Leadership †Does Gender Matter Essay

Does gender affect the ability of an individual to become an effective leader? Some researchers believe that effective leaders are just born while others believe that effective leadership can be learned. But few of these researchers discuss the difference that gender may make in becoming good leaders. When we take a look back through history, we can see that the evaluation of women leaders was slow. Today, only 2. 4 percent (Gettings, Johnson, Brunner, & Frantz, 2009) of the Fortune 500 Company’s are lead by women which is an increase from the 1. percent (www. money. cnn. com) of female Chief Executive Officers in 2002. The gender differences in the corporate world posses several issues for the Human Resource Managers such as management style differences, pay equity, promotion fairness, and work-life balance. Women began entering the workforce in the late 1800s. During that time, women were employed in what society considered female specific careers such as teachers, nurses, and seamstresses and women made up a very small portion of the workforce. This all changed with the on-set of World War II. While the men left to fulfill their military obligations, women stepped up to the plate and filled positions in industrial factories across the nation doing jobs typically performed by men. Following World War II, many females continued to work and over the decades have set career aspirations which have led them to the top. As time went on, it became obvious that the gender differences in the work place required Human Resource Management intervention. Historically, the workplace was predominantly masculine when it came to organizational theory. Organizations were structured on centralized authority, specialization and expertise, and division of labor. Aggressive and dominating leadership styles became less popular among organizations. The era of masculine leadership styles then gave way to the newly desired â€Å"feminine way† (Lowen, 2007) of leading. In the late 1900s, organizations became more feminine in nature utilizing concepts such as delegation of authority, collaboration, and empowerment. In addition, interpersonal relations became a focus for organizations and such things as trust, openness and concern for the whole person kicked off the â€Å"feminization of leadership† (Frankel, 2007) and in 1963 the Equal Pay Act was created which mandated equal pay, regardless of gender, for workers performing the same job. This became extremely important as women began to hold top level positions within organizations. Women possess many gender specific qualities and characteristics which enhance their leader effectiveness in today’s â€Å"feminized leadership. According to a study conducted by Caliper, a Princeton based management consulting group, women leaders are more empathic, flexible and possess stronger interpersonal skills. The strong interpersonal skills of women enable them to be objective in taking in information from all sides and then take this information and weighing the concerns and objectives of their people. Empathy and genuine concern make subor dinates feel valued, supported, and understood. In addition, this same study noted that women were able to be more persuasive and assertive in taking risks as compared to their male counter parts. This often leads to women coming up with more innovative solutions to problems, and ultimately, getting things accomplished. Many studies conducted across the country within various businesses have concluded that women executives are rated higher than men in the areas of producing high quality work, setting and achieving goals, and mentoring subordinates (Sharpe, 2000). These studies also found that women were not as concerned with self-interest as men and did not accomplish tasks or achieve goals based on what was in it for them, but instead for the mere enjoyment of their success. It is this type of attitude which inspires companies to employee women in their executive positions. In addition, one of the areas in these studies showed that women excelled at teamwork and motivating teams in getting results. But these studies also included areas where men were stronger such as strategic and technical ability. Men also seemed to be better at giving punishment and were found to issue double the amount of punishments as compared to women. With so many differences in management styles between men and women, it was necessary for Human Resource Managers to design diversity programs which included education on gender differences, as well as, racism, discrimination, etc. Women are slowly making their way into the corporate ranks of Fortune 500 Companies. According to CNN Money, there are currently 13 female Chief Executive Officers in the Fortune 500 and 26 female Chief Executive Officers in the Fortune 1,000. Believe it or not, the number of female Chief Executive Officers has doubled compared to 5 years ago when there were only 6 female Chief Executive Officers in the Fortune 500. But, if women make equally effective leaders as compared to men, then why are there so few employed in top management positions? In Tischler’s article â€Å"Where are the Women? ,† she talks about how women â€Å"scale† back their work in exchange for a balanced personal life (Tischler, 2007). She also discusses the competiveness of men compared to women and how that might contribute to the larger number of men holding top executive level positions. Most often, women simply don’t want to deal with the work-life balance. Top executives put in grueling long days and their lives are controlled by the company’s success or failure. Women have a natural instinct to nurture and often put their family life before their career. When I read Morris’ article, â€Å"Trophy Husbands,† it made me stop and think how husbands could assist in helping their spouse to balance the work-life balance. In Morris’ article, she discusses how husbands have given up their careers to assist their female spouses in reaching the top (Morris, 2002). I think that this is a huge step in elevating women to the top ranks of the corporate world. These husbands stepped down for many reasons, but some stepped down because they knew their wives had the potential and determination to fill these top positions. They were supportive and wanted to assist by elevating any family related stress by ensuring that things on the home front were taken care of. In fact, although the number of female Chief Executive Officers appears to be low, the truth is women are successful leaders. There are over 9 million women-owned businesses in the United States and women hold over 45 percent of the managerial positions within large corporations. Indeed, women can and are successful at leading. Yet there is still a large difference in the pay scale of female and male executives. Is it simply a blatant decisions that these companies make, or is it a simply mistake because these organizations do not have an established pay scale system? Human Resource Managers need to be cognizant of pay differences and promotion bias. According to Stites article, one way to avoid this dilemma is to establish systematic pay systems, ensure equal access to promotions, and document discrepancies with legitimate business reasons (Stites, May 2005). So, does gender matter when considering leadership effectiveness? According to the text, men and women are equally effective at leading, but each gender utilizes different styles in their leadership abilities (Northouse, 2007). It is my position that gender is neutral. Males and females can both possess the skills necessary to be effective leaders and I believe that women can lead companies to success just as well as men. To be an effective leader, one must know how and when to apply the many different styles and characteristics to each unique situation. Both men and women have unique qualities about them, but the ability to learn from the opposite gender will enhance ones leadership abilities. I believe that men and women can combine and adapt their unique styles of leadership to maximize their strengths and minimize their weaknesses within the workplace. Regardless of gender, developing a leadership style is a difficult and challenging feat for all managers. In researching the many definitions of leadership, I have determined that leaders are defined as those who inspire workers and develop their skills and creativity to achieve goals. Of the many definitions I read, not one referred to male or female gender when defining a leader. Male or female gender shouldn’t matter when it comes to determining an individual’s ability to lead. The Human Resource Manager must ensure that they are concerned and aware of the gender differences and difficulties which must be dealt with in the business world. Indeed, gender does matter, especially since women have become a large percentage of the work force and are now moving up the corporate ladder into top level positions. Gender differences create many issues that Human Resource Managers must be able to prevent, mitigate, and/or resolve. Today’s Human Resource Management education programs have increased the ability of individuals to fill these vital management positions. In order for Human Resource Managers to accomplish this task, they must be aware of gender specific management styles, pay equity, promotion fairness, and work-life balance.

Small Business Management and Entrepreneurship Slide

What type of person becomes this type of risk taker? I have always been more on the cautious side, preferring to stand back, observe, listen and analyze a situation. I’ve always admired people who are not like me, people who are more daring, or willing to throw caution to the wind. An entrepreneur tends to bite off a little more than he can chew hoping he’ll quickly learn how to chew it. What challenges did he or she face and overcome? In 1982, Mark Cuban moved to  Dallas, Texas Cuban first found work as a bartender,  then as a salesperson for Your Business Software, one of the first PC software retailers in Dallas.He was terminated less than a year later, after meeting with a client to procure new business instead of opening the store What failures did this person have? Got a job working for a carpenter laying carpet and quickly learned he was absolutely horrible at it How many companies have he or she started? Started AudioNet in 1995, The Company, despite its ear ly critics, proved to be a smash success. Renamed Broadcast. com, the firm went public in 1998 and soon saw its stock reach $200 a share.A year later, Wagner and Cuban sold out to Yahoo! for nearly $6 billion Purchasing an NBA Team In 2000, Mark Cuban introduced himself to the NBA community when he purchased the Dallas Mavericks for $285 million from  Ross Perot Jr. How successful is he or she? At the age of 32, Cuban was a millionaire who could afford to live in the big houses that he used to drive by as a down-on-his-luck bartender. More importantly, he was living the life of his dreams. Why is this person successful?Business Management Study GuideCuban has built his fortune by building successful companies and then selling them when the time is right. Why did he or she become an entrepreneur? Daydreamed motivation, he didn't lie to himself and talk about his passions and how if I was passionate enough about something he could be successful at it. He was lucky. He grew up knowin g that hard work and smart work has a greater impact on results than being passionate about something. What is this person's measure of success? In sports, the only thing a player can truly control is effort.The same applies to business. What did you learn about entrepreneurship from this interview? With Mark Cuban is a person who never stops working he is a person with optimism a fighter the hard things makes it is easy. All we want to be like him with open ideology. What ever he touched turns gold Reference, http://www. glessnersgig. com/2012/10/mark-cuban-massive-success-and-how-you-can-have-it-too. html http://www. incomediary. com/10-winning-lessons-from-maverick-entrepreneur-mark-cuban http://www. biography. com/people/mark-cuban-562656

International Politics- political science 7 Essay

International Politics- political science 7 - Essay Example As more states continue to subscribe to democratic tendencies, I think a general decline in the incidence of war should be expected. There will be more peaceful relations and fewer problems that instigate conditions that culminate into war. If more states could adopt democratic principles, there will certainly be more peace and fewer issues at a global level. Personally, I find Mr. Bushs argument to be not only convincing, but also slightly inexperienced. I completely concur that having more democracies in the world lowers the probability of war, as has been proven throughout history. Nearly every major war so far has been instigated by parties that are administered using conflicting governments and ideas. Of all these countries, hardly any of them have ever been between two democracies. Nonetheless, I do not think that at any point in the near future will there be a shift within the developed countries governments towards democracy. For example, North Korea adopted a governance structure that completely opposes the West in as far as democracy is concerned. If North Korea would somehow adopt a democratic approach, it would serve to alter the power positions that both countries hold. However, these and other factors stand in the gap of adopting democracy at a global level (Leffler, Melvyn, and Jeffrey

Basic Concepts Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Basic Concepts - Coursework Example For example, when â€Å"what you did† was done, it meant letting go of his girl, so he has to think twice if he cheats (â€Å"what you did†) because it would entail his girl leaving him. Beyonce Knowles Single Ladies also explains the basic transaction of exchange in economics. That if you want something, a good or service or in this case, the girl, you should pay or put a ring on it. This is present in the lyrics â€Å"Cause if you liked it, then you should have put a ring on it/ If you liked it, then you shoulda put a ring on it†. Johnny Cash’s I Walk the Line is a little complex because it explains the concepts of inelastic demand. That is, the demand remains constant regardless of price. In the lyrics, it present in these lines that reads â€Å"Youve got a way to keep me on your side/ You give me cause for love that I cant hide†. In this music, the other person which the music pertains to gives the singer â€Å"to keep me on your side†. The me is the â€Å"service† in this lyrics of which the other person is willing to pay or give at any price just to keep â€Å"me on your

