The American Dream By James Truslow Adams - 1406 Words

This so called, â€Å"American dream.† Is it still around, waiting to be achieved by those who work hard enough? Is it effectively dead, killed off by the Great Recession and the economic struggling that many Americans have come to face in this day and age? There are alarming instances and facts, including trillions of dollars lost in the stock market (Paradise, 2009). These losses combined with the unquestionably high unemployment in the past few years, have contributed to seemingly dismal prospects for prosperity in the United States, I strongly support in the belief that the American dream is still very much alive. In fact, the original term â€Å"American Dream† was said during the Great Depression by James Truslow Adams, who wrote that the American dream â€Å"is that dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability and achievement, regardless of social class or circumstances of birt h† (1931). I would say the American Dream today is a little different as the potential to work for an honest, secure way of life and save for the future. Many liberal economists and activists say that the American Dream is a lost cause as well as dead, but I would recommend to them that the American dream is more alive than it ever was before. It is the key to climbing out of the Great Recession, to overcome all odds and circumstances in one’s life and also to ultimately obtain â€Å"having it all.† Looking at our delicateShow MoreRelatedThe American Dream By James Truslow Adams1243 Words   |  5 Pagesspike in questionable practices further withheld the American Dream from those wishing to achieve it the way it was intended, through hard work and perseverance. In 1931, James Truslow Adams defined the American Dream, â€Å"life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement†, regardless of one s class or circumstances of birth. More and more people were being denied the American Dream every, yet they still strived to make something ofRead MoreThe American Dream By James Truslow Adams1130 Words   |  5 Pagesof the American Dream. The American Dream has changed dramatically over the few centuries. During the Founding Fathers’ time, many believed the American Dream meant freedom, equality, and mutual respect. Time has changed this ideology of the American Dream, which is now seen as owning a mill ion dollar mansion with multiple luxury cars. This isn’t the case for many immigrants who come to the Americas to have a better life for themselves and their family. To many of them, the American Dream is as simpleRead MoreJames Truslow Adams : The American Dream1800 Words   |  8 PagesThe American Dream The American Dream was something everyone wanted to achieve in the 1930’s; however, many people did not get there because they either gave up, or did not find what they were looking for. Many people were just looking to get away and find their own happiness so they made their own American Dream. As historian James Adams said ... a dream of motor cars and high wages merely, but a dream of social order in which each man and each woman shall be able to attain to the fullest statureRead MoreThe American Dream By James Truslow Adams Essay1886 Words   |  8 PagesJames Truslow Adams in 1931 coined the term â€Å"The American Dream† in his book The Epic of America (Michels, n.d., para. 1). He wrote of an America that offered freedom of religion, and speech, as well as political and social opportunities that few other countries offered. However, according to Eva Michels, â€Å"The American Dream† means something different for each individual, it refers to the way of li fe that Americans strive for and have equal rights to achieve regardless of social class or nationalityRead MoreThe American Dream By James Truslow Adams1707 Words   |  7 PagesThe American Dream, coined by James Truslow Adams in 1931, had been a popular term that had; given motivation to the dissatisfied, reduced the influence of race and one’s social position on achieving their goals, advertised America as a land that offered an abundant amount of possibilities that no other country could match, and unified the country under the same desire of wealth and prosperity, even in times of great despair. Adams had constructed the idea, â€Å"...that American dream of a better, richerRead MoreThe American Dream By James Truslow Adams803 Words   |  4 PagesThe term â€Å" The American Dream† can be coined to historian James Truslow Adams in the early 1930’s. Adams believed that the true commitment for the American society was based of material success that was o btained by individual competition of the citizens. Furthermore, stating that the American citizens had been conditioned to desire success, with an honest belief that it was possible for one to achieve it. This was possible because the very principles that American society represented, helped eachRead MoreThe American Dream By James Truslow Adams1500 Words   |  6 PagesThe American Dream is the sole reason that millions of people decided to come to this country, whether it be generations ago, or last week. But even so, this shared dream faces problems. To solve the problem, the American Dream has to be defined. James Truslow Adams, author of the 1931 book The Epic of America, was the first person to mention and therefore define the American Dream. He established it as: â€Å"[T]hat dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, withRead MoreJames Truslow Adams And The American Dream1392 Words   |  6 Pages While the idea of the American Dream became more popular during the 17th to 20th centuries, the achievability remained elusive due to a static and hierarchical social order that prevailed throughout this time. Thus, the tireless claims of the New Left for a reformed society are supported by the unchanging accessibility of the American Dream. In his book The Epic of America (1931), James Truslow Adams defined the American Dream as â€Å"that dream of a land in which life should be better and richer andRead MoreJames Truslow Adams And The American Dream1371 Words   |  6 Pagesand dreams. Although this is a simple concept, how one must work to achieve these goals is much more complicated. Everyone is born into a different situation and the opportunities they are exposed to differ depending on the person. The original idea of the â€Å"American Dream† supported the idea that all American citizens are able to obtain a better life than they are currently living; however, that idea is continuously changing and many interpret their own dream in different ways. James Truslow AdamsRead MoreThe American Dream By James Truslow Adams1577 Words   |  7 PagesThe American Dream Lives On Since 1776, the â€Å"American Dream† has continued to evolve. Originally, our forefathers intended the American Dream to be a country where individuals were free from the tyranny of royalty and nobility, working as a part of a whole, making everyone comfortable and happy - all men created equal with equal opportunity. Over the years, this original intent has continued to change. In 1931, James Truslow Adams stated that the American Dream means that, â€Å"life should be better

