Assertiveness and Effective Leadership

Assertiveness and Effective Leadership ASSERTIVENESS AND EFFECTIVE LEADERSHIP By Joseph Santora This article deals with the study of the right level of assertiveness that should be use in having an effective leadership. These are the key points that I observe with this reading: Leaders should have managerial competencies in order to be successful in any organization, one of these characteristics that people are looking in good managers is his/her assertiveness. The connection between leadership and assertiveness isnt that clear, there have been studies from the past regarding the relationship of leadership and assertiveness. Studies shows that there are certain levels of assertiveness that should be use in different situations in   order to become an effective leader. On the first study, assertiveness was not consorted with leadership strength but rather it was considered as a weakness of a leader. Regardless of the level of assertiveness used, whether it is low assertiveness or high assertiveness, both were considered as weakness of a potential managers. On the second study, it was viewed that people with moderate and low levels of assertiveness are much appreciated when it comes to conflict management and their influence to other, rather than people with high level of assertiveness, wherein they are still viewed as least effective leaders. The third study conducted focuses on older managers and the result is leaders with too low in assertiveness were seen as weak for getting things done but are successful with their social relationship in the organization, while leaders with high level of assertiveness may be able to get things done but suffers his/her social life at work. Though there are a lot of suggestions, the conclusion to this study is having a moderate level of assertiveness is more likely to be effective in leadership both in social and organizational goals. However, they should be flexible on the level of their assertiveness depending on the demand of certain situations. How can you make use of the article in your daily life? For me, assertiveness in my life means being aggressive and fierce in getting things done or in any circumstances. I think I can relate the level of assertiveness in my daily life as a spouse. Being a wife to my a bit temperamental husband, where his mood swings were kinda unpredictable, I have to make sure of the right level of assertiveness to apply in dealing with him especially when problem comes to avoid CHAOS. LEADERSHIP STYLES AND CONFLICT MANAGEMENT STYLES OF EXECUTIVES By S. Limbare The study deals about the relationship between leadership styles and management styles of executives, here are the list of key points that I have taken into about what the article wants to convey. Leadership is basically the ability to influence others to direct them in attaining specific goals, moulding their attitudes and behavior, and motivating them. There are eight different styles of leadership according to Reddin (1970) and these are the following: Deserter Leadership style means uninvolved or passive, who allows things to just happen and accept what other people would do without trying to change them. Missionary style of leadership is primarily interested harmony and would avoid any conflict as much as possible. Autocrat leadership style shows no confidence and lack concerns to others. And just interested in getting the job done. Usually self centered kind of leadership where it keeps all the control of the org within himself. Compromiser style of leader is a poor decision maker, who would easily give up on something in order to end an argument or dispute. Bureaucrat is normally based on following the rules and procedures and control the situation for their own sake. Developer leadership style based his trust on people and is mainly concern in developing them as individual goal setter. Benevolent autocrat knows exactly what he wants form people and the situation and knows how to get things done in his own way without causing resentment. Executive is a good motivator who sets high standards treats everyone differently and prefers team management. There are four main avoidance styles of conflict management at preventing or postponing conflict in different ways and these are: Resignation the extreme avoidance adopted in helpless situations. Wedrawal getting away with conflict. Defusion the style that buys time or delays the dealing with conflict. Appeasement style means agreeing temporarily with the group not because it is convinced but just to avoid conflicts. There are four approaches modes or styles that are used in dealing with conflict and finding a solution and these are: Confrontation is use to fight out an issue to get a solution in favor of one side. It is often adopted by management and may involve coercion and likely to fail in having solution. Compromise process of sharing the gain without resolving the conflict. Arbitration where a third party is sought to assess the situation and provide solutions. Negotiation jointly discussion in dealing with the problem and finding solutions. Different studies were made and same findings are missionary style of a leader was the most preferred and deserter leader was the most rejected. And that