US History--The US Constitution finely crafted blueprint or unwieldy Essay

US History--The US Constitution finely crafted blueprint or unwieldy compromise - Essay Example The Congress is the legislative branch, the President heads the executive and the judiciary comprises the judicial branch. The US Constitution implements the separation of powers; thereby preventing concentration of power in any particular branch of government. These three branches depend upon each other, for their functioning; and prevent any particular branch from becoming more powerful than the others (U.S.COURTS n.d.). George Washington organized a convention in Philadelphia, in order to draft the Constitution. However, disagreements between the members resulted in a stalemate. At that juncture, Roger Sherman proposed the Great Compromise, whereby, Congress was to comprise of two houses, namely the Senate and the House of Representatives. There was to be equal representation in the Senate for all the states, with two Senators from each state; and the state legislature was to select their representatives. This proposal was accepted by all the states; and representation in the House of Representatives was to be decided on the basis of the population in each state. It was proposed that there would be a representative for every thirty thousand individuals, which was favorable for the states with a large population. This Constitutional Convention was ratified by the delegates in July 1787 (The Great Compromise n.d.). While some of the delegates opposed slavery, others were greatly in its favor. This resulted in a compromise, and such compromises promoted experimentation in self government, which exists even today (Rediscovering George Washington. The Constitution and the Idea of Compromise 2002). However, most of the thirteen larger states were desirous of retaining their power, including their power to impose taxes to raise state funds. Moreover, there was no national conscience among the people at that time, who favored their own states and ignored the nation as a whole. This absence of national spirit

Hamlets inexplicable fascination with death Essay

Hamlets inexplicable fascination with death - Essay Example An in-depth analysis of Hamlet’s character speaks of the fact that pathological obsession with death is one of many complex patterns of Hamlet’s psyche. This pattern will be scrutinized at-length in the following discussion to prove this argument that Hamlet’s relationship with and his attitudes towards death throughout the play an important role in destroying his reputation as a person of high social standing. If Hamlet’ action is explored in relation to death, many important aspects of the play get unraveled. This subject is very intense and open to multiple interpretations on a perceptual level due to which it is selected for this essay to be analyzed. It is worth-mentioning here that one of the most conspicuous themes of this Shakespearean tragedy is death which is evident in the way this theme interestingly influences the leading male character, the prince of Denmark. His relationship with death since the beginning of the play is very out of the ordin ary and exceptionally odd. As the story progresses, this relationship starts bordering on insanity which is why critics describe the way Hamlet reacts to death a rare experience which people do not get to witness commonly in the real world. It is claimed that â€Å"the most extraordinary of Hamlet’s universal aspects is his relationship to death† (Bloom 6). He is described as extraordinary not only because right after the news of his father’s death reaches him, he becomes filled with emotions of rage and revenge. Rather, the aspect of his personality which compels one to raise one’s eyebrows and question the equanimity of this hero is the way he becomes hopelessly interested in death on many other levels. He becomes passionate about ghosts too and develops an urge to know what happens after a person dies, how the bodies decay once buried etc. Despite being a person of high social standing and required to stay levelheaded to be an example to his people, he instead he becomes literally obsessed with the idea of death. This obsession is born first when the death of his beloved father is revealed to him by his friend Horatio. Before killing Claudius, Hamlet attempts to familiarize himself with ghosts, which speaks of his fascination for the subject of death. Instead of developing interest in other tasks to be identified as a good leader, he instead sets on finding about the reality of ghosts to know if they really live in the world after death of a person or not. He contemplates the idea of death from many perspectives which demonstrates the gradual and worrisome development of a pathological behavior which turns out to have enormous repercussions as the story unfolds. Hamlet ponders about death from a spiritual perspective when he becomes captivated by the idea of ghosts and explores it. Instead of acknowledging the concerned advances of other people who are true to him like Gertrude, he perceives them as potential antagonists preferri ng instead to look on to death as a definite solution to all his emotional and psychological problems. Little does he know that death is not the solution, but actually the driver of his gradual psychological downfall. When interpreting the enthralling idea of death on multiple levels, he is singularly most

Week 10 Question 2 Part 2 Looking Ahead Assignment

Week 10 Question 2 Part 2 Looking Ahead - Assignment Example If debt financing cannot be avoided, the government needs to ensure that the economy can be able to support the repayment of the debt. This knowledge will help me give wise and informed advice on any investment decision taken. The knowledge acquired in this course on budgeting also proves to be viable in my position. I plan to apply the skills from this topic in ensuring that the decision on expenditure helps my office meet its targets. The government normally allocates a certain amount of funds to its branches in a financial year. This course has helped me to appreciate how crucial it is to have budgets in order to ensure that all targets are met. Budgets work by apportioning money according to projects or activities, and the periods under which they need to be completed. This helps in avoiding overspending and also helps in finishing projects in time (Pratt, 2002). An individual who has no financial background could use what is learned in finance in making better decisions. For example, looking at risks and the assessment of risks, this individual can be able to determine how risky it is to invest in a company by looking at the general view of the company (Chong, 2004). This may by looking at cases of corporate mismanagement in the company that indicate high risk. This individual can also be able to know the performance of a company by looking at the performance of the company or by relying on investors’ reactions. For example, a company that is not performing well will have reports that show poor performance. Investors will also react by shying away from investing in the

Maximizing Assessment Practice through Domains, Technology, and Assignment

Maximizing Assessment Practice through Domains, Technology, and Partnerships - Assignment Example From this paper it is clear that the domain also includes the non-verbal communication skills. The language skills developed by children help them express themselves as well as understand other people as they interact with them. In the assessment of the social skills of a learner, the teacher studies how the children view themselves in relation to others. In this assessment, the teacher studies how the child relates to their peers and adults in their environment. This may involve how well they form friendships, behave and fair on as part of a team, the development of their individuality and how they act in response to the feelings of other people. This study discusses that the way children relate to others is a reflection of how they view themselves. As children develop a healthy self-esteem, they develop meaningful social relationships with others. As a teacher, it is necessary to determine how well a learner can do things for themselves. It breeds a form of independence that is nec essary for the development of a child. This involves testing some basic skills such as using the toilet, eating, how well the child can clean themselves among others. Children learn some level of independence if they are left to do some basic things by themselves. This independence is important for the children as they grow towards adulthood. This is a domain of learning that is related to how well a child can coordinate their body parts to do something meaningful. This involves crawling, walking and running.

Military Accountability Essay Example for Free

Military Accountability Essay Purpose: to provide a refresher on property accountability and an awareness of Army physical security. Agenda Government Property Accountability Equipment Sensitive Items Weapons Physical Security Government Property OCIE Your personal equipment Unit/Section Equipment Tentage, Radios, Vehicles, Anything Green Vehicle BII Driver or TC responsible for Accountability Clothing Record (DA 3845 and Electronic) Used for OCIE Hand Receipt (DA 2062) Used for equipment Sensitive Items Cannot be lost Report immediately to the chain of command if missing Comsec equipment Weapons Certain Technology SINCGARS NBC Alarms, NVG’s Weapons Individuals issued arms are responsible for their security at all times. Each issued weapon will be carried on the person at all times. Weapons will not be entrusted to the custody of another person. Pistols will be secured with a lanyard. AR 190-11 Responsibility You are responsible for all US Army equipment you sign for. You can be charged for missing or damaged equipment. If you lose it, report it! A field loss can be investigated if reported immediately. You buy it on the showdown. Physical Security (Defined) That part of security concerned with physical measures designed to safeguard personnel, to prevent unauthorized access to equipment, installations, material and documents, and to safeguard them against espionage, sabotage, damage, and theft. AR 190-16 What Does That Mean? Physical security is meant to counter the threat during peace and war. Threat can range from enemy forces to terrorists to civilian criminals or saboteurs. How to Practice Physical Security Limit Access Secure Equipment Guards Locks Physical Barriers Fences Buildings Access Military Installations (Armories) will have access control. Installation Specific Varies based on Threat. Conclusion Secure equipment! Remember – You signed for it, you own it.