Southwest Internal Analysis Free Essays

Southwest Airlines Internal Analysis Introduction This internal business analysis is on Southwest Airlines, which was founded in 1967 by Rollin King and Herb Kelleher. The main focus for Southwest Airlines was to provide low cost flights for their customers, and also have exceptional customer satisfaction. Southwest is a leading airline company that continues to do well in an industry that has been historically challenging. We will write a custom essay sample on Southwest Internal Analysis or any similar topic only for you Order Now For instance, in the span of two years (2005-2007) five major airlines have filed for bankruptcy. The challenges are great in the airline industry, because competitors are trying to imitate the â€Å"low-cost† offering of Southwest. Many companies have tried to do what Southwest has done, and many have failed to stay in business. Surprisingly, many of those companies were started by ex-employees of Southwest. Southwest currently has a profitability record for the past thirty six years, which is spectacular in such a challenging industry. Herb Kelleher has been replaced by Gary C. Kelly, as the president when he resigned in May of 2008. Southwest is in the process of expanding the locations they serve so that they can increase market share, and also find ways to cut costs without losing their quality. In order for southwest to continue their consecutive financial success there is a necessity for excellence in the execution process of their strategy. Business Level Strategy The business level strategy (BLS) that Southwest focuses on is Cost Leadership. They are the leading airline in the United States for providing low-cost fares to their broad customer base. Southwest has found innovative ways to reduce cost within their cost structure enabling them to offer lower fares than competitors and still maintain a profit. One way that has helped Southwest save time and money is their standardization of their airline fleet. This tactic is known as the â€Å"one-model-fleet† by the airline. Having a single airplane model in a fleet has allowed Southwest to â€Å"lower inventory, record keeping and maintenance costs, and it minimizes the number of technical manuals, tools and spare parts. † Another methodology that has layed an important role in their thirty six years of profitability is their fuel hedging practices they’ve practiced since the late nineties. This tactic has saved the company millions of dollars, and in 2007 alone has saved the company 727 million dollars. Another cost saving measure that Southwest has implemented is the use of blended winglets on all of their 737-700’s models. This change is supposed to improve performance by extending the airplanes range, saving fuel, and lowering engine maintenance costs and reducing takeoff noise. More recently, Southwest began to use EcoPower engine wash services. This is going to allow Southwest to save an estimated $20 million dollars in fuel costs. All of these tactics by Southwest are designed to save on expenses that they incur doing business. Many airlines cut cost by laying off employees, but Southwest has established a â€Å"no layoff policy† that is currently still in effect. This shows how committed the company is to their employees, and how they are an integral part of their business. Resources Southwest has plenty of resources that have contributed to their success as an airline company. Their intangible resources have created their competitive advantage in relation to their competitors. The reason for that is the simple fact that their tangible resources are not difficult to replicate. It’s the technique that Southwest uses to connect their resources that has enabled them to be successful in the airline industry. Their tangible and intangible resources are as follows: Tangible: The main tangible resources that Southwest has are its training center, employees, headquarter facility, acquisitions, partnerships, take off and landing spots, frequent flyer reward program, self-service check-in kiosks, and their fleet aircrafts. In 1986, Southwest opened a multi-million dollar training center for their flight crews. As all businesses, employees are necessary if you’re conducting business on a large scale. The connection between Southwest and its customers are their employees, which makes the employees role that much more important. Although, the employees are tangible, the culture of the employees is intangible aspect that has been difficult for competitors to imitate. The training center for their employees was an investment Southwest made early on knowing its importance to the long term success for the company. The headquarters for Southwest is another tangible resource, which is located in Dallas. The headquarter similar to many other companies allow top management to effectively communicate the organizational goals of the company. Acquisitions and partnerships that Southwest has completed throughout their duration allow the company to expand their services to more than 64 cities in the United States, and obtain more take-off and landing spots. The frequent flyer program is another tangible resource that Southwest possesses, but interestingly has not had a major impact on Southwest’s bottom line. With the help of IBM, Southwest was able to offer about 250 self-service check-in kiosks. The reason for having the kiosks for their customers was to reduce the amount of time the customers spend in line and to improve the airport experience. In the very beginning, Southwest only had 3 Boeings in their lineup but now they have more than 243 aircrafts in their lineup. Intangible: The main intangible resources that Southwest has are its brand, unique culture, and reputation. Southwest has a brand that is known widely when referencing the airplane industry. The brand that they represent is one that is reliable, convenient, employee centered, customer oriented, and at the same time providing a low cost alternative to their customers. This has helped dramatically in their formation of their culture, because even in the beginning their main focus has been on its employees. Southwest has a culture that is unmatched in the industry, and one of the main reasons they have been wildly successful in a challenging environment. Early on Southwest made the decision to sell one of their airplanes rather than laying off their employees to show their loyalty to its employees. All of these factors have enabled the company to maintain a reputation that is respected among the industry. The reputation that they have has enabled them to reap the benefits of being recognized as a leader in the industry. For example, Southwest has earned several Triple Crown awards, which is an award for having the best on-time record, best baggage handling, and fewest customer complaints. Outcomes from Combinations of the Criteria for Sustainable Competitive Advantage: Is the Resource of Capability Valuable? | Is the Resource or Capability Rare? | Is the Resource or Capability Costly to imitate? Is the Resource or Capability Nonsubstitutable? | Competitive Consequences| Performance Implications| No| No| No| No| Competitive disadvantage| Below-average returns| Yes| No| No| Yes/No| Competitive parity| Average returns| Yes| Yes| No| Yes/No| Temporary competitive advantage| Average returns to above-average returns| Yes| Yes| Yes| Yes/No| Sustainable competitive advantage| Above-ave rage returns| Result from the chart: Capabilities The capabilities of Southwest Airlines are the origin of the firm’s ability to create a competitive advantage over other airlines in industry. Southwest focuses on three main functional areas within the organization, which are management, human resources, and marketing. Management The management capabilities of Southwest Airlines are the main reason why the company has been so profitable, utilizing an effective low cost organizational structure throughout the entirety of the company. Using only one type of plane fleet, the Boeing 737 series, which allows minimizing inventory and resources needed for training, maintenance, parts, and is also a very reliable plane. This helps in the quick turnaround times at the gates, which keeps more planes in the air at any given point in time. In the 1990’s Southwest employed an aggressive fuel hedging tactic saving the company millions of dollars in hard times, while still being able to provide low ticket prices to consumers. Another important area management focuses on is the management of human resources that emphasis both employees and customer alike. Human Resources Focusing on customer service, Southwest Airlines opened a multi-million dollar training facility for its flight crews in 1986. The heart of this training facility is to promote human capitol and share knowledge throughout company. By focusing first on their own employees, southwest can ensure that the employees will then focus on the customer. Through motivation and empowerment in the training of its employees, Southwest can provide customers a comfortable experience while retaining employees and making it hard for competitors imitate. This is proven with its Triple Crown Award for best on-time record, best baggage handling, and least customer complaints. Marketing One way to promote value and differentiate itself from competitors is Southwest’s humorous advertisements. Exercising the LUV ticker symbol, Southwest promotes its customer driven services and prices. While in the late 1980’s Southwest started a rewards program that has retained loyal customers, but has not been proven successful for leisure travelers. With the low cost abilities, timeliness flights, rewards, and focus on the customer, Southwest Airlines has carried out an exceptional marketing strategy. Core Competencies Employee Loyalty Within the first two years of operation Southwest suffered huge losses and had to make some major financial decisions. These decisions lead to the selling off an aircraft and keep all of the employees created the â€Å"no lay off policy†. Then in 1973 Southwest was one of the first companies to incorporate profit sharing where employees owned at least 8% of the company stock. This leads to higher employee satisfaction, retention rate, and increases the want for the company to do well, this way the employees focus more on creating value for the customer. Management Skills Southwest Airlines management has tailored numerous sets of activities around a low cost structure creating value for the customer. With short domestic, point-to-point flights, no additional in flight features and no seat reservations allows for a short turnaround time, which makes for less crowded airports and maximizes flight time. Along with fuel hedging and low maintenance costs, the design of these best-fit activities show that the excellent management skills are a core competency that creates a competitive advantage over other airlines. Conclusion Through the intertwining of its resources, Southwest Airlines has created a unique set of capabilities and competencies that has continuously allowed successful implementation of its business level strategy. With a focus on low-cost leadership and customer service, Southwest Airlines creates value with reliable on-time departures and a unique company culture. This provides a sustainable competitive advantage that is hard for competitors to imitate and provides a string foundation for Southwest Airlines’ future success. How to cite Southwest Internal Analysis, Essay examples

Accounting in Statistics Business Research Method

Question: Discuss about theAccounting in Statistics Business Research Method. Answer: Introduction: The more and more Australian companies are including a section of performance highlight in their annual reports. This snaps shot provides a summary of the annual performance of the companies. This is not a statutory requirement so management of the company has full discretion whether to include the performance highlight in the report and the earning figures that are to be shown in the highlight (Business Insider 2016). The management can choose the GAAP earning measures or the Non GAAP earning measures or combination of both to be shown in the performance highlight section of the report. The GAAP earning are calculated based on accounting standards and the non-GAAP earnings are not based on accounting standards (Curtis et al. 2013). The non-GAAP earning generally excludes certain earnings and transactions that are required to be included in accordance with the International Financial Reporting Standard. It has been found that inclusion of the non-GAAP financial measures helps investors to better analyse the company. This report intends to show the importance of declaring the Non GAAP earning and to study its implications. Literature Review The organisations performance, financial conditions and cash flow can be better analysed if the non-GAAP earning are disclosed. There are studies conducted that have shown that inclusion of the non proforma earning helps to reduce error in the forecasted value and is also helpful in reducing dispersion in the year (Johnson et al. 2014). The research also shows that use of non-GAAP earning cautions the investors in the fundamental analysis of the company. The companies are required to declare whether the assumptions are based on historical data or future measures. The companies are also required to declare the assumptions that are not in accordance with the Generally Accepted Accounting Principle (Malone et al. 2016). Empirical Evidence The empirical evidence to show the effectiveness of GAAP regulations is mixed. It is found by many that the Non GAAP earnings are significantly higher than the GAAP earning therefore it is believed by many that the investors are misled by those higher figures. There are others who opines that the notion that investors are misled by the Non GAAP disclosure are unjustified and doubtful. Experimental Approach The recent behavioural research has shown that the judgement of the non professional investors are influenced by the presence of Non GAAP earnings before GAAP earnings. The study conducted by the Moser in 1989 found that the assessment of whether the earning of a company will increase depends on the order of information provided. The recent research conducted by the Elliot in 2006 found that non-professional investors are influenced by the emphasis put by management on the Non GAAP earnings. This is mitigated by the presence of a quantitative reconciliation. Research Questions and Hypotheses Research Questions The problems that are relevant to the recent problems are prepared in the form of questions in this report: What are the issues of financial reporting related to present GAAP standards? What disclosures are essential that are to be made in the non GAAP financial reporting? What are the disclosure requirement in the non GAAP accounting standards that are not included in the GAAP standard? Who are the stakeholders that will benefit from the Non GAAP financial reporting? Hypotheses H-1: The existence of the GAAP and the non-GAAP in the financial report helps investors to analyse the financial statements better. H-0: The existence of the GAAP and Non GAAP disclosure will not benefit the investors in analysing the financial statements. Operational Definitions and Measurement The two companies Quantas Group and Perficient Inc are chosen from the ASX. The GAAP and Non GAAP earnings that are highlighted in their annual accounts report and are used to measure their performance (Phx.corporate-ir.net 2016). Research Methodologies: Data Collection and Analysis Sampling Techniques The primary method of collecting data is the qualitative analysis of various issues that are discussed in the contemporary accounting. The research are conducted by collecting data from different sources so that various component of the non GAAP financial reporting could be known. The primary data that are collected is based on the interview conducted of various investors. In order to decide the usefulness of the disclosure of Non GAAP earning various journals, articles, websites and the financial reports of the companies are analysed (Skadden et al. 2012). The journals are reviewed to show the importance of disclosure of Non GAAP earning. The journals of Elizabeth A. Rains bury The impact of the FMA guidelines of Non GAAP earning disclosure was studied. Further the journal of Bowen, R.M., Davis, A.K. and Matsumoto Emphasis on pro forma versus GAAP earnings in quarterly press releases: Determinants, SEC intervention, and market reactions was studied and analysed. The primary sources of collecting the informations are to extract it from the annual report of the companies (Rainsbury and Hart 2014). Method of Analysis The data analysis techniques used are based on simple and random sampling. The simple random technique is best suited for analysing the financial informations using GAAP. The sample datas are collected based on both the positive and negative response relating to the benefits of the non-GAAP disclosures. In the method of conducting the research, the first step is to identify the several issues that are present in the GAAP standard of reporting the financial information. The importances of the non-GAAP financial declarations are also identified. These analyses are conducted by collecting primary data through questionary method. The importance of the non-GAAP reportings are analysed through reviewing journals (Venter et al. 2014). Research Process The research processes that are followed to answer the questions raised in the research proposal and to support the hypothesis. The first stage in the research is to determine the GAAP requirement. The second stage is to ascertain the non-GAAP disclosure requirement so that GAAP and Non GAAP information can be compared and evaluated. Then by using sampling techniques two companies are chosen from the Australian Stock Exchange to conduct the research. The listed companies are required to follow the GAAP method of reporting so the companies that provided proforma income along with GAAP income should be selected from the stock exchange for research. The companies that are selected are then analysed based on the data obtained from the interview of non-professional investors. The reported income under the GAAP and Non GAAP requirements are also analysed in the light of the financial information need of the investor. The aim of the research process is to help answer the question raised in the report and to address the hypothesis. Expected Outcomes After the research is conducted, it is expected that all the research questions raised will be answered. It is expected that the role of the directors in proving the non-gap informations will be substantially analysed. The research will also help to answer the usefulness of the non-gap informations. The research aims to clearly answer the difference between the GAAP and Non GAAP financial requirements. It is expected that after the research is conducted the hypothesis that the investors will be benefited from the inclusion of the Non GAAP informations will be prove to be corrected. Conclusion It can be concluded that the above research will help to understand the difference between the GAAP and Non GAAP requirements of the standards. The research questions and hypothesis that are raised in the research will be adequately addressed through the research procedures applied. References Business Insider. (2016). Chart of the Day: Here's How You Should Think About 'Adjusted' Earnings. [online] Available at: https://www.businessinsider.in/CHART-OF-THE-DAY-Heres-How-You-Should-Think-About-Adjusted-Earnings/articleshow/27979957.cms [Accessed 15 Aug. 2016]. Curtis, A.B., McVay, S.E. and Whipple, B.C., 2013. The disclosure of Non-GAAP earnings information in the presence of transitory gains. The Accounting Review, 89(3), pp.933-958. Johnson, A., Percy, M., Stevensonà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ Clarke, P. and Cameron, R., 2014. The Impact of the Disclosure of Nonà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ GAAP Earnings in Australian Annual Reports on Nonà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ Sophisticated Users. Australian Accounting Review, 24(3), pp.207-217. Malone, L., Tarca, A. and Wee, M., 2016. IFRS nonà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ GAAP earnings disclosures and fair value measurement. Accounting Finance, 56(1), pp.59-97. Phx.corporate-ir.net.(2016).Perficient-InvestorRelations -Financial Reports. [online] Available at: https://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml%3Fc%3D83872%26p%3Dirol-reports [Accessed 15 Aug. 2016]. Rainsbury, E.A. and Hart, C., 2014. The Impact of the FMA Guidelines of Non-GAAP Earnings Disclosures. Unpublished working paper. Skadden, A., Slate, M. and Flom, L.L.P., 2012. Corporate Finance Alert. Venter, E.R., Emanuel, D. and Cahan, S.F., 2014. The Value Relevance of Mandatory Nonà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ GAAP Earnings. Abacus, 50(1), pp.1-24.

