Phenomenology and the sociology of knowledge Essay

Phenomenology can both be understood to be a discipline and a movement in the history of philosophy. As a discipline, Phenomology can be defined to be the study of structures of experience and consciousness. Ontology, epistemology, logic and ethics are other disciplines which are related to Phenomology though they are distinct (Schulz, Wagner, 1997). In a different perspective, Phenomology can be defined as a historical movement which was launched by great thinkers such as Edmund Husserl among others in the 20th century. Phenomenology and social science Common theories present in social science are based in the real world. This leads to my conviction that phenomenological research can be used in the future studies of some methods which are in use in social science. Phenomenology can further be used in social science to facilitate the understanding of some phenomenon’s which are often taken for granted. For instance, man is assumed to be social being and language and communication systems do exist. Methods in social science fail to address why there is mutual understanding and communication and why men are motivated by certain experiences. Moreover, the social science methods fail to describe the underlying assumption and their implications in the interpretation of social interrelationship (Collins, 1998). All these can only be addressed through philosophical analysis which Husserl referred to as phenomenological philosophy. Phenomenology can also be used to bring meaning and insights to the study of grief, anxiety and pain which are some social issues which affect the very existence of man. Through phenomenology, social scientists can account and analytically describe the acts of intentional consciousness. Finally, phenomenology creates a bridge for the phenomenological sociology which provides an understand ding of the formal structures common in everyday day life. Sociology of knowledge Sociology of knowledge refers to the study of the social sources of knowledge and its impact on the society. In the study, knowledge is assumed to be a cultural product which can only be understood in the social context of its origin. The study is important to Collins in that it provides an explanation to most of the philosophical ideas which exist. In his book, he asserts that great and philosophical ideas are only produced through interaction between humans whose construction relies on the social structure of the intellectual world. Through the sociology of knowledge, Collins is able to explain that the rationalization process of Western, Indian and Asian philosophies has only been achieved through conceptual framework and social knowledge. He uses the sociology of knowledge to explain that social processes have an explanation as to why what is said to whom which he calls the sociology of thinking (Geoffrey, 2003). He also asserts that through the sociology of knowledge one is in a capacity to predict the conversation between two individuals if only their characteristics and the emotional synergies are known. He further uses the sociology of knowledge to explain how it is possible to predict the thinking process of an individual. Though thinking is an internalized conversation, Collins asserts that what we think is often a reflection of what we write on paper or we talk with other people. Collins believes that emotional energy and what we anticipate for the future determines our thinking process (Collins, 1998). Finally, the sociology of knowledge has enable Collins to describe the philosophical transformations which have been achieved in modern Europe, Japan and china. References Collins, R. (1998). The Sociology of Philosophies: A Global Theory Of Intellectual Change Harvard University press, USA ISBN 0-674-00187-7 Geoffrey, L. (2003). Modern Philosophy. London: Routledge Schulz, A. & Wagner, H. (1997). On Phenomenology and Social Relations: Selected Writings. University of Chicago press. London ISBN 0-226-74153-2