The Tempest - William Shakespeare Essay Example for Free

The Tempest William Shakespeare Essay Although William Shakespeare’s The Tempest is often categorized as his late romance, its plots reflect the major social movement of that time—the Europeans settling in the New World. As the Europeans eagerly set out to find the New World, they left behind hopeful citizens pondering over what they would find. In The Tempest, through the characters, we can infer that the Europeans’ intentions ranged from creating the perfect government to interacting with the inhabitants. They discovered that their idea of the perfect government in which everyone is equal failed to exist. Nonetheless, they were correct in their anticipation that the New World would already be settled—by savage ‘Native Americans’. They eventually integrated the Native Americans into their society as slaves. In their journey to the New World, the Europeans failed to establish an ideal government, yet succeeded in incorporating the natives into their own society. One of the Europeans’ expectations of the New World was a perfect government in which everyone would be equal. In The Tempest, Shakespeare’s character Gonzalo describes it as a government where there would be â€Å"no occupation; all men idle, all;/And women too, but innocent and pure;/No sovereignty. † (II. 1, ll. 154-156) Even as his comrades ridiculed him, he is steadfast in his belief, and simply labels them as â€Å"gentlemen of brave mettle. † (II. 1, l. 181). This would seem like the ideal government, and would work in theory. In European society in the early seventeenth century, much emphasis was placed on class. The lower class faced many restrictions, and many citizens were infuriated with the class system. To the lower class, the hope of a perfect government in which everyone was equal was ideal. Another one of their hopes was that the natives, although barbaric, would be of great use to them when they first settled. They hoped to incorporate the Native Americans into their own society. In The Tempest, Caliban, the original native of the island, originally greeted Prospero with respect: â€Å"When thou cam’st first,/Thou strok’st me and made much of me†¦then I loved thee/And showed thee all the qualities o’ th’ isle,/The fresh springs, brine pits, barren place and fertile. (I. 2, ll. 333-338) When Prospero first came to the island, Caliban went through the trouble of finding him the best food and water sources. Because of Caliban’s kindness, this shows that the Europeans believed that the Native Americans would be easy to manipulate, and thus, easy to control. They hoped to be in command of the Native Americans so that the task of controlling North America would be easier. To gradually incorporate the natives into their own society as slaves was one of the hopes of the Europeans. However, their hopes and predetermined ideas were found to be inaccurate. The reality was that the utopian government that the Europeans dreamed about did not exist. In fact, Gonzalo’s government was impractical. There would always be conflict, and if everyone was equal, they would feel equally poor. This would call for a sovereign, which would defeat the purpose of everyone being equal. Hierarchy will always exist simply because it is human nature to strive for the best. For example, in The New World, this was reflected in the colony of Jamestown. There was always a captain in charge. A chain of order was important in order to prevent chaos in times of distress. Conversely, one of their expectations became a reality. They believed that the natives would be savages. The Europeans looked down upon the Native Americans because they appeared in many ways to be subhuman. This was due to non-Christianity, a primitive dress style, and a sense of filth: â€Å"Their hair is usually black, but few have any beards. The men wear half their heads shaven, the other half long†¦some are of disposition fearful, some bold, most wary. All Savage†¦For their apparel, they are some time covered with the skins of wild [beasts]†¦There is yet in Virginia no place discovered to be so Savage in which Savages have not a religion†¦Ã¢â‚¬  The Europeans viewed the Native Americans as inferior beings. At first, the Native Americans were inclined to incorporate the Europeans as an intermediary: â€Å"Americans sought to incorporate the newcomers into their universe. (Kupperman 175) They also concluded that the Europeans would be of great use to trade with. As time progressed, both the Native Americans and the Europeans strived to merge the other into their own hierarchy. (Kupperman 174) However, this attempt at incorporating the other soon proved to be futile. In The Tempest, Caliban is always plotting to overthrow Prospero (conversation with Trinculo and Stephano). This is paralleled in the Europeans’ constant, underlying worry that the natives would revolt against them: â€Å"Both the Roanoke and Jamestown olonists reported that conspiracies against them were planned. † (Kupperman 175) The Native Americans knew their territory, and gradually developed tactics to fend off attackers. The Native Americans were highly skilled warriors, yet lacked the technology that the Europeans had. (Barbour) In addition, the Europeans had resistance to disease that overwhelmed the Native Americans. Eventually, the Europeans managed to seize power in their settlements, and incorporated the Native Americans into their civilization as slaves. Although the Europeans failed to establish a utopian government, their efforts to merge the Native Americans into their society were successful. Their ideal failed to exist simply because of human nature. Nonetheless, they integrated the Native Americans into their society as slaves. Albeit unconventional, the expectations of the Europeans were portrayed to some degree. Through The Tempest, the Europeans’ hope of establishing an model government did not become a reality, yet they managed to incorporate the natives.

Customer Satisfaction Towards Hotel Service Quality Tourism Essay

Customer Satisfaction Towards Hotel Service Quality Tourism Essay The trend of the world markets has been changed from agricultural more into service markets (Asian Development Outlook, 2007). There are more and most of the service businesses are trying their best to improve their service quality in order to make their customers satisfied and fulfill with their services provide, especially the hotel industry. Hotel operators are now focus more on the quality standards in order to meet the basic needs and expectations of the customers. Once customers requirements are clearly identified and understood, hotel operators are more likely to anticipate and fulfill their customers needs and wants (Juwaheer Ross, 2003). Hospitality and Tourism sector is the biggest sector that contributes a lot of income to the world economy. The tourism sector and related services in particular have been keen to explore different ways of managing front-line staff specifically, because of their significance to the service encounter and impact on customer satisfaction (Conrad Lashley, 2009). The hospitality and tourism sector is often described as a people industry (Wood, 1992). Customer expectations and moods will form a vital basis for judging the success or failure of the service encounter (Bitner, Booms and Tetreault, 1990). As Choi Chu (2001) the more satisfied the customers, the more likely they will return or either extends their hotel stay. Service quality has been recognized as a key factor in differentiating service products. Customer satisfaction can be secured through high-quality products and services (Getty Getty, 2003; Gupta Chen, 1995; Tsang Qu, 2000). Edvardsson (1996) highlighted that the concept of service should be approached from the customers point of view, since it was his/her perception of the outcome that constituted the service. Customers may have different values and different grounds for assessment and, most of the time; they may perceive the same service in different ways. The concept of service quality has been the subject of many research studies in variety of service industries; even the research attention towards hospitality industry has been growing. However, these research studies were mostly focused on Australia, Korea, the United States (US), and Europe (Atilgan, Akinci, Aksoy, 2003; Davidson, 2003; Gabbie ONeill, 1996; Min Min, 1997; Wong, Dean, White, 1999; Worsfold, 1999). Only a minimal number of research studies related to service quality in the hospitality industry in the Malaysian context can be found throughout the review of literature. Furthermore, todays tourism business environment and the multicultural diversity of international tourists points to the importance of developing a better understanding of the culturally different tourist (Reisinger Turner, 1999). Previous studies reported that people from different cultures have different preferences, expectations and so travel consumption patterns (Wong Kwong, 2003). Cultural differences in value orientations and social behaviour have direct impacts on tourist holiday experiences. The hosts ability to respond effectively to a culturally different tourist was an important element determining positive tourist holiday experiences and satisfaction (Reisinger Turner, 1999). As mentioned by Camison (1996), poorness or non-existence of customer satisfaction measuring systems could cause the hotel companies to be lacking in market orientation. Attributes of the service and product that add value for the customer and increase his or her satisfaction might be unknown and that gives no guide to the hotel operators for improvement projects. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to assess the expectations and the perceptions of service quality dimensions towards the hospitality industry in Malaysia from the hotel guests perspective by applying a modified version of the SERVQUAL model (Parasuraman, Zeithaml, Berry, 1988). In the hotel industry, most researchers are interested in maximizing customer satisfaction; satisfied customers tend to return and make the profit to hotel. Hernon Whitwan (2001) defined customer satisfaction as a measure of how the customer perceives service delivery. Liu (2000) stated, for example, that customer satisfaction is a function of service performance relative to the customer expectation. For this reason, it is important to understand how customer expectation is formed in order to identify the factors of service satisfaction. As Reisig Chandek (2001) discussed the fact that different customers have different expectations, based on their knowledge of a product or service. This can be implied that a customer may estimate what the service performance will be or may think what the performance ought to be. If the service performance meets or exceeds customers expectation, the customers will be satisfied. On the other hand, customers are more likely to be dissatisfied if the service performance is less than what they have expected. As mentioned earlier, a greater number of satisfied customers will make the hotel business more successful and more profitable. 1.2 Problem Statement Tourism is a fast growing industry in Malaysia, and there are different types of hotels serving guests and tourists. Many studies have been conducted in tourism organization related fields, but a few studies have been conducted in hotel service quality. Despite the importance and richness of the topic, few efforts have been made to investigate customers responses to service failure and service revitalization and the impacts of those important variables on service organizations. This study is focusing on service failure and their revitalization based on the assumption that there is no single service system that is hundred percent perfect. Furthermore, it is impossible for an organization to provide a superlative and most excellent service and at the same time evade service failures.The fact is service delivery is performed by humans and can always carry errors and some weaknesses. Service recovery which follows service failures provides possibilities for customers to evaluate the overall performance of a firms recovery efforts. Excellent service recovery is a critical issue in todays service businesses. According to Fornell and Wernerfelt (1987), defensive marketing strategies such as customer retention through excellent service recovery will be an effective means to triumph in todays competitive market mainly because attracting new customers is getting difficult and more expensive than retaining existing customers. Rakstis (1992) argues its costs the average business $118.15 to attract a new customer, whereas the figure is only $19.96 to keep a current customer happy. Therefore, excellent service recovery is required to improve customer retention by the effective handling of the service failure situations (Berry Parasuraman,1992). 1.4 Research Objectives The purpose of this study was to analyses factors that to examine and to compare the relation of importance by the hotel guests in terms of their expectations and perceptions towards to the service quality of the hotels in Malaysia and it will be group according to the hotel guests geographical regions. To judge whether demographic and work life influenced scores on the employee engagement scale, these two variables were be examined. Next, the exploratory research questions and hypotheses were built. After that, the literature review and the completion of a pilot experiment will be discussed. As will be expound later in Chapter Two, work life variables are thought to influence the level of employee engagement. Yet, there are not much of real lives experiences studies on employee engagement and the literature never specify which variables contain the strongest influences. There is no specified studies have examined employees specifically in the hospitality industry such as hotel, reso rt, or restaurant. Consequently, variables for this study were decided to be used as reviewing the limited data that are available about employee engagement. Following, the factors related to employee burnout will be discussed. The assumption of this study is that if a cause generates burnout, this cause may have a contrary connection to employee engagement. The factors that were probed for this study include company location, employees year of working in the company, gender, and whether the employees job task consists of controlling other employee or not. * to examine and to compare the levels of customer satisfaction towards their hotel stay in Malaysia according to the hotel guests countries of residence (grouped according to geographical regions). 1.5 Research Questions The research questions regarded as the most important for this study were stated at the following four: 1. What is the requirement on customer towards the service quality of the hotel? 2. What is the level of customers expectation and perception towards service quality of the hotel? 3. What is the discrepancy gap between customers expectation and perception towards service quality of the hotel? 4. How hotel can improve their service to fulfill customer needs and wants? 1.6 Hypothesis Statement This study tested four hypotheses that stated at below: 1. Engagement scores of respondents who works in urban area company locations will report higher than respondents who works in rural areas company locations. 2. Respondents who work longer years in the company will report lower engagement scores. 3. Female respondents will report lower levels of engagement than male respondents. 4. Respondents who work without supervisory job tasks will report lower engagement scores. Variables The Dependent variable in this study was the employees total score on the eight item employee management scale at the questionnaire survey. The Independent variables were the location of the employees company, the employees number of working year in the company, the employees gender, and supervisory job tasks. The type of cutoff by me was set to .03. 1.7 Theoretical and Conceptual Framework W. D. Kahn (1990) is credited with conceptualising the major components of employee engagement. According to him, employee engagement is different with employee involve him or herself into the job. Employee engagement not focuses on employees skills, but focuses on how the employee commits him or herself when performing the job. Engagement requires the active use of emotions as well as the simple use of cognition while performing job tasks (May, Gilson, Harter, 2004). The main propositions of his concept are that people express themselves cognitively, physically, and emotionally while performing their work roles. The idea suggests that, to make individuals fully engage with their job, three psychological conditions must be required in the working environment: meaningfulness (employees feel that the job tasks performed by them are worthwhile), safety (employees feel able to show and employ themselves without worry that they will make negative consequences to self-image, status, or career), and availability (at any given moment, employee believes that he or she has the physical, emotional or cognitive resources to engage him or herself in his or her job tasks) (Kahn, 1990). Another main proposition of the concept of employee engagement is that these three important psychological conditions are, to certain extent, within the control of company management. Coffman Gonzalez-Molina (2004) mentioned that employee engagement is also something that is changeable, and can be totally different from one workplace to another. Researches show that employees are, to some degree, a reflection of the managerial staffs of a company. The companys leadership, from top to bottom, can be evaluated by the engagement score (Townsend Gebhardt, 2007). Therefore, the results of employee engagement studies should be considered as applicable in the hospitality industry. One of the examples is, the managers in hospitality industrys companies could analyse data from engagement studies to set up and utilise strategies that would enhance employee engagement, in the same time reduce the risk of burnout and maximise benefits for the company as well as for the guests they serve. 1.8 Significance of the Study Through out the study, it will be given a practical guideline for the hotel management and hotel staff too. The outcome of the study will help hotel employee to develop and gaining knowledge and understanding in order to meet with the customer and customer needs and satisfaction. There will be two results show in the research, is either positive or negative result. If the result show in a positives way, the hotel owner and management with the employee would be happy what they have provided and they are in a correct way to do that. In contrast, if the result shows in negative way, it was challenge for the hotel owner, management and employee to understand what have they did wrong, they have to ready to learn and to capture and to study the customer needs and satisfaction, and it a good way to help themselves to improve their service. Hotel management should conduct and arrange some training program and also find out the mistake they have been make for all departments. The outcome of the study will provide a lot of useful information to the hotel owner, management and employee about to justify and understanding on customer satisfaction and service quality for the hotel and hospitality industry. The survey feedback may give a clear idea to the hotel the current understanding on their service towards their customer and it could be generate and carry out some of the new strategies to the hotel to fulfill customer needs and wants and also a benefit for the customer to let the hospitality industry know the requirement of them. The hospitality industry, hotel owner, hotel management and employee can understand how important the customer satisfaction and service quality. They can always refer to the survey feedback from the participants and measure on it. They could get a clear outcome and analyses on customer satisfaction and service quality; they can fully utilize and practice the changed strategies that would actually suit the hotel as well as the customer requirement. As time goes on, the overall effectiveness of the company will be increased widely, and in the same time, they will can get a positive result show on their feedback from their customer in term of repeated stay or extend their stay in the hotel and will make the hotel business more successful and more profitable. 1.9 Scopes and Limitations This research proposal consists of three chapters. The first chapter presents the introduction and background of the study, need for the study, problem statements, research objectives, research questions, hypothesis statement, theoretical and conceptual framework, significance of study, and limitations. The second chapter presents the literature reviews on evidence on burnout, previous researches of employee engagement, factors of employee burnout and employee engagement, as well as the summary of the literature reviews. There are few limitations in this study. Biases may be happen when respondents answering the survey questionnaire (Spiker, 2009). Not only that, the perceptions of the respondents who participate in this survey are specific to the rejuvenation sphere and may not alike with the ideas of employee working in other field of studies; so, caution is urged regarding validity outside. In addition, there is evidence showing that the survey questionnaires are less likely to be answered fully and honestly. This might be due to that the survey was conducted face-to-face, which leads to the loss of anonymity. In addition, most of the surveys are conducted at respondents workplaces and they might worry that their superiors misunderstood that they will provide private and confidential information to outsiders (Doyle, 2005). Office of the Auditor General of Canada (2007) also mentioned that another limitation of face-to face survey is costly due to the amount of time required to conduct surveys and to the cost of travel. 1.10 Definition of Terms For better understanding on this study, the following words and phrases are defined as follows: Customer expectation means uncontrollable factors including past experience, personal needs, word of mouth, and external communication about hotel service Customer perception means customers feelings of pleasure / displeasure or the reaction of the customers in relation to the performance of the hotel staff in satisfying / dissatisfying the services Service means relative intangibility, most important, service in the extreme are deeds, processes, and performaces (Ziethaml Bitner 2000) Service quality means the difference between the customers expectation of service and their perceived service. CHAPTER TWO LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 INTRODUCTION In order to enhance clarity, this chapter begins by explaining the meaning of OCB and the dimensionality of OCB. Next, antecedents and consequences of OCB are discussed. As the focus of this study is the relationship between OCB and job performance, the discussions on this relationship is presented in greater detail followed by the mediating effect of work environment.

