance rating method would significantly increase the salary gap between average and high performers contributed by the increase in the Hay Points, Compa-Ratio and performance ratings earned by the high performers. Recommendation 3 to address Causal 3: An Ongoing Assessment & Self-Assessment (360 Degrees Feedback) Thirdly, in addition of the  yearly formal performance appraisal, the company can introduce a weekly or monthly ongoing performance assessment and self-assessment to measure its employees’ performance effectively. The ongoing assessment must be objective, job-related and provide appeal process for employees who are not satisfied with the performance rating. With an ongoing assessments put in place, the management would minimize biasness by using and compare a variety of performance evaluations such as 360 degrees feedback that involve multiple appraisers and would also prevent the appraiser to appraise based on their own biasness without any substantial proof on the employees’ performance. The ongoing assessment would promote fairness in performance appraisal. Reference: Case Study 1) Merck & Co., Inc. (A) 2) The 7 Deadly Sins of Performance Measurement and How to Avoid Them

GED Study Guide for Chemistry

The GED, or General Education Development Test, is taken in the U.S. or Canada to demonstrate proficiency in high school-level academic skills. The exam most commonly is taken by people who did not complete high school or receive a high school diploma. Passing the GED grants a General Equivalency Diploma (also called a GED). One section of the GED covers science, including chemistry. The test is multiple choice, drawing on concepts from the following areas: The Structure of MatterThe Chemistry of LifeProperties of MatterChemical Reactions The Structure of Matter All substances consist of  matter.  Matter  is anything which has mass and takes up space. Some important concepts to remember about  matter  are: Matter  is made up of one or more of over 92 naturally-occurring  elements.Each  element  is a pure substance, made up of only one type of  atom.An  atom  consists of three types of particles:  protons,  neutrons, and  electrons. An atom does not need to have all three particles, but will always contain at least protons.Electrons  are  negatively charged  particles,  protons  have a positive charge, and  neutrons  do not have an electrical charge.An atom has an inner core called a  nucleus, which is where the protons and neutrons are located. The electrons orbit around the outside of the nucleus.Two main forces hold atoms together. The  electric force  holds the electrons in orbit around the nucleus. Opposite charges attract, so the electrons are drawn to the protons in the nucleus. The  nuclear force  holds the protons and neutrons together within the nucleus. The Periodic Table The  periodic table  is a chart which organizes the chemical elements. The elements are categorized according to the following attributes: Atomic Number  - number of protons in the nucleusAtomic Mass  - sum of the number of protons plus neutrons in the nucleusGroup  - columns or multiple columns in the periodic table. Elements in a group share similar chemical and physical properties.Period  - rows from left to right in the period table. Elements in a period have the same number of energy shells. Matter can exist in the form of a pure element, but combinations of elements are more common. Molecule  - a molecule is a combination of two or more atoms (could be  from  the same or different elements, such as H2  or H2O)Compound  - a compound is a combination of two or more  chemically-bonded  elements. Generally, compounds are considered to be a subclass of molecules (some people will argue they are determined by the types of chemical bonds). A  chemical formula  is a shorthand way of showing the elements contained in a molecule/compound and their ratio. For example, H2O, the chemical formula for water, shows that two atoms of hydrogen combine with one atom of oxygen to form a molecule of water. Chemical bonds hold atoms together. Ionic Bond  - formed when  an electron transfers  from one atom to anotherCovalent Bond  - formed when two atoms share one or more electrons The Chemistry of Life Life on earth depends on the chemical element  carbon, which is present in every living thing. Carbon is so important, it forms the basis for two branches of chemistry, organic  chemistry  and biochemistry. The GED will expect you to be familiar with the following terms: Hydrocarbons  - molecules that only contain the elements carbon and hydrogen (e.g., CH4  is a hydrocarbon while CO2  is not)Organic  - refers to the chemistry of living things, all of which contain the element carbonOrganic Chemistry  - study of the chemistry of carbon compounds involved in life (so, studying diamond, which is a crystalline form of carbon, isnt included in organic chemistry, but studying how methane is produced is covered by organic chemistry)Organic Molecules  - molecules that have carbon atoms linked together in a straight line (carbon chain) or in a circular ring (carbon ring)Polymer  - hydrocarbons which have chained together Properties of Matter Phases of Matter Each phase of matter has its own chemical and physical properties. The phases of matter you need to know are: Solid  - a solid has a definite shape and volumeLiquid  - a liquid has a definite  volume  but can change shapeGas  - the shape and volume of a gas can change Phase Changes These phases of matter can change from one to another. Remember the definitions of the following phase changes: Melting  - melting occurs when a substance changes from a solid to a liquidBoiling  - boiling is when a substance changes from a liquid to a gasCondensing  - condensation is when  a gas changes  to a liquidFreezing  - freezing is when  a liquid changes  to a solid Physical Chemical Changes The changes that take place in substances may be categorized  in  two classes: Physical Change  - does not produce a new substance (e.g., phase changes, crushing a can)Chemical Change  - produces a new substance (e.g., burning, rusting, photosynthesis) Solutions A solution results from combining two or more substances. Making a solution can produce either a physical or chemical change. You can tell them apart this way: The original substances can be separated from one another if the solution produces only a physical change.The original substances cannot be separated from one another if a chemical change took place. Chemical Reactions A  chemical reaction  is  the process  that occurs when two or more substances combine to produce a chemical change. The important terms to remember are: chemical equation  -  name  was given  to the shorthand used to describe the steps of a chemical reactionreactants  - the starting materials for a chemical reaction; the substances that combine in the reactionproducts  - the substances that are formed as a result of a chemical reactionchemical reaction rate  - the speed at which a chemical reaction occursactivation energy  - the external energy that has to be added in order for a chemical reaction to  occurcatalyst  - a substance that helps a chemical reaction to occur (lowers the activation energy), but does not participate in the reaction itselfLaw of Conservation of Mass  - this Law states that matter is neither created nor destroyed in a chemical reaction. The number of reactant atoms of a chemical reaction will be the same as the number of product atoms.