Business Organizations; Employment Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Business Organizations; Employment Law - Essay Example adequate oversight of the accountants was lacking, presence of conflict of interest by the stock analysts, inadequate funding of the Securities and Exchange Commission, lack of adequate disclosure of provisions and presence of corporate governance procedures that were weak. It has been argued that Adelphia’s acts, especially the move by the Rigas family of mixing the finances of the company with those of the company, represents one of the biggest cases of financial fraud in a publicly traded company. In 2004, the SEC filed suit against Adelphia Communications Corporations on charges of financial fraud. In a legal move labelled as the most comprehensive in financial fraud, members of the Rigas family were indicted together with a number of top executives. The charges included-corporate asset waste, RICO act violation, abuse of control, fraudulent conversion and conveyance of company assets, breach of fiduciary duties by the board of directors, and unjust enrichment by the management. The Adelphia Communications case, is one of the biggest cases of corporate malfeasance and has been responsible for the adoption of new business ethics and practices across the globe. Following the scandal, many companies across the globe have adopted stringent corporate codes of conduct, while governments have adopted greater measures to punish management staff from defrauding companies by sentencing guilty parties to life sentences and imposing hefty fines. Improvement and reform of corporate law has been mandated following the scandal. For example, the Corporate Reform Act 2002 empowers the SEC to promulgate professional codes of conduct for securities lawyers. It mandates securities lawyers to prevent violations of securities law by companies or a company employee breaching his/her fiduciary duty to shareholders. Additionally, the society in general has become more vigilant regarding the workings of corporate management and

Team Leader Interview Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Team Leader Interview - Research Paper Example The size of a team differs in every organization. This is due to the fact that different organizations and departments have dissimilar objectives, different goals and different expectations in terms of success and the final product. For every organization, to determine how many members will make up the team, different variables and factors are considered (Drouin, 2013). One major factor that is considered is the expectations that the leaders and management have on the team. Different expectations determine how big or small a group is. When the expectations are too high, an organization might decide that the best way to achieve them is by forming a large team (Avery, Walker and Murphy, 2001). In addition, it is important to consider the roles that each of the team members is going to play. If each individual in the team will handle different aspects in the task, the team size might be different as compared to when all team members will handle similar aspects in the task as noted by Mountain and Davidson (2011). Another factor that is considered is the amount and extent of cohesiveness and the level of interconnectivity that is found in a team. Cohesion and interconnectivity are pertinent towards ensuring successful teamwork. When the connection and cohesion is high, the number of members in the team can be less and when it is low, the number should be increased (Edger, 2012). It has been hard to determine the optimum team size, but researchers propose that effective memberships are made of between 4 to 11 members (Robbins and Judge, 2013). However, recommendations brought forward by researchers suggest that 7 to 12 members is an optimum number for problems necessitating high quality decisions (Drouin, 2013). Secondly, when it is important to reach a consensus on a conflict, 3 to 5 members is essential and lastly, when quality and consensus is deemed most

MBA or Ms in Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

MBA or Ms in Management - Essay Example I have also previously attended various speeches and seminars in the field of finance and economics. I have previously held the position of a human resource specialist in the group I was working with while undertaking my bachelor’s degree. The experience gave me the opportunity of understanding the real world and how it works while equipping me with clear visions concerning my future. Since graduating, I have worked in a financial group known as the Alrajhi Bank, Saudi Arabia as their recruitment officer. Five years after earning the degree, I anticipate that I will a human resource manager with a financial organization or a general manager at Alrajhi Bank. I would like to get another job at another, larger organization to increase my experience and expand my knowledge. 2. Give A Candid Appraisal Of Yourself. Include Some Discussion Of Your Strengths And Weaknesses While I was studying to obtain a bachelor’s degree in the field of business administration, I worked as a part time human resources specialist in a group consisting of 350 employees. I have also expanded my skills in the field by attending seminars and speeches concerning finance and economics. ... My strengths include the fact that I have a bachelor’s degree in business administration and vital working experiences as a specialist in human resources and recruitment of job applicants. I also have attained diverse forms of knowledge in the course of my studies that will make an asset for any organization I work for. However, I have a weakness – I do not have enough time to adequately satisfy my career desires and responsibilities. 3. Discuss Three Of Your Achievements Or Accomplishments. First of all, I have been able to successfully work part time as a specialist in human resources for an organization that was comprised of over 350 employees. I was able to achieve this while attending classes for my bachelor’s degree in business administration and completing the course successfully. This was very challenging for me, because I had to schedule the limited time that was available for the both tasks while ensuring I achieved success in both of them. Secondly, af ter graduating with my bachelor’s degree in business administration, I was able to secure a job with the Alrajhi Bank in Saudi Arabia, which is one of the country’s financial groupings. I worked in the company as a recruitment officer and have additionally developed competence in the interviewing and advertising for jobs among applicants in the process. Lastly, I have been able to remain competent by acquiring vast knowledge in the fields of business administration, finance, and economics through the process of attending classes, speeches, and seminars. All these events were located in places and were also addressed by different prominent people in the business world who had different ideas and vast experiences in the field. 4.