A Dirty Job Chapter 25

25 THE RHYTHM OF LOST AND FOUND The Emperor was camped in some bushes near an open culvert that drained into Lobos Creek in the Presidio, the land point on the San Francisco side of the Golden Gate where forts had stood from the time of the Spanish, but had recently been turned into a park. The Emperor had wandered the city for days, calling into storm drains, following the sound of his lost soldier's barking. The faithful retriever Lazarus had led him here, one of the few drains in the city where the Boston terrier might be able to exit without being washed into the Bay. They camped under a camouflage poncho and waited. Mercifully, it hadn't rained since Bummer had chased the squirrel into the storm sewer, but dark clouds had been bubbling over the City for two days now, and whether or not they were bringing rain, they made the Emperor fear for his city. â€Å"Ah, Lazarus,† said the Emperor, scratching his charge behind the ears, â€Å"if we had even half the courage of our small comrade, we would go into that drain and find him. But what are we without him, our courage, our valor? Steady and righteous we may be, my friend, but without courage to risk ourselves for our brother, we are but politicians – blustering whores to rhetoric.† Lazarus growled low and hunkered back under the poncho. The sun had just set, but the Emperor could see movement back in the culvert. As he climbed to his feet, the six-foot pipe was filled with a creature that crawled out and virtually unfolded in the creekbed – a huge, bullheaded thing, with eyes that glowed green and wings that unfurled like leathery umbrellas. As they watched the creature took three steps and leapt into the twilight sky, his wings beating like the sails of a death ship. The Emperor shuddered, and considered for a moment moving their camp into the City proper, perhaps passing the night on Market Street, with people and policemen streaming by, but then he heard the faintest barking coming from deep in the culvert. Audrey was showing them around the Buddhist center, which, except for the office in the front, and a living room that had been turned into a meditation room, looked very much like any other sprawling Victorian home. Austere and Oriental in its decor, yes, and perhaps the smell of incense permeating it, but still, just a big old house. â€Å"It's just a big old house, really,† she said, leading them into the kitchen. Minty Fresh was making Audrey feel a little uncomfortable. He kept picking at bits of duct-tape adhesive that had stuck to the sleeve of his green jacket, and giving Audrey a look like he was saying, This better come out when it's dry-cleaned or it's your ass. His size alone was intimidating, but now a series of large knots were rising on his forehead where he'd smacked the doorway, and he looked vaguely like a Klingon warrior, except for the pastel-green suit, of course. Maybe the agent for a Klingon warrior. â€Å"So,† he said, â€Å"if the squirrel people thought I was a bad guy, why did they save me from the sewer harpy in the train last week? They attacked her and gave me time to get away.† Audrey shrugged. â€Å"I don't know. They were supposed to just watch you and report back. They must have seen that what was after you was much worse than you. They are human, at heart, you know.† She paused in front of the pantry door and turned to them. She hadn't seen the debacle in the street, but Esther had been watching through the window and had told her what had happened – about the womanlike creatures that had been coming after Charlie. Evidently these strange men were allies of a sort, practicing what she had taken on as her holy work: helping souls to move to their next existence. But the method? Could she trust them? â€Å"So, from what you guys are saying, there are thousands of humans walking around without souls?† â€Å"Millions, probably,† Charlie said. â€Å"Maybe that explains the last election,† she said, trying to buy time. â€Å"You said you could see if people had one,† said Minty Fresh. He was right, but she'd seen the soulless and never thought about their sheer numbers, and what happened when the dead didn't match with the born. She shook her head. â€Å"So the transfer of souls depends on material acquisition? That's just so – I don't know – sleazy.† â€Å"Audrey, believe me,† Charlie said, â€Å"we're both as baffled by the mechanics of it as you are, and we're instruments of it.† She looked at Charlie, really looked at him. He was telling the truth. He had come here to do the right thing. She threw open the pantry door and the red light spilled out on them. The pantry was nearly as big as a modern bedroom, and every shelf from floor to ceiling and most of the floor space was covered with glowing soul vessels. â€Å"Jeez,† Charlie said. â€Å"I got as many as I could – or, the squirrel people did.† Minty Fresh ducked into the pantry and stood in front of a shelf full of CDs and records. He grabbed a handful and started shuffling through them, then turned to her, holding up a half-dozen CD cases fanned out. â€Å"These are from my store.† â€Å"Yes. We got all of them,† Audrey said. â€Å"You broke into my store.† â€Å"She kept them from the bad guys, Minty,† Charlie said, stepping in the pantry. â€Å"She probably saved them, maybe saved us.† â€Å"No way, man, none of this would be happening if it wasn't for her.† â€Å"No, it was always going to happen. I saw it in the other Great Big Book, in Arizona.† â€Å"I was just trying to help them,† Audrey said. Charlie was staring at the CDs in Minty's hand. He seemed to have fallen into some sort of trance, and reached out and took the CDs as if he were moving through some thick liquid – then shuffled away all but one, which he just stared at, then flipped over to look at the back. He sat down hard in the pantry and Audrey caught his head to keep him from bumping it on the shelf behind him. â€Å"Charlie,† she said. â€Å"Are you okay?† Minty Fresh squatted down next to Charlie and looked at the CD – reached for it, but Charlie pulled it away. Minty looked at Audrey. â€Å"It's his wife,† he said. Audrey could see the name Rachel Asher scratched into the back of the CD case and she felt her heart breaking for poor Charlie. She put her arms around him. â€Å"I'm so sorry, Charlie. I'm so sorry.† Tears splattered on the CD case and Charlie wouldn't look up. Minty Fresh stood and cleared his throat, his face clear of any rage or accusation. He seemed almost ashamed. â€Å"Audrey, I've been driving around the City for days, I could sure use a place to lie down if you have it.† She nodded, her face against Charlie's back. â€Å"Ask Esther, she'll show you.† Minty Fresh ducked out of the pantry. Audrey held Charlie and rocked him for a long time, and even though he was lost in the world of that CD that held the love of his life, and she was outside, crouched in a pantry that glowed red with cosmic bric-a-brac, she cried with him. After an hour passed, or maybe it was three, because that's the way time is in grief and love, Charlie turned to her and said, â€Å"Do I have a soul?† â€Å"What?† she said. â€Å"You said you could see people's souls glowing in them – do I have a soul?† â€Å"Yes, Charlie. Yes, you have a soul.† He nodded, turning away from her again, but pushing back against her. â€Å"You want it?† he said. â€Å"Nah, I'm good,† she said. But she wasn't. She took the CD out of his hand, pried his hands off of it, really, and put it with the others. â€Å"Let's let Rachel rest and go in the other room.† â€Å"Okay,† Charlie said. He let her help him up. Upstairs, in a little room with cushions all over the floor and pictures of the Buddha reclining amid lotuses, they sat and talked by candlelight. They'd shared their histories, of how they had come to be where they were, what they were, and with that out of the way, they talked about their losses. â€Å"I've seen it again and again,† Charlie said. â€Å"More with men than with women, but definitely with both – a wife or husband dies, and it's like the survivor is roped to him like a mountain climber who's fallen into a crevasse. If the survivor can't let go – cut them loose, I guess – the dead will drag them right into the grave. I think that would have happened to me, if it wasn't for Sophie, and maybe even becoming a Death Merchant. There was something bigger than me going on, something bigger than my pain. That's the only reason I made it this far.† â€Å"Faith,† Audrey said. â€Å"Whatever that is. It's funny, when Esther came to me, she was angry. Dying and angry – she said that she'd believed in Jesus all her life, now she was dying and He said she was going to live forever.† â€Å"So you told her, ‘Sucks to be you, Esther.'† Audrey threw a cushion at him. She liked the way that he could find the silliness in such dark territory. â€Å"No, I told her that He told her that she'd live forever, but He didn't say how. Her faith hadn't been betrayed at all, she just needed to open to a broader understanding.† â€Å"Which was total bullshit,† Charlie said. Another cushion bounced off his forehead. â€Å"No, it wasn't moo-poo. If anyone should understand the significance of the book not covering everything in detail, it should be you – us.† â€Å"You can't say ‘bullshit,' can you?† Audrey felt herself blush and was glad they were in the dim orange candlelight. â€Å"I'm talking faith, over here, you want to give me a break?† â€Å"Sorry. I know – or, I think I know what you mean. I mean, I know that there's some sort of order to all this, but I don't know how someone can reconcile, say, a Catholic upbringing with a Tibetan Book of the Dead, with a Great Big Book of Death, secondhand dealers selling objects with human souls, and vicious raven women in the sewers. The more I know, the less I understand. I'm just doing.† â€Å"Well, the Bardo Thodrol talks about hundreds of monsters you will encounter as your consciousness makes its journey into death and rebirth, but you're instructed to ignore them, as they are illusions, your own fears trying to keep your consciousness from moving on. They can't really harm you.† â€Å"I think this may be something they left out of the book, Audrey, because I've seen them, I've fought with them, wrenched souls out of their grasp, watched them take bullets and get hit by cars and keep going – they are definitely not illusions and they definitely can hurt you. The Great Big Book isn't clear about the specifics, but it definitely talks about the Forces of Darkness trying to take over our world, and how the Luminatus will rise and do battle with them.† â€Å"Luminatus?† Audrey said. â€Å"Something to do with light?† â€Å"The big Death,† Charlie said. â€Å"Death with a capital D. Sort of the Kahuna, the Big Cheese, the Boss Death. Like Minty and the other Death Merchants would be Santa's helpers, the Luminatus would be Santa.† â€Å"Santa Claus is the big Death?!† Audrey said, wide-eyed. â€Å"No, that's just an example – † Charlie saw she was trying not to laugh. â€Å"Hey, I've been bruised and electrocuted and tied up and traumatized tonight.† â€Å"So my seduction strategy is working?† Audrey grinned. Charlie was flustered. â€Å"I didn't – I wasn't – was I staring at your breasts? Because if I was, it was totally by accident, because, you know – there they were, and – â€Å" â€Å"Shh.† She reached over and put her finger on his lips to shush him. â€Å"Charlie, I feel very close to you right now, and very connected to you right now, and I want to keep that connection going, but I'm exhausted, and I don't think I can talk anymore. I think I'd like you to come to bed with me.† â€Å"Really? Are you sure?† â€Å"Am I sure? I haven't had sex in fourteen years – and if you'd asked me yesterday, I'd have told you that I'd rather face one of your raven monsters than go to bed with a man, but now I'm here, with you, and I'm as sure as I've ever been of anything.† She smiled, then looked away. â€Å"I mean, if you are.† Charlie took her hand. â€Å"Yeah,† he said. â€Å"But I was going to tell you something important.† â€Å"Can't it wait till morning?† â€Å"Sure.† They spent the night in each other's arms, and whatever fears or insecurities they had been feeling turned out to be illusions. Loneliness evaporated off of them like the steam off dry ice, and by morning it was just a cloud on the ceiling of the room, then gone with the light. During the night someone had picked up the dining-room table and cleaned up the mess Minty Fresh had made when he crashed through the kitchen door. He was sitting at the table when Charlie came down. â€Å"They towed my car,† said Minty Fresh. â€Å"There's coffee.† â€Å"Thanks.† Charlie skipped across the dining room to the kitchen. He poured himself a cup of coffee and sat down with Minty. â€Å"How's your head?† The big man touched the purple bruise on his forehead. â€Å"Better. How're you doing?† â€Å"I accidentally shagged a monk last night.† â€Å"Sometimes, in times of crisis, that shit cannot be avoided. How are you doing besides that?† â€Å"I feel wonderful.† â€Å"Yeah, imagine the rest of us all bummed about the end of the world, not being cheerful.† â€Å"Not the end of the world, just darkness over everything,† Charlie cheerfully said. â€Å"It gets dark – turn on a light.† â€Å"Good for you, Charlie. Now ‘scuse me, I got to go get my car out of impound before you start with the whole ‘if life gives you lemons you make lemonade' speech and I have to beat you senseless.† (It's true, there is little more obnoxious than a Beta Male in love. So conditioned is he to the idea that he will never find love, that when he does, he feels as if the entire world has fallen into step with his desires – and thus deluded, he may act accordingly. It's a time of great joy and danger for him.) â€Å"Wait, we can share a cab. I have to go home and get my date book.† â€Å"Me, too. I left mine on the front seat of the car. You know those two clients I missed – they're here. Alive.† â€Å"Audrey told me,† Charlie said. â€Å"There's six of them altogether. She did that p'howa of undying thing on them. Obviously that's what's been causing the cosmic shit storm, but what can we do? We can't kill them.† â€Å"No, I think it's what you said. The battle is going to happen here in San Francisco and it's going to happen now. And since you're the Luminatus, I guess this whole thing is riding on your shoulders. So I'd say we're doomed.† â€Å"Maybe not. I mean, every time they've almost gotten me, something or someone has intervened to pull out a victory. I think destiny is on our side. I feel very optimistic about this.† â€Å"That's just because you just shagged the monk,† said Minty. â€Å"I'm not a monk,† said Audrey, bounding into the room with a sheaf of papers in hand. â€Å"Oh, shit,† said the Death Merchants in unison. â€Å"No, it's okay,† Audrey said. â€Å"He did shag me, or, I think more appropriately – we shagged – but I'm not a monk anymore. Not because of the shagging, you know, it was a preshag decision.† She threw her papers on the table and climbed into Charlie's lap. â€Å"Hey, good-looking, how's your morning going?† She gave him a backbreaking kiss and entwined him like a starfish trying to open an oyster until Minty Fresh cleared his throat and she turned to him. â€Å"And good morning to you, Mr. Fresh.† â€Å"Yes. Thank you.† Minty leaned to the side so he could see Charlie. â€Å"Whether they were here for you, or for our clients who didn't die, they'll be back, you know that?† â€Å"The Morrigan?† said Audrey. â€Å"Huh,† said the Death Merchants, again in chorus. â€Å"You guys are so cute,† Audrey gushed. â€Å"They're called the Morrigan. Raven women – personifications of death in the form of beautiful warrior women who can change into birds. There are three of them, all part of the same collective queen of the Underworld known as the Morrigan.† Charlie leaned back from her so he could look her in the eye. â€Å"How do you know that?† â€Å"I just looked it up on the Internet.† Audrey climbed out of Charlie's lap, picked up the papers on the table, and began to read. â€Å"‘The Morrigan consists of three distinct entities: Macha, who haunts the battlefield, and takes heads of warriors as tribute in battle – she is said to be able to heal a warrior from mortal wounds in the field, if his men have offered enough heads to her. The Celtic warriors called the severed heads Macha's acorns. She is considered the mother goddess of the three. Babd is rage, the passion of battle and killing – she was said to collect the seed of fallen warriors, and use its power to inspire a sexual frenzy for battle, a literal bloodlust. And Nemain, who is frenzy, was said to drive soldiers into battle with a howl so fierce that it could cause enemy soldiers to die of fright – her claws were venomous and the mere prick of one would kill a soldier, but she would fling the venom into the eyes of enemy soldie rs to blind them.'† â€Å"That's them,† said Minty Fresh. â€Å"I saw venom come from the claws of the one on the BART.† â€Å"Yeah,† Charlie said, â€Å"and I think I remember Babd – the bloodlust one. That's them. I have to talk to Lily. I sent her to Berkeley to find out about them, but she came back with nothing. She must have not even looked.† â€Å"Yeah, ask her if she's seeing anybody,† Minty Fresh said. To Audrey: â€Å"Did it say how you kill them? What their weaknesses are?† Audrey shook her head. â€Å"Just that warriors took dogs into battle to protect against the Morrigan.† â€Å"Dogs,† Charlie echoed. â€Å"That explains why my daughter got the hellhounds to protect her. I'm telling you, Fresh, we're going to be okay. Destiny is on our side.† â€Å"Yeah, you said that. Call us a cab.† â€Å"I wonder why of all the different gods and demons in the Underworld, the Celtic ones are here.† â€Å"Maybe they're all here,† Minty said. â€Å"I had a crazy Indian tell me once that I was the son of Anubis, the Egyptian jackal-headed god of the dead.† â€Å"That's great!† Charlie said. â€Å"A jackal – that's a type of dog. You have natural abilities to battle the Morrigan, see.† Minty looked at Audrey. â€Å"If you don't do something to disappoint him and mellow his ass out, I'm going to shoot him.† â€Å"Oh yeah,† Charlie said. â€Å"Can I still borrow one of your big guns?† Minty unfolded to his feet. â€Å"I'm going outside to call a cab and wait, Charlie. If you're coming, you better start saying good-bye now, because I'm leaving when it gets here.† â€Å"Swell,† Charlie said, looking adoringly at Audrey. â€Å"I think we're safe in the daylight anyway.† â€Å"Monk shagger,† Minty growled as he ducked under the doorway. Auntie Cassie let Charlie into their small home in the Marina district and Sophie called off the greeting hump of devil dogs almost as soon as it started. â€Å"Daddy!† Charlie swept Sophie up in his arms and squeezed her until she started to change color; then, when Jane came out of the kitchen, he grabbed her in his other arm and hugged her as well. â€Å"Uh, let go,† Jane said, pushing him away. â€Å"You smell like incense.† â€Å"Oh, Jane, I can't believe it, she's so wonderful.† â€Å"He got laid,† Cassandra said. â€Å"You got laid?† Jane said, kissing her brother on the cheek. â€Å"I'm so happy for you. Now let me go.† â€Å"Daddy got laid,† Sophie said to the hellhounds, who seemed very happy at hearing the news. â€Å"No, not laid,† Charlie said, and there was a collective sigh of disappointment. â€Å"Well, yes, laid,† and there was a collective sigh of relief, â€Å"but that's not the thing. The thing is she's wonderful. She's gorgeous, and kind, and sweet, and – â€Å" â€Å"Charlie,† Jane interrupted, â€Å"you called us and told us that there was some great danger and we had to go get Sophie and protect her, and you were going on a date?† â€Å"No, no, there was – is danger, at least in the dark, and I did need you to get Sophie, but I met someone.† â€Å"Daddy got laid!† Sophie cheered again. â€Å"Honey, we don't say that, okay,† Charlie said. â€Å"Auntie Jane and Auntie Cassie shouldn't say that either. It's not nice.† â€Å"Like ‘kitty' and ‘not in the butt'?† â€Å"Exactly, honey.† â€Å"Okay, Daddy. So it wasn't nice?† â€Å"Daddy has to go to our house and get his date book, pumpkin, we'll talk about this later. Give me a kiss.† Sophie gave him a huge hug and a kiss and Charlie thought that he might cry. For so long she had been his only future, his only joy, and now he had this other joy, and he wanted to share it with her. â€Å"I'll come right back, okay?† â€Å"Okay. Let me down.† Charlie let her slide to the floor and she ran off to another part of the house. â€Å"So it wasn't nice?† Jane asked. â€Å"I'm sorry, Jane. This is really crazy. I hate that I put you guys in the middle of it. I didn't mean to scare you.† Jane thumped him in the arm. â€Å"So it was nice?† â€Å"It was really nice,† Charlie said, breaking into a grin. â€Å"She's really nice. She's so nice I miss Mom.† â€Å"Lost me,† Cassandra said. â€Å"Because I'd like Mom to see that I'm doing okay. That I met someone who's good for me. Who's going to be good for Sophie.† â€Å"Whoa, don't jump the gun, there, tiger,† Jane said. â€Å"You just met this woman, you need to slow down – and remember, this comes from someone whose typical second date is moving a woman in.† â€Å"Slut,† Cassie murmured. â€Å"I mean it, Jane. She's amazing.† Cassie looked at Jane. â€Å"You were right, he really did need to get laid.† â€Å"That's not it!† Charlie's cell rang. â€Å"Excuse me, guys.† He flipped it open. â€Å"Asher, what the hell have you done?† It was Lily. She was crying. â€Å"What the hell have you let loose?† â€Å"What, Lily? What?† â€Å"It was just here. The front window of the shop is gone. Gone! It just came in, ripped through the shop, and took all of your soul thingies. Loaded them into a bag and flew away. Fuck, Asher. I mean FUCK! This thing was huge, and fucking hideous.† â€Å"Yeah, Lily, are you okay? Is Ray okay?† â€Å"Yeah, I'm okay. Ray didn't come in. I ran into the back when it came through the window. It wasn't interested in anything but that shelf. Asher, it was as big as a bull and it fucking flew!† She sounded like she was on the edge of hysteria. â€Å"Hold on, Lily. Stay there and I'll come to you. Go in the back room and don't open the door until you hear me, okay.† â€Å"Asher, what the fuck was that thing?† â€Å"I don't know, Lily.† The bullheaded Death flew into the culvert and immediately fell to all fours to move through the pipe, dragging the bag of souls behind him. Not for much longer – he would not crawl much longer. The time had come, Orcus could feel it. He could feel them converging on the City – the City where he had staked his territory so many years ago – his city. Still, they would come, and they would try to take what was rightfully his. All of the old gods of death: Yama and Anubis and Mors, Thanatos and Charon and Mahakala, Azrael and Emma-O and Ahkoh, Balor, Erebos, and Nyx – dozens of them, gods born of the energy of Man's greatest fear, the fear of death – all of them coming to rise as the leader of darkness and the dead, as the Luminatus. But he had come here first, and with Morrigan, he would become the one. But first he had to marshal his forces, heal the Morrigan, and take down the wretched human soul stealers of the City. The satchel of souls would go a long way toward healing his brides. He marched into the grotto where the great ship was moored and leapt into the air, the beat of his great leathery wings like a war drum, echoing off the grotto walls and sending bats to the wing, swirling around the ship's masts in great clouds. The Morrigan, torn and broken, were waiting for him on the deck. â€Å"What did I tell you?† Babd said. â€Å"It's really not that great Above, huh? I, for one, could do without cars altogether.† Jane drove while Charlie fired out phone calls on his cell, first to Rivera, then to Minty Fresh. Within a half an hour they were all standing in Charlie's store, or the wreckage that had been Charlie's store, and uniformed policemen had taped off the sidewalk until someone could get the glass swept up. â€Å"The tourists have to love this,† Nick Cavuto said, gnawing an unlit cigar. â€Å"Right on the cable-car line. Perfect.† Rivera was sitting in the back room interviewing Lily while Charlie, Jane, and Cassandra tried to sort through the mess and put things back on their shelves. Minty Fresh stood by the front door, wearing shades, looking entirely too cool for the destruction that lay strewn around him. Sophie was content to sit in the corner and feed shoes to Alvin and Mohammed. â€Å"So,† Cavuto said to Charlie, â€Å"some kind of flying monster came through your window and you thought this would be a good place to bring your kid?† Charlie turned to the big cop and leaned on the counter. â€Å"Tell me, Detective, in your professional opinion, what procedure should I use in dealing with robbery by a flying monster? What the fuck is the SFPD giant-fucking-flying-monster protocol, Detective?† Cavuto stood staring at Charlie as if he'd had water thrown in his face, not really angry, just very surprised. Finally, he grinned around his cigar, and said, â€Å"Mr. Asher, I am going to go outside and smoke, call in to the dispatcher, and have her look that particular protocol up. You have stumped me. Would you tell my partner where I've gone?† â€Å"I'll do that,† Charlie said. He went into the office with Lily and Rivera and said, â€Å"Rivera, can I get some police protection here at my apartment – officers with shotguns?† Rivera nodded, patting Lily on the hand as he looked away. â€Å"I can give you two, Charlie, but not for longer than twenty-four hours. You sure you don't want to get out of town?† â€Å"Upstairs we have the security bars and steel doors, we have the hellhounds and Minty Fresh's weapons, and besides, they've already been here. I have a feeling they got what they came for, but the cops would make me feel better.† Lily looked at Charlie. She was in total mascara meltdown and had smudged her lipstick halfway across her face. â€Å"I'm sorry, I thought I would handle it better than this. It was so scary. It wasn't mysterious and cool, it was horrible. The eyes and the teeth – I peed, Asher. I'm sorry.† â€Å"Don't be sorry, kid. You did fine. I'm glad you had the sense to get out of its way.† â€Å"Asher, if you're the Luminatus, that thing must be your competition.† â€Å"What? What is that?† Rivera said. â€Å"It's her weird Gothy stuff, Inspector. Don't worry about it,† Charlie said. He looked through to the door and saw Minty Fresh standing at the front of the shop, looking at him, shrugging, as if saying, Well? So Charlie asked: â€Å"Hey, Lily, are you seeing anyone?† Lily wiped her nose on the sleeve of her chef ‘s coat. â€Å"Look, Asher – I, uh – I'm going to have to withdraw that offer I made you. I mean, after Ray, I'm not sure I really ever want to do that again. Ever.† â€Å"I wasn't asking for me, Lily.† Charlie nodded toward the towering Fresh. â€Å"Oh,† Lily said, following his gaze, now wiping her eyes with her sleeves. â€Å"Oh. Fuck. Cover for me, I've got to regroup.† She dashed into the employee washroom and slammed the door. Rivera looked at Charlie. â€Å"What the hell is going on here?† Charlie was going to try to come up with some kind of answer when his cell phone rang and he held up his finger to pause time. â€Å"Charlie Asher,† he said. â€Å"Charlie, it's Audrey,† came the whispered voice. â€Å"They're here, right now. The Morrigan are here.†