What would Maurits Cornelis Escher’s Regular Division of the Plane with

Research Question: What would Maurits Cornelis Escher’s Regular Division of the Plane with Birds look like on the torus? Maurits Cornelis Escher was born in Leeuwarden, Holland in 1898. He showed an interest in design and drawing, and this led him to a career in graphic art. His work was not given much recognition until 1956 when he had his first important exhibition which led him to worldwide fame. He was inspired by the math he read about and his work related to those mathematical principles. This is interesting because he only had formal mathematical training through secondary school. He worked with non-Euclidean geometry and â€Å"impossible† figures. His work covered two main areas: geometry of space and logic of space. They included tessellations, polyhedras, and images relating to the shape of space, the logic of space, science, and artificial intelligence (Smith, B. Sidney). Although Escher worked with a wide variety of art, the main focus of this paper will be tessellations. This brings me to my research question: how does Maurits Cornelis Escher’s Regular Division of the Plane w ith Birds relate to the tiling view of the torus? Tessellations and the torus are related to mathematics in the areas of geometry, topology, and the geometry of space. â€Å"A regular tiling of polygons (in two dimensions), polyhedras (three dimensions), or polytopes (n dimensions) is called a tessellation.† (Weisstein, Eric W.). Tessellations, or regular divisions of the plane, cover the entire plane without leaving any gaps or overlapping (http://www.mathacademy.com/pr/minitext/escher/). The word â€Å"tessellate† comes from the Greek word â€Å"tesseres† which means four in English. This relates to tessellations 2 because the first ones were made of square ... ...oks, Inc., 1999. Index of /internet-cd/Test/Escher. 22 October, 1997. 28 July. 2005. . Locher, J.L. M.C. Escher. New York: Harry N Abrams, 1992. M. C. Escher print: Study of the Regular Division of the Plane with Horsemen. Skaalid, Bonnie. Web Design for Instruction. 28 July. 2005. . Softimage-3D Importer - Example Renderings. Okino Computer Graphics. 28 July. 2005. . Tessellation. Weisstein, Eric W. Wolfram Research, Inc. 28 July. 2005. . The Mathematical Art of M.C. Escher. Smith, B. Sidney. Math Academy Online. 20 July. 2005. . The Oldest Escher Collection on the Web. Cordon Art. 28 July. 2005. . What would Maurits Cornelis Escher’s Regular Division of the Plane with Research Question: What would Maurits Cornelis Escher’s Regular Division of the Plane with Birds look like on the torus? Maurits Cornelis Escher was born in Leeuwarden, Holland in 1898. He showed an interest in design and drawing, and this led him to a career in graphic art. His work was not given much recognition until 1956 when he had his first important exhibition which led him to worldwide fame. He was inspired by the math he read about and his work related to those mathematical principles. This is interesting because he only had formal mathematical training through secondary school. He worked with non-Euclidean geometry and â€Å"impossible† figures. His work covered two main areas: geometry of space and logic of space. They included tessellations, polyhedras, and images relating to the shape of space, the logic of space, science, and artificial intelligence (Smith, B. Sidney). Although Escher worked with a wide variety of art, the main focus of this paper will be tessellations. This brings me to my research question: how does Maurits Cornelis Escher’s Regular Division of the Plane w ith Birds relate to the tiling view of the torus? Tessellations and the torus are related to mathematics in the areas of geometry, topology, and the geometry of space. â€Å"A regular tiling of polygons (in two dimensions), polyhedras (three dimensions), or polytopes (n dimensions) is called a tessellation.† (Weisstein, Eric W.). Tessellations, or regular divisions of the plane, cover the entire plane without leaving any gaps or overlapping (http://www.mathacademy.com/pr/minitext/escher/). The word â€Å"tessellate† comes from the Greek word â€Å"tesseres† which means four in English. This relates to tessellations 2 because the first ones were made of square ... ...oks, Inc., 1999. Index of /internet-cd/Test/Escher. 22 October, 1997. 28 July. 2005. . Locher, J.L. M.C. Escher. New York: Harry N Abrams, 1992. M. C. Escher print: Study of the Regular Division of the Plane with Horsemen. Skaalid, Bonnie. Web Design for Instruction. 28 July. 2005. . Softimage-3D Importer - Example Renderings. Okino Computer Graphics. 28 July. 2005. . Tessellation. Weisstein, Eric W. Wolfram Research, Inc. 28 July. 2005. . The Mathematical Art of M.C. Escher. Smith, B. Sidney. Math Academy Online. 20 July. 2005. . The Oldest Escher Collection on the Web. Cordon Art. 28 July. 2005. .

Danielle Steel’s The Ring - A Blend of Fiction and History Essay

Danielle Steel’s The Ring - A Blend of Fiction and History Can a plot, setting, and characters in a fictitious story be derived from actual historical events and can the two blend together? The unique writing style of Danielle Steel merges true historical events with fiction in a manner that leaves the reader emotionally touched. In her story, The Ring, Steel does not show a partition between fictitious characters and factual historical events. In fact, the two are intertwined so well that the reader can imagine the fictitious characters as real characters during a horrific period of our history, World War II. In fact, historical setting has a very significant impact on this work of fiction. Without the historical setting this story could not take place. The Ring by Danielle Steel follows a chronological order of the emergence of World War II in Germany, bringing along with it economic turmoil, political disorders, and the general insecurity and fear. This particular story is a direct result of history, which Danielle Steel blends very well with fiction. Though the characters are fictitious, they fit perfectly into the historical setting. For instance, Ariana, the protagonist in The Ring, has witnessed firsthand the human-made death and destruction of World War II, just as many victims had seen during the actual war. Even when she goes with her husband, Manfred, to the Opera house, she is reminded that the war is still occurring in Germany. â€Å"Even on Christmas night the war was with them†¦ and in the distance they could hear the bombs†(Steel 164). Ariana has also se en the atrocities as a result of the emergence of the war. For instance, when she is looking for her husband, she comes upon â€Å"a stack o... ...can see past their origins and cherish their country of birth, America. Finally, Danielle Steel has successfully captured the interlaced merger of historical events with fiction. The two flow so naturally in The Ring that it is as if the fictitious characters were real characters in real historical situations. So, the blending of history and fiction comes very much alive in this story, revealing Steel’s creativity that has placed her above most internationally renowned novelists. Works Cited The Ring. By Danielle Steel. Dir. Armand Mastrianni, Perf. Michael York, Jon Tenney, Tim Dekay, James B. Sikking, and Julie Cox. Lifetime Special Presentation, May 27, 2002. Class Film. NJIT. LIT 350-121. Summer Semester, 2002. Steel, Danielle. The Ring. New York: Delacorte Press, 1980.