Our Guys By Bernard Lefkowitz Essays - Gang Rape, Rape,

Our Guys By Bernard Lefkowitz The novel Our Guys, written by Bernard Lefkowitz, is a very dynamic story about the heinous actions of a dozen middle-class athletes, from a small New York suburb, against a defenseless mentally handicapped girl. Lefkowitz describes a brutal gang rape involving a baseball bat and broomhandle, which took place in this unsuspecting town, by these upstanding young group of boys, as the town would describe them. Lefkowitz looks at the incident which took place and then examines the ?jock clique? sub-culture that allowed such atrocities to happen, and spawned the scandal to cover it up. The town of Glenridge is at the surface not any different than any other surburban American town. Like most towns it has its ?cliques? and the ?jocks? are at the pinnacle of the town. Idolized by the students and a sourse of pride for the entire town, however the Glenridge boys were not like most high school athletes. The ?Jock clique? formed at a very early age,and invaded their surroundings taking over where ever they went, whether it be school, games or around town, protected by the ?boys will be boys? attitude held by the rest of the town. The boys started showing signs of beligerance as early as elementary school, with a common ignorance for authority. The group was later easily passed through middle school to relieve the teachers of another year enduring the ?problem? class. Once in high scholl the boys became the leaders of the school, andpride of the town. In Glenridge sports were valued higher than academics, turning these young men into heros, and everyone else into nobodies. There was not anything anyone could do to derail this movement, nor did they try to. Glenridges attitude towards women was very outdated. Women were regarded as mothers and wives, their jobs weere to make the men of the town happy. They were treated as objects and rarely held positions of authority-there were not any women mentors, therefore everyone lokked up to their fathers and saw that men were the supreme beings. Most of the boys did not even have any female influences other than their mothers; infact only two of the boys involved had sisters, Bryan Grober and Phil Grant. Thes boys were raised in dressing rooms by males and taught to respect the institute and brotherhood of a team. That if they respected their sacred bond they could do anything. Nothing was more important than the team or eachother. The Jocks of Glenridge were very much protected by the town and their parents. When the boys caused destruction or resorted to delinquency, money would simply change hands with out involving the law or the media. Everything was always taken care of and kept very low profile. The parents of these ?jocks? were also very respected within the community and refused to believe their children had any sort of problems. When Kevin Scherzer's problems were brought to the attention of his parents they simply denied the existence of a problem and dismissed the situation. When the school wanted to take disciplinary actions against Kevin, the Scherzer's would not allow it. The parents played a major role in the deliquency of these young men, however they were not alone. The other students acceptance and adoration of the ?jocks? behavior is as much to blame as anything else that led up to this behavior exhibited by the ?jocks?. The ?little mothers?( as they were referred as) were treated with disrespect and as sexual objects. They would repeatedly engage in acts of voyeurism. They would also willingly fellate any member of this group, and some would even go so far as ?making a train? or other acts of group sex with ?our guys?. Many of these girls were referred to as ?trained seals? and were proud of their titles.(p. 147) There was never any complaints made and as the boys got older the more deviant they became. The Leslie Faber rape took place in the Scherzer's basementon the afternoon of March 1, 1989. During the trial the defence attorneys did everything they could to try and potray that Leslie faber was a willing participant and actually enjoyed, if not the acts performed, her inclusion to the

Art Strike In Nyc Essays - Strike Action, Free Essays, Term Papers

Art Strike In Nyc Essays - Strike Action, Free Essays, Term Papers Art Strike In Nyc Haril Patel Strike In Modern Art Museum Of New York The Professional and Administrative Staff Association (PASTA) of The Museum of Modern Art (MoMa) represting 250 administrative assistants, archivists, curatorial staff, conservators, educators, graphic artists, librarians, salespeople, secretaries, visitor assistants and writers. Their union started the strike on April 28, 2000. The central issues involve salaries, healthcare, the threat of layoffs and union rights. The old contract expired October 31 1999. This is the first major strike at the museum since 1973. The Professional and Administrative Staff Association (PASTA), which is Local 2110 of the United Auto Workers, represent the strikers. They comprise a varied workforce of administrative assistants, archivists, curators, conservators, graphic artists, librarians, salespeople, secretaries, visitors assistants and writers. PASTA is one of six unions in the museum. The members of the other five bargaining units are continuing to work. The workers have rejected the museum's offer of a three percent raise a year for three years, and is demanding five percent for the first year and four percent for the subsequent years in a five-year contract. The strikers believe that this demand is more than justified considering the very low wages they receive, which they say are even lower than what is paid in other museums for comparable work. The median wage for the employees is $28,000 a year, and the starting salary for 40 of the workers is $17,000 a year which is nothing. Furthermore, the union says that the museum is refusing to maintain the employees' health insurance and other benefits. PASTA maintains that MoMA has been very successful in its investments, and could easily afford a decent salary hike while maintaining benefits. The workers feel that their wages are being held down while the managers are more than amply compensated. Another issue provoking the strike is job security. The museum is undergoing a $650 million expansion project for at least two years, and is planning relocate to Queens from its present location in Manhattan during that period of time. The union fears that the jobs of many of its members will be lost, and wants a guarantee that the workers will be able to return to their positions when the project is completed. The union is seeking a five-year contract in order to ensure that any job security clause will not expire before the project has been completed. This way everyone will know they have a job when they come back and not be in fear that they will be jobless. This is one of the major issues. PASTA wants the museum to agree that all new workers be required to either join the union or, if they don't join, be required to pay an equivalent monetary amount of the dues as an agency fee that goes to the union. At the same time, PASTA has filed charges with the National Labor Relations Board charging the museum with not bargaining in good faith by attempting to bypass the union and negotiate with individual employees. The strike has forced the museum to cancel a fundraising event starring the singer Sheryl Crow. MoMA officials said that they did not want Ms. Crow or the ticket holders to have to cross a picket line, and refunded 450 tickets with prices ranging from $500 to $1,000 each! Other than this event, some workers on the picket line have stated that it is difficult for them to judge how many people they have managed to discourage from going into the museum. MoMA officials are maintaining that the museum is running normally, and that ninety of the two hundred and sixty workers that are represented by the bargaining unit are working. Union officials dispute the claim that the strike is having no effect on the institution and say that only thirty workers are crossing the picket line. One striker, Ela Respina, a photographer with one year at the museum, said, Our salaries are quite low. MoMA is penny pitching on our wages. The museum has made a lot of money in the last couple of years, and this is on public record. One problem is that all the other unions have contracts that expire at different times, and so they are working. The guards have a no-strike clause in their