Marketing Plan Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Marketing Plan - Assignment Example As such, the social media marketing will be mainly concentric upon brand recognition and promoting the website as a viable alternative for career women that are both interested in function and style (Kawazoe & Abetti, 2013). Accordingly, prior to this particular phase of marketing being engaged, it will be absolutely interval to ensure that each and every problem that might be evidenced within the initial rollout of the website should be operable and fully functional. And added component of this particular phase that can be utilized is to provide a bonus structure through which individuals that reference which social media outlet they came from and what prompted them to purchase their products will further assist the company in helping to strategize how best practices within social media marketing can be further accomplished in the future. The second phase of the marketing strategy will once again be constrained by the fact that the firm does not have a very large budget and cannot engage in glitzy advertising like many of the more established brands. Nevertheless, the second phase will be concentric upon blanketing some of the most high traffic pedestrian areas within the Washington DC Metro area and passing out pamphlets/suppliers/marketing material that draws attention to the fact that a new women’s footwear store is soon to be opening that seeks to provide a nexus between fashion and comfort. Naturally, even though this secondary phase of the marketing process will be somewhat different as compared to the first, it is necessary for the developers to ensure that a certain level of similarity exists so that individuals that might have been exposed to the first level of social media marketing will not find this to be a conflicting or otherwise separate level of engagement (Jacobsen, 2012). As compared to the s ocial media phase, this particular phase will take place within approximately one month’s time. Similar to the social