Summary of Autobiography of a Yogi

India, an ancient civilization is well known to be the cradle of a rich and perpetual heritage. The pristine land has always throbbed with the vibrancy of the originality, creativity and self motivated activities of its illumined souls. Their deep, original and sublime thoughts have presented to the world, distinctive gifts of knowledge, be it be in language, values, religion, philosophy, art, business, mathematics, astrology, medicine, surgery much more and beyond; a unique universal heritage, and an eternal formulae to a calm way of life.The masters have successfully sought to give answers to all the queries that are bound to pop up in the mind of every human being at some point of time in their life on earth. They have unraveled the ultimate mysteries that surround life, death and afterlife. The peerless Vedas, the Vedanta i. e. the Upanishads and the Puranas are a treasure trove of great learning and unveiled deep secrets. They have provided Godly guidance to human life at every moment in time and space ever since they were first recorded, centuries ago.These texts contain the essential summaries that form the doctrinal basis of Hindu religion. In the league of such a legacy, modern India continues to produce spiritual masters as was done so in every era. Their role on earth is to guide the not so enlightened souls who often loose their way in the mayhems of the day to day worldly activities. The spiritual vitality offered by their worshipful presence and golden words; the ever true messages expounded by illumined ‘Bhaagwat Gita', has eternally held the power to rejuvenate India century after century.One such celebrated and illumined soul is Paramahansa Yoganandji. His life-story is referred to as a modern spiritual classic. It is an inspiring chronicle of the life of a true yogi, a glimpse into the training years in the hermitage of his God realized guru, and his startling description of ‘cosmic consciousness' reached on the upper levels of yog ic practice. His teachings are interpreted and are now creatively applied to endeavors such as education, psychology, management, and business. Our conscious and subconscious being is crowned by superconsciousness,† Rabbi Israel H. Lavinthal pointed out in a lecture in New York. â€Å"Many years ago the English psychologist F. W. H Myers, suggested that ‘hidden in the deep of our beings is a rubbish heap as well as the treasure house. ‘ In contrast to the psychology that centers all its researches on the subconscious in the man's nature, the new psychology of the superconscious focuses its attention upon the treasure house – the region that alone can explain the great, unselfish, heroic deeds of men. It has been experienced that knowledge, skill or even any relationship that is not supported by the undercurrents of spirituality has found to ultimately go defunct, obsolete and sometimes lost. The active expression of intelligence by great men finds its basis on the foundations of genuine virtues. Softskill training programs entrusted to maintain the morale and vigor of employees in the complexities of work environment find much success when they are enriched with sublime religious and philosophical concepts.One can not expect lasting transformation in a person until and unless the concept has touched the chord of his soul and awakened his spirit. Work and workplace become blissful, and interrelationships become softened with accommodative patience, forbearance and wisdom when people acknowledge their inherent animal instincts of vanity, greed and jealousy as the ‘suicide bombs' that are the mother of stress and an eventual self destruction. The life story is also exemplary because of the comparative notes it has drawn from the divine Hindu texts and the holy Bible.The master has expounded the deathless essence of Christian Bible with beautiful clarity and the truth in Christ's assertion â€Å"Heaven and Earth shall pass away, bu t my words shall not pass away†-Matthew 24:35 (Bible) His Pearls of Wisdom and its easy application in ordinary human life †¢ Impartiality: The execution of the trait of impartiality i. e. the ability to perceive all men in striking similarity is rooted into wisdom. A self realized person does not subject to the likes and dislikes that confuse the judgment of unenlightened men. â€Å"Conserve your powers. Be like the capacious ocean, absorbing quietly all the tributaries of the senses. Daily renewed sense yearning sap the inner peace; they are like openings in the reservoirs that permit vital waters to be wasted in the desert of materialism. The forceful and activating impulse of the wrong desire is the greatest enemy to the happiness of man. Roam in the world as the lion of self-control; don't let the frogs of weak senses kick around you! † †¢ Man has the natural privilege of roaming secretly in his thoughts.Manage your thoughts judiciously; destroy the wrong thoughts as soon as possible. A thought is a force, as electricity and gravitation. †¢ Thoughts should be weighed in a delicate balance of discrimination before permitting them outward garb of speech. †¢ Indulge in Auto-suggestion and self dialogue for self correction from time to time. Be your best friend. As Lord Buddha remarked ‘Atm deepam bhawam' i. e. be your own light. †¢ Believe that and tell yourself what you need to accomplish and it shall be done.Your accomplishments often follow your subconscious expectations. The human mind is capable of accomplishing what ever it feels intensely. †¢ The world does not change for anyone. Leverage your accommodative capacity in accordance with the requirements of the world. †¢ Our behaviors are our introduction to the society. Good manners without sincerity are like beautiful dead lady. Straightforwardness without civility is like a surgeon's knife, effective but unpleasant.Candor with courtesy is helpful a nd admirable. †¢ The lives of all men are dark with many shames. Human conduct is ever unreliable until man is anchored in the divine. The only sure shot to ‘rosy' future is when we make spiritual efforts now. †¢ Keen intelligence is two edged. It can be used constructively and destructively, like a knife, either to cut the boil of ignorance or to decapitate oneself. Intelligence is rightly guided only after mind has acknowledged the inescapably of spiritual laws.The works of the yogi has helped the world understand that distinctions by race or nations are meaningless in the realm of truth, where the only qualification is the fitness to receive. Every saint who has penetrated to the core of Reality has testified that a divine universal plan exists and that it is beautiful and full of joy. The human entity composed of the tangible physical body and the invisible spirit secretly desires not only the nourishment of the body with healthy food but it also seeks nourishmen t of the spirit with soulful meditations and cosmic encounters.The purpose of each life is to meet God in his lifetime. The latter requires conscious effort on the part of the individual. Each of us is sent to earth to undertake a separate journey which is unique, and not a copy of another, even if it is a prophet or a saint, though to seek motivation from their lives is a much welcome step in the journey of stretching over cosmogonic abysses even while the body performs its daily duties. Article Source: http://EzineArticles. com/4946654