Get Your Resume In The Door in 8 Seconds or Less

Get Your Resume In The Door in 8 Seconds or Less With the hours we spend on our resumes and cover letter- the editing down, the asking friends to proofread, the tailoring to every job opportunity- we’d like to think that employers spend at least a few minutes taking in all our attention to detail. But they don’t. Since employers are often fighting time constraints,  they usually  spend about 8 seconds  scanning your resume for relevant info. Here’s how to make the most of all 8 seconds!Make the First Half CountI’ve never been one for resume objectives, but if I’m setting 8 seconds worth of priorities, I’m going to make sure I stand out from the other 299 people applying for this same job! The big 3: Skills, Experience, and Value. The top of your resume should reflect the qualifications that only you can offer- delete anything that could apply to anyone who has ever held a job.Use Keywords that MatterBefore you even get those 8 seconds, chances are a data-mining program has already scr eened you for an HR manager to review. Make sure you prime the hiring manager to like you by front-loading your resume with the most impressive accomplishments, specific technical skills, and other eye-catching (but accurate) terms. They should also pick up on what the job posting was specifically looking for.Lead With the Best InformationFor each position, there will be the achievements you accomplished and the responsibilities you completed. Which one do you think is more compelling to a hiring manager?Use bullets for your results and a paragraph format for roles and responsibilities so that what you achieved stands out more than just what you did. Use the active voice and avoid weak-sounding words that underplay your contribution.Don’t Make the Reader SquintYour resume font size should NEVER be smaller than 11- it’s impossible onscreen and the time it takes your hiring manager to reach for their reading glasses is precious! Use bold typeface to accent crucial inform ation, leave a healthy amount of white-space, and guide your reader through your resume with indentations and formatting that tells them clearly what information is grouped together.Make sure those 8 seconds are worth it- no typos, no sluggish passive voice, and definitely no exaggerations!

Dream act Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Dream act - Essay Example Although much of the Dream Act is misunderstood, the fact of the matter is that these children of illegal immigrants must meet stringent requirements and comply with all of the criteria in order to be illegible for the type of amnesty the Act provides. When all the requirements of the Dream Act are met by the candidate, then the minor is given permission to stay in the country for 6 years; upon successful completion of such residence, the individual is then able to apply for citizenship. In this way, the Dream Act allows temporary residency only for minors who have good character. As a function of this, the Dream Act gives an opportunity to build the career of otherwise helpless children who have what many would term a very dark life perennially branded as â€Å"illegal† without the restitution that such an act provides. Due to this reason and many others, I wholeheartedly support this Act. Although one cannot blame certain segments of society for being very anti-illegal immigration (due in no small part to the fact that it is a clear abrogation of the nation’s immigration law), it is however summarily unfair to punish the children of these illegal immigrants with the same labels that condemn their parents to a life on the sidelines of American society. Due to the fact that the children who migrated along with their parents are innocent and helpless, the Act is able to make such a distinction and seek to close a necessary loophole and oversight of current immigration law as to make it more humane and reasonable. However, beyond just being reasonable, the Act allows for an entire generation of â€Å"American† youths to integrate and participate in the society that they have thus far known and accepted as their own. Even though the Dream Act attempts to specifically nurture the life of migrant youths, this could also motivate more illegal

Promoting Creativity for life Using Open-Ended Materials by walter F Essay

Promoting Creativity for life Using Open-Ended Materials by walter F. Drew and Baji Rankin - Essay Example The most vital of the creative arts is the teachers, families and the children who build up inner resources, making it potential, direct and a clear expression. The main aim of indulging in the creative arts is to pass the information, think critically, and have the mutual feeling that bonds the children with their teachers. The thoughts and feelings through locomotion and visual perceptions are elaborated through the procedure of playing and the creative arts that are formed. According to researches, children have spontaneous, creative self-expression which usually intensifies the sense of competence and the behavior that they portray as the mature to the adulthood stage. The passion of creative art formation is usually viewed as a playful behavior, where those involved have the willingness to collapse their daily rules and their effects. Play is based on the mind state, and it brings about the unexpected characters, the unlearned forms of free expression, the generation of association, which represent the distinct value of order and harmony, thus producing the sense of well being (Drew and Rankin 2004). Play and art formation, stimulate the acts of courage and is usually equal to the act of faith that caters for their belief outcomes. These are the actions require and builds resilience, advocacy, outcome and the capability to focus and act according to their intentions even of the outcome is usually renowned; when the children act to endure the uncertainty and the ambiguity that is usually supposed to enable them to pursue their immediate goals. These actions produce great sense of competence to the children, as they grow up to become reliable students. The children extend and deepen their comprehension through various experiences with the different materials used. This strategy is familiar to many early childhood t eachers, and it has been exhibited through the brain research, which implicates the

The director of An Inspector Calls Essay Example for Free

The director of An Inspector Calls Essay During the first moments of the play, urchins, played by small children, entered from the side of the stage and started lifting up the curtains to signify poverty that the Birling family were shutting out, and how curious they are to see what is happening in the Birlings lives. In addition, it also indicates how at some stage in the rest of the play, their once concealed lives were about to be exposed to the public. These urchins also represented the working class, like Eva Smith and how no one took notice or how they could not care less about them because of their low status compared with the high status society, like the Birling family. As soon as the inspector enters the play, the atmosphere completely changes. Harsher lights are displayed to inform the audience of the characteristics of this new character. From the very second he walks in, the inspector grips the audience and the other characters with his cold stare and to the point attitude. He indicates a nemesis by his low and monotonous voice and by staying outside all through the play. His presence in the play represents a collective conscience of the family because they had all at least committed one of the seven deadly sins of; pride, covetousness, lust, envy, gluttony, anger and sloth. He did this by showing them a photo of a girl that has just committed suicide that they have caused and so he makes them feel guilty by wanting to prove that even at their standard they can too be morally wrong and responsible for doing something ruthless. I thought it was very clever the pun of the inspectors surname. Goole could be linked with either fool or ghoul. Fool to show that the Birlings and Gerald Croft were fools because when the inspector made his speech, it left the Birlings and Croft subdued and wondering exactly what the it really meant. And ghoul because the inspector him self was actually one, he wanted to, in a way, scare the family to make them feel guilty about what they had done. Daldry used the set of the play to put across the important message of JB Priestly that there should be more equality and we should not take our lifestyles for granted. We also should take responsibility for our actions or we could end up in an awful situation, just as the Birlings and Gerald did when they received the phone call at the end to say an inspector was on his way round. In the anti socialist speech, at the beginning of the play, Mr Birling said, Every man should look after himself but in the inspectors last speech, he brought the new message to the attention of the audience that, We are members of one body, we are responsible for each other, and I think that it sums up exactly what Priestly was trying to get across to the audience.

The Good Life in Epic Narratives :: Odyssey Iliad Essays

The Good Life in Epic Narratives Classic literature juxtaposes two ways of life that illustrate the poles of true happiness: a life of adventure, exemplified by Odysseus (The Odyssey), and the life at home, which poets and farmers represent. In The Iliad, Achilleus chooses to live a short, glorious life, even though he could have chosen to live a long life in anonymity. Arguments have been put forth that the life of adventure is a living hell, as Achilleus testifies from Hades after his death - in hindsight, he would have settled for the life of a slave and given up his glory, if only he could have lived longer. Alternately, the life of the (metaphorical) farmer has been despised as simple and ordinary, when true immortality is only attained with great accomplishments, such as sacking Troy or surviving heroic adventures which are then recorded. In a modern day autobiography of the 1996 ascent of Mt. Everest (Sagarmatha to the Nepalis, or â€Å"goddess of the sky†), Jon Krakauer reveals the human motivatio n behind adventure and tells the story of the men and women who lived and died on the expeditions to the summit during that spring (Into Thin Air). With epic literature and a recent epic, I will illuminate the values of a reflective life as well as the life of adventure, and delve into the necessary components of the ‘good life.’ The Choice of Achilleus I carry two sorts of destiny toward the day of my death. Either, if I stay here and fight beside the city of the Trojans, my return home is gone, but my glory shall be everlasting; but if I return home to the beloved land of my fathers, the excellence of my glory is gone, but there will be a long life left for me, and my end in death will not come to me quickly. -Achilleus (Iliad, IX.411) The decision of Achilleus is a crucial moment in understanding how fate works in epic (Homerian) literature. Thetis tells Achilleus of his opportunity to win renown as the greatest warrior of all time, earning glory through his fearless acts in battle against a foe who is sure to overcome the Achaians. The fate of ten years of attack on Troy hinge upon the decision of Achilleus, who is given the choice to win glory for the Achaians and, more importantly, himself.