appeasement management style was the most preferred style in dealing with conflict. The modes and styles of conflict management and managerial leadership style of managers By khan Key points from the journal reading: Conflict in an organization is inevitable, because it is made up of individuals or group that affect one another with their actions. It can involve incompatible differences between parties that would result to opposition and violation of rules and procedures. Conflict signifies commitment, involvement and caring. In this study there are five styles of conflict management, these are: Competition, the use of this style in dealing with the conflict solution is the attempt to affect very strongly the opponent by the use of formal authority, power or threats. Collaboration is mutual problem solving, where parties are face to face in discussing the issues. It is frequently viewed as a win approach because the solution is sought by all the participants for their advantages. Avoidance a situation where one party avoids the other to prevent demonstration of disagreement, it is either withdrawal or suppression. Accommodation it is viewed as a self-sacrificing behavior, where one party puts the other partys interest first. Compromise is created when each party gives up something to come up with the solution. There are different kind of leadership style that was tackled in this journal these are: Concern for people leaders considers the needs of their members. Concern for production leader emphasizes high productivity, organizational efficiency in deciding how to complete the task. Country club leadership high people but low production because people operates under the assumption that as long as they are happy and secure they will work hard. The direction and control of the org suffers. Produce or perish leader also known as authoritarian or compliance leaders, strict rules, policies and views punishment to motivate the employees. Viewed as high production but low in people. Impoverished leadership it is a low production and low people approach and most ineffective. Middle of the road leadership medium production and medium people where leaders settle for average performance. Team leadership according to Blake mouton this is the pinnacle of managerial style. Where leader stress the production needs and people need equally high. In their analysis, it is revealed that most managers used the accommodating and collaborating conflict management mode to handle issue in an organization. Conflict management, efficacy, performance in an organizational team By s. alper Key points of the article: In a traditional hierarchical organizations, employees are expected to inform their managers or supervisors of problems and conflicts and abide by their decision. In organizations that use teams, employees are supposed to resolve problems and conflicts by themselves. There are some theories that argued that employees will work more effectively when they are in control of their own internal functioning and work coordination without eternal supervision. Employees are expected to resolve issues around their personalities, work roles and habits, production procedures and quality of work to best way to complete the task. Individuals who believe they can perform needed actions exert effort are productive than those with little efficacy are unproductive and fail to take initiative to contribute to the organizations. Group efficacy have important effects on team performance. Conflict is central to organizational groups that is why conflict efficacy may contribute significantly to the team overall performance. With low levels of efficacy the teams are unable to perform effectively. Conflict efficacy the belief of team members that they could successfully manage different conflict situations. Some studies support that competitive conflict has a largely negative impact on conflict efficacy. Teams that relied to competitive conflict were found to have exhibit low levels of conflict efficacy and reduced group performance. Organizational teams that rely on cooperative approaches to conflicts appears to be good candidates in working effectively for the organization because of their autonomy. Organizational teams do not improve by themselves, teams are not expected to automatically feel empowered and confident to deal with conflicts in any situation. Empowering them and giving them the proper enhancements to manage conflict would definitely give them the positive attitudes to do the work effectively and resolve conflicts. The critical role of conflict resolution in teams: a close look at the links between conflict type, conflict management strategies and team outcomes.

Last Sacrifice Chapter Eight