If God is good why is there evil in the world? Essay

Introduction The problem of evil is as ancient as humanity itself. Since the dawn of man, thinkers, philosophers, religionists and practically every human being who have suffered at the hands of evil have pondered this enigma, either as a logical-intellectual-philosophical or emotional-religious-existential problem. The preponderance of evil as a reality in human existence, and man’s fascination with it is everywhere evident. Open a newspaper, switched on the television, look around the office, school, family and practically every social environment and context, and the imprint of evil is as it were, omnipresent. Evil, whether physical as in natural disasters and calamities, or moral, as in lying, cheating, unrighteousness, harming others, killing, murders and lawlessness in general have been woven into the very fabric of human nature and existence. The reality of evil is brought home to human existence in that it causes human suffering. So much so that evil and its effect has become a great preoccupation and fascination among men. One does not have to go far to see the truth of this statement. Imagine if you will a story, a movie, a novel or great literatures of the world without any mention of evil and its accompanying consequence—human suffering. Such a work if it existed at all would not do well commercially. It would universally be judged monotonous, uninteresting and boring. In fact it is no exaggeration to say that the extent and cleverness toward which evil and its many faces is painted (and sometimes overcome) in works of literature set its attractiveness index in the eyes of readers through the ages until the present day. The enigma of evil has lost none of its â€Å"luster† to the present generation. If anything its sinuous tentacles have penetrated an ever younger population. Conduct a cursory survey of titles for young adults in any bookstore near you. The panorama of subjects on crimes, killings, murders, vampires, demons, fallen angels, evil spirits, ghouls, witchcraft, and sorcery tells of a whole new generation that is being exposed to the notion of evil as something of a novelty on a massive and unprecedented scale. The disguise of evil upon our young as forms of entertainment may engender a familiarity that breeds contempt. And so by and large if we are not watchful, the corruption that is evil may no longer be so evil, at least in perception and appearance to a new generation. Evil is a Mystery While Christians rightly sorrow and sympathize with the suffering that evil brings, it should also come as no surprise that the work of evil has and will escalate in the last days. Aside from natural disasters and calamities, man’s inhumanity to man is writ large on the face of history. The last century alone has seen untold sufferings and unaccountable lives lost to two great wars. This century itself, opens with a manmade disaster that staggers the imagination—the destruction of the twin Towers through acts of terrorism. The vivid imagery of the implosion of both Towers, and the senseless death of thousands of innocents following the run-in of the two hijacked passenger planes are forever edged in the minds of the world as 9/11, a reminder of the maliciousness of evil in a most graphic form. Indeed in scripture there is a mystery that is evil—the mystery of lawlessness. As portrayed in Thessalonians, this mystery is already operating in nation and human society to bring about a divinely directed situation for the ultimate exposure of evil in the last days prior to, and heralding the Lord’s second coming (2 Thess. 2:2-4, 6-7, 8a). These passages clearly depict the present state of the world with its various manifestations of lawlessness, evil and sufferings as the result of the operation of a mystery, the mystery of evil and lawlessness that is even now operating everywhere, culminating in the unveiling of evil incarnate—a man of lawlessness, the son of perdition. The teleology of evil is ultimately embodied in a person, the person of the enemy of God. Let it not be forgotten then at the outset of our discussion on God and evil, that the rampant lawlessness and many faces of evil that we see around us is not just the mere issue of man’s doings. It is according to Saint Paul, none other than Satan’s operation (v. 9a) in all power and signs and wonders of a lie, and in all deceit of unrighteousness (vv. 9b, 10). The modern mind with its scientific enlightenment, and anti-supernatural outlook, easily askew the personification of evil. But the clear testimony of scripture is that evil is not just a â€Å"thing†, a mere act of wrongdoing or transgression. It is all that to be sure, but even more so, the true nature of evil is that it is personified in scripture—the evil one (Matt. 13:19, 38; Mk. 9:39; Jn. 17:15; Eph. 6:16; Col. 3:9) as scripture calls it—with a mind and will of its own, that is totally and irrevocably opposed to God. Even as good is a person, God Himself, for no one is good except God alone (Mark 10:18; Luke 18:19); even so we need to realize in the depths of our being that evil is no less a person, Satan himself. To believe otherwise is to downplay the reality, nature and insidiousness of evil. According to divine revelation (2 Thess. 2:1-3), the exposure of the mystery of lawlessness (and therefore the ultimate unveiling of the mystery of evil) will precede the revelation of the mystery of God (Rev. 10:7). This is not to say that evil has priority over God in any way, but that evil is a shroud, a veil of darkness upon man, that is even now being lifted, that man may see the full glory of God. In other words, amidst a world that has been corrupted by evil, God Himself is working through salvation history to expose, overturn, undo, nullify and depose the mystery of evil and all its outworking, following which the mystery of God will be unveiled in all its glory. Thus evil should be recognized for what it is. We should not forget even for a fleeting moment that evil is more than just an intellectual or emotional problem. It is an anomaly of cosmic proportion amenable only to a solution that comes from an all-powerful, all-good, and all-wise God. To embark on a discussion of theodicy with respect the goodness of God and evil is to plumb the depths of mystery: the mystery of God, and the mystery of evil—around two persons, God and Satan. It is no surprise then that Frame opines in his Doctrine of God1 that the problem of evil is the most difficult problem in all of theology. In what follows we will attempt a prolegomenon on a discussion of this very difficult question, â€Å"If God is good why is there evil in the world† from the following perspectives: 1. The formulation of the problem of evil 2. The various solutions to the problem of evil as conceived by man 3. God’s creation unveiling His eternal intention—whence evil? 4. The unveiling of the mystery of God and the mystery of Christ—the divine answer to evil The Formulation of the Problem of Evil â€Å"Is he willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is impotent. Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent. Is he both able and willing? Whence then is evil? 2 Epicurus’s unanswered question The presence of evil in the face of a good God has been called the problem of evil. As eloquently stated by Epicurus and David Hume, it is a triad (quoted above) of propositions that imply—since there is evil, there is no God. This formulation of the classical problem of evil assumes that God and evil cannot both co-exist. In this understanding, and from a logical and existential perspective, God and evil are incompatible and therefore mutually exclusive. But it has been pointed out by several philosophers, particularly Alvin Platinga3 that all that is needed to resolve the purported logical contradiction as stated by Epicurus and Hume, is to posit that an omnipotent, omniscient, and omnibenevolent God may have morally sufficient reason for allowing evil. Building on this, Groothius suggests that the classical form of the problem can be reformulated as follows4: 1. God is omnipotent and omnipresent 2. God is omnibenevolent 3. There is objective evil 4. For any evil that God allows, God has a morally sufficient reason for allowing this evil, even if we do not know this morally sufficient reason is in some cases. Thus from a deductive-logical perspective, the actual existence of evil in a world created by God is not incompatible with an omnipotent, omniscient and omnibenevolent God. As Platinga puts it, â€Å"A good God will eliminate evil as far as he can without either loosing a greater good or bringing about a greater evil. †5 Consequentially, there is no contradiction between a good God and the existence of evil in the world. Perhaps this is the reason Frame begins his discussion on the problem of evil with the assumption that God exist,6 as opposed to the more traditional classical formulation that says God’s existence in the face of evil cannot be taken a-priori, but rather must remain as a proposition with truth value as yet to be demonstrated. In Frame’s reformulation the argument assumes the following form: 1. If God is omnipotent, he is able to prevent evil 2. If God is good, he wants to prevent evil 3. But evil exists Conclusion: either God is not omnipotent or he is not good The issue for Frame then is not God’s existence in the face of evil, but what kind of a God is He that is affirmed by Christian theists, and whether such a God is incompatible with the existence of evil in the world. Coming from an evangelical Reformed tradition, Frame emphatically affirmed the biblical testimony that God is all-powerful, all-good, and all-wise. The implication here is that any solution to the problem of evil that runs counter to these biblically attested attributes of God are inadequate to account for the problem of evil in a world created by an all-benevolent, powerful and wise God. The various Solutions to the Problem of Evil as conceived by Man In his Doctrine of God, Frame surveys three categories of solutions to the problem of evil as conceived by man, albeit some more biblically sound than others. The first focuses on the nature of evil, the second on the ways in which evil contributes to the overall good of the universe, and the third on God’s agency with regard evil. In this section we will present a synopsis7 of Frame’s critique of these approaches from a biblically sanctioned perspective, and draw a conclusion as to his stand with regards the problem of evil. The nature of evil: In this category Frame presents the views of those who regard evil as illusion, such as in Hinduism. This proposal fails as a solution because of the reality of the suffering that evil afflicts. If evil is an â€Å"illusion†, why is â€Å"suffering† so real? A more widespread notion held by Christendom that finds adherents in Augustine, Catholics and post-Reformist scholastics, and many modern apologists and theologians is evil as privation. Evil in this view is not an illusion. Rather it is an absence of good where good should be. As such it is a privation, a deprivation of good. In Gilson’s version and exposition, since God created all things good, everything is good in so far as it has being. Therefore in his consideration evil is non-being, and God does not create nonbeing. But even if granted that evil is a lack or privation of being, Frame’s contention is that it would not absolve God of blame for evil. 8 Another objection is that scripture does not speculate whether evil is â€Å"being† or non â€Å"being†, and doing so takes the evil out of evil and reduces the righteousness-sin relation to metaphysics, and therefore depersonalizes and detracts from the weightiness of sin. So, from a biblical perspective, the privation argument also is inadequate as a solution to evil for it does not recognize evil for what it is—an objective reality in the world. Some good things about evil as it contributes to overall good: This is the argument that evil in the world is good when seen from a broader perspective. The goodness of God is such that He does bring about greater good from evil. Scripture testifies that God does utilize evil to test His servant as in Job, to discipline His children (Heb. 12:7-11), to produce patience and perseverance in believers (James 1:3-4). This so called greater good defense is contingent particularly upon God’s lordship attribute of control, that God is sovereign over evil, and can therefore use it for good. Christian stand against evil is firmly rooted in faith in an all-benevolent God who has provided for its defense. In this regards, the apostle Peter, while acknowledging the corruption that is in the world by lust (2 Peter 1:4), reminds believers that God has granted to them all things pertaining to life and godliness, and precious and exceedingly great promises that they should persevere with all diligence, virtue, knowledge, self-control, endurance, godliness, brotherly love, and love that Christians would be fruitful amidst a contrary world (vv. 3-8). In this vein, Saint Paul also writes that all things work together for good for those who love God and are called according to His purpose (Rom. 8:28). While cautioning readers on such items as the proper definition and God’s standard for good, that it is for God’s greater glory; the need to evaluate God’s action over the full extent of human history; and the necessity of faith given the future orientation of this ultimate theodicy, Frame acknowledges that the greater-good defense is basically sound. But interestingly, he says, seemingly by way of postscript, â€Å"†¦ it leaves us with a sense of mystery. For it is hard to imagine how God’s good purpose9 justifies the evil in the world. †10 Evil and God’s agency: Here Frame goes through a whole gamut of verbs in an erudite attempt to give an appropriate delineation for God’s relationship to evil: authors, brings about, causes, controls, creates, decrees, foreordains, incites, includes within His plan, makes happen, ordains, permits, plans, predestines, predetermines, produces, stands behind, and wills. Among these Frame cautions against the use of authors, incite, stand behind, wills and create. â€Å"Authors† seems to suggest that God (like the author of a book) not only brings evil about but approves of it. Contrary to scripture â€Å"incites† and â€Å"stand behind† can mean that God encourages people to do evil things. â€Å"Wills† is ambiguous, since it can mean God approves of evil, or simply that He brings it about. Frame’s view is that â€Å"creates† can be awkward because evil is a quality, not a thing, and God creates things, not qualities. Even so, it should be noted that Isaiah 45:6-7 says, â€Å"I am the LORD, and there is no other, the One forming light and creating darkness, causing well-being and creating evil11; I am the LORD who does all these. † According to Frame, all the other terms listed are less controversial. They differ only in connotation and can be appropriate descriptors at one time or another depending on context. Amidst his remarkable virtuosity on words, the crux of the matter is whether God merely permits evil, or whether He actually brings evil about in some sense. Scripture teaches that God controls human decisions (Gen. 45:5-8; Prov. 16:9; Acts 2:23-24), even when these decisions are sinful. As a testament to God’s absolute Lordship and control over the whole realm of creation, Christian scripture attest unequivocally that God controls all events; He makes everything happens as it does (Lam. 3:37-38; Rom. 8:28; 11:36; Eph 1:11). Astonishingly as it sounds, we cannot even become believers of Christ unless God draws us (John 6:44, 65; Acts 16:14-15). For these biblically founded reasons, Frame affirms that God does bring about sinful decisions of human beings. Frame is a compatibilist who does not subscribe to a libertarian view of agency. A popular premise of libertarian argument is that it is better to create free beings who may fail than to create beings who are â€Å"robots† or â€Å"automata† or â€Å"puppets† as such. Certainly there is truth in this, but contra scripture, libertarians ascribe to man’s freewill12 an autonomy that is quite absolute but alien to biblical thinking. Libertarianism holds that nothing in an agent’s environment or in God Himself or even in the agent’s character compels him from doing or not doing something. In this view, freedom of the will and determination of the will from factors outside of the will are therefore incompatible. For the libertarian or incompatibilists, the power of contrary choice is a necessary choice for moral agency. Notable adherents of libertarianism include the early Augustine to C. S. Lewis, Alvin Platinga, Richard Swinburne and Norman Geisler among others. These have championed libertarian agency as the basis of defense for the problem of evil. As Geisler puts it, â€Å"†¦ if it is good to be free, then evil is possible. Freedom means the power to choose otherwise. So in this present world if one is free to do good, he is also free to do evil †¦ Any alleged. â€Å"freedom† not to choose evil rather than good is not really freedom for a moral creature. †13 Frame on the other hand concludes his argument on the problem of evil by saying, â€Å"†¦ [the] answer to the problem of evil turns entirely on God’s sovereignty. It is as far as could be imagined from a freewill defense. It brings to our attention the fact that his prerogatives are far greater than ours †¦Ã¢â‚¬ 14. No doubt Frame’s stand on the absolute sovereignty of God is a very hard teaching because at one level it makes the problem of evil more intractable. But Frame has suggested that it is also reassuring because if evil comes from some other source other than God, it would be very disturbing, as it implies evil may ultimately be beyond God’s purview and control. Such a state of affair would be undesirable indeed, if not at all unthinkable. As conclusion to Frame’s survey, there are a few points worth reiterating. The main take home lessons from among the three categories of proposals on the problem of evil is that any biblically sanctioned solution must hold in tension the following scriptural truths: 1. Evil is an objective, and undeniable reality in the world. It is neither an illusion nor a privation of sorts. But there is a veil of inscrutability to the mystery of evil, and therefore we should not expect to completely penetrate the enigma that is evil. We must acknowledge in all humility that we are not meant to have complete understanding of the problem of evil this side of eternity. 