Analyze in detail how Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck Essay

John Steinbeck’s first hand experience of what life was like during the American Depression allowed him to write an accurate novel on life during this dull time. It also gives us a good idea of certain aspects of the Depression; about how migrant workers lived and also how they were treated. The Depression changed people’s thoughts and views on life, how sensitive they were to others and how they acted around people. This is especially true of the migrant workers in Of Mice and Men. Loneliness took a major role in the migrant workers’ lives. The vast majority of the workers traveled alone across America, moving from ranch to ranch. Family values were non-existent, because of this they didn’t belong anywhere. The workers believed it was survival of the fittest between them. There were a large number of drifting workers, all-looking for the same jobs. Competition for work was fierce. There was a general feeling of loneliness at the time for the workers. George emphasizes this feeling when he is talking to Lennie by the brush: ‘Guys like us, which work on ranches, are the loneliest guys in the world. They got no family. They don’t belong no place.’ Because of a vast amount of suspicion on the ranch the workers often chose a solitary existence. It also made relationships between the workers very shallow. It would seem that the majority of the workers could not forge a meaningful relationship. Yet, it wasn’t just the workers who felt lonely. Curley’s wife also displays loneliness: ‘I get awful lonely’†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢You can talk to people, but I can’t talk to nobody but Curley.’ Crooks also seems very lonely: ‘I tell ya a guy gets too lonely, an’ he gets sick.’ Both Crooks and Curley’s wife also choose a life of solitude because of the suspicion. It is harder for them to establish meaningful relationships because the obstacles of discrimination and sexism that exists on the ranch. Loneliness was common for almost everyone. Different people did different things to try and cope with loneliness. Some would play cards. Some would play horseshoes. Crooks would read his books and Curley’s wife tries attention seeking by hanging around the bunks. They did anything to avoid the loneliness and boredom. Entertainment was a form of escape from their boring lives. Apart from the simple things the workers would do during the month like cards and horseshoes, there was no entertainment, so they all looked forward to the end of the month: ‘Well, a guy got to have some fun sometime.’ This was when they would get their pay and go into town. They would spend their money on drink and prostitutes. Again, anything that would allow them to escape from their lonely lives. It was normal for the workers to spend the best part of the night in a â€Å"whore house† where they could get alcohol and women. ‘A guy can go in an’ get drunk and get ever’thing out his system all at once, an’ no messes.’ And once that night was done that was it until the end of the next month. This demonstrates the attitude on the ranch toward women: they are just objects which can be used whenever they please. They aren’t considered as eqaul at all. The attitude towards Curley’s wife is another example of how women were poorly treated, poorly regarded and were by a long way, less equal than men. Newly married and in an unfamiliar place, she is not allowed to talk to anyone but Curley. She resents this and approaches the other ranch workers with the excuse of looking for Curley. The men instantly have their guard up and assure each other that she is nothing but trouble. They regard her as a woman to be used and make no attempt to get to know her. Probably the most important aspect of workers’ lives was the dream they all shared. But because of their tendencies to go into town at the end of the month they would never realize their dream, as many of their dreams involved saving up money, whoich usually they wasted. Crooks sums it up quite well: ‘I seen hundreds of men come by on the road an’ on the ranches with their bindles on their back an’ that same damn thing in their heads. Hundreds of them. They come, an’ they quit an’ they go on; an’ every damn one of ’em’s got a little piece of land in his head. An’ every goddamn one of ’em ever gets it. Just like heaven.’ It was a simple dream. All they wanted was to own their own place. A piece of land and a house to live in, somewhere they weren’t told what to do, a place where they could choose who could stay on their land and who had to move on, and a place where at the end of the harvest they could keep what they had harvested. George points this out: ‘I’d have my own little place, an’ I’d be bringing in my own crops, ‘stead of doin’ all the work and not getting what comes up outa the ground.’ But for most this dream would never be fulfilled. Their loneliness would always be with them. This would mean they would have to escape from their loneliness by going into town and spending their money. But without money they would never be able to buy their own place. As with loneliness, having dreams was not exclusive to the workers. Curley’s wife often dreamt of what her life would have been like if she would have been in movies: ‘Coulda been in the movies, an’ had nice clothes-all them nice clothes like they wear. An’ I coulda sat in them big hotels, an’ had pictures took of me.’ As for George and Lennie there is hope. They have each other to look after one another and are not as lonely as the other migrant’s. ‘Because†¦because I got you to look after me, and you got me to look after you.’ says Lennie. Because they have each other, they have a better chance of realizing their dream. They both have someone to talk to and travel with which helps them not get so lonely. It is this companionship that gives them their chance. Also, because of their companionship, they are very different from all the other workers on the ranch. None of the other workers had someone to travel with. Their companionship is seen as very unusual: ‘Well, I never seen a guy take so much trouble for another guy.’ says Carlson. Slim also says: ‘I hardly never seen two guys travel together.’ It was a rare thing to see during that period. It was also rare for the workers show genuine care for each other of for anyone else. George and Lennie a re an exception to this. Along with the good things that came with travelling together, George and Lennie’s companionship also brought along suspicion. Suspicion was very common on the ranches. The boss is suspicious as soon as George and Lennie arrive. He is suspicious of George because he won’t let Lennie speak: ‘I said what stake you got in this guy? You takin’ his pay away from him?’ He later says ‘I got my eye on you.’ It isn’t just the boss who is wary of the workers. It seems everyone is suspicious of each other: ‘Maybe ever’body in the whole damn world is scared of each other.’ says Slim. This is emphasized a lot by the way hardly anyone travels together and by the way George accuses Candy of listening in on his conversation with Lennie: ‘Say, what the hell you doin’ listenin’?’ Curley is also suspicious of anybody when it comes to his new wife. He runs around a lot looking for her and at one point accuses Slim of messing with her. Finally, most of the men on the ranch are worried about talking to Curley’s wife. They accuse her of giving men the eye and think she is a tart. There is a large amount of suspicion all over the ranch aimed at anyone around the ranch itself. As well as a lot of suspicion, maybe leading to the following, there was also a fair amount of violence. Curley is the main source of violence on the ranch. He was jealous and suspicious of people and this leads to him causing trouble. He is said to pick on big guys the most because he was so small: ‘He hates big guys. He’s alla time picking scraps with big guys.’ He is also said to be a good boxer and has proved this by doing well in certain tournaments. He’s often wary and is ready for a fight: His eyes flashed over George, took in his height, measured his reach, and looked at his trim middle. Curley finally demonstrates his foul temper and his willingness to fight by picking on Lennie and hitting him several times. George mentions the sense of violence on the ranch: ‘After a long time they get mean. They get wantin’ to fight all the time.’ Another side to the violence on the ranch is the attraction of it. Whit is very eager when he sees Curley going after Slim: ‘I guess maybe I’d like to see this.’ and ‘But I like to see the fuss if it comes off. Come on le’s go.’ Crooks is a target of the violence also. The time at Christmas when they set after him is an example of this. He is often verbally abused as well. The workers are very casual about racist language. They use words like ‘nigger’ behind his back and even to his face: ‘Sure the stable buck’s a nigger.’ ‘Nigger huh?’ ‘Yeah. Nice fella, too.’ And such words are even said to his face: ‘Listen, Nigger.’ says Curley’s wife. Racism was still very common during this period and segregation was also common. Crooks wasn’t allowed in the white workers’ bunk house and he is put in the barn, by himself, which had very poor living conditions. He had to put up with a lot of abuse and discrimination and because of this he had developed a protective shell, which he would withdraw back into whenever he was being abused, this made him suspicious of anyone trying to help him or take an interest in him. Crooks was a dignified man and would often refer to his mauled book of rights to emphasize he had rights. He would also refer to his book if he thought someone was doing something that impeded his rights. Crooks was also very lonely and he craves someone to talk to as much as any of the other workers on the ranch. A good example of his dignity and his loneliness mixed together is when Lennie comes into his room he tries to be angry but he knows he needs someone to talk to and allows Lennie to stay in his room. Women were used and treated unfairly during this period also. During this time women were generally seen as a possession. Men believed that they owned the women and that they could use them however or for whatever they wanted. This is shown by the way the workers talk about the women at the whorehouses and also by the way the workers talk about Curley’s wife. She is seen, as something Curley owns, an item or possession not a person. She is also referred to as jail-bait, a tart and nothing but trouble. Quotes like ‘Jesus, what a tramp.’, ‘Don’t you even look at that bitch.’ and ‘Well, I think Curley’s married†¦a tart.’ which refer to Curley’s wife all emphasize the disrespect shown to women in this period. Although men liked to think women were their possessions, they also had other possessions. They would carry around little things like razors and keep them in a bindle while traveling. When they weren’t traveling they would keep their possessions in an apple crate hung up on the wall. They never carried around much and things would get left behind; for example, the roach killer that got left behind by the last worker that occupied George’s bunk. Hygiene wasn’t all that good. As well as the roach infested bunks there were rats underneath the floorboards. The food wasn’t all that good either and medicine was very simple. Candy tells about how one guy would clean the potatoes if they had spots on them and he would scrape off the red bits in the eggs. Candy also complains of a stomachache the turnips gave him and asks for some whiskey to treat his stomachache. Overall life in the bunkhouses was very harsh. In conclusion, the novel has given us a very clear picture of what life like for the migrant workers moving from ranch to ranch. Loneliness was a serious part of their lives. It was part of a vicious circle that included entertainment, money and their dream. Their dreams were what kept them going. But loneliness would continue to stop them realizing their dreams. They were so lonely they needed the entertainment to help them escape from their loneliness and boredom after work. This cost money; money they needed to realize their dream, and from entertainment they wasted the money they needed to realize a dream, and found themselves lonely again, causing the vicious circle to continue. Life was very rough on the workers. No family to speak of or get closed to. They believed that they didn’t belong anywhere. They went to a ranch, worked up a stake and then blew it in the nearest town. This would happen every month and even though the workers dreamt, the vast majority eventually realized their dream would never come true. But kept dreaming to keep up some hope even though deep down they realized it was not possible.