Team Leader Interview Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Team Leader Interview - Research Paper Example The size of a team differs in every organization. This is due to the fact that different organizations and departments have dissimilar objectives, different goals and different expectations in terms of success and the final product. For every organization, to determine how many members will make up the team, different variables and factors are considered (Drouin, 2013). One major factor that is considered is the expectations that the leaders and management have on the team. Different expectations determine how big or small a group is. When the expectations are too high, an organization might decide that the best way to achieve them is by forming a large team (Avery, Walker and Murphy, 2001). In addition, it is important to consider the roles that each of the team members is going to play. If each individual in the team will handle different aspects in the task, the team size might be different as compared to when all team members will handle similar aspects in the task as noted by Mountain and Davidson (2011). Another factor that is considered is the amount and extent of cohesiveness and the level of interconnectivity that is found in a team. Cohesion and interconnectivity are pertinent towards ensuring successful teamwork. When the connection and cohesion is high, the number of members in the team can be less and when it is low, the number should be increased (Edger, 2012). It has been hard to determine the optimum team size, but researchers propose that effective memberships are made of between 4 to 11 members (Robbins and Judge, 2013). However, recommendations brought forward by researchers suggest that 7 to 12 members is an optimum number for problems necessitating high quality decisions (Drouin, 2013). Secondly, when it is important to reach a consensus on a conflict, 3 to 5 members is essential and lastly, when quality and consensus is deemed most

Building an Ethical Organization Essay Example for Free

Building an Ethical Organization Essay The human service organization that I have become a director for is an addiction clinic. The clinic will be providing treatment for people within the community that have addiction problems. There will be programs available for people to receive treatment to meet each individuals needs. The goal will be for the patients to receive the best care available to be able to beat addiction. This clinic’s goal will be provide resources to better the community in which it serves. Each employee will be held to high standard and will have the appropriate training needed to each client to the best of their ability. The clinic wants to help the community by serving the people who suffer from addiction and providing them with the best care possible. Treatment for drug, alcohol, gambling, smoking, and other addictions are all services provided from this clinic. There will be different programs available to meet each person’s different needs. There are several different types of addiction. Every person who has a problem with addiction is different so the clinic will meet all the needs for each. Each program will have different steps for each client to help beat their addiction. The clientele for this clinic will be people who suffer problems with addiction and children whose parents have suffered addiction problems. The clinic will have counseling for families with children so the children can understand what is going on with their parents. The counseling will help the children know how to help their parents and to also make sure that the child is not in a hostile environment. The clinic wants to help families who have suffered addiction to be able to work through their situations and work on their family. Children have suffered because of the addiction problem their parents have. The clinic wants to help counsel the children to help them understand and move forward in a positive direction. Any person who suffers from addiction will be able to come to the clinic to receive the help they need. This clinic is a non-profit clinic. Donations are accepted to help fund each program that is offered. The clinic has fundraisers to help raise money to help keep the clinic open. All the money that is raised goes toward  the programs, staff salaries, building expenses, and all other expenses that help keep the clinic running to the highest standards. Any donation is recognized through the clinic. We take pride in our excellence and want to recognize anyone that helps us in funding the clinic so we can keep achieving our goals. The community is encouraged to be a part of making the clinic better. The clinic wants feedback from the community so we can better serve our clients. The mission statement for the addiction clinic is, to improve a person’s life by providing diverse care for patients who have different addiction problems within the community. The mission statement will support the ethical system because it states that the clinic wants to provide diverse care for patients with different addiction problems. The goal for the clinic is to provide care for the patients that meet their different needs. Every person that comes to the clinic will be different and so there has to be programs available to meet those needs. The mission statement’s sends a positive message