2. The existence of evil in the world is not incompatible with an all-powerful, all-good and all-wise God. On the contrary scripture attests that God’s goodness and sovereignty in His attribute of lordship and control is such that He utilizes evil for our overall good, and to His greater glory. As this is future oriented, it requires the exercise of our faith. 3. Given God’s absolute sovereignty, human freedom and agency must be understood in a â€Å"compatabilistic† manner, that is, it is compatible with God’s agency in foreordaining all our decisions. In this regards any libertarian solution to the problem of evil that curtails, or put a limit on. God’s attribute of total lordship and control is contrary to biblical testimony. God’s creation unveiling His eternal intention—whence evil? In this section we examine pertinent biblical evidence on the subject of evil more closely. It is worthwhile noting here that out of 1,189 chapters in the sixty-six books of the Bible, only the first and last two (Genesis 1-2; Revelation 21-22) are without evil. That leaves 1,185 chapters in which the problem of evil is dealt with in the light of God’s eternal plan for His creation. On the one hand we should recognize evil for what it is. But we should also be careful not to overplay that card. For it is well to remind ourselves that evil like all things else, is under God’s complete control. In the huge canvas of biblical narratives, and in light of God’s goodness, wisdom and sovereignty, evil is just the negative background against which God unveils two glorious mysteries: the mystery of God (Col. 2:2), and the mystery of Christ (Eph. 3:4; Col. 4:3) for the fulfillment of His divine economy in creation. God’s creation unveiling His eternal intention. Evil needs to be seen in relation to God’s eternal intention for man before the fall. If we would understand God’s intention, we have to pay careful attention to the first two chapters of Genesis before evil and sin entered the world of man. In these two chapters, God created the heavens and the earth in good order (Gen. 1:10, 12, 18, 21, 25, 31), and committed the man whom He created in His image and likeness with His authority to rule over all created things (Genesis 1:26-28). Man is in the image of God in order to express God, and he has received God’s authority to represent God. In order to have the full image of God to express God, and realize the full authority of God to represent Him, man must have God’s life in him15. Therefore, in the first two chapters of Genesis, there is not only image and authority (Genesis 1), but also life, signified by the tree of life (Genesis 2:8-9). Although man, created in the image of God and committed with God’s authority in Genesis 1 is very good, he is not yet perfect with respect God’s original intention for him. Frame is right in distinguishing between that which is merely â€Å"good† in Genesis 1:31 and that which is â€Å"perfect†16. In Genesis 1, although man was created good, he has the potential to sin. It seems that for Frame, to be â€Å"perfect†, man must also possess the God-like quality of not being able to sin. So after Genesis 1, we have Genesis 2, where man was placed in Eden with the tree of life and the tree of knowledge of good and evil (also in the midst of the garden). God’s intention was that man should take in the tree of life, representing God as life, and reject the tree of knowledge of good and evil, that the created man may be â€Å"perfect† according to God’s original design. It is by eating (partaking and receiving into him) the fruits of the tree of life, that he may have God’s eternal life (cf: John 5:51 and Gen. 3:22. Also see explanatory note 15 on page 14) and hence the ability to be conformed to this life in all its innate goodness, including the ability to not sin. In other words, man was created as a special vessel (Rom. 9:20-21) with God’s image and likeness, but if he stops in Genesis 1, that is all he has—the outward form of God’s image and likeness. As such, he will not be â€Å"perfect†, because though â€Å"good†, he has the potential to sin. This is like a glove which was created in the image of a hand. The glove is â€Å"good† because it has the exact outward image of the hand, but this is not â€Å"perfect† because the five fingers of the glove is just an image. They are not able to function â€Å"perfectly† the way a hand can. According to its original design, the glove can only fulfill its full potential and be â€Å"perfect† if it receives the hand into it as content. Likewise in man’s original created state, the image and likeness that he possessed is â€Å"good† but not â€Å"perfect†. To be â€Å"perfect† according to God’s eternal intention, man must have God’s life in him. Whence evil? Unfortunately, before God could come into man as life17 and carry out His purposes, the embodiment of Satan—the subtle serpent, caused man to fall (Genesis 3:1-7). Due to the fall, the race of Adam failed God. Romans 6 tells of the tragic consequences of the entrance of sin and evil upon the world’s stage when Adam disobeyed God’s command to not eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Paul says that through one man’s disobedience, evil entered the world’s stage, and through sin, death passed to all man because all have sinned (5:12). Furthermore, the apostle adds that through the disobedience of one man the many were constituted18 sinners (v. 19). Even more than just an act of wrong doing, sin in Pauline understanding is an inward constitution, the nature19 of sin within man (7:20b, 23). Through his fall Adam received an element that was not created by God. This was the satanic nature of sin. Thus evil entered the world as sin, which became the constituting essence and main element of fallen man. It is this constituting essence and element that constituted all men sinners. So we are sinners not primarily because we sin; rather, we sin because we are sinners. Whether a man does good or evil, in Adam he has been constituted a sinner. This is due primarily to an inward element in fallen man, which is prior to his outward action of wrongdoing. This constituting element is the element of sin, and through sin death passed to all men because all have sinned. Hebrews 2:14 exposes the devil as the one who wields the power of death. Death is like a tool in the hand of the evil one. It is the power of incapacity that is now operating in fallen man. Through the power of death, the devil renders mankind incapable of obedience to God. For in every sinner, death lords it over him (Rom. 6:9b), reigns in his mortal body (v. 12), and makes him a slave to sin (v. 16). And so the devil, sin and death can be likened to an evil trinity that is now operating as a mystery in fallen man—the mystery of lawlessness (2 Thess. 2:7a). Out of this come all the moral, natural, and physical manifestations of evil in the world. This then is the subtlety of the entrance of evil as sin and death into the world created by God in good order. The unveiling of the Mystery of God, and the Mystery of Christ—the divine answer to evil Our thinking concerning the problem of evil tends to be man centered, probably because of the existential reality of suffering that evil brings. From such a standpoint, it is psychologically difficult to appreciate what greater good can issue from the afflictions caused by the existence of evil in the world20. The apostle Paul however councils that human sufferings are but momentary lightness of affliction (when seen in the light of God’s eternal intention for man), for suffering works out for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison (2 Cor.4:17). But these things are God-centered, things of faith which eyes have not seen, ears have not heard, and have not come up in man’s hearts, things that God has prepared for those who love him (1 Cor. 2:9). There is a glorious and greater mystery than evil that God desires to reveal and work out through the Spirit that searches all things, even the depths of God (v. 10). To indicate that God’s eternal intention is higher than that which man could conceive, the New Testament uses the word mystery to qualify it. â€Å"Mystery† occurs 27 times in the New Testament21, of which 24 are positive and 3 negative. The three negative cases refer firstly to the mystery of lawlessness (2 Thess. 2:7), and lastly, the mystery of Babylon the Great (Rev 17:5, 7). As we have seen, the mystery of lawlessness is the mystery of evil, the mystery of Satan’s operation. This will consummate in the mystery of Babylon the Great as the finality of Satan’s work in the world. But over and against the mystery of Satan’s operation, there are 24 positive references to the mystery of God’s operation in the New Testament. The first group concerns the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, and the kingdom of God in the Synoptic Gospels (Matt. 13:11; Mk. 4:11; Luke 8:10). This is followed by 23 usages of the word mystery (20 of which are Pauline) to describe God’s eternal purpose, God’s will, Christ, the gospel, the believer’s salvation, the believer’s stewardship, the believer’s hope, the transfiguration of the body, faith, the church and the Body of Christ. The last reference is Revelation 10:17, in which the apostle John proclaims that the mystery of God is finished. Clearly God Himself is working out a mystery through the ages to effect the recovery of a fallen world back to His eternal intention, which according to Saint Paul’s writings can be summed up as two great mysteries: the mystery of God, who is Christ Himself (Col 2:2), and the mystery of Christ, which is the church as the Body of Christ (Eph. 3-4, 9; 5:32). The Mystery of God—Christ. God is a mystery, and Christ as the embodiment of God to express Him, to make Him known, is the mystery of God (Col. 2:2-3, 9). With the entrance of sin and death into the world, the man created by God was spoiled by His adversary. But the unchanging and everlasting God would never change by annulling His eternal purpose which He made in eternity past for eternity future (Eph. 3:9-11). Thus He had to rescue the man whom He had created for His unchanging purpose, even at the cost of His only begotten Son (John. 3:16). God’s solution to the evil, sin and death that has come into the world is Christ Himself as the mystery of God—in whom are all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge (Col:2:2-3). It is for this reason that even in eternity past Christ as the second of the divine Trinity was preparing to come into time (Micah 5:2) to die for fallen man according to the divine determination made in the council of the divine Trinity in eternity past (Acts 2:23; 1 Pet. 1:18-20). God’s incarnation in Christ, His death and resurrection, is negatively to solve the problem of sin and death, and positively to re-open the way back to the tree of life that man lost in Genesis 3, that man may receive God as life. In fact, the whole process of Christ’s incarnation, human living, death, resurrection and ascension is a mystery, the great mystery of godliness (1 Timothy 3:16) by which God resolves the problem of evil, sin and death. The problem of sin is resolved through Jesus’s death on the cross. Through the cross He accomplished what may be termed judicial redemption22 (Romans 5:10a), in which is forgiveness of the believers’ sins (4:7), justification of the believers (3:24), and reconciliation of the believers to God (5:11). Without the accomplishment of redemption with forgiveness, justification and reconciliation, there would be no basis for a righteous God to forgive a sinful people, and no way for sinful man to approach Him. The problem of death is resolved through God’s organic23 salvation in life (Rom. 5:10b), an aspect much neglected, if not in doctrine at least in emphasis. This aspect of God’s salvation is carried out by Christ’s life in the Spirit. In order to accomplish this, in resurrection He became a life-giving Spirit (1 Corinthians 15:45b). We receive this Spirit through regeneration (John 3:6). Whereas before we were dead in our trespasses, transgression and sin, now we are made alive in Christ (Eph. 2:1, 5). Today, Christ indwells believers through the Spirit. This is Christ in us, our hope of glory (Col. 1:27). Christ is our life waiting to be manifested (Colossians 3:4). He is our life! Scripture attests that the Spirit of God, the Spirit of Christ, even Christ Himself, is in us today (8:9-11)24. This heavenly ministry of Jesus—post resurrection and in ascension—is within the believers as the Spirit, and it spans the whole spectrum of God’s organic salvation in life from regeneration (Titus 3:5), through sanctification (6:19, 22; 15:16), renewing and transformation (12:2b) to conformation (8:29) and glorification (8:30). It is indeed a salvation â€Å"so great† (Heb. 2:3a), for its eschatological goal is for Christ to make His home in our hearts through faith and that we may be filled unto all the fullness of God (Ephesians 3:16-19). And so, through the process of God’s salvation in life our spirit is enlivened (Rom. 8:10), our mind becomes life (Rom. 8:6b), and even our mortal bodies also will receive life through the Spirit who indwells us (Rom. 8:11b). Over against the reigning of sin in death in fallen man, much more we who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ (5:17b). Thus in God’s salvation our whole being comes alive in order that just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness unto eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord (5:21). In this way Christ destroys the hold of him who has the might of death, that is, the devil (Heb. 2:14)! The Mystery of Christ. Christ is also a mystery, and the church as the Body of Christ to express Him, to make Him known, is the mystery of Christ (Eph. 3:4, 9; 5:32). This mystery is God’s economy, or God’s administration to head up all things in Christ. The Bible affirms that God created the heavens and the earth for a purpose. Ephesians 1:9 reveals to us that God has a good pleasure.

