Aristotle s Philosophy On Ethics - 1330 Words

Nicomachean ethics is the name of Aristotle’s work on ethics based on his lectures. It is said that Nicomachean ethics were named after either Aristotle’s father or son , as they were both named Nicomachus. Aristotle believed that happiness is what makes a person pure. To prove his point, Aristotle believed that there were four moral virtues that worked together; the virtue of great soul, the virtue of justice, the virtue of practical judgment and the virtue of being a truly good friend. Ten books have been written from Aristotle’s lecture notes. Aristotle’s first seven books focus on the virtues he believed were important and was believed to have his thoughts on ethics based on Plato and Socrates philosophy. In the first seven books, Aristotle goes over basic virtues and how they relate to each other and to moral values. Over the next few paragraphs, I will explain my understandings of Aristotle’s virtues from these books. In Book I, Aristotle starts to discuss what Plato stated about the Theory of Forms, but mainly wants to define happiness, what is also known as Eudaimonia. Aristotle states in Book I, three ways in which people associate with happiness; â€Å"slavish way of pleasure (majority of people), refined and active way of politics, (which aims at honor), and the way of contemplation†(Aristotle: Nicomachean Ethics). These three things are said to be what people aim for in their own sake of happiness. In Book II, Aristotle speaks about the nature of humanShow MoreRelatedAristotle s Philosophy And Ethics972 Words   |  4 PagesAristotle was a highly respected and well-known Greek philosopher, who studied both science and ethics in abundant detail. When someone famous like that writes his thoughts down on paper, and has great advice for you in your life, you tend to pay attention. In Aristotle’s papers, the Nicomachean Ethics: he defines virtue as â€Å"states of character acquired through habituation, through acting repeatedly in the way that a virtuous person would act, until virtuous action becomes second nature† (AristotleRead MoreAristotle s Philosophy On Ethics2206 Words   |  9 Pages Aristotle was a premier Greek philosopher who had some very interesting concepts on ethics, which are collectively called the Nicomachean Ethics. His collection of work has led to the development of many theories on the basis for human existence. The main question by Aristotl e’s series of lectures is the bane of human existence. According to Aristotle, humans seek happiness (4). If anything promises happiness, then human will go in the direction it leads. Aristotle was also just as interested inRead MoreAristotle s Virtue Ethics Is The Best Philosophy Out Of The Three Men1424 Words   |  6 PagesI believe Aristotle’s Virtue Ethics is the best philosophy out of the three men. Aristotle has a few topics to which take precedent in his theory. The first is his view on the ultimate goal of life: Eudemonia. Eudemonia translates as good spirit or happiness. To Aristotle, it meant a life well-lived. He believed that the purpose of life is to become a good person who has good character. He also believed that what makes humans unique is their ability to reason and to exercise their intellect, whichRead MoreAncient Greek Philosophers Who Have Helped Shape The World1350 Words   |  6 Pagestwenty centuries ago, Greek philosopher Aristotle laid out the foundations of Western culture. The principles of Greek philosophy implemented its way into encompassing a persons point of view or their knowledge on society. Aristotle has helped improve and transmuted the world by his views on ethics and virtues he has instructed and justified thoroughly and the endowment of philosophy and science, whereas he created a comprehensive system of subjects. Aristotle has laid out virtues, which is the importantRead MoreAristotle, The Man Of Thinking1025 Words   |  5 PagesAristotle, the Man of Thinking Aristotle is his name, philosophy is the game. Aristotle was a Greek philosopher and scientist who was born in Stagira Greece in 384 B.C. He lived to be 62 years old, which at the time, was a very good lifespan. Aristotle’s place of death was in Chalcis. His full name is Aristotle Stagiritis son of Nicomachus. He had a wife by the name of Hermias and a son with the name of Pythias. Aristotle is known well for teaching the world renowned man, referred to today as AlexanderRead MoreAristotle s Realism Philosophy And Philosophy1590 Words   |  7 PagesAristotle’s Realism Philosophy Realism is an educational philosophy; furthermore it is a teaching that stresses knowledge that develops from one s own senses.in my opinion this is great idea for educational philosphy, because it shows that sense deveolpement is the realest possible learning to have. Under this philosophy the idea exists that there is a real world not constructed by human minds, that can be known by one s own mind. It is through experiencing the world around everyone in whichRead MoreAristotle And Aristotle On Education1262 Words   |  6 Pages2.2.2 Aristotle (384 – 322 BC) Another great influence on Education was the Greek philosopher and scientist Aristotle who came later after Confucius, who was born in Stagira, Chalcidice. Aristotle was first a student in Plato’s philosophy school for around twenty years. Later on he was a philosophy teacher in Atarneus which is located in Asia Minor. Aristotle is known for his school named â€Å"Lyceum† which is located in Athens, and he is also known for teaching Alexander the Great who can later. AccordingRead MoreHistorical Events That Took Place During The Classical Period1458 Words   |  6 PagesInfluences of Aristotle During the Classical Period, 500-232 BCE, Greece was at the peak of its political and cultural achievement. This was also a time of war, most noteworthy being the vast empire created by Alexander the Great. In a period containing such an immense amount of historical significance there is no doubting that it had influenced the people born. Notorious philosopher Aristotle is no exception, contributing a great deal to the fields of mathematics, biology and ethics. His book titledRead MoreAristotle’S Philosophy. One Of The Greatest Philosophers,1085 Words   |  5 PagesAristotle’s Philosophy One of the greatest philosophers, Aristotle, continues to impact our society today. His theories are easily applied to ethical situations in business, and especially in accounting. Philosophy studies ideals of the meaning of life, truth, and knowledges. When in challenging situations ethics influence choices. Ethics are a crucial as we use them daily in all affairs, business and personal. Our ethics direct us to choose the most ethical solutions, even in events there is noRead MoreAristotle s Contributions Of Aristotle931 Words   |  4 PagesBiography of Aristotle Aristotle Headshot Aristotle was born in 384 BC, in Stagira, near Macedonia at the northern end of the Aegean Sea. His father, Nicomachus, was the family physician of King Amyntas of Macedonia. It is believed that Aristotle s ancestors had been the physicians of the Macedonian royal family for several generations. Having come from a long line of physicians, Aristotle received training and education that inclined his mind toward the study of natural phenomena. This education