to the community because it tells them that the clinic is there to help with addiction problems within the community. Addiction is a problem in every community so the statement tells the community members that there is help available for this problem. The addiction clinic’s value statements are, for all patients to receive quality prevention, treatment, recovery, and support services so they can reach the goal of staying clean from illegal drugs and alcohol abuse. The value statement for this clinic inspires action because it tells people with addiction in the community that there is support for them to reach the goal of staying clean from illegal drugs and alcohol abuse. This value relates to the clinic’s mission statement because they both are stating that they want to help people with addiction. They both state that the clinic want to provide care for the different types of addiction and that they want the best for the patients who received treatment from the clinic. The ethical principles that guide our work are the product of broad-based consultation, are drafted by representatives of professional bodies and organizations, and exist in the form of guidelines and proposed codes of conduct (Gruskin Dickens, 2006). The codes of ethics for this clinic are the following: 1. Work in a manner that supports the clinics mission, goals, and value statement. 2. Uphold the code of ethics to human service professionals. 3. Protect the confidentiality of clients according to the rules and  regulations of HIPPA. 4. Staff must take appropriate steps to unethical behavior of colleagues. 5. Unethical behavior of staff is not acceptable. 6. Staff must follow commitment to the clinic. 7. Staff must be aware of issues that affect clients from diverse backgrounds. 8. Staff must respect the integrity and welfare of each client. 9. Staff must treat clients with acceptance and respect. 10. Sexual relations with clients and or staff members are prohibited. 11. If suspicion of danger or harm may occur, staff must protect the safety of the client, clinic, and employees by following appropriate steps. 12. Staff must stay up on training and classes offered to improve the care given to clients. 13. Discrimination toward clients, staff, and community is not accepted. 14. Sexual misconduct toward clients, staff, and community is not accepted. 15. Sexual harassment toward clients, staff, and community is not accepted. The code of ethics listed above gives employees a list of appropriate behavior while employed with the clinic. Each employee must follow every ethic that is listed to ensure that the employees of the clinic are giving the best care to the clients that is expected. The code of ethics is related to the mission and values of the clinic because it helps the staff give the best care available to the clients in the community with helping with the problem of addiction. According to the Healthcare Leadership Alliance (HLA), the professionalism competency is the ability to align personal and organizational conduct with ethical and professional standards that include a responsibility to the patient and community, a service orientation, and a commitment to lifelong learning and improvement (Garman, Evans, Drouse, Anfossi, 2006). The values of the clinic are very important. Each employee should be aware and know them by memory. This way each employee knows what is expected out of them from the clinic. Each employee is held to a high standard and should be aware of the values and ethics of the clinic. The clinic uses tangible cultural forms. I want to promote ethics and values in the everyday work  environment. This form allows the staff to hear and use the ethics and values everyday so they stay fresh in their minds and they stay cautious of their actions. If the employees are reminded everyday of the ethics and values of the clinic then they will be no reason for the employees to not follow them. Shared values are hung throughout the clinic that shows the clinic’s values. This keeps the staff aware of the values by reminding them as they walk through the hallways of the clinic. Meetings are held each month that allows the staff and the directors meet and go over feedback from the community. During these meeting the values and ethics are discussed with the staff so they are reminded of what is expected. This allows the staff to give feedback on the values and ethics. As a leader in this type of clinic there are several moral responsibilities that I have. I not only have moral responsibilities toward the clients that the clinic serves but also to the employees. I have moral responsibility for each client because they reaching out for help. I want to offer them every possible resource so they can get out of their situation. If the shelter fails on doing so then the clients could return to their addiction and possibly end up in a worse situation. I am morally responsible for the employees because they have to know how to handle these types of situations. As leaders, it is our responsibility to be catalysts and role models for our professional colleagues by both retaining and communicating a profound sense of optimism regarding the future of the law, health care, and our respective organizations (Gragnolati Stupak, 2002). I want the employees of the clinic to lead by example. I hold myself with high standards and follow each rule. I