International Business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 14

International Business - Essay Example Patricia focused too much on securing an international connection instead of gaining knowledge about the product which resulted in the immediate sense of failure once business meeting underwent. The initial approach of requesting information from home offices located internationally and conducting research via email is something which is commonly followed by businesses however such inquiries are usually improper and may result in irrelevant inquiries. It is, therefore, better to visit local trade offices of foreign consulates residing in the home country and seek information from them regarding businesses operating in their country. Another way of gathering information about potential targets is by accessing trade websites which provide useful information including the credibility of potential businesses. However, selection of targeted businesses should be made against the criteria based on the assessment of product or service offerings. Before conducting meeting it is important that mutual understanding is achieved between parties so that situations of despair are not faced. Biggest mistakes that business typically makes must be learned and avoided however it requires a thorough research and well-directed efforts if there is no prior experience.  Regarding Patricia business trip to Japan few major weaknesses could be identified regarding her overall understanding of the potential market and interaction with the possible business partner. Most importantly she seemed unprepared for the business trip which was made all of a sudden without any written understanding of each other’s business and products to be offered. Any such international business trip should be backed with the establishment of the business objective and an intensive study of the market which is targeted. The study of the potential market does include the survey of the market which is served by the machinery offered.

Technology Management and Collaboration Assignment

Technology Management and Collaboration - Assignment Example People still inhabit a world where an individual’s technical ability and instinct determines the worth of technology. Gaining knowledge of technology management is a human work and requires experienced and qualified individuals to examine this (Dauda 2009). Human intelligence produces ideas for new products and/or services, which produces the requirement to ‘identify’ technology. Hence (Moehrle 2013, p. 17):  Identification of technologies that are not currently part of the firm’s technology base,   but may be important in the future (for example, by attending a conference, reading journals, visiting trade fairs, questioning suppliers and conducting pure research.   Each time a technology is ‘selected’, the company has to always remember who will manage and operate such technology. Human resources are an important determinant for this ‘selection’, for they should possess the eagerness, knowledge, and capability to sustain thi s technology (Treat 2011).  Selection of those technologies that the firm needs for its future products and technologies (for example, by using portfolio-type methods, expert judgment, pilot studies, and financial methods). Likewise, HR participation is a crucial component in all the phases of IT acquisition programme So as to guarantee an effective and efficient application of the acquired IT, HR participation is needed the most in the process of pre-acquisition so as to successfully deal with later phases.

Information Security Policy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 9750 words

Information Security Policy - Essay Example Regular updates and standards will be provided to support the policy. The Head of Information Compliance & Policy has direct responsibility for maintaining the policy and providing advice and guidance on its implementation. Managers are directly responsible for adherence to and implementation of the policy within their business domains and also to the adherence by their staff. Signed: ______________________ Title: ______________________ Date: ___________________ Introduction This Information Security policy of Strega Oil and Gas aims at protecting all the systems of the company belonging to the Information Technology infrastructure. The protection is needed from any activity that may jeopardise the successful operations of the company. These harmful activities may be a result of an unintentional threat such as a natural calamity or a deliberate attempt by a member of the company or an outsider to cause any harm. The following sections will include a brief on Strega Oil and Gas Company and the need and use of the Information Security Policy. A Brief on the Company Strega Oil and Gas is a privately owned company with its exposure in production and retailing of Natural Oil and Gas. The company's central Head Office is located at Deep Park, Texas. Apart from having a production centre at Deep Park, the company also has a unit at Baton Rouge, Los Angeles. The company is operating for over 10 years, and it is now a mid size industrial company with a workforce of 1500 employees. Being a massively successful and profit making company, for the previous year ended 2005 - 2006, Strega recorded revenue of 15m $. Information Technology acts as a corner stone of the...The following sections will include a brief on Strega Oil and Gas Company and the need and use of the Information Security Policy. Strega Oil and Gas is a privately owned company with its exposure in production and retailing of Natural Oil and Gas. The company's central Head Office is located at Deep Park, Texas. Apart from having a production centre at Deep Park, the company also has a unit at Baton Rouge, Los Angeles. The company is operating for over 10 years, and it is now a mid size industrial company with a workforce of 1500 employees. Being a massively successful and profit making company, for the previous year ended 2005 - 2006, Strega recorded revenue of 15m $. Information Technology acts as a corner stone of the company's success. The company relies heavily of latest computing systems, networking equipments, databases and ancillaries. All internal operations of the company and communicated via intranet. The company conducts business with third party companies such as its suppliers and agents over the extranet. The company is also involved in E Commerce over the public Internet. This policy aims at pro viding measures to secure all the IT assets of the company from technological and physical threats. Strega Oil and Gas Company will seek to ensure all three aspects of a secure IT infrastructure viz.

Change Management Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Change Management - Term Paper Example The intended change initiative has been measured to be cultural in nature where a flexible workplace is aimed to be introduced and is expected to be accepted in the place of a traditional form of workforce. Importance of Change Management There are stated to exist certain strong macroeconomic factors which are expected to turn out to be increasingly powerful in the coming few decades. Owing to such an anticipated and unforeseen situation, organizations will recognize the need to trim down the expenses, enhance the quality of the products as well as services, identifying fresh prospects related to development and escalation of the productivity factor (Kotter, 1996). These factors evidently focus on the requirement of a proper process related to change management in the organizations. Change management is referred to the application of planning, organizing, employing and screening the alterations creating an influence on the production aspect of the concerned organizations. The process needs to be structured in a planned way (ITSM Community, n.d.). In the initial stage, the consciousness regarding the need for an alteration needs to be identified and established. Then, a desire for backing such a change and a requirement of participation needs to be triggered. In the next step, a proper knowledge regarding the ways related to change needs to be communicated to the concerned individuals. The subsequent step would involve the competency to employ the needed expertise and conducts. The final step would involve the aspect of support in order to maintain the change (Hiatt, 2006). The organization considered for this paper plans to introduce a change in the seating arrangements of their employees in order to make available increased floor space in the office. The seating arrangement has been planned for those working staffs who are majorly engaged with work related to manufacturing as well as lab. These employees are learnt to spend most of their working hours in the m anufacturing and the lab areas and are just needed to spend almost 2 hours in an average each day in their respective allocated workspace. It was observed in this respect that the workspace of such individuals remains idle for most of the time in a given working day and for which an opportunity loss was also measured. In order to make the optimum use of office space, the management of the organization planned for an unallocated seating arrangement in replacement of the personal workspace. This particular notion of flexible workspace is assumed to facilitate the organization to accommodate 232 numbers of employees in place of 58 seating spaces in each shift in each day by taking into deliberation the 2-hr window. Need of a Vision Statement The above mentioned change is estimated to be a cultural shift as a flexible workspace concept will be introduced in place of individual workspace. The organization needs to carefully introduce this intended change as the loosing of one’s pe rsonal workspace might lead to resentments among the existing workforce. A planned procedure requires to be employed in order to carry out this change process successfully in the organization. The organization would need to put in additional efforts to make the employees believe in the actuality that the intended change is vital along with