The Effects of False Advertising

Final Draft: The Effects of False Advertising Since the evolution of communication, media has been used to transmit informations to those willing to absorb it. Now, using powerful technologies such as television or the internet, information has been made accessible to people in every aspect of our daily lives, trying now to influence our choices more than ever before through advertisement. However, for the most, the goal behind advertising is personal profit.Therefore, the things we are exposed to in advertisements are not always true; they often tend to make people try being someone else's idea of perfection while ignoring their own goals, and then conduct the consumers to deception. As for anything else, regulations on advertising do exist and are set by the Federal Trade Commission. But still, the problem of deceptive advertising does exist and is very persistent.My goal is to discuss the problem of deceptive advertising, by analyzing the strengths and the weaknesses of the FTC po licies on advertising, the causes and effects of the problem and finally propose eventual solutions. Part I According to its official web site, ftc. gov, †The FTC deals with issues that touch the economic life of every American. It is the only federal agency with both consumer protection and competition jurisdiction in broad sectors of the economy,† (â€Å"About the Federal Trade Commission†) advertising included.As any institution of this scale, the FTC has very strong policies regarding the field it deals with. And acts such as false advertising can be heavily punished by the law, according to the FTC’s many laws and acts. However, regardless the numerous regulations that make the FTC’s strengths, it possesses a major weakness, since as far as the commission punishes unfair methods in advertising, and it fails to clearly define the word â€Å"unfair†. William F.Brown says in his article that the term â€Å"unfair methods† remains a ge neralization that the FTC must translate into usable policies, or standards by which specific methods can be judged (â€Å"the Federal Trade Commission and False Advertising II†). More specifically, it’s not always clear what would be included within the scope of the commission’s authority. This I would rather qualify unexisting part of the FTC policy, creates a gaping hole through which the problem of false advertising slips out.And I can truly see where this problem might apply: We can always see or hear from commercials all the benefits of a product, but, usually all the undesirable side effects are either written in very small caps at the bottom, so that no one can see or practically said at the speed of light, making them incomprehensible. From my consumer point of view, I can say that these are unfair methods; however, I can hardly see how the FTC is going to punish such an act, because in fact, everything about the product is there; regardless how the inf ormation is delivered.Part II Along with the FTC policy problem, there are more causes linked to the false advertising problem. For starter, I can tell from personal observations that America is a highly competitive country with a very capitalist nature. So much that in order to sell its products, companies will not hesitate to lie. For example, I still don’t know which phone company’s network is America’s fastest, especially when most claim to be (AT;T, Verizon, and t-mobile are really getting me confused. Then there is also the people mindset that is problematic. By that, I mean people tend to respond to feeling rather than reason; a commercial full of fallacies, for example, will get customers to buy a product simply by being entertaining. I believe that people’s response to advertisements in America is different because of the way they are implemented. For every 10 minutes of a television show, there are 5 minutes of advertisement; it gives a 1/3 rati o, meaning that more than 30% of what people see on television are commercials.Even on radio stations and all over the internet there are commercials. What I’m saying is that over time, people stop noticing them, plus they become boring (think about how often you skip channels when an ad is on), that’s when marketers, in need of new ways to keep consumers attention on a product, use humor, entertainment, or make some commercials so stupid that they are rarely unnoticeable. Also, somebody desperately in need of change in his life is most likely to consider any possible option, even the most irrational.I will take the specific case of over the counter weight loss products, which has a huge market value at the moment: Approximately 100 billion dollars and expected to quadruple by 2015 (â€Å"Money Spent On Weight-Loss Programs in America Today†). A study from John Cawley (Cornell University), Rosemary Avery (Cornel University) and Matthew Eisenberg (Carnegie Mellon University) revealed that as of 2008, 68% of the American adult population was overweight, 33% obese, and that out of the majority of those trying to lose weight, 33. 9% had used over the counter weight loss products.The same study also showed that their spread is increasing because weight loss products are very loosely regulated and have a history of little efficacy and dangerous side effects (â€Å"The Effects of Advertising and Deceptive Advertising on Consumption†). One cause to that is: They are treated like food. Therefore, they are sold in supermarkets and pharmacies as well as through the internet without any need for manufacturers to prove benefits from the product, and bearing responsibilities for showing safety before marketing (food is assumed to be safe).It is then up to other governmental institutions to reveal the product to be unsafe. As a result, manufacturers of weight loss products have considerable slack in the marketing of these products. But truth is, t hey are very ineffective and can have severe side effects. Most of the weight loss products contain components such as phenylpropanolamine and ephedra, which have been identified by the FDA as increasing risks of stroke and cardiac events, as well as caffeine like products that increase the heart rate to give the impression of a faster metabolism.One big case was involving â€Å"Redux†, a drug that was designed for obese individuals, but had many people, including doctors, who were slightly overweight experience pulmonary hypertension, valvular heart disease, and neurotoxicity. Even without being an expert on this topic, I can accurately say that it’s impossible to lose weight without doing any kind of exercise; so the best these products can is ease the weight loss process. And as a matter of fact, if they were really working we would already see decreases in the overweight rate in the population.Unfortunately, not everybody understands the facts about advertising cer tain products, and people end up falling into deception by using a lot of them, ultimately affecting themselves as individuals and the population as a whole. In a long run I can hold it responsible for phenomena like emotional conflicts, because, in addition to lies, some advertising programs show a distorted image of reality which often become people’s new standard. For those influenced deeper, physical and mental problems occur, including bulimia, anorexia, the employment of harmful dietary plans, low self esteem, or thoughts of suicide.Unless the truth is revealed, some will continue to suffer. To my opinion, consumers could find products more attractive advertisements were done by normal people or without all the extra mind blowers. Other side effect to deceptive advertising is that continuously deceived consumers can actually turn their back to some product, and give negative feedback to their entourage. In some cases, it gets so bad that there are several individual law suits against a single company.Such mistrust into local products can go as far as bringing the economy down, especially if people decide to stop purchasing things of the same kind. Plus, manufacturing products that are not going to be consumed by a majority of the population is a waste of resources. Part III But like for every problem, there are a few solutions, or at least ways to lessen it. I believe the FTC needs to create a clear definition of the term â€Å"unfair methods† in its policy, so that every questionable, literally or implicitly false advertisement will be subject to revision, especially for those that can have an impact on health.In addition to this, if the public could try viewing advertising only as something to get one's attention, and recognize the commercials playing on people’s insecurities, as well as those using humor and entertainment over facts to sell a product (According to the article â€Å"The Use Of Humor To Mask Deceptive Advertisingâ €  in The Journal of Advertising, â€Å"The content analysis of 238 humorous ads showed that 73. 5% of them had deceptive claims and 74. 5% of these claims were masked by humor†).Until either is accomplished, the negative effects of deceptive advertising will be felt by the vulnerable, people, and companies will still make profit. Conclusion Overall, it’s clear to see that the practice of false advertising is very persisting and influences several aspects of our live, either by getting people to by ineffective products then fall into deception or sometimes setting new standard in society by showing a distorted image of reality or beauty.However, I believe there is no better wall to this problem than self-defense. By that, I mean it is up to the people to truly open their mind and rely more on reason, to try finding and understanding more facts about the products on the market, so that their actions toward a product define new standards for manufacturers instead of t he other way around. Work Cited â€Å"About the Federal Trade Commission. † Federal Trade Commission June 17, 2010Ftc. gov April 18 2011. Electronic. Brown, William F. The Federal Trade Commission and False Advertising II† The Journal of Marketing (1 July1947): 38-46. April 18, 2011. Print. Cawley, John, Rosemary Avery, and Matthew Eisenberg. â€Å"The Effects of Advertising and Deceptive Advertising on Consumption. † Economics Seminar Papers (30 July 2010): 3-11. Electronic. Mialon, Hugo M. and Paul H. Rubin. Economics, Law, and Individual Rights. 2008 New York: Taylor & Francis Routledge, 2008. Electronic. â€Å"Money Spent on Weight Loss Programs in The USA Today. Worldometers Information 2009. Worldometers. info April 18 2011. Electronic. Mundy, Alicia. â€Å"Weight-loss Wars. † U. S. News & World Report 15 February 1999, Vol. 126, Issue 6: 42. April 18, 2011. Electronic. Shabbir, Haseeb and Des Thwaites. â€Å"The Use of Humor to Mask Deceptive Adve rtising. † Journal of Advertising Summer 2007, Vol. 36 Issue 2: 75-85. April 18, 2011. Electronic. â€Å"What Is False Advertising? † Astra, Chan, Gurst, and Thomas P. C 2006,Aboutfalseadvertising. com. April 18, 2011. Electronic.