go to training when they are offered to ensure that I stay educated on any issues so I can better serve the clinic, staff, and clients. My goal as the leader is to have a staff that holds themselves to the same standards as I use. This way each employee keeps the same goals and wants the same for the clinic and the clients. For this clinic I use transformation leadership. I want my employees to trust me as their leader. I think that with this type of leader, the employees are comforted because they know that the leader is just as much invested to fixing any problem that arises. The employees have to have the proper training so they know how to counsel the clients and know what resources to offer them. If the employees fail in doing so then as a leader I also fail. Each staff member must go through training to ensure  that they give the best care to each client. They must keep up on certifications if needed. Each staff member has an evaluation done every 3 months to ensure that they are giving the best care to the clients and to make sure that the employee is following the code of ethics, mission, and values. Appropriate steps are taken if the employee fails to follow the rules and termination may occur if needed. The clinic does not tolerate employees who are not loyal to the clinic, clients, and the staff. The clinic wants employees who are there that can follow the rules and ethics of the clinic. Each client takes a feedback survey so the clinic can evaluate the programs and employees. We want each program offered to be the best it can to help serve the clients. Feedback from the clients helps the clinic know what areas of each program are working and which ones are not. This way the programs can be fixed to help meet the needs of the clie nts. This clinic will provide different care for patients battling addiction. Each patient will be in programs that best fits their needs. The clinic will have qualified workers to help meet the needs of each patient. The mission and value statement both send positive messages to the community because it tells them that the clinic is there to help with the problems of addiction within the community. These statements also state that the clinic wants the patients to receive the best treatment to help with the addiction problem. There are fifteen codes of ethics that each employee of the clinic must know and follow. The ethics makes the employee aware of what is expected of them as an employee of the clinic. Each employee should be aware of all twelve codes of ethics and should follow them accordingly. Tangible cultural forms are used in the clinic. This allows the clinic to promote the values and ethics through the work environment. The clinic holds high standards for the employee. Each employee has evaluations done to make sure the employees are giving the best care for each client. This keeps employees aware of issues that they need to work on so they can become better with the care that they give. The clinic strives to help each client meet the goal in recovery. With all the steps the clinic makes to achieve this goal, an ethical organization has been built. References Garman, A. N., Evans, R., Drouse, M. K., Anfossi, J. (2006, July / Aug). Professionalism. Journal of Healthcare Management, 51(), 219. http://proquest.umi.com.ezproxy.apollolibrary.com/pqdweb?index=62did=1092901951SrchMode=1sid=9Fmt=4VInst=PRODVType=PQDRQT=309VName=PQDTS=1289765094clientId=13118 Gragnolati, B. A., Stupak, R. J. (2002, Summer). Life and Liberty: The power of positive purpose. Journal of Health and Human Services Administration, 25(), 75. http://proquest.umi.com.ezproxy.apollolibrary.com/pqdweb?index=3did=677546611SrchMode=1sid=2Fmt=3VInst=PRODVType=PQDRQT=309VName=PQDTS=1289762787clientId=13118 Gruskin, S., Dickens, B. (2006, November). Human rights and ethics in public health. American Journal of Public Health, 96(11), 1903. http://proquest.umi.com.ezproxy.apollolibrary.com/pqdweb?index=35did=1159402191SrchMode=1sid=2Fmt=3VInst=PRODVType=PQDRQT=309VName=PQDTS=1289763672clientId=13118

Carnival Major Aspect Of Trinidadian Culture Social Policy Essay

Carnival Major Aspect Of Trinidadian Culture Social Policy Essay What is culture? According to La Belle and Ward (1996), a current definition of culture encompasses the shared attributes which delineate one group as separate from another ( p. 28). A slightly more specific definition for this very broad term comes from Frantz Fanon who says that a culture is first and foremost the expression of a nation, its preferences, its taboos, and its models (2004, p.177). From this standpoint we will examine Trinidadian culture or more specifically the significance of Carnival, an integral part of Trinidadian culture, as an outpouring of expression which originated with the French Roman Catholic aristocracy and later was influenced by slaves and former slaves. We will also examine the role it plays in inspiring national pride and uniting the Trinidadian diaspora. According to Mr. Walcott we have lost much of our historical legacy and it is from this loss and the consequent necessity for something to fill that void that the innovation of our culture (i.e. Caribbean culture) materialized (Walcott, 1974, p. 6). I disagree with Mr. Walcott on this point. I believe that a great deal of history was lost yes, whether it is because it was irrelevant