Assignment 1 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Assignment 1 - Essay Example 1). The dispute has led to a legal suit by â€Å"The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission† on behalf of the employee. According to the commission, the employer’s branch of Bayou City Wings is believed to have discriminated against the employee because of her condition as an expectant mother. The alleged discriminatory action is based on the employer’s policy that provides for an automatic termination of employment after a woman’s three months into pregnancy or a mandatory leave without payment. The commission however claims illegality of the policy leading to the suit that was filed in Texas (Tsikoudakis, p. 1). Facts around the case further indicate that the employee was dismissed despite her doctor’s advice that she could work until the last month of her pregnancy. According to the suit, the employer told the employee that its clients do not appreciate services by expectant women and that her dismissal would be a lesson to other employees that the organization shall dismiss its pregnant employees or offer them leave without pay. The commission also reports other instances of similar treatments. In identifying illegality of the company’s policy and its implementation, the commission’s representative points out that the constitution provides for a woman’s right to her employment even when she is pregnant. The employer therefore has no right to compel a woman into a leave, even at the woman’s best interest (Tsikoudakis, p. 1). Case analysis The case identifies legal issues in the dismissal of pregnant women. The first issue is the ethical approach to discrimination that is based on a woman’s pregnant condition. This is because the company’s policy offers unfair treatment to women on the fundamental basis of their pregnancy. This contravenes social perspective that values pregnancy for recreation. Another aspect of the case, from a legal perspective, is a woman’s right to remain in full employment during her pregnancy period. Employment and anti discrimination laws for example provide three categories of protection of women’s rights during pregnancy, during delivery period, and after delivery. Employers are for example not allowed to use a woman’s pregnancy as a basis for determining her capacity to perform her duties. Similarly, a pregnant woman’s inability to perform her employment roles, due to her pregnancy, must not be used to her disadvantage and she should be accorded a similar treatment to that of any other employee who is temporarily disadvantaged with respect to performance of employment roles. Another legal provision that protect pregnant women’s interest at work is their freedom to work until such a time that their conditions cannot allow them to work anymore. The decision to seek leave from work is however, the woman’s and not the employer’s (Eeoc, p. 1). The facts of the case however contravene all these three conditions. Ms Castillo’s contract was for example terminated on the primary basis of her pregnancy as is evidenced by the company’s policy and its implementation that has also seen other eight women lose their jobs at the organization. Castillo was similarly discriminated against on grounds of her pregnancy because she was not treated as any employee would have been treated in case of a short-term inability. The organization would for example not dismiss men or non-pregnant women because of temporary illnesses. Lastly, in her condition, and with her

System Analysis and Design of an Equipment Tracking Database Essay Example for Free

System Analysis and Design of an Equipment Tracking Database Essay BG Group has been active in the energy sector in Trinidad Tobago since 1989 and established an office in the country in 1994. Currently the company’s office is located at 5 St. Clair Avenue, St. Clair, Port-of-Spain. Today, BG Trinidad and Tobago (BG TT) is one of the Group’s core operational areas and is virtually unique among the multinationals based here, in operating onshore and offshore assets in all key areas of the country. The UK-based BG Group is a global leader in the exploration, production, distribution and supply of natural gas to industrial markets. The Group has operations in over 25 countries, including the UK, Egypt, Kazakhstan and India. The Group’s key business is the connecting of high value markets to competitively priced gas, to which it deploys expertise at all stages of the gas chain. BG TT has upstream operations in three main areas – the offshore East Coast Marine Area (ECMA) and North Coast Marine Area (NCMA), as well as the onshore Central Block located in the Moruga forest. The BG Group-operated ECMA or Dolphin gas field, located 83 km off the east coast of Trinidad, commenced production in March 1996. The Dolphin field is contracted to supply gas to NGC under a 20 year supply contract. The ECMA also supplies Atlantic Train 3 and Atlantic Train 4. NCMA comprises three producing fields, Hibiscus, Chaconia and Ixora, which supply natural gas for Atlantic LNG Trains 2, 3 and 4. A 107 km, 24-inch pipeline from the NCMA development to Point Fortin is the longest pipeline in Trinidad Tobago. A fourth producing field, Poinsettia, is scheduled for development in 2008. BG TT acquired Aventura’s 65% interest in, and operatorship of, the onshore Central Block in 2004. Central Block is conveniently located near the Cross Island Pipeline in Moruga, which makes it an attractive proposition for the supply of natural gas to Atlantic LNG. On acquiring the Block, they also took on an existing domestic gas supply agreement with the Petroleum Company of Trinidad Tobago Limited (Petrotrin). The transportation of this natural gas to the NGC network constitutes BG TT’s first sales of liquids in the country. 1. Problem Description: This project will provide guidelines for implementing an asset tracking solution at BG TT’s IM (Information Management) department. The system is needed to assist the Helpdesk Administrator to keep track of a large variety of physical computer equipment as they are bought, stored and assigned to the company’s employees. Currently there is a manual system that entails the use of a notebook to record and track the assignment of computer and computer related equipment. Inventory levels are checked periodically and recorded using the manual paper system. The most common method for tracking assets is to record transactions as they happen. As a result inventories are time consuming and almost impossible to maintain accuracy since assets move around on a daily basis. Also the data collected during any inventory is outdated before the finished reports are published. An asset tracking system needs to be able to produce reports that will help the organization make intelligent business decisions. The department wanted to streamline its equipment checkout process. The objective is to computerize the current manual process in order to make the equipment checkout processes fast and accurate. The computerization of this process will simplify paperwork and provide electronic storage of data. Because of the amount of equipment to be checked out every day and the number of members involved, the workload for staff members in the department increases every year. The operating cost includes the maintenance cost of the equipment and their inventory. Some of the problems faced by the staff members are listed below: †¢ Each piece of equipment is individually marked for identification purposes; however, there isn’t a method to allow a user to backtrack or check into certain equipment in terms of its usability and for maintenance purposes. This often leaves the user with an uncertainty on how good the equipment is in a given. Lack of information on the status and maintenance of equipment leads to bad quality of equipment because of unperformed maintenance. This, in turn, may cause customer dissatisfaction when poorly conditioned equipment is being given out. †¢ Manually completing forms creates another issue due to hand-writing. That is, more than one person will be handling the forms and each person has a different style of hand-writing. This leads to misunderstanding of the information on the forms, especially when maintenance requests are entered by one staff member and not understood properly by another staff member. †¢ Forms could be easily misplaced, thus resulting in missing documents. Human errors on checking forms for completeness could result in incomplete form. †¢ The equipment check-in and checkout processes are difficult and involves extensive labor to get the work done right. Currently, a staff member is required to manually check each equipment that is being checked out for the day and make sure things are getting checked in correctly. On top of that, the staff member is required to tally up all equipment before closing of the business on that day to make certain that all equipment are in place; otherwise, they may have equipment shortages and may have to reorder. 2. Proposed Solution: The aim of this project is to develop the inventory system that can be applied in the current IM Department. The objectives are: †¢ to identify the problems involved in the implementation of the current inventory system; †¢ to identify the needs of a systematic inventory system; †¢ To develop the prototype of the inventory system that can be implemented. The eventual inventory system will be a DBMS that will control the organization, storage, management, and retrieval of data in a database. The DBMS will accept requests for data from the application program and instructs the operating system to transfer the appropriate data. When a DBMS is used, information systems can be changed much more easily as the organizations information requirements change. New categories of data can be added to the database without disruption to the existing system. The proposed DMS will have the following basic features: †¢ Provides a way to structure data as records, tables, or objects †¢ Accepts data input from operators and stores that data for later retrieval †¢ Provides query languages for searching, sorting, reporting, and other decision support activities that help users correlate and make sense of collected data A Database Management System (DBMS) is a software system that enables users to define, create, and maintain the database and provide controlled access to this database. The DBMS is the software that interacts with the users’ application programs and the database. Typically, a DBMS provides the following facilities: †¢ It allows users to insert, update, delete and retrieve data from the database usually through a Data Manipulation Language (DML). Having a central repository for all data and descriptions allows the DML to provide general enquiry facility to this data, called a query language. The provision of a query language alleviates the problems with file-based systems where the user has to work with a fixed set of queries or there is a proliferation programs, giving major software management problems. †¢ It provides controlled access to the database. For example, it may provide: ? An integrity system, which maintains the consistency of stored data; ? A user-accessible catalog, which contains description of the data in the database. The proposed solution takes care of the CRUD features of the database software namely the following: a. Create the storage structures – It implies that the storage structures can be created and modified for the change in the database or the information system.

Defence Mechanisms Essay Example for Free

Defence Mechanisms Essay Defence mechanisms are psychological actions brought in by the unconscious mind to change, deny or become a twisted reality. Defence mechanisms are usually referred to as ego defence mechanisms. A defence mechanism forms when anxiety occurs, this then means that the defence mechanisms will be triggered off. All defence mechanisms share two common properties they appear unconsciously and they tend to disfigure, transform a person’s reality. Defence mechanisms occur in some level in every person. Many play important roles in socialization and allowing the way in which people function in society. Others are seen as problems and they show signs of clients developing a dangerous psychological issue. For example regression, this means you return to a childlike state, this defence mechanism can get very dangerous as it can lead to clinical issues. There are many different defence mechanisms such as: Projection- Suggesting that others share the negative beliefs and thoughts you have, making yourself think that everyone thinks like that so it is okay to think like that as well. This can lead to very irrational thoughts. Such as when someone is depressed they then start to believe thoughts that their mind has made up maybe leading them to become suicidal. Displacement- Turning emotion into physical action (aggression) May tend to lash out to get rid of the emotion that have inside. This could lead to putting themselves and others into very serious danger as they could get progressively aggressive. This often occurs in mental health as they don’t know how to deal with certain emotions and situations. Rationalization- Illogical thoughts and explanations for your behaviour. Making up excuses just to get away with it. Making up things that don’t make sense. This could lead to them believing their own thoughts and starting to think they are real, sending them mentally ill. This could be when a doctor/surgeon makes a mistake during a procedure and they try to cover up their mistakes by using excuse and lies. Isolation- Removal of all emotional reactions so they are in emotional denial. Can’t cope with all of the emotion. In a hospital a nurse/doctor could not like a patient because of different beliefs and maybe ersonalities so provides them with different treatment. If someone is in denial then they will force themselves to not believe what they have been told to be true and not accept it. For example a person is diagnosed with a terminal disease, they will not believe it and just block it out so they don’t have to deal with it as they don’t know how to. They are refusing to accept the situation they are in. Eventually that person will have forced it out of their head so much that they generally think it hasn’t happened and it was all just a lie. Regression this is when you return to a childlike state acting immature, for example in a family when a new sibling arrives the other sibling gets jealous so therefore they may start to wet the bed as they want attention as they feel as if the other sibling is getting all of their parents attentions (feeling left out. ) Some people may go to therapy to identify the defence mechanisms that benefit them and work in a good way and also to identify the defence mechanisms that are really dangerous and that they shouldn’t be using.