IT TURNED OUT I WAS wrong about the local police department comprising of one guy and a dog. When Dimitri and I walked back to the motel, we saw flashing red and blue lights in the parking lot and a few bystanders trying to see what was happening. â€Å"The whole town turned out,' I said. Dimitri sighed. â€Å"You just had to say something to the desk clerk, didn't you?' We'd stopped some distance away, hidden in the shadow of a run-down building. â€Å"I thought it would slow you down.' â€Å"It's going to slow us down now.' His eyes did a sweep of the scene, taking in all the details in the flickering light. â€Å"Sydney's car is gone. That's something, at least.' My earlier cockiness faded. â€Å"Is it? We just lost our ride!' â€Å"She wouldn't leave us, but she was smart enough to get out before the police came knocking on her door.' He turned and surveyed the town's one main road. â€Å"Come on. She has to be close, and there's a good chance the police might actually start searching around if they thought some defenseless girl was being chased down.' The tone he used for â€Å"defenseless' spoke legions. Dimitri made an executive decision to walk back toward the road that had led us into town, assuming Sydney would want to get out of there now that I'd blown our cover. Getting the police involved had created complications, but I felt little regret over what I'd done. I was excited about the plan that had occurred to me in the woods and wanted, as usual, to get moving on it right away. If I'd helped get us out of this hole of a town, so much the better. Dimitri's instincts about Sydney were right. About a half-mile outside of town, we spotted a CR-V pulled off on the road's shoulder. The engine was off, the lights dark, but I could see well enough to identify the Louisiana plates. I walked over to the driver side window and knocked on the glass. Inside, Sydney flinched. She rolled down the window, face incredulous. â€Å"What did you do? Never mind. Don't bother. Just get in.' Dimitri and I complied. I felt like a naughty child under her disapproving glare. She started the car without a word and began driving in the direction we'd originally come from, eventually merging with the small state highway that led back to the interstate. That was promising. Only, once we'd driven a few miles, she pulled off again, this time at a dark exit that didn't seem to have anything at it. She turned off the car and turned to peer at me in the backseat. â€Å"You ran, didn't you?' â€Å"Yeah, but I got this–‘ Sydney held up a hand to silence me. â€Å"No, don't. Not yet. I wish you could have pulled off your daring escape without attracting the authorities.' â€Å"Me too,' said Dimitri. I scowled at them both. â€Å"Hey, I came back, didn't I?' Dimitri arched an eyebrow at that, apparently questioning just how voluntary that had been. â€Å"And now I know what we have to do to help Lissa.' â€Å"What we have to do,' said Sydney, â€Å"is find a safe place to stay.' â€Å"Just go back to civilization and pick a hotel. One with room service. We can make that our base of operation while we work on the next plan.' â€Å"We researched that town specifically!' she said. â€Å"We can't go to some random place–at least not nearby. I doubt they took down my plates, but they could put out a call to look for this kind of car. If they've got that and our descriptions, and it gets to the state police, it'll get to the Alchemists and then it'll–‘ â€Å"Calm down,' said Dimitri, touching her arm. There was nothing intimate about that, but I still felt a spark of envy, particularly after the tough love I'd just had being nearly dragged through the woods. â€Å"We don't know that any of that's going to happen. Why don't you just call Abe?' â€Å"Yeah,' she said glumly. â€Å"That's exactly what I want. To tell him I messed up the plan in less than twenty-four hours.' â€Å"Well,' I said, â€Å"if it makes you feel better, the plan's about to change anyway–‘ â€Å"Be quiet,' she snapped. â€Å"Both of you. I need to think.' Dimitri and I exchanged glances, but stayed silent. When I'd told him I knew a way to seriously help Lissa, he'd been intrigued. I knew he wanted details now, but we both had to wait for Sydney. She flipped on the dome light and produced a paper map of the state. After studying it for a minute, she folded it back up and simply stared ahead. I couldn't see her face but suspected she was frowning. Finally, she sighed in that woeful way of hers, turned off the light, and started the car. I watched as she punched in Altswood, West Virginia into her GPS. â€Å"What's in Altswood?' I asked, disappointed she hadn't entered something like Atlantic City. â€Å"Nothing,' she said, pulling back onto the road. â€Å"But it's the closest place to where we're going that the GPS can find.' A passing car's headlights briefly illuminated Dimitri's profile, and I saw curiosity on his face too. So. I wasn't the only one out of the loop anymore. The GPS read almost an hour and a half to our destination. He didn't question her choice, though, and turned back to me. â€Å"So what's going on with Lissa? What's this great plan of yours?' He glanced at Sydney. â€Å"Rose says there's something important we have to do.' â€Å"So I gathered,' said Sydney dryly. Dimitri looked back at me expectantly. I took a deep breath. It was time to reveal the secret I'd been holding since my hearing. â€Å"So, it, um, turns out Lissa has a brother or sister. And I think we should find them.' I managed to sound cool and casual as I spoke. Inside me, my heart lurched. Even though I'd had plenty of time to process Tatiana's note, saying the words out loud made them real in a way they hadn't been before. It shocked me, hitting me with the full impact of what this information truly meant and how it changed everything we'd all come to believe. Of course, my shock was nothing compared