as he says or not is in itself immaterial for the purpose of this discussion. It is my opinion that culture was not simply an upwelling of inventiveness due to large gaps in historical memory, but also an amalgamation of what historical heritage was left behind regardless of the fact that it was in tatters. If we take Carnival as an isolated part of culture, this point can be proven as we examine the origins of Carnival and see for ourselves that it began in Trinidad with a French Roman Catholic tradition of the aristocracy (Zavitz Allahar, 2002) in the pre-emancipation era as a last prelenten celebratio n, which symbolized the abandonment of propriety. It was transformed with the advent of emancipation from a celebration in the form of masked balls, song, drama and dance which indirectly, covertly and subversively confronted issues of social restrictions of class and race, since most wore masks, into a fusion in the post-emancipation period of West African religious practices and beliefs and the pre-existing French celebration (Nurse, 1999). The initial celebration of Carnival by the recently freed slaves was in the form of re-enacting a scene that they had become all too familiar with and which they had named Cannes Brulà ©es or burning cane (Carnival). This is one instance of creation such as that which Mr. Walcott speaks of, however we can clearly see that the entirety of the Carnival practice, once taken as a whole, contains old and new elements, old from both French and African historical celebrations separately and new from the synthesis of new ideas based on experiences and the mixing of two cultures together, one forcibly oppressed for many years, and the other, living in extravagance comparatively. Let us now take a look at what Carnival is, what it symbolizes presently for the citizens of Trinidad and Tobago. Carnival as seen by the spectator and masquerader alike is not viewed as anything static. It is a dynamic and fluid process (Green, 2007, p. 206). It is a vibrant, exuberant, triumphant, colourful display on the one hand of freedom from ones inhibitions as passed down from the originators of this festival, in which fast-paced, up-tempo music urges revelers to jump and gyrate in time with the syncopations of the melodic soca music (Green, 2007, pp. 207-208). Feathers, beads, staffs, headbands, bright dramatic make-up, sequins, beads and all manner of shiny things bob and weave with the rhythm of the uninhibited who proudly bare their costumes and newly fit bodies for cameras and tourists alike. Big music trucks patrol the streets with thousands cavorting to the tune reverberating from the massive speakers that take up the entire truck-cab and face in all directions. This m addeningly spectacular display of peacock-like feathers, glitter and lithe bodies strutting to the beat, begins on Carnival Monday morning with JOuvert which means opening of the day and continues right through into LasLap on Tuesday night until the stroke of midnight (Scher, 2002, p. 461). This is the part of Carnival that is marketed, packaged and sold to the masses every year. The package includes the enticement of watching steel-bands vie for the title of champion in the Queens Park Savannah, during Panorama, the most renowned steelpan competition during the Carnival season. It is not to say that this is all that Carnival consists of, however when considering the diasporic culture of expatriate Trinis, as they are called, and their descendants, these are the images that bring to life that longing for the homeland and have inspired stirrings in the soul to return to Trinidad, just to participate in this festival of colour and unadulterated elation. The term diasporic mentioned re fers to the dispersion of a community away from its homeland to more than one peripheral region, which remembers or has some cultural connection to the homeland and is not fully acknowledged as a member of the current country (Clifford, 1994, p. 304). Although they may be expatriates, during the Carnival season, many Trinis faithfully return home to take part in festivities and can be heard speaking d lingo of dey people even if with a slight North American twist. As was stated by Clifford (1994) the language of diaspora is increasingly invoked by displaced peoples who feel a connection with a prior home (p.310). Many Caribbeans in New York, for example, have maintained a sense of connection with their home islands, a distinct sense of cultural, and sometimes class, identity that sets them apart from African Americans (Clifford, 1994, p. 315). The reclamation of ties to the homeland can also be seen through the migration of the celebration of Carnival to major cities around the world. This repossession can be accounted for by marginalization and experiences of discrimination and exclusion (Clifford, 1994, p. 311). It is the way that the diasporic mentality makes up for the bad experiences (Clifford, 1994). It also however speaks t o the issue of nationalism. Expatriates and their descendants must look to Trinidad for innovations in the Carnival arts (Green, 2007, p. 213) speaks to the issue of national pride as well and the refusal to allow the denigration of the achievements of the nation. I digress here to discuss this issue of nationalism and national pride. Nationalism, according to Greenfeld (2006) refers to the set of ideas and sentiments