Plan of Discipleship Essay

Introduction In due course of ministering to the body of Fairway Church it has become apparent that there is a greater need for discipleship among the un-churched and the de-churched of the surrounding community. It is therefore, the goal  of this exposition to introduce, clarify, and expound the goal of the discipleship ministries of Fairway Church in said context. This action must be seen as imperative not only to the church but also in the broader context of mission as a whole. It is the hope therefore, in the following curricular plan that there would be adequate space and definition given to the following areas of concern: Scriptural Foundations Core Ministry Values Behavioral goals (including Slogans and Visuals) Measurable Objectives Base Path of Development (Measurable Steps) Encompassing Vision Statement Identification and description of characteristics of the target group. Action Plan Scope and Sequence Plan Budget and Communication Tools and Techniques Through the further defining and examination of the above factors the goal of this curricular plan should be well established in the collective efforts of the church as a whole. With this in mind one should be capable of appreciating and desiring to continue in the work of discipleship at Fairway Church. Furthermore, it should be noted that discipleship is no easy task, yet it is a worthwhile one. It should be the overarching goal of the local church as well as individual believers to be involved in the representative work of Christ in the local context. The command has been given, the call has been sent out, as individual followers the response therefore, must be to follow well and seek to make other followers. Scriptural Foundations Perceiving, therefore, a need for valid and comprehensive discipleship it is the desire of this program to integrate Scriptural content into a practical outreach format. It should therefore, be the purpose of this expositional section to deal with the Scriptural foundations of the below development of  a discipleship strategy. This must be done through a successful examination of the call, the example, and the sacrifice of Christ as well as the model of Paul. First, one must see that Jesus has given a call to make disciples. If the local congregation does not understand the basic imperative of Christ toward discipleship, there is no hope that a successful model might be attained. This call is expressed nowhere more clear than in Matthew 28:9 which states to the followers of Christ, â€Å"Go therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.† 1 It should be seen that the goal of the disciple-follower should be to make other disciple-followers. This must not be compromised; it is the foundational block of any successful discipleship strategy. Furthermore, one must seek to gain an understanding of Christ’ example of discipleship. Here one must dissect the concern as to the question of, â€Å"Why?† Why does one make disciples? Although, it can easily be seen that Christ commanded this in the above passage, there is more to this than a mere call to do something in Christ’s name. As Francis Chan states, â€Å"God wants us to pursue certain actions, but as we put God’s commands into action, our motivation makes all the difference.† 2 A student of scripture must understand that discipleship is at the heart of Christ Himself. In reality Christ held a special call to make followers. This can be seen nowhere better than in Matthew 4:18-22. One reads: â€Å"While walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. And he said to them, â€Å"Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.† Immediately they left their nets and followed him. And going on from there he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and he called them. Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.† 3  This passage is key in understanding the example of Christ as he sought to create and lead disciples. Christ called people to come and follow Him. The local church should be about the same business as they seek to reach the culture around them for Christ. This is more than a command, it is a lifestyle exhibited primarily by Christ. Next, one who seeks to be a disciple must embody the sacrificial life of Christ. This does not dictate that one must seek to die in order to follow Christ. However it should lead believers to understand the call to live sacrificially even unto death, if necessary. Dietrich Bonheoffer points this out by stating that, â€Å"When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die.† 4 This does not mean that Christ calls men to be killed but rather to live sacrificially. The idea is the same when one sees in Luke 9:23-24 that Christ calls people to live sacrificially. The student of this text reads, â€Å"And he said to all, â€Å"If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.† 5  This passage is also a key in the concept of successful discipleship strategy. In short, the believer must be willing to live as if a cross was their goal. The disciple should understand that ultimately following Christ leads to the death of self. Without this understanding there is no means to successfully accomplish the objective of creating solid disciple-followers of Christ. Lastly, one should see the practical applications to the above theological themes concerning discipleship. This is nowhere exhibited more fully than in Pauls’ ministry to the Philippians. Paul states in Philippians 3:17 concerning the church that, â€Å"Brothers, join in imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us.† 6 This should be seen as directly related to the nature of disciples as followers. Paul is pointing to himself as an acceptable example for disciples to follow. This point is of great importance in that it is attainable to the average believer. The individual congregant of a particular church should seek to embody this model in any effort to be a disciple-making disciple. Individuals should seek to create followers of themselves and in this lead others to Christ. Core Values With firm scriptural texts established one should further seek to develop  and implement the core values of discipleship. These values are highly important in the forming of vision and the continuation of a successful disciple making structure. The local church must be seen as central to this and should be placed in context of discipleship structures. It is therefore, the hope of this expositional section to place the local church at the center of effective disciple making. In this context one should see that the core values of discipleship in the local church congregation should include a healthy understanding of, engaging culture (mission), organic relationship building, accountability, and lastly reproduction. These core concepts should sit at the center of the discipleship efforts of Fairway Church. First, the congregation should seek to understand the reality of the culture in which the church exists. The current culture is one in which most seem to be hostile toward Christianity. The spectrum shows it obvious that, â€Å"Christian faith is quickly losing traction in Western culture, not only as a result of unchristian behavior, as significant as that is, but because we haven’t recognized our new reality and adapted.† 7 The path forward is defined by how the local body interacts with this culture.  Interaction must be seen as key. Considering discipleship and the way in which the church engages culture dictates their ability to reproduce disciples. Tim Keller, speaking of the Israelites, and their engagement of Babylonian culture gives three options. These options are: â€Å"Move into the city and lose your spiritual identity†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Don’t move into the city and keep your spiritual identity†¦ â€Å" â€Å"Move into the city and keep your spiritual identity†¦Ã¢â‚¬  8  It is frightful to think of the number of churches that embody the first two models in the modern context. Furthermore, it should be seen that Gods model for cultural engagement is one in which believers engage culture. One reads in Jeremiah 29:7 that believers should, â€Å"seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the LORD for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.† 9 The situation is one that is  clear. Church people should not live in isolation of culture, in fact, individual believers should be engaged with culture yet not lose their spiritual identity. The church must be engaged with the world around it. This must be a core value of any successful discipleship strategy. In connection to the above idea of engagement, the local church should seek to understand the value of organic relationship building. It is through relationship that community is formed and this concept must be seen as central to the very nature of being Christian. This was the practice of the early church in Acts. One reads in Acts 2:42-45 the following: â€Å"And they devoted themselves to the apostles teaching and the fellowship, the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need.† 10  The idea is one of community. Here the church must be about building relationships in community. Through engaging culture the gospel becomes attractive and as relationships are developed there should be people added, first, in areas of common interest and then as firm followers of Christ. In the context of relationship building there should also be an aspect of accountability. It should be noted that the ultimate goal of successful discipleship is to make people accountable to Christ first and each other as an outflow of the primary relationship with Christ. This however, must be linked to healthy accountability in relationship. Some may refer to this as creating healthy boundaries. Although, this may seem abstract to many, in its exposition it should become clear. Some may find it offensive to even suggest that disciple makers should consider relational boundaries. However, this is important in two ways. These ways are easily seen as maintaining proper doctrine and picturing proper Christian love. First, one must see that doctrinal boundaries must be maintained. As Jonathan Leeman points out, that the church is rampant in its, â€Å"loss of doctrinal, boundary making thinking,† 11 furthermore, that this loss is linked to allowing churches to, â€Å"veer toward number-counting or Spirit-chasing (or both)†. 12 This has ultimately led the church to see an influx of people. Yet, also there is a lack of spiritual maturity or ability to reproduce disciples. This must be seen in direct connection to the cultural phenomena of, â€Å"individualism, consumerism, and a reluctance to commit, and skepticism toward all forms of dogma† 13 The goal however, should be in relationships to picture the opposite of this mentality. The goal should center on accountability and self sacrifice, healthy boundaries and love from a biblical context of community. Furthermore, it should be understood that in picturing proper, restorative love in community is essential. The culture to which disciples will be sent is one intoxicated by love. This is a problem, in that the predominant cultural perception of love is so often implied upon the church and furthermore, Christ. It is expected that Christ is all accepting rather than concerned about belief or accountability. Restorative ministry in a community context must be fleshed out in a context of Gospel transparency. The church cannot disciple sinners with out loving them enough to picture this model in relationship. Hold true to doctrine and do not compromise for the sake of â€Å"love†. Lastly, one must seek to operate a framework of discipleship that can be reproduced. The church in too many cases has tied itself to structures that cannot be reproduced on an individual level. It is key to understand that, â€Å"Reproduction ensures that a movement will live past its founding stages.