to the others'. Score one for Rose and the element of surprise. Sydney made no attempt to hide her astonishment and gasped. Even Dimitri seemed a little taken aback. Once they recovered, I could see them preparing their protests. They would either demand evidence or simply dismiss the idea as ridiculous. I immediately jumped into action before the arguments could start. I produced Tatiana's note, reading it aloud and then letting Dimitri look at it. I told them about my ghostly encounter, where the queen's troubled spirit made me believe there was truth to this. Nonetheless, my companions were skeptical. â€Å"You have no proof Tatiana wrote the note,' said Dimitri. â€Å"The Alchemists have no records of another Dragomir,' said Sydney. They each said exactly what I thought they would. Dimitri was the kind of guy always ready for a trick or trap. He suspected anything without hard proof. Sydney lived in a world of facts and data and had total faith in the Alchemists and their information. If the Alchemists didn't believe it, neither did she. Ghostly evidence didn't convince either of them. â€Å"I don't really see why Tatiana's spirit would want to deceive me,' I argued. â€Å"And the Alchemists aren't all-knowing. The note says this is a pretty heavily guarded secret from Moroi–it makes sense it would be secret from the Alchemists too.' Sydney scoffed, not liking my â€Å"all-knowing' comment, but otherwise remained silent. It was Dimitri who pushed forward, refusing to take anything on faith without more evidence. â€Å"You've said before that it's not always clear what the ghosts are trying to say,' he pointed out. â€Å"Maybe you misread her.' â€Å"I don't know †¦' I thought again about her solemn, translucent face. â€Å"I think she did write this note. My gut says she did.' I narrowed my eyes. â€Å"You know it's been right before. Can you trust me on this?' He stared at me for several moments, and I held that gaze steadily. In that uncanny way of ours, I could guess what was going on. The whole situation was far-fetched, but he knew I was right about my instincts. They'd proven true in the past. No matter what he'd been through, no matter the current antagonism between us, he still knew me enough to trust in this. Slowly, almost reluctantly, he nodded. â€Å"But if we decided to search for this alleged sibling, we'd be going against Lissa's instructions to stay put.' â€Å"You believe that note?' exclaimed Sydney. â€Å"You're considering listening to it?' A flash of anger lit up within me, one I worked to hide. Of course. Of course this would be the next obstacle: Dimitri's inability to disobey Lissa. Sydney feared Abe, which I could kind of understand, but Dimitri's concern was still the lofty vow of chivalry he'd made to Lissa. I took a deep breath. Telling him how ridiculous I thought he was behaving wouldn't accomplish what I needed. â€Å"Technically, yes. But if we could actually prove she wasn't the last in her family, it would help her a lot. We can't ignore the chance, and if you manage to keep me out of trouble while we do it'–I tried not to grimace at that–‘then there shouldn't be a problem.' Dimitri considered this. He knew me. He also knew I would use roundabout logic if need be to get my way. â€Å"Okay,' he said at last. I saw the shift in his features. The decision was made, and he'd stick to it now. â€Å"But where do we start? You have no other clues, aside from a mysterious note.' It was deja vu and reminded me of Lissa and Christian's earlier conversation with Abe when they were figuring out where to start their investigation. She and I lived parallel lives, it seemed, both pursuing an impossible puzzle with a sketchy trail. As I replayed their discussion, I attempted the same reasoning Abe had used: without clues, start working through obvious conclusions. â€Å"Obviously, this is a secret,' I said. â€Å"A big one. One people have apparently wanted to cover up–enough that they'd try to steal records about it and keep the Dragomirs out of power.' Someone had broken into an Alchemist building and taken papers indicating Eric Dragomir had indeed been funding a mystery woman. I pointed out to my companions that it seemed very likely to me this woman was the mother of his love child. â€Å"You could look into that case some more.' Those last words were spoken toward Sydney. Maybe she didn't care about another Dragomir, but the Alchemists still wanted to know who had stolen from them. â€Å"Whoa, hey. How was I not even part of this decision process? † She still hadn't recovered from our conversation suddenly running away without her. After the way our night had gone so far, she didn't look too pleased about being sucked into another of my rogue schemes. â€Å"Maybe breaking Lissa's orders is no big deal for you two, but I'd be going against Abe. He might not be so lenient.' It was a fair point. â€Å"I'll pull in a daughterly favor,' I assured her. â€Å"Besides, the old man loves secrets. He'd be into this, believe me. And you've already found the biggest clue of all. I mean, if Eric was giving money to some anonymous woman, then why wouldn't it be for his secret mistress and child?' â€Å"Anonymous is the key word,' Sydney said, still clearly skeptical of Zmey's â€Å"leniency.' â€Å"If your theory's right–and it's kind of a leap–we