Project Management and Operations Management in Construction

Project Management and Operations Management in Construction 1. Abstract This report aims to understand two very important disciplines namely, project management and operations management. Both disciplines are fundamental to achieving long term business success and growth in this highly dynamic business environment. These two areas of management are discussed particularly with respect to the construction industry. It is important to note that project management has its origins in the construction industry and has since then been an integral part of the construction as well as several other industries. Operations management, on the other hand, has largely been neglected for many years. However, over the past few years, management across various firms has realised the importance of effectively managing the operations to achieve business profits and growth. The main objective of this report is to present a discussion on the differences between project management and operations management in construction companies. To present these differences, it is important to clearly understand the basic definition and function of these two disciplines. As a result, this report is structured as follows: It begins by providing an overview of the construction industry moving towards providing a clear understanding of the concepts of project management and operations management. Later, the discussion shifts towards presenting an insight into the importance of these two areas of management particularly with reference to the construction industry. The next section provides a discussion on the differences between project and operations management. This report concludes by presenting a discussion on the necessary skills for a project manager and highlights that it is important for project managers to possess a clear understanding of the operational activities of the firms in order to make sound business decisions. Only those organisations that are able to effectively manage their projects as well as their operations will be able to survive and prosper in the future. Keywords: Project management, Operations management, Construction. 2. Introduction In order to achieve business success, organisations need to perform a number of activities. These activities could either be their operations or projects or a combination of both. It is not possible for organisations to achieve long term sustainable business success without proper measures to effectively manage its projects and operations. Hill (in Slack et al, 2010) clearly indicates the importance of operations to an organisation by pointing out that operation is the function responsible for 60-70 per cent of costs, assets and people. Similarly, almost all the businesses across various industries undertake projects of some sort. One of the key challenges faced by organisations in todays complex business environment is their capability to strike a balance in maintaining current business operations known as business as usual and also to maintain the rate of business change required to survive and compete in future (OGC, 2009). In this context of business change, projects play a criti cal role as they are required to introduce the changes required. Project management is gradually becoming an important discipline in the area of business success as Projects often provide the base for sustainable development implementation. It is important for projects to be well planned and well managed and have specific goals and targets. Although, operations management and project management are different in a number of aspects that are discussed over the next few section, there are a few characteristics that are similar for both projects and operations. Operations and projects both need careful planning, execution and control and are both performed by the human resources of the organisation. Also, they both often face the challenge of limited resources. 2.1. Construction Industry Construction Industry is one of the important contributors to the economy of many countries. The rapidly changing business environment has transformed the way activities and projects are undertaken in the construction industry. Due to the sheer volume of resources required to undertake large construction projects, the construction industry possesses the ability to generate employment and supports economic growth in the region by contributing largely to the Gross National Product (GNP) and Gross Domestic Product (GDP). However, it is important to understand that the construction industry operates in a different environment and is susceptible to several factors such as physical environment, legislations, resource availability as opposed to other industries. The Construction sector has a strong impact on the day to day activities of several lives and hence it is crucial to ensure efficient use of resources on the construction projects. Construction projects and operations require a diff erent set of skills in order to manage them effectively. For example: It is important to ensure the safety of team members involved in construction operations and projects as they usually need to deal with many hazardous operations. However, such safety concerns are not so significant in companies operating in the software industry. These challenges and newer ways of performing business activities have placed greater responsibility on the project as well as operations managers who are required to achieve business success within limited budgets and time. This implies that success in construction industry can be achieved by implementation of adequate project management and operations management teams. Before we delve deeper into the discussion related to the differences that exist between project management and operations management in construction companies, it is important to clarify the basic definitions of project management and operations management and their importance in construction companies. 2.2. What is Project management? Projects involve certain degrees of uncertainty as they are unique to the organisation undertaking it. In order to achieve success and desired results, it is important for the project management team to effectively manage the day to day activities involved in a project. Projects consist of a number of separate but interdependent tasks that have the specific objective of creating and developing some new entity (Woodward, 1997). In this aspect project management plays a crucial role. Project management has been in existence for several years and has become an integral area of management over the last three decades. Project Management Institute defines the discipline of project management as the art of planning and controlling various human and non-human resources to be used during the entire project life cycle in order to accomplish already set objectives of scope, cost, quality, and time by using modern management techniques (Barrie and Paulson, 1984). In simple terms, project managem ent can be defined as the process of planning, executing, controlling and monitoring the various aspects of a project in order to achieve the project objectives and deliverables within limited time, costs and resources. Figure 1 shows the various processes of project management in construction industry used to achieve the project objectives and deliverables within limited time, cost and resources. Figure 1 Project management Processes 1. PROJECT DEFINITION 2. TEAM ESTABLISHMENT 3. PROJECT PLANNING (Scope, Importance, Project plan in terms of time frames and resources) Continuous Project monitoring 4. IMPLEMENTATION 5. EVALUATION 6. PROJECT CLOSURE AND HANDOVER Halpin and Ronald (Hendrickson and Au, 1989) point out the three basic ingredients that represent a project management framework. They are: General Management: This is a broad subject that various aspects such as finance and accounting, strategic planning, organisational structure, marketing, organisational behaviour among others. Special Knowledge domains Supporting disciplines For successful management of projects, strong working knowledge of these areas is needed. All these three areas play a key role in effective management as they are linked with the activities involved in undertaking a project. 2.3. What is Operations management? The main objective of any business or organisation is produce high quality goods or services that meet their customers requirements in order to survive and prosper in the future. In order to achieve long term business growth, it is important for organisations to operationally enact the organisations business strategy. In this context, to achieve long term strategic direction, organisations operations play a key role as it is important to effectively manage a large number of daily operations that are aimed at accomplishing the desired objectives to satisfy the customers. In order to achieve this business objective, it is necessary for firms to transform their resources into desired outputs that can be delivered to the end users. Operations consist of all these activities that are necessary to transform and deliver an organisations offering of goods or services to its customers. The main objective of the operations function is to efficiently manage the available resources to produce th e goods and services required by customers. Several large and small organisations have today acknowledged the importance of operations and hence have appointed people to take responsibility for managing all or part of the organisations operations processes. Success of operations within an organisation can be judged on the basis of its profits, growth and competitiveness. Operations activities form an integral part of any business as they focus on the management of a large number of assets, and expenditure to produce customer centric goods and services. Review of literature reveals that operations management within the construction industry is not a well recognized area of study as opposed to other major functional disciplines of marketing, human resource management and finance and accounting. However, the discussion that follows clearly establishes that operations management is every bit as important for Kentz, and other firms operating in construction sector in order to be successf ul. For the purpose of this discussion, it is important to establish the definition of operations management at this point. Operations management refers to the function that focuses on designing, managing and improving the systems and procedures that create organisations goods or services. It focuses on delivering value to the customers (Shtub, 1999). Other functions such as finance and human resources support operations functions and hence are indirectly involved in making products or delivering services. Firms that are able to effectively manage their operations can achieve sustainable competitive advantage. This is evident from the case of Toyota. Toyotas Production System (TPS) plays a vital role in its business success. Toyotas Production System is based on four integral principles namely, the elimination of waste (muda), continuous improvement (kaizen), automation with a human face (jidoka) and the involvement of all employees. The management at Toyota has worked towards imple menting these key principles in day to day business operations and this is evident in their practices such just-in-time, total quality management and team-working. TPS has enabled Toyota to achieve high volumes and high flexibility but with low levels of inventory and minimal defects. The application of these principles to its design operations also typically enables Toyota to get new products to market faster than its rivals, and with fewer design glitches (Slack et al, 2010). 3. Importance of Project management in construction The discipline of Project management initially originated in the construction industry but can be applied across various industrial and commercial sectors. Project management in construction plays a critical role in the construction industry as it is important for companies operating in the construction sector such as Kentz to manage projects on time within limited budgets and to manage risk across a number of projects that are large in terms of budget, time and resources. There is a need for construction companies such as Kentz to maintain a tight control on these constrained resources and finances to ensure profitability. Construction projects are usually characterised by long and complex life cycle and lower profit margins. Consequently, it is imperative for construction companies to maintain strict control over project schedules and costs to avoid any over-budgeting or wastage. Woodward (1997) notes that the project environment related to a particular project greatly affects the project management function. In this context, it is observed that the project environment related to construction project is affected by a number of internal as well as external factors such as availability of resources, legislative environment, physical conditions such as location, weather and the presence of competition. As a result, project management in construction is even more crucial due to the need to achieve high quality standards within limited resources. In construction industry, project management specifically consists of a range of objectives which may be achieved by undertaking a number of operational activities that need to be accomplished within the specified resource constraints. It is important for firms such as Kentz to resolve any conflict that may arise due to the differences in the desired objectives of scope, cost, time and quality, to the limited constraints of budget and human resources, by finding and developing alternate ways to accomplish the goals of the project. Hendrickson and Au, (1989) point out the following functions of project management for construction: Project management in construction is important as it helps in clearly specifying the project objectives and plans to outline the various aspects involved in the projects such as project scope, project budget, project timelines, setting quality standards, and selecting project participants. Project management also helps in procurement of labour and other resources as per the predetermined plan and schedule. Hence, it is important for maximization of efficient resource utilization. Project management activities help in smooth implementation of various operations as its main focus is to ensure proper coordination and control of planning, estimating, and construction in the entire process. Since construction projects are large and complex and often require use of large number of human resources, they may often face the challenge of interpersonal conflicts that may arise due to improper communication. Project management helps in development of effective communications and mechanisms for resolving conflicts among various active participants. 4. Importance of Operations management in construction The Construction industry is characterised by complex and large projects that usually involve substantial costs while leaving little room for profit margins. In this context, efficient operations management is important because it helps in managing an organisations costs. It is important for construction companies such as Kentz to manage their available resources and budget in the best possible manner to generate greater profit margins. If an organisation fails to manage and maximise the utilisation of its resources, it will not be able to achieve sustainable project success. Operations management in the construction industry helps the project team to achieve higher level of efficiency at low operating costs. Moreover, it is necessary that once the projects are completed, they are able to meet the desired quality standards. This is even more crucial in a construction project as any negligence can create dangerous situations in terms of safety. Operations management helps the firms op erating in the construction sector such as Kentz to ensure that they are able to achieve lower operating costs while also delivering high quality products to their customers. As discussed earlier, operations management has a long lasting impact on the quality, timeliness and reliability of the goods produced by an organization. The activities of the operations function are central to achieving these aims. 5. Project management Vs Operations management The above discussion clearly indicates the importance of effective project management and operations management in construction industry. It is established that both these disciplines are important to achieve long term sustainable growth and success. Although, they are an integral part of every business, and practitioners are of the view that project management is considered to be one of the most important functions of an operations manager, there are a few differences between project and operations management. They are as highlighted below: 5. a. Project versus Operations -Differing objectives: One of the major differences between project management and operations management lies in their differing objectives. The key aim of project management is to ensure smooth control and effective planning in order to achieve the desired objectives of the project on completion. On the contrary, operations management aims to manage and execute the daily operations that are necessary to sustain the business. Project management activities are usually designed around the project environment which is unique to a particular project. This implies that since a project is temporary and aimed at achieving some unique objectives to create a new entity, scope of project management is limited to that particular project. On the contrary, operations management is aimed at planning and executing the activities that are necessary for maintaining the current business operations. In terms of construction industry, activities that require procuring goods to undertake large and complex construction project and also that require selling the firms business to its potential clients are its operations. While, project management in construction industry ideally, would deal with the necessary planning of resources, budgeting, estimating of timelines and scheduling. Project management is temporary and is unique to a particular project that is undertaken to create a new entity, while, operations are ongoing and repetitive and deal with maintaining the existing business activities. Management of projects in a construction industry is a challenging task as the project environment is highly complex and the objective of project management is not limited only to the completion of project within specified time and budget. Client satisfaction and meeting the desired quality standards are crucial for project success in construction. 5. b. Time Constraints Another major difference between projects and operations is that projects are characterised by a definite beginning and ending while  operations  are repetitive and ongoing. Projects usually end when the objectives of the projects are achieved. This implies that the project duration is finite as opposed to the operations activities that are continuous. However, this does not necessarily mean that they are short lived. For instance, a large construction company is contracted to complete construction of a large commercial complex for setting up offices. In this scenario, in order to complete the construction project of commercial complex, a business owner who hires the construction company to construct the complex, will usually specify a definite date of start and completion of the building. From the point of view of the construction company, this unique construction opportunity is a  project that has certain time constraints. However, procuring of the building mat erials and other necessary equipments that are not unique to this particular construction project are known as the operations. These activities are repetitive and do not have a fixed time constraint. 5. c. Budget Constraints Project management deals with completion of certain projects within the specified budget constraints, while operations management concerns those activities that are necessary to maintain a specific profit margin. For instance, taking the case of the construction company that has been awarded the contract to complete construction of a large commercial complex by a business owner. In this scenario, the business owner who hires the construction firm will allot a specific cost for the project as detailed in its Request for Proposals. On the other hand, it is the responsibility of the operations management at the construction company to, ensure that a predetermined profit margin is achieved on the project and work while outlining its cost structure. 5. d. Project management is future oriented while Operations management is  present oriented Project management activities focus on achieving the future state of business. This implies that they are future oriented. On the contrary, operations management activities focus on maintaining the current state of business and bring the desired business changes, suggesting that the discipline of operations management is highly present oriented. In the construction industry, the aim of project management is to accomplish the completion of the project undertaken while delivering all the necessary expectations. All these activities of planning and coordination are aimed towards achieving a future state. While the daily operations are required to sustain smooth functioning of the current business activities. 6. Project managers should possess operations management skills The above discussion clearly highlights the differences between project management and operations management in a construction industry. However, management across various organisations is of the view that operations management and project management are necessary skills for project managers across all industries. It is important that project managers in a construction environment are able to adequately consider the quality and safety concerns. In a construction environment, any minor defect can manifest itself into a major issue as re-construction may be required leading to larger associated costs and delays in meeting the project timelines. Further, such defects can also often become the cause of several personal injuries or fatalities. Therefore, it is important to appoint skilled and efficient project managers who have the necessary experience to ensure that the job is done right the first time avoiding any major or minor accidents that may occur during the completion of the project objectives. General consensus with respect to success of project management and operations management in construction industry is that it is important that managers are able to motivate the team to collectively work towards business success and accomplishment of business objectives as well as project objectives. It is necessary for management to ensure that individuals part of the projects and operations coordinate and cooperate to form efficient and effective teams that are specialised in a specific knowledge area. It is important for project managers to have sound project and operations knowledge, skills and experience in handling several different teams. It is necessary that the organisations in the construction industry such as Kentz not only possess the necessary experience in the specialized knowledge area but also in the operations of their own as well their customers business. For instance, the management team at a construction may be well-versed constructing and customising the construction units as per the client requirements and yet it may lack the experience in the procuring the resources that are necessary to undertake customer transactions. This indicates the need for project managers to possess the required operations management skills. In order to achieve business success, it is important to ensure that the projects not only meet customer expectation but are also well aligned with the companys ideal profit margins. This can only be achieved if project managers have sufficient knowledge of the operations while creating project budgets. Also, in order to efficiently schedule and plan the budget and resources, it is importa nt for project managers to be well-versed in the supply chain and efficient management of logistics. 7. Conclusion It is established that project management and operations management, are two different fields of management. Project management in construction plays a critical role in the construction industry as it is important for Kentz as well as other companies operating in the construction sector to manage projects on time within limited budgets and to manage risk across a number of projects that are large in terms of budget, time and resources. It is important for Kentz, and other firms operating in the construction sector to manage their available resources and budget in the best possible manner to generate greater profit margins. If Kentz or other organization operating in the construction fails to manage and maximise the utilisation of its resources, it will not be able to achieve sustainable project success. Project management and Operations management are differing in nature in terms of their scope, time and budget constraint. Also, Project management activities focus on achieve the futu re state of business implying that they are future oriented. On the contrary, Operations management activities focus on maintaining the current state of business and bring the desired business changes. However, management across various organisations is of the view that operations management and project management are necessary skills for project managers across all industries. It is safe to conclude that in this dynamic business environment, only those organisations will survive and prosper that not only possess the necessary experience in the specialized knowledge area to accomplish project objectives but also in the operations of their own as well their customers business. There is a need in Kentz as well as other companies operating in the construction sector to appoint project managers that have sound project and operations knowledge, skills and experience in handling several different teams.