Sample of an Effective Grad School Letter of Recommendation

Whether a letter is good or simply adequate depends not just on its content but on how well it fits the program to which you’re applying. Consider the following letter written for a student who is applying to an online graduate program: In this case, the student is applying to an online graduate program and the professors experiences with the student are entirely in online courses. Considering this purpose, the letter is good. The professor speaks from experiences with the  student in an online class environment, presumably similar to what he will experience in an online graduate program. The professor describes the nature of the course and discusses the students work within that environment. This letter supports the students application to an online program because the professors experiences speak to the students ability to excel in an online class environment. Specific examples of the students participation and contributions to the course would improve this letter. This same letter is less effective for students who are applying to traditional brick-and-mortar programs because faculty will want to know about the students real-life interaction skills and capacity to communicate and get along with others. A Sample Letter of Recommendation Dear Admissions Committee:    I am writing on behalf of Stu Dents application to the online master’s program in Education offered at XXU. All of my experiences with Stu are as a student in my online courses. Stu enrolled in my Introduction to Education (ED 100) online course in Summer, 2003.    As you are aware, online courses, because of the lack of face-to-face interaction, require a high degree of motivation the part of students. The course is structured so that for each unit, students read the textbook as well as lectures that I have written, they post in discussion forums in which they converse with other students about issues raised by the readings, and they complete one or two essays. The summer online course is especially grueling as a full semester’s worth of content is covered in one month. Each week, students are expected to master the content that would be presented in 4 2-hour lectures. Stu performed very well in this course, earning a final score of 89, A-.    The following Fall (2003), he enrolled in my Early Childhood Education (ED 211) online course and continued his above average performance, earning a final score of 87, B. Throughout both courses, Stu consistently submitted his work on time and was an active participant in the discussions, engaging other students, and sharing practical examples from his experience as a parent.    Though I have never met Stu face-to-face, from our online interactions, I can attest to his ability to complete the academic requirements of XXUs online masters program in Education. If you have questions, please feel free to contact me at (xxx) xxx-xxxx or email: profxxx.edu    Sincerely,Prof.