still have no idea who this mistress is. The stolen documents didn't say.' â€Å"Are there other records that tie into the stolen ones? Or could you investigate the bank he was sending money to?' The Alchemists' initial concern had simply been that someone had stolen hard copies of their records. Her colleagues had discovered which items were taken but hadn't given much thought to the content. I was willing to bet they hadn't searched for any other documents related to the same topic. She affirmed as much. â€Å"You really have no idea how â€Å"researching records' works, do you? It's not that easy,' she said. â€Å"It could take a while.' â€Å"Well †¦ I guess that's why it's good we're going somewhere, um, secure, right?' I asked. Struck with the realization that we might need time to put our next step together, I could kind of see the disadvantage of having lost our out-of-the-way hideout. â€Å"Secure †¦' She shook her head. â€Å"Well, we'll see. I hope I'm not doing something stupid.' With those ominous words, silence fell. I wanted to know more about where we were going but felt I shouldn't push the small victory I'd made. The victory I thought I'd made, at least. I wasn't entirely sure Sydney was 100 percent on board but felt certain Dimitri had been convinced. Best not to agitate her right now. I looked at the GPS. Almost an hour. Enough time to check back on Lissa. It took me a minute to recognize where Lissa was, probably because I'd been expecting her to return to her room. But no, she was in a location I'd only been once: Adrian's parents' home. Surprising. In a few moments, though, I read the reasoning from her mind. Her current suite was in guest housing, and in the ensuing panic over my escape, her building was swarming with visitors now trying to leave. The Ivashkov townhouse, situated in a permanent residential area, was a bit quieter–not that there weren't a few fleeing neighbors there too. Adrian sat back in an armchair, feet carelessly resting on an expensive coffee table that some interior designer had probably helped his mother choose. Lissa and Christian had just arrived, and she caught a whiff of smoke in the air that made her think Adrian had been sneaking in some bad behavior beforehand. â€Å"If we're lucky,' he was telling Lissa and Christian, â€Å"the parental units will be tied up for a while and give us some peace and quiet. How rough was your questioning?' Lissa and Christian sat on a couch that was prettier than it was comfortable. She leaned into him and sighed. â€Å"Not so bad. I don't know if they're fully convinced we had nothing to do with Rose's escape †¦ but they definitely don't have any proof.' â€Å"I think we got in more trouble with Aunt Tasha,' said Christian. â€Å"She was kind of pissed off that we didn't tell her what was going on. I think she probably wanted to blow up the statues herself.'IT â€Å"I think she's more upset that we got Dimitri involved' pointed out Lissa. â€Å"She thinks we screwed up his chances of ever being accepted again.' â€Å"Shes right,' said Adrian. He picked up a remote control and turned on a large, plasma screen TV. He muted the sound and flipped randomly through channels. â€Å"But no one forced him.' Lissa nodded but secretly wondered if she had forced Dimitri inadvertently. His dedicated vow to protect her was no secret. Christian seemed to pick up on her worry. â€Å"Hey, for all we know, he never would have–‘ A knock interrupted him. â€Å"Damn,' said Adrian, standing up. â€Å"So much for peace and quiet.' â€Å"Your parents wouldn't knock,' said Christian. â€Å"True, but it's probably one of their friends wanting to sip port and gossip about the terrible state of today's murderous youth,' Adrian called back. Lissa heard the door open and a muffled conversation. A few moments later, Adrian returned with a young Moroi guy that Lissa didn't recognize. â€Å"Look,' the guy was saying, glancing around uneasily, â€Å"I can come back.' He caught sight of Lissa and Christian and froze. â€Å"No, no,' said Adrian. His transformation from grumpy to cordial had happened as quickly as a light switch being flipped. â€Å"I'm sure she'll be back any minute. Do you guys all know each other?' The guy nodded, eyes darting from face to face. â€Å"Of course.' Lissa frowned. â€Å"I don't know you.' The smile never left Adrian's face, but Lissa picked up quickly that something important was going on. â€Å"This is Joe. Joe's the janitor who helped me out by testifying that I wasn't with Rose when Aunt Tatiana was murdered. The one who was working in Rose's building.' Both Lissa and Christian straightened up. â€Å"It was a lucky thing you turned up before the hearing,' said Christian carefully. For a while, there'd been panic that Adrian might be implicated with me, but Joe had come forward just in time to testify about when he'd seen both me and Adrian in my building. Joe took a few steps back toward the foyer. â€Å"I really should go. Just tell Lady Ivashkov that I came by–and that I'm leaving Court. But that everything's set.' â€Å"What's set?' asked Lissa, slowly standing up. â€Å"She–she'll know.' Lissa, I knew, didn't look intimidating. She was cute and slim and pretty, but from the fear on Joe's face–well. She must have been giving him a scary look. It reminded me of the earlier encounter