† 14 This must be acknowledged in greater depth. Jesus understood the need for reproductive discipleship and so should the modern church. The model of Jesus must be seen as the most successful model in that he understood and implemented a strategy of reproduction centered on a small handful of original disciples. Robert Coleman notes this in his book the Master Plan of Evangelism by stating the following: â€Å"His concern was not with programs to reach the multitudes but with men whom the multitudes would follow†¦ Men were  to be His method of winning the world to God. The initial objective of Jesus’ plan was to enlist men who could bear witness to His life and carry on His work after He returned to the Father.† Jesus understood the value of organic reproduction. The local church as well should seek to embody this. However, it seems this has not been the goal in much of the historical efforts of discipleship. Behavioral Goals Discipleship as Frank Viola states is, â€Å"a lifestyle—an authentic journey with the Lord Jesus and His disciples.† 15 Therefore, any process seeking to make disciples should desire to integrate fully a successful plan of curriculum. This curriculum should hold a clear-cut concept of behavioral goals. As Mitchell states, â€Å"Step number one in developing the curricular plan is establishing both institutional and individual goals and expectations.†16 This must be assessed if discipleship is to be accomplished. An overarching goal statement should be established to guide the educator as they seek to lead and make disciples. The goal then of this curricular plan must be seen as follows: To make disciples capable of living on mission, in journey, and reproductive in nature. This goal statement should be seen at the heart of successfully making disciples. However, the statement in itself is incapable of fleshing out the reality of this goal. There must be an expectation of personal goals accompanying the discipleship goal statement. Behavioral goals should be built around the framework of this statement. These goals should follow as well the model seen in the core ministry values. Individuals in the discipleship structure should be encouraged to integrate the following principles into their lives on a daily basis: Engage Care Build Reproduce Individuals should be encouraged to integrate these behaviors in their own  lives on a daily basis. The terminology of Scripture should point this out. One reads in Matthew 28:19 that the call is to, â€Å"Go therefore and make disciples of all nations,†17 The point of â€Å"going† is better conveyed in the Greek, which reads as, â€Å"πΠ¿Ã ÃŽ µÃâ€¦ÃŽ ¿ÃŽ ¼ÃŽ ±ÃŽ ¹Ã¢â‚¬ 18This therefore is defined as, â€Å"to lead over, carry over, transfer, to pursue the journey on which one has entered, to continue on one’s journey.†19 This must be seen as important in the behavioral goals of a discipleship effort. Individuals must be encouraged to integrate the four core values into a lifestyle of evangelism, rather than the more common structure of catapulting oneself into culture. Such an effort is often times defined by congregants in the form of confessional faith alone. The goal should be to integrate people into the journey before ever assessing the nature of their salvation. Salvation should be the goal yet; it should not be the point of the spear. Far too many have presented Christian community as transactive, whereas it should be seen as transformative in nature. The above format however may be seen as drastically different than the model shown in the historical model of church. Individual disciple-followers should begin to acknowledge that the need is not to go â€Å"on mission† but to â€Å"do life† as mission. There should be a language component to this shift. An individual slogan therefore could be stated simply as, â€Å"Keep Calm and Disciple on†. The goal of such a slogan is two fold. The desire should be to create a common language as well as a framework for motivation in a comfortable and familiar style. This must be understood in order to fully integrate discipleship into ones life. Furthermore, there should be a visual component to this as well. This visual can be seen in the following: . The above visual should be seen as key in the integration of material into the teaching and educative principles concerned with behavioral objectives. The form can be utilized as a further tool to incorporate and engage the culture at large concerning the building of relationships. This must be seen as key in the implementation of the above described discipleship structure. Therefore, it should be assessed that the behavioral objectives of this  discipleship strategy are to lead others to integrate the â€Å"engage, care, build, reproduce† strategy into their lives. Individual disciple-followers should be lead to, engage culture, care for their communities, build relationship through that caring, and reproduce disciples from those relationships. These are the behavioral objectives of this strategy and are essential to its implementation. Measureable Objectives Measurable outcomes should also be seen as important to the accomplishing of valuable discipleship structures. The question of what expectation is held by the leadership of Fairway Church for the individual disciple-followers is important and should be well defined at the onset of the structure. Dietrich Bonheoffer stated in his classical work Life Together that as believers, â€Å"We must be ready to allow ourselves to be interrupted by God, God will be constantly crossing our paths and canceling our plans†¦Ã¢â‚¬  20 This quote should help individual leaders as they seek to integrate measurable objectives into a successful framework for discipleship. Successful discipleship should create disciples willing to have their lives interrupted by Jesus. The measurable outcome in conclusion should be centered on the ability of individuals to live in such a way that discipleship is accomplished regardless as to the inconvenience to their personal lives. It should therefore, be noted that at the end of this discipleship course individuals should be integrated into community and motivated to form community in whatever context available to them. These measurable outcomes must be placed as central to the success of this plan of discipleship. Each component must be seen more in depth as to understand the importance of each. First, one must see the importance of individuals being integrated into community. Darrin Patrick notes this in his book For the City in a remarkable way. After noticing the large amount of non-believers in his congregation Patrick also noted that they (leaders), â€Å"learned that what stood out to people was the context of challenging, biblical teaching in the context of a community of people who seemed to genuinely care for one another and spend time together.† 21 This is for the purposes of this paper a  successful picture of what it means to integrate people into valuable community. This integration however, must be driven toward further goals. Next, one must be capable of thinking sacrificially to accomplish the goals of engaging and reproducing. This must be seen in the context of community. Darrin Patrick exhibits this point by describing the establishment of the fifth campus of his church â€Å"The Journey†. Darrin notes that, â€Å"we launched our fifth campus, which started because of the heart of a member of our church who owned a thrift store and desired a place for people who frequented there to go to church.† 22 This must be seen as an embodiment of the measurable outcome of being motivated to form community. The individual disciple saw a need in community, as a result a new congregation was started and discipleship was carried on. In summation concerning the point of measurable outcomes leadership should assess individuals in their ability to be part of community and their ability to form community. A successful disciple-follower will reproduce the discipleship model in different context outside of the original community. This must be seen as the most important measurable objective of this discipleship structure. Base Path of Development (Measurable Steps) A base path of development should also be considered at this point in the development of a discipleship structure. These steps should be assessed on both a corporate and an individual level. The larger context of the local church should benefit from the advancement of discipleship efforts. This would be the measurable steps assessed in the corporate context. However, it should also be seen that assessment on an individual level is needed. Furthermore, the benefit to the church is not one of a superficial nature. The church itself should be seen as being reproducible. The goal is to build from smallest to largest. The smallest being individual disciples and the largest being the reproduction and continued proliferation of church planting movements. The symbiotic relationship that exists between the corporate and the individual nature of discipleship is seen by the statements of Dennis McCallum who disciples through a process of, â€Å"using one-on-one or one-on-two relationships to h elp people who have only recently met Christ and need help just getting started at the most rudimentary  level.† 23 However, this is also integral to the model of reproduction. The above quote points to the greater implication of multiplication. McCallum goes on to point that; â€Å"Each home church in Xenos seeks to replicate itself within one to four years, depending on the type of group. To succeed, the home church must raise up a new team of leaders and double the size of the group.† 24 In short, it should be seen that a measurable outcome in the discipleship process of Fairway Church it the reproduction rate of both discipleship groups and church plants. As one evaluates the outcomes of developing disciple-followers there must be an emphasis placed on the corporate reproduction as well as the individual reproduction of disciples. As individuals are encouraged to â€Å"disciple on† there should be an understanding that an organic structure driven toward reproductive fellowships (i.e. church in whatever context) must be realized. Therefore, it must be noted that two measurable outcomes must be considered. First, are individuals making disciples? Second, are these disciples forming relational fellowships built around the tenants of church? If these two outcomes are not seen leadership should re-assess and equip individual disciples to continue by other means. This is key to the understanding of measureable outcomes in the context of the above discipleship st ructure. Furthermore, individuals should be encouraged to be experimental in their application of biblical teaching in the context of discipleship. One reads in the book the Trellis and the Vine concerning this theme: â€Å"†¦just as some sort of framework is needed to help a vine grow, so Christian ministries also need some structure and support. It may not be much, but at the very least we need somewhere to meet, some Bibles to read from, and some basic structures of leadership within our group.† 25  It should therefore, be embodied in the relationship between structure and organic growth that a supportive leadership model gives guidance but not directives. The goal should be to keep first things first in the context of community application. There should be a solid vein of doctrinal agreement, leadership authority, and oversight. However, this does not mean that the communities are manipulated to look alike in any context. A vibrant community of faith should be one in which the practical application of doctrinal belief binds a community together rather than driving them apart. Encompassing Vision Statement Furthermore there should be an encompassing vision for any discipleship structure. The vision of a group must be well defined in order to keep the group as a whole motivated and driven toward a goal. A successful leader will continually measure the progress of the group. This leader should also be willing adjust the methods used as needed. Transformative leadership is leadership that must not be fixated with plans but capable of accomplishing goals through working and changing with the group. Vision, it seems should be viewed in a dualistic nature. Vision can be a catalyst or a nail in a coffin. Darrin Patrick notes this in his book Church Planter. He comments that a pastor without grace is a man characterized as, â€Å"a blind man elected to a professorship of optics, philosophizing upon light and vision, discoursing upon and distinguishing to others the nice shades and delicate blendings of the prismatic colours, while he himself is absolutely in the dark!