The Myth of Rape Culture in America Essay -- Rape Culture Essays

â€Å"Rape is as American as apple pie,† says blogger Jessica Valenti. She and other feminists describe our society as a â€Å"rape culture† where violence against women is almost invisible. According to feminists, films, magazines, fashion, books, music, and humor cooperate in conveying the message that women are there to be used, abused and exploited.(Kitchens, 2015) Rape culture, which was coined as a culture during the second wave of feminism during the early 1970’s and was, according to the encyclopedia of rape, â€Å"often used by feminists to describe contemporary American culture as a whole.† Rape culture, by definition though, is â€Å"a culture in which rape and other sexual violence (usually against women and gender diverse peoples ) are common and in which prevalent attitudes, norms, practices, and media condone, normalize, excuse, or encourage sexualized violence† (qtd. in University Of Michigan Women’s Center). At its earliest beginnings, rape culture was an epidemic without a name. However, today, in 21st century America, one must wonder, why is this even still an issue? Furthermore, one must deliberately consider just why rape culture only applies to women as victims of sexual violence instead of people of sexual violence. Men, for example, are not regarded as victims, ever. Apparently, men cannot be sexu ally assaulted. Rape culture allows for â€Å"gender diverse peoples† but they’re certainly not talking about men. Unless of course, those men just happen to dress as women and are raped because they are mistaken for women. But you see, therein another can of worms is opened, because it specifically relates to women and people who look like women. Sounds a bit ridiculous to me. I can’t remember a time when rape was ever a parlor joke in... ...Time.com Web. 23 Nov 2015 http://time.com/30545/its-time-to-end-rape-culture-hysteria/ Morber, Jenny. â€Å"What Science Says About Arousal During Rape.† Popsci.com. Popular Science, n.d. Web. 16 Nov. 2015. http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2013-05/science-arousal-during-rape â€Å"R., K†. â€Å"Prison Rape: A Silent Epidemic.† Torture and abuse 3.3 (2001): 16-18. PSJ. Safety and Justice, 1 Oct. 2001. Web. 21 Nov. 2015. http://www.safetyandjustice.org/node/492 United States of America. U.S. Department of Justice. National Institute of Justice and Centers For Disease Control & Prevention. Who Are the Victims? RAINN. RAINN, n.d. Web. 21 Nov. 2015 http://www.rainn.org/get-information/statistics/sexual-assault-victims/ â€Å"Women’s Center.† Womens Center. The University of Michigan, n.d. Web. 16 Nov. 2015.