which form the conceptual framework of national identity (p.69). Four concepts that are key to Greenfelds theory that factor in here in our discussion are: equality, respect, dignity and citizenship(2006. She says that the fact that ones national identity is coupled with dignity and self-respect, due to the elevation of citizens to the level of membership in the nation, guarantees ones investment in the community that constitutes the nation. The dignity imparted with feeling like one belongs is what spurs national pride. The prestige associated with that feeling of belonging encourages international competition. This concept speaks to the pride that Trinidadians feel, particularly at Carnival time, possibly more so than at any other time of the year, on professing that, yes they come from the land of Carnival and pretty mas and w hats more they know how to wine. It may well be that other islands craved the sense of pride that they saw in Trinidadians at some point since we are told that it is from Trinidads Carnival that they take their inspiration, form, and structure (Cohen, 2007, p. 898). I dont suppose we will ever know if this adoption of carnival stemmed from regional competition or from a different historical legacy. In support of this argument that Carnival has inspired national pride we look to Mr. Green, who talks about how these other carnivals derived from Trinidadian Carnival has instilled a certain drive in Trinidadians to have their originality and cultural innovation recognized and their country acknowledged as the birthplace of the copycat Carnival that is now marketed in at least three major metropolitan centers internationally: Toronto, London and Brooklyn respectively (Green, 2007, pp. 210-213). Even still, we find that the visitors still number in the thousands to Trinidad for Carnival each year. Currently, most of those who come to Carnival are either expatriate Trinidadians or individuals who are very familiar with some aspect of the Carnival (Green, 2007, p. 206). But non-Trinidadians and descendants of Trinidadians living abroad also learn about theCarnival-like events inspired by Trinidad Carnival Caribana, Notting Hill, and West Indian-American Day among them, in the three afo rementioned major cities respectively (Green, 2007, pp. 210-211). We can see from the comments made by the interviewee in Mr. Greens article, that national pride and the resultant desire to seek the nations interest in reclaiming what is rightfully Trinidadian is spawned from the prospect of stolen ideas and the frustration at other countries inadequate imitations of a distinctive cultural marker People in promoting their own Carnival based on Trinidads Carnival, forget about Trinidad So we have got to look after our own laurels to re-establish ourselves And once we do that, people will remember that this is the Mecca, this is where you come for the real things that are rich and flavorful and tasty about Carnival (interview, 13 August 1993) (Green, 2007, p. 212). We learn that sadly, it is mostly Trinidadian expatriates and individuals who have had some exposure to some aspect of Carnival, who come to visit each year (Green, 2007, p. 206). It is still encouraging from my standpoint however to know that non-Trinidadians and descendants of Trinidadia ns living abroad also learn about Carnival-like events created by Trinidadians inspired by Trinidad Carnival Caribana, Notting Hill, and West Indian-American Day among them, in the three aforementioned major cities respectively (Green, 2007, pp. 210-211). Even if the name of the country is mentioned and people are able to experience and capture some essence of what Carnival is about, we never know, it may instill in them the desire to come and visit Trinidad 1themselves. Carnival is broken down into parts and must be expressed in such a manner that can be experienced by others in order for it to be brought to the educational forum and projected into the public arena both nationally and internationally (Green, 2007, p. 207). It can be broken down into music, costumes, food and so on. The end to this breaking it down, when we consider edification of the nation in itself of its own tradition and festival , is cultural nationalism. Cultural nationalism as described by Mr. Green has as its aim to inculcate among members of the nation a sense of shared national culture, one that is not distorted by outside cultural influence (Green, 2007, p. 203). Simply put, this has the ability to put the citizens of Trinidad and Tobago in a position of stemming its vulnerability to outside cultural forces because it has been educated on the importance of its own. Globalization is inevitable, however, the question that has to be posed is how much is Trinidad willing to l ose its culture to other nations? How has Carnival indirectly affected culture negatively? It has opened the country up to the influences of massive influxes of tourists and the impact their culture has on the uneducated populace. Unfortunately though, as Derek Walcott so eloquently expressed his feelings of dependence on America that can be easily transmitted to many an educated Trinidadian regarding Carnival the more West Indian I become, the more I can accept my dependence on America not because America owes me a living from historical guilt, nor that it needs my presence, but because we share this part