† 26 It must be seen therefore, that vision can be very dangerous if given from the wrong perspective and through the wrong person. However, this should not lead one to think it unwise to have vision. Paul is noted as have thought strategically about vision. In short, it must be seen that vision does not trump strategic thinking and strategic thinking does not cancel out the value of vision. One reads concerning this that, â€Å"Paul had two checks in his spirit and an open vision, but it wasn’t until he concluded—put all these things together cognitively—that he knew where the Spirit was leading.† 27 It should be therefore, that the leader of a discipleship effort should seek to combine an open vision with cognitive practical thought. Therefore, in considering the above exposition concerning the proposed discipleship structure of Fairway Church there should be a desire to define a vision built in the notion of Paul. This vision should be moldable as well as practical. At this point individuals should see the following vision statement as functional as well as doctrinal and spirit formed. Fairway Church discipleship exists to be the hands and feet of Jesus, to all those outside the walls of this church. We will live missionally, give sacrificially, and never stop encouraging others to join us on our way to Jesus. This vision should be implemented to encourage individuals to successfully accomplish the goals of discipleship. In conjunction with leadership on a personal level it is hoped that people will be motivated toward replicating the discipleship structure on their own. Identification and Description of Characteristics  of the Target Group The target group of this discipleship model is two fold. These two groups are best and most easily identified as follows: Church Attenders and believers  Un-churched and De-churched peoples Each of the above groups listed groups possess its own challenges as well as concerns. However, the success of this structure must be gauged in its ability to mesh the two together. First, one must integrate the existing resources of people and facilities toward accomplishing a greater understanding of evangelism in the context of discipleship. Ed Stetzer speaks of this by emphasizing the importance of a successful, â€Å"evangelistic strategy. â€Å"28 he points out that such a strategy, â€Å"requires stages, helping people move from the ranks of the inactive and unreached to being active followers of Jesus Christ.† 29 Therefore, these steps must start with those who already believe. Furthermore, this provides great comfort to the leader. Community in this seed group or core group will help not only to build new leaders but also give courage to the one in place. As the group develops and begins to implement the strategy of discipleship momentum will build and individuals will become bolder in their discipleship efforts. Second, one must seek to broaden the base from which the discipleship efforts can begin to take shape. This stage would further develop the core values of engagement and relationship building. In a sense this stage would be the branching out stage. Individuals from the core would be encouraged to engage, care for, and build relationships with their community. In this  process these individuals would seek to understand and acknowledge the individuals that can be identified with the un-churched and the de-churched. This however, may seem a daunting task. However, when placed in context it should be seen that this task, although daunting, could be accomplished. One term seems to predominantly describe those that remain outside the church. The term of post-modern has taken on a prolific hatred in the contemporary American church. Yet, the hope remains that through engaging this culture there can be Gospel work accomplished. First, one should understand what a â€Å"post-modern† person is. Stanley Grenz notes that post-modernism is, â€Å"a questioning, and even rejection of the Enlightenment project and the foundational assumptions upon which it was built, namely, that knowledge is certain, objective, and inherently good.† 30 In examining this definition the church may react rather than respond. However, the church should ask itself whether this shift is necessarily a bad thing. Gabe Lyons notes that over all, â€Å"Americans are spiritual, but they have begun to seek spiritual experiences outside the framework of traditional religions.† 31 If this is the case than why should the church be frightful of reaching out to engage this cultural shift? In a sense should not such a culture find value in Christian community? Not to say that Christian community should bend to accommodate but that a mentality defined by, â€Å"Think, hence I am† 32 by its very tenant, accommodates one who acknowledges Christ. Therefore, the church should seek to engage this group in an effort to integrate them into greater biblical community. The question is well phrased when reading, â€Å"What if it’s (the post modern culture) actually a harnessable wind that can refill the sails of our faith?† 33 Action Plan An action plan should further the discipleship effort of Fairway Church. This plan should be all encompassing as well as directed toward the context of each individual target group. The following steps should be taken in the goal to accomplish successful discipleship in the congregation of Fairway Church. The activities should be seen the context of two activities of a Biblical context. These activities can be defined as net casting and pulling  in the nets. First, one should see the first steps of the action plan as a net casting activity. These steps include the cultivation of existing believers and the utilization (pulling in) of such to broaden the discipleship pool. In a sense one is casting nets into the relevant communities in order to find the workers for discipleship. These individuals are then brought into the discipleship conversation as a means to parlay such resources toward the greater community. In this step of action one seeks to find where God is already working an d align themselves in an effort to have greater community impact toward making disciples of the un-churched and de-churched. Second, this step should be repeated on a broader scale. It is in this second step of action that one should look for areas in which the church can truly make a difference. In this context Christians should be encouraged to build relationships by engaging the culture around them. The net casting in this step is defined by the individual disciples living on task and on journey in their community context. Continual long-term engagement should be encouraged at this point. Furthermore, this second step should be defined by the individual efforts of disciples to become more involved in the lives of those outside the church. Although, disciples should be encouraged to invite disciples to Christian activities the main point is to form valuable organic relationships with those in the community. This step is hugely important to the continual development of discipleship efforts. Scope and Sequence Plan Scope and sequence planning should be seen as important as well. In such an assessment there should be adequate evaluation given to the curriculum, calendar, and personnel needed to accomplish the goals of the discipleship efforts. It is in this portion of development that one may see the options as limitless. However, for the sake of being organic it should be noted that scope and sequence planning should be a minimalistic activity. Curriculum must be seen as standardized. Regardless, as to which group or facet of the discipleship structure, there should be a successful implementation of curriculum. It is the suggestion of this paper that there should be an emphasis placed on book studies. These studies however, should be developed from practical to theological and from larger group to smaller. As individuals who already self identify as disciples arise in congregations they should immediately be integrated in a cohort structure of discipleship training. The curriculum for such a group should be focused on training and empowering these individuals to cast nets for themselves and train future disciples. Each cohort should last no more than six weeks and should consist of a high level of accountability. These groups should be no more than six participants in number. This number should allow for adequate leadership and training. In this context there should be a practical book such as For the City by Darrin Patrick and Matt Carter. In conjunction to this there should also be a Theologically significant book such as The surprising Offense of Gods Love by Jonathan Leeman. To second these efforts there should also be practical training involved. Each disciple should also be engaged for up to three weeks after the initial cohort. Each disciple-follower would be encouraged in this time to begin a personal outreach to his or her local community. Creativity would be emphasized and applauded. The leader of the cohort would be there only in a supportive role. Budget and Communication Tools and Techniques A budget plan should also be taken into consideration. However, with an emphasis on an organic model and structure, the budget should also be very minimalistic. Within the confines of such a structure the main cost would be book materials. Although individuals can be encouraged to buy the books there should be adequate understanding on the part of leadership. Books should be purchased in bulk and distributed at cost to leaders of individual groups. This budgetary model should be seen as helpful in several ways. However, the lower the cost the more likely reproduction will be. Individual participants should be encouraged to take ownership of the discipleship model and its proliferation. Too many churches have launched into discipleship efforts with an emphasis on church structural centrality. This in turn has made the portrayed model barren not easily reproduced. This mistake should be avoided  at all cost. Bibliography Bevins, Winfield. Grow: Reproducing through Organic Discipleship. Resurgence , 2009. Bonhoeffer, Dietrich. Life Together: The Classic Exploration of Christian Community. New York , NY: Harper Collins , 1954. Bonhoeffer, Detrich. The Cost of Discipleship . New York , NY : Thouchstone, 1959. Chan, Francis. Multiply: Diciples Making Disciples. Colorado Springs, CO: David C. Cook, 2012. Coleman, Dr. Robert E. The Master Plan of Evangelism . Grand Rapids , MI: Revell Books , 1993. Descartes, Rene. Discourse on the Method and the Meditations . New York , NY: Cosimo, Inc, 2008 ESV Study Bible. Wheaton , IL: Crossway Bibles , 2008. Grenz, Stanley J., interview by Rogier Bos. Next Wave Interview (1999). Leeman, Jonathan. The Church and the Surprising Offense of God’s Love: Reintroducing the Doctrines of Church Membership and Discipline . Wheaton , IL: Crossway Books , 2010. Lyons, Gabe. The NExt Christians: Seven Ways you Can Live the Gospel and Restore the World. Colorado Springs, Co: Multnomah Books , 2012. Marshall , Colin , and Tony Payne . The Trellis and the Vine: The Ministry Mind-Shift that Changes Everything. Kingsford : Matthias Media , 2009. McCallum , Dennis , and Jessica Lowery . Organic Discipleship: Mentoring Others Into Spiritual Maturity and Leadership. New Paradigm Publishing , 2006. Patrick , Darrin, and Matt Carter . For the City: Proclaiming and Living out the Gospel. Grand Rapids , Mi: Zondervan , 2012. Patrick, Darrin. Church Planter: The Man, The Message, The Mission. Wheaton , IL: Crossway, 2010. Patrick, Darrin, and Carter Matt. For the City: Proclaiming and Living Out the Gospel. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011. Scrivener, Fredrick. Interlinear Greek New Testament Bible (Kindle Edition). 2010. Stetzer, Ed. Comeback Churches: How 300 Churches Turned Around and Yours Can Too. Nashville, TN: B & H Publishing Group, 2007. Gospel [in] Life . Performed by Timothy Keller Redeemer City to City . Viola, Frank. Finding Organic Church. Colorado Springs , CO: David C. Cook.