with Abe. â€Å"Really,' he added. â€Å"I need to go.' He started to move again, but suddenly, I felt a surge of spirit burn through Lissa. Joe came to a halt, and she strode toward him. â€Å"What did you need to talk to Lady Ivashkov about?' demanded Lissa. â€Å"Easy, cousin,' murmured Adrian. â€Å"You don't need that much spirit to get answers.' Lissa was using compulsion on Joe, so much that he might as well have been a puppet on strings. â€Å"The money,' Joe gasped, eyes wide. â€Å"The money's set.' â€Å"What money?' she asked. Joe hesitated, as though he might resist, but soon gave in. He couldn't fight that much compulsion, not from a spirit user. â€Å"The money †¦ the money to testify †¦ about where he was.' Joe jerked his head toward Adrian. Adrian's cool expression faltered a little. â€Å"What do you mean where I was? The night my aunt died? Are you saying †¦' Christian picked up where Adrian couldn't. â€Å"Is Lady Ivashkov paying you off to say you saw Adrian?' â€Å"I did see him,' cried Joe. He was visibly sweating. Adrian had been right: Lissa was using too much spirit. It was physically hurting Joe. â€Å"I just †¦ I just †¦ I don't remember the time †¦ I don't remember any of the times. That's what I told the other guy, too. She paid me to put a time on when you were there.' Adrian didn't like that, not at all. To his credit, he remained calm. â€Å"What do you mean you told â€Å"the other guy'?' â€Å"Who else?' repeated Lissa. â€Å"Who else was with her?' â€Å"No one! Lady Ivashkov just wanted to make sure her son was clear. I fudged the details for her. It was the guy †¦ the other guy who came later †¦ who wanted to know when Hathaway was around.' There was a click from the foyer, the sound of the front door opening. Lissa leaned forward, cranking up the compulsion. â€Å"Who? Who was he? What did he want?' Joe looked like he was in serious pain now. He swallowed. â€Å"I don't know who he was! No one I'd seen. Some Moroi. Just wanted me to testify about when I'd seen Hathaway. Paid me more than Lady Ivashkov. No harm †¦' He looked at Lissa desperately. â€Å"No harm in helping them both †¦ especially since Hathaway did it †¦' â€Å"Adrian?' Daniella's voice rang down the hall. â€Å"Are you here?' â€Å"Back off,' Adrian warned Lissa in a low voice. There was no joking in it. Her voice was just as soft, her attention still on Joe. â€Å"What did he look like? The Moroi? Describe him.' The sound of high heels clicked on the hall's wooden floor. â€Å"Like no one!' said Joe. â€Å"I swear! Plain. Ordinary. Except the hand †¦ please let me go †¦' Adrian shoved Lissa aside, breaking the contact between her and Joe. Joe nearly sagged to the ground and then went rigid as he locked gazes with Adrian. More compulsion–but much less than Lissa had used. â€Å"Forget this,' hissed Adrian. â€Å"We never had this conversation.' â€Å"Adrian, what are you–‘ Daniella stopped in the living room's doorway, taking in the strange sights. Christian was still on the couch, but Adrian and Lissa were inches from Joe, whose shirt was soaked with sweat. â€Å"What's going on?' Daniella exclaimed. Adrian stepped back and gave his mother one of those charming smiles that captivated so many women. â€Å"This guy came by to see you, Mom. We told him we'd wait until you got back. We're going to head out now.' Daniella glanced between her son and Joe. She was clearly uneasy about the scenario and also confused. Lissa was surprised at the â€Å"heading out' comment but followed Adrian's lead. Christian did too. â€Å"It was nice seeing you,' said Lissa, attempting a smile to match Adrian's. Joe looked totally dazed. After Adrian's last command, the poor janitor had also probably forgotten how he'd ended up at the Ivashkov home. Lissa and Christian hastily followed Adrian out before Daniella could say much more. â€Å"What the hell was that?' asked Christian, once they were outside. I wasn't sure if he meant Lissa's scary compulsion or what Joe had revealed. â€Å"Not sure,' said Adrian, expression dark. No more cheery smile. â€Å"But we should talk to Mikhail.' â€Å"Rose.' Dimitri's voice was gentle, bringing me back to him, Sydney, and the car. He'd undoubtedly recognized the expression on my face and knew where I'd been. â€Å"Everything okay back there?' he asked. I knew â€Å"back there' meant Court and not the backseat. I nodded, though â€Å"okay' wasn't quite the right word for what I'd just witnessed. What had I just witnessed? An admission of false testimony. An admission that contradicted some of the evidence against me. I didn't care so much that Joe had lied to keep Adrian safe. Adrian hadn't been involved with Tatiana's murder. I wanted him free and clear. But what about the other part? Some â€Å"ordinary' Moroi who'd paid Joe to lie about when I'd been around, leaving me without an alibi during the murder window? Before I could fully process the implications, I noticed the car had stopped. Forcing the Joe-info to the back of my mind, I tried to take stock of our new situation. Sydney's laptop glowed in the front seat as she scrolled through something. â€Å"Where are we?' I peered out the window. In the headlights, I saw a sad, closed gas station. â€Å"Altswood,' said Dimitri. By my estimation, there was nothing else but the gas station. â€Å"Makes our last town look like New