Comparing Millers Enemy of the People, Becketts Waiting for Godot and Vonneguts Slaughterhouse-F :: comparison compare contrast essays

Human Values and Technology in Miller's Enemy of the People, Beckett's Waiting for Godot and Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse-Five Human values can't be replaced by technology. Human values can just hope to evolve as quickly as technology is expanding. If one lags behind the other, it's human values. Technology can exist and function without human values. There is a rush for Isaac Newton but that doesn't negate the need for a good philosopher. Though both technology and human values can be used hand in hand and that is the ideal situation. Too much of anything is a bad thing. It's all about finding a balance. Enemy of the People is the perfect example of how human values sometimes don't evolve as quickly as technology. The town had the technology available to make sure the hot springs were up to par but not only did they not put that technology to use but they challenged the findings with no proof of their own. The town as a whole had no experience with this type of science before. Thus, they were instantly skeptical (they also benefited financially by not believing it). But what the town should have done was step back and look at all the facts (sick visitors (Miller 35) and the low intake (Miller 36)) and made an informed decision instead of just running from the unknown. "They happen to have ability and knowledge," (Miller 45) is what Dr. Stockman told Hovstad. He assumed that these people had the same trust and knowledge in technology that he had but he was wrong. People need a way to deal with the ever-growing new technology. It was scary for the town to believe that there wer e things happening on the bacterial level (one that they couldn't see). Did the town choose not to believe the blatant truth because it would hurt them, the skewed facts or out of fear of the unknown and the consequences. Ignorance is bliss, but civilization needs to be informed of what's going on and how it affects their lives. A person can't just take things "on faith" when dealing with science, they need proof and an explanation. It's easy to follow the mass in anything (especially public opinion) but one needs to ask themselves how informed is the general public?

Assignment Organizational Behavior Essay

Situational Leadership provides a simple and logical framework with four basic decision-making styles – authoritative, consultative, facilitative, and delegative. Briefly describe these styles and describe when they are appropriate to use. Our textbook states that authoritative decision-making style, â€Å"applies in situations where the manager has the necessary experience and information to reach a conclusion and followers do not possess the ability, willingness, or confidence to help† (p. 295). This would be appropriate when you are the only source of information or expertise. According to p. 296 of our textbook, consultative decision-making styles are a â€Å"valuable strategy when the manager recognizes that the followers also possess some experience or knowledge of the subject and are willing but not yet able to help†. This style is appropriate when there is more time to make a decision on important issues and requires input from people who can be directly impacted by those decisions. Facilitative decision-making, as stated on p. 96 of our textbook as well, â€Å"is a cooperative effort in which manager and followers work together to reach a shared decisions†. This approach would be useful when dealing with an able, but not confident follower. Delegative decision making, covered on p. 297 of our textbook, is used â€Å"when follower high in readiness who have the experience and information needed to make the proper decision or recommendation†. This style is appropriate when â€Å"the manager can look forward to a high level of performance by saying, ‘You know this subject. Work on it and let me know what you come up with’† (p. 297).

Emotional Eating Essay

Definition -when people use food as a way to deal with feelings instead of to satisfy hunger. We’ve all been there, finishing a whole bag of chips out of boredom or downing cookie after cookie while cramming for a big test. But when done a lot — especially without realizing it Reasons for emotional eating One of the biggest myths about emotional eating is that it’s prompted by negative feelings. Yes, people often turn to food when they’re stressed out, lonely, sad, anxious, or bored. But emotional eating can be linked to positive feelings too, like the romance of sharing dessert on Valentine’s Day or the celebration of a holiday feast. Sometimes emotional eating is tied to major life events, like a death or a divorce. More often, though, it’s the countless little daily stresses that cause someone to seek comfort or distraction in food. Emotional eating patterns can be learned: A child who is given candy after a big achievement may grow up using candy as a reward for a job well done. A kid who is given cookies as a way to stop crying may learn to link cookies with comfort. â€Å"Comfort Food† We all have our own comfort foods. Interestingly, they may vary according to moods and gender. One study found that happy people seem to want to eat things like pizza, while sad people prefer ice cream and cookies. Bored people crave salty, crunchy things, like chips. Researchers also found that guys seem to prefer hot, homemade comfort meals, like steaks and casseroles. Girls go for chocolate and ice cream. This brings up a curious question: Does no one take comfort in carrots and celery sticks? Researchers are looking into that, too. What they’re finding is that high-fat foods, like ice cream, may activate certain chemicals in the body that create a sense of contentment and fulfillment. This almost addictive quality may actually make you reach for these foods again when feeling upset. We’re all emotional eaters to some extent (who hasn’t suddenly found room for dessert after a filling dinner? ). But for some people, emotional eating can be a real problem, causing serious weight gain or cycles of binging and purging. The trouble with emotional eating (aside from the health issues) is that once the pleasure of eating is gone, the feelings that cause it remain. And you often may feel worse about eating the amount or type of food you did. That’s why it helps to know the differences between physical hunger and emotional hunger. If it is emotional hunger ,it feels very sudden and urgent. It also causes specific cravings like ice-cream or pizza†¦You also tend to eat more than you usually would. Sometimes, it can cause guilt afterwards.

Character of Crooks in “Of mice and men” Essay

Throughout the novel â€Å"Of Mice and Men† Steinbeck presents Crook as being lonely, intelligent and hopeless. He is in a minority group and is discriminated against because he represents the black community in 1930’s America. Indeed, it is because of this discrimination that Crooks attempts to draw whatever limited amount of power he can from his surroundings. â€Å"Well I gotta right to have a light†. This implies Crooks is defensive and maybe isn’t allowed the things he wants or needs, or the things he see that other people have. He also has a â€Å"shot gun† and a â€Å"Californian civil code â€Å". These things suggest that Crooks is physically weak and has to have protection and the law to feel power against others. â€Å"Don’t be coming in a place you’re not wanted .â€Å" This quote suggests that Crooks doesn’t want anybody coming in his room, during that time racism was strong and Crook’s has to live on his own, he doesn’t have power over a lot of things so for him to be able to have his own room he will that power over people. Crooks’ desire to exercise power over Lennie may be a result of discrimination he has suffered from in his life. â€Å"The white kids come to play†¦. My ol man didn’t like that†. This shows like most kids they are naive and therefore Crooks’ didn’t understand why his father (â€Å"ol’ man†) didn’t like him playing with the white kids. Crook’s experience of racial conflict and discrimination throughout his life teaches him why his father didn’t want him to play with them. â€Å" I can’t play coz I’m black† this quote is another example of the way society was in the 1930s and how racism was ok it also links to the theme lonely because it shows that nobody wants to be near Crooks’ or do anything with him. Crooks’ lack of social status means he does not only suffer from discrimination from the men on the ranch but also Curley’s wife. Crooks says â€Å"maybe you better go along to your own house now we don’t want no trouble† by what he is saying implies that if they are caught with or talking to her there would be trouble, and that she is dangerous to them. And one point in the novel Curley’s wife is really vindictive towards Crooks and says â€Å"well you better keep your place then nigger, I could get your strung up on a tree so easily it aint even funny.’ Crooks’ is like prey in this society and is at a disadvantage because he is black. Candy’s wife threatens him by saying she could get him killed and  could do this because she is white. This comment instantly makes Crooks silent and returns him back to his social standpoint by responding to Curley’s wife buy saying â€Å"yes, ma’am in a toneless voice. Crooks’ also attempts to exert power over Lennie in his shack although with limited success. â€Å"Crooks face lit up with the pleasure of his torture.† This may be the first time in Crooks’ life when he has more power than another human being. Lennie panics and struggles to understand, this allows Crooks to exert more control. Lennie’s mentally disabled and is used to discrimination and violence as were black people but because of Lennie’s lack of understanding it allows Crooks to wield power over him and he enjoys it. Crooks’ says â€Å"it’s just being with another guy that’s all†. This shows that Crooks’ believes that it does not matter what you say to some on it’s that you say something. He’s a very lonely person due to the fact he never has anyone to talk to. Crooks is saying having company is what matters, there’s no need to be choosy about the company itself. This shows his desperation after being isolated for so long. Crooks’ is shown to be a bitter man who sees others dreams as futile. â€Å"Nobody gets to heaven†. Crooks believes that the dream is impossible and has no hope for anybody moving past there social class and becoming rich. He mentions that tons of men have come through the ranch and said that they were going to get some land but it never works out for them so it leads to Crooks thinking the dream is completely unachievable. After Lennie and candy go one about how they will get the land and how there’s no stopping them and they seem so sure about it, Crooks says â€Å"if you guys need a hand I could come and lend it†. Crook’s stops being so negative for a moment and starts to believe in the dream. He feels so comfortable with Lennie and Candy that he forgets his place in that society, but after Curley’s wife leaves he says â€Å"forget about it just foolin. I wouldn want to go no place like that†. Crooks’ has seen all the trouble that people cause when they get together and he has decided he doesn’t want any part of it and thinks that the farm shared by three men would become to chaotic and that George would become tired of responsibility.