of the world, and have shared it for centuries now (La Belle Ward, 1996, p. 3). Again, the only solution to avoiding vulnerability and to ensuring sustainability of the festival and the uniqueness of Trinidads Carnival as opposed to what is being produced in the name of Carnival, is education. Now that Carnival has come to pass: national pride has been boosted, global awareness of the festival has exploded and tourism has grown as an industry during that period of time, the Carnival season. With increasing globalization, Trinidad stands to lose out on a large percentage of income and also the proper credit, recognition, and appreciation for what it has contributed to the world (Green, 2007, p. 214) that could be earned through these festivals, these pseudo-carnivals initiated by members of the diaspora uniting to recapture the essence of their homeland in metropolitan hubs around the world. The positive side of the coin is global recognition for innovativeness and diversity as a culture. What will become of Carnival and Trinidadian national pride in the years to come? We will have to wait and see. REFERENCES Carnival. (n.d.). Retrieved November 23rd, 2009, from Trinidad and Tobago National Library and Information System Authority Web site: http://library2.nalis.gov.tt/Default.aspx?PageContentID=206tabid=161 Clifford, J. (1994). Diasporas. Cultural Anthropology , 9 (3), 302-338. Cohen, C. B. (2007). Trinidad Carnival Today: Local Culture in a Global Context. Anthropological Quarterly , 80 (3), 897-902. Fanon, F. (2004). On National Culture. In F. Fanon, The Wretched of the Earth (p. 177). New York: Grove Press. Green, G. L. (2007). Come to Life: Authenticity, Value, and the Carnival as Cultural Commodity in Trinidad and Tobago. Identites: Global Studies in Culture and Power , 14 (1/2), 203-224. Greenfeld, L. (2006). Nationalism and the Mind: Essays on Modern Culture. Oneworld Publications. La Belle, T. J., Ward, C. R. (1996). Ethnic Studies and Multiculturalism. New York: State University of New York Press. Nurse, K. (1999). Globalization and Trinidad Carnival:Diaspora, Hybridity and Identity in Global Culture. Cultural Studies , 13 (4), 661-690. Scher, P. W. (2002). Copyright Heritage: Preservation, Carnival and the State in Trinidad. Anthropological Quarterly , 75 (3), 453-484. Walcott, D. (1974). The Caribbean: Culture or Mimicry. Journal of Interamerican Studies and World Affairs , 16 (1), 3-13. Zavitz, A. L., Allahar, A. L. (2002). Racial Politics and Cultural Identity in Trinidads Carnival. Identity: An International Journal of Theory and Research , 2 (2), 125-145.

The Fragility of Freedom Gadamerian :: Gadamer Freedom Essays

The Fragility of Freedom Gadamerian ABSTRACT: This paper examines the nature of freedom in Hang-Georg Gadamer’s hermeneutics. It focuses on the last section of Wahrheit und Methode advancing the hypothesis that Gadamer’s model of understanding is derived from his particular appropriation of the Platonic notion of the beautiful which poses a passive interpretative posture toward the object of understanding and deprives the activity of interpretation the essential creative quality of freedom. I argue that to the extent that the object of understanding presents itself as immediate revelation of truth, the interpreting subject is reduced to a mere acknowledger of truth as opposed to a creative producer. Opponents of teleological ontology and of philosophy of history have been attracted to hermeneutics as a more congenial perspective for the exploration of such issues as truth and right, knowledge and action, necessity and freedom. The appealing claim of hermeneutics is that universality need not be and should not be absolute as an ultimate end of a process of actualisation. In the view of hermeneutics, a determinate universal converts freedom to necessity however much consciousness may mediate activity. That is, even though activity engenders change, consciousness is more an expression of necessity in relation to the absolute than an expression of freedom. Indeed, in this view, teleological mediation between freedom and necessity is no reconciliation but rather a subsumption of freedom by necessity. To rehabilitate freedom, hermeneutics opts for a non-teleological history with an open, indeterminate future. The departure from teleology finds a new non-essentialist ground for truth a nd universality, namely, mutual understanding. In this paper, I examine Gadamer’s notion of mutual understanding, fusion of horizons, to assess the place reserved for freedom. I focus on Gadamer’s appropriation of the Platonic notion of the beautiful as the model of understanding and I argue that such a notion of understanding poses a passive interpretive posture toward the object of understanding, i.e. tradition or contemporary alien culture. In this model of understanding, I shall argue, the latter presents itself as immediate revelation of truth and thereby deprives interpretation of the productive quality which Gadamer would like to attribute it. I begin by providing some theoretical background to Gadamer’s notion of understanding noting its debt to Heidegger’s phenomenological ontology. I then proceed to examine Gadamer’s appeal to the Platonic dialectic of the beautiful as a model for understanding which highlights, to my mind and as I noted, the latent passivity of Gadamerian interpretati on.