Mental Health Case Study Free Essays

According to The Free Dictionary, mental illness is defined as, â€Å"Any of various psychiatric conditions, usually characterized by impairment of an individual’s normal cognitive, emotional, or behavioral functioning, and caused by physiological or psychosocial factors â€Å"(The Free Dictionary, 2007). Mental illness can certainly be a physical illness, but is not as easily diagnosed like a disease such as diabetes. In a disease like diabetes, physicians can run tests to look for certain indicators of the disease in the blood like the levels of blood glucose and hemoglobin A1C. We will write a custom essay sample on Mental Health Case Study or any similar topic only for you Order Now Sometimes physical conditions can cause mental illnesses. Unlike diseases like diabetes, mental health diagnoses’ often rely more on the patient relaying their symptoms to their physician or health care provider. This could not be as accurate because the patient may be unable to distinguish all of their symptoms or they may not think to tell the health care provider every symptom that they are suffering. According to John Grohol PsyD, â€Å"Treating mental illness rarely results in a â€Å"cure,† per se. What it does result in is a person feeling better, getting better, and eventually no longer needing treatment (in most cases). But even then, rarely will a professional say, â€Å"Yes, you’re cured of your depression. †Ã¢â‚¬ (Grohol PsyD, 2009). The deinstitutionalization of the mentally ill began with the introduction of the use of psychotropic drugs for mental health treatment in the 1950’s. It was embraced as a way of saving money because the patients would be able to be treated on an outpatient basis and in theory also be able to function in the world while on medications. This has not been as successful of a plan as originally intended. Crystal Riberio makes this point by stating, â€Å"The programs thought to replace care given in institutions were not nearly adequate. These programs, attempts to place the mentally ill back in society to be helped by the community members, day programs, and medications were not fully implemented to the full extent needed to replace institutions. This process led to an overwhelming number of mentally ill loose in society, becoming criminals due to lack of treatment† (Riberio, 2006). It is important to acknowledge that mental health services are often administered by a patient’s primary care physician. The patient may make tell their primary physician about problems that they are suffering from in order to seek help there first. The primary physician can prescribe anti-depressants for a patient that is suffering from anxiety or depression. They can also run tests to make sure a problem is not organic in nature versus purely mental. If mental health and physical health care are kept separate, a physician could miss a medical diagnoses that could be causing a mental problem. Some of the services that could be needed for the mentally ill are safe places for them to stay that will help protect mentally ill people from themselves if they are that unstable. There is also a need for therapy to help patients learn about their illnesses and how to cope with it. Managed Healthcare poses more challenges to the treatment of mental illness because they often impose more hoops to jump through in order for the patient to get approved coverage. Managed care organizations reduce health care costs of mental health treatments by imposing limits on the amount of care a person can receive. They may also cover the treatments at a lower percentage, making the patient liable for a larger portion of the cost of care. In order to determine what kind of facility a mentally ill person should go to, one would have to be evaluated by a mental health professional. If the person is a danger to themselves or others, it would probably be best to have them admitted to a psychiatric hospital. If they are simply depressed, they may be able to be treated with medicine and therapy. ? References The Free Dictionary . (2007). Medical Dictionary. Retrieved from http://medical-dictionary. thefreedictionary. com/mental+illness Grohol PsyD, J. M. (2009). Psych Central. Pysch Central. Retrieved from http://psychcentral. com/blog/archives/2009/05/22/how-do-you-cure-mental-illness/ Riberio, C. (2006). Deinstitutionalization of the Mentally Ill. Associated Content. Retrieved from http://www. associatedcontent. com/article/47201/deinstitutionalization_of_the_mentally_pg2. html? cat=17 How to cite Mental Health Case Study, Free Case study samples