York.' Sydney shut her laptop. She handed it back, and I set it on the seat beside me, near the backpacks she'd miraculously grabbed when leaving the motel. She shifted the car into drive and pulled out of the parking lot. Not too far away, I could see the highway and expected her to turn toward it. Instead, she drove past the gas station, deeper into darkness. Like the last place, we were surrounded by mountains and forests. We crept along at a snail's pace until Sydney spotted a tiny gravel road disappearing into the woods. It was only big enough for one car to go down, but somehow, I didn't expect we'd run into much traffic out here. A similar road took us in deeper and deeper, and although I couldn't see her face, Sydney's anxiety was palpable in the car. Minutes felt like hours until our narrow path opened up into a large, dirt-packed clearing. Other vehicles–pretty oldlooking–were parked there. It was a strange place for a parking lot, considering all I could see around us was dark forest. Sydney shut off the car. â€Å"Are we at a campground?' I asked. She didn't answer. Instead, she looked at Dimitri. â€Å"Are you as good as they say you are?' â€Å"What?' he asked, startled. â€Å"Fighting. Everyone keeps talking about how dangerous you are. Is it true? Are you that good?' Dimitri considered. â€Å"Pretty good.' I scoffed. â€Å"Very good.' â€Å"I hope it's enough,' said Sydney, reaching for the door's handle. I opened my door as well. â€Å"Aren't you going to ask about me?' â€Å"I already know you're dangerous,' she said. â€Å"I've seen it.' Her compliment offered little comfort as we walked out across the rural parking lot. â€Å"Why'd we stop?' â€Å"Because we have to go on foot now.' She turned on a flashlight and shone it along the lot's perimeter. At last, it flickered across a footpath snaking through the trees. The path was small and easy to miss because weeds and other plants were encroaching on it. â€Å"There.' She began to move toward it. â€Å"Wait,' said Dimitri. He moved in front of her, leading the way, and I immediately took up the back position in our group. It was a standard guardian formation. We were flanking her the way we would a Moroi. All earlier thoughts of Lissa flitted from my mind. My attention was totally on the situation at hand, all my senses alert to the potential danger. I could see Dimitri was in the same mode, both of us holding our stakes. â€Å"Where are we going?' I asked as we carefully avoided roots and holes along the path. Branches scraped along my arms. â€Å"To people I guarantee won't turn you in,' she said, voice grim. More questions were on my lips when brilliant light suddenly blinded me. My eyes had grown attuned to the darkness, and the unexpected brightness was too abrupt a change. There was a rustling in the trees, a sense of many bodies around us, and as my vision returned, I saw vampire faces everywhere.

Similarities and Differences in Virtue Theory,...

Similarities and Differences in Virtue Theory, Utilitarianism, and Deontological Ethics When talking about ethics it is hard to distinguish between ethics and morality. It is also hard to distinguish exactly what realm of ethics contributes to my everyday decisions. Ethics can be defined as â€Å"well-founded standards of right and wrong that prescribe what humans ought to do, usually in terms of rights, obligations, benefits to society, fairness, or specific virtues [and] ethics refers to the study and development of ones ethical standards† (Andre, Shanks, Velasquez, 2010, para. 8-9). According to Psychology Today (2013) morality is, â€Å"ethics, evil, greed, sin, and conscience† (para. 1). â€Å"Morals can vary from person to person and culture†¦show more content†¦153). In essence, utilitarianism is maximizing everyone’s happiness, which can almost be considered a universal acceptance (Boylan, 2009, p. 154). Jeremy Bentham is one of the proponents of modern utilitarianism and states, â€Å"nature has placed mankind under the governa nce of two sovereign masters, pain and pleasure† (Boylan, 2009, p. 154). In business utilitarianism shares the nonmoral views that the best decision that had no moral conflict would be to maximize profit, which would be the greatest good of the company and its employees (Boylan, 2009, p. 162). Utilitarianism does not always hold true in some minds. Utilitarianism does not take into account motives of the people (Boylan, 2009, p. 165). â€Å"If one acts in accord with the general principle and its corollaries, then one is moral† (Boylan, 2009, p. 165). â€Å"Deontology is a moral theory that emphasizes one’s duty to do a particular action just because the action, itself, is inherently right and not through any other sorts of calculations – such as the consequences of the action† (Boylan, 2009, p. 171). In many aspects deontology is contrasted with utilitarianism. Deontology is based upon principle and does not calculate the consequences (Boylan, 2009, p. 171). Deontology attracts those seeking a stronger moral attraction because it refers to commanding rather than commending and commanding is a stronger structure (Boylan, 2009, p. 172). TheShow MoreRelatedEssay about Eth 316 Week 1764 Words   |  4 PagesAssignment Kevin Sprenger ETH/316 May 13, 2013 Tammy Matthews Introduction Utilitarianism, deontological, and virtue theory ethics are three normative approaches to ethics. This paper will go over the similarities and differences between virtue theory, utilitarianism, and deontological principles. It will include information of the variations in how each concept details ethics, morality, and it will also discuss a personal experience to describe the correlation between virtue, values, and moralRead MoreEthic Essay651 Words   |  3 Pages1 Virtue Theory, Utilitarianism, and Deontological Ethics. Judith Glowinski ETH/316 - 4/16/2013 MARY CARTER 2 When comparing the similarities and differences between virtue theory, utilitarianism, and deontology we find that they all deal with how one judge’s morality and ethics. These theories all include judging in different aspects, whether it is in the moment, what happens after, or over a lifetime. The ethics and morality behind these theories all deal with what is rightRead MoreEthics and Discussion Questions2409 Words   |  10 Pages |ETH/316 Version 2 | | |Ethics and Social Responsibility | Copyright  © 2011, 2010 by University of Phoenix. All rights reserved. Course Description This course provides a foundational perspective for ethics and social responsibility in relationship to individuals

The Meaning Of Heart Of Darkness Essay - 1138 Words

Nishi Natalia AP Literature Comp The Meaning of Heart of Darkness Although, as a society, we discourage the process of not judging a book by its cover, we have all been guilty of doing it at some point. The first item we look at when we pick up a new book is the title and the cover as a whole. These are two key components when it comes to using our heuristics to decide if a book is worthwhile reading or not. With only two items to judge by, each has to hold significant importance in order to draw a reader into reading the novel. Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad represents a mysterious title to draw readers into reading the novel, but hold a much more significant underlying meaning which represents many elements in the novel, while also symbolizing external concepts in the overall plot. The title represents many important elements such as the character of Mr. Kurtz and others, to the setting of Africa in the novel, and to the concept of the evil nature of imperialism outside of the novel. Through the title, Conrad has created significance for elements of the novel creating a very large impact on readers of the book. One way in which the title can be interpreted is to symbolize the interior of Africa called the Congo. The text considers the deep jungle of Africa as the heart of darkness both for its untamed and hostile wilderness and for its supposed savages who hang out there practicing certain non-European customs such as cannibalism. The major and significantShow MoreRelated The Meaning of Heart of Darkness in the Post-Colonial Climate3726 Words   |  15 PagesThe Meaning of Heart of Darkness in the Post-Colonial Climate Since its publication in 1899, Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness has rarely been disputed on the basis of its literary merits; in fact, it was long seen as one of the great novels of the burgeoning modern era, a sort of bridge between the values and storytelling styles of the waning Victorian period and those of the modern era (Gatten), and regarded a high-ranking space amidst the great literature of the century, if not theRead MoreAllegorical Meanings of the Journey Depicted in Joseph Conrad’s The Heart of Darkness 1112 Words   |  5 PagesFor decades, Joseph Conrad’s The Heart of Darkness has been appreciated, studied, and speculated upon. 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By using the schools of theory, it will analyze a multitude of perspective relating to the novella’s theme of imperialism disastrousRead More Joseph Conrads Heart of Darkness Essay763 Words   |  4 PagesJoseph Conrads Heart of Darkness Joseph Conrads novel Heart of Darkness written in 1902 is an overwhelming chronicle of Marlows journey into the heart of the African continent. It is one of the most influential novels of the twentieth century. In this ghastly and horrific tale, Marlow leads an expedition up the Congo River, only to find everything is not as it seems. This haunting and mysterious story takes him into the unbearable core of the jungle. 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Kurtz’s Intended, in Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, is this kind of character. The unnamed woman only appears for a brief period at the end of the novel, but Conrad includes her for three very crucial reasons. He has Kurtz’s fiancà ©e appear to provide a justification forRead MoreEssay On The Journey In Heart Of Darkness769 Words   |  4 PagesThe movement in Heart of Darkness represents the journey in and out of literal and figurative darkness of the story. It represents the literal journey in and out of darkness because the main character describes the journey in and out of Mr Kurtz’ ivory cabin as the journey in and out of the ‘heart of darkness’. Another journey in and out of the darkness of the story is the moral darkness of the story when the main character makes more and more twisted decisions as the story goes on. 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