Creativity and Innovation

Question: Write an essay ondistinction between creativity and innovation. Answer: Though there lacks a clear distinction between creativity and innovation, several researchers have tried to identify some differences. Creativity is defined as the ability to develop work that is both original and useful. Creativity occurs as a result of interaction between the socio-cultural context and the human thoughts. Creativity has been regarded as the response to the continuous resourcefulness and innovation that has been made necessary by the need for economic survival. Innovation on the other hand is defined as the process of implementing the original and appropriate ideas. Business innovation involves harnessing of the creative ability of processes and people within an organization in response to the market and customer demands (MacAdam et al, 2004). Ramstad (2009) has stated that the leaders in any organization are responsible to assemble teams and lead them to the optimal performance outcomes. Besides that, creativity is defined as the potentiality to develop works that are useful as well as original. However, it can be stated that several research works have revealed the fact that there exist a wide gap between the aspirations of the executives to innovate and their potentiality to execute. Therefore, it can be stated that the organizational structures as well as the processes are never the solutions. This research work has tried to shed light on importance of leadership that contributes in innovative and creativity in the selected organization, i.e. Oman Insurance Company. Creativity and innovation plays an important role in the organization which includes: improved ability to respond to the ever customer needs, it leads to creation of competitive advantage in an organization through technological innovations, possibility of costs savings in an organization and improvement of processes and quality of products or services. Perhaps one of the greatest importance of creativity and innovation in an organization is the ability they offer to an organization to manage to survive in the dynamic markets and the uncertain external environment. The competitive environments will demand for to strengthen or develop a creative and innovation process through stimulating a change in the organization culture. Innovation will also increase employee motivation in an organization through their empowerment and the freedom they are granted to engage in creative activities. Innovation increases productivity in an organization by encouraging employees to think outside the box in developing cost effective solutions and viable business projects (Ramstad, 2009). This report aims at analyzing three important elements in an organization to determine whether they promote or hinder creativity in an organization. The elements include: organization climate, leadership and the HRM function. Interactionist theory by Woodman and componential theory by Amabile will be used in analyzing the above components. Organization climate An individuals social environment may have significant effect on the levels of their intrinsic motivation which will in turn have an influence on their creativity. Organization climate relates to the recurring patterns of behavior portrayed in the day to day organization environment as understood, interpreted and experienced by members of that organization. These perceptions have an influence on their behaviors, feelings and attitudes towards creativity. Most organizations fail to foster conditions that encourage individuals to ignite change in a bid to maintain their status quo. The employee cognitive styles are heavily influenced by their creative performance as determined the research reports, supervisor ratings and invention disclosure forms (Shalley et al, 2015). From the company profile, it can be stated that this company is one of the leading insurance companies in the Middle East, headquarter in Dubai, UAE. The vision of the company is to develop superior insurance propositions that the customers would recommend to the friends and family and the shareholders seek for the long-term returns. From the recent news and updates, it can be stated that the leadership in the company is strong enough and this exceptional leadership contributes in innovative and creative ideas in the organization. It can be stated that the company has operated across most Emirates in the United Arab Emirates as well as in Oman and has been planning to expand the business as well in different parts (Tameen.ae 2016). From a social interactionist approach, the problem solving styles in an organization and the work group relationships that exist in that organization may directly or indirectly have an influence on the perception of an individual on the climate for creativity and innovation. Based on this, it means that an employees creative behavior can be regarded as the product of an interaction system that exists among the employee, their work group, social influences, climate for innovation and their leaders. This means that each of those component of the system can either enhance or hinder creativity in an organization (Woodman et al, 1993). Isaksen and Laurer (2002) argue that work groups can be a barrier to creativity by creation of fears that hinder creativity such as social embarrassment and ridicule among the employees as they try to raise their opinions. The systems that hinder creativity include rigid organization structures, inflexible procedures and policies and organization cultures t hat believe in playing by the rules. Employees may also lack the desire to share knowledge in an organization which hinders knowledge transfer that is essential in a creativity process. Leadership The dispositional characteristics and behaviors of organization leaders may have a huge influence on the innovation process. Amabiles (1988) componential model suggests that an organization is motivated to innovate if their leadership places high value on innovation and supports employees orientation to risk taking rather than advocating for a status quo. They leadership has to take a proactive approach to positive change introduced by creativity and provide necessary resources required by the employees to support their creativity and innovation process. Such resources include: financial resources, technological resources, training, and sufficient time to research and improve on their ideas. Amabile (1998) is of the idea that managers can kill employees creativity by setting tight deadlines for projects which results to them not having enough time to explore which in the end hampers their creativity process. They also refuse to allocate enough resources especially the financial and t echnological resources required in a creativity process. Some managers may also fail to acknowledge innovative efforts and will only be concerned with the outcomes. She further suggests that elements in management such as political problems, destructive critique, surplus of formal procedures and structures, strict controls and competition within an organization undermine creativity among the employees. It can be stated that business success in the 21st century exists in the potentiality to lead creativity and innovate. Unlocking creative potential is the major part to the economic growth and still very few CEOs opined that their corporation is good at creativity. Therefore, it can be stated that Oman Insurance Company is one of the leading corporations that focuses on appropriate leadership that has assisted the company to expand successfully and achieve noticeable economic growth. The leaders motivate the employees and arrange some effective training programs for them, so that they reach the set target easily. Apart from that, it can be stated that leaders morally motivate the employees largely and this motivates the employees to trust themselves enough to trust others (Kim and Yoon 2015). At Google, innovativeness is termed as a quality of its leaders. The leaders there minimize the obstacles to innovation, serve as facilitators to the innovation process, they maintain communication with their employees, play the role of cultural ambassadors and connectors and empower and trust their employees. The leaders acts as role models and set the vision of the organization and encourage their employees to work towards it. Google believes that any leader at Google should be born with a set of values that are in line with the organizations corporate values. The leaders therefore are at the fore-front of encouraging creativity and innovation which is among the values of the company (Steiber Alange, 2013). Human resource management HRM can either hinder or promote creativity and innovation in an organization through the staffing practices, motivation techniques and organizing practices. In their research Jiang et al (2012) found out that job design which is a product of HRM can either hinder or promote creativity. Job designs that increased employee autonomy and focused on empowerment had a positive influence on the motivation for creativity. Further job rotation and flexible working hours were found to increase innovations in the organization especially technological innovations. On the issue of staffing practices, HRM will be responsible for attracting, recruiting, developing and retaining that are creative and innovative. Failure to achieve this means that the department is creating hindrances to the creativity and innovativeness in that organization. They must adopt human resource planning to be able to identify gaps that exists in the organization relating to competences and skills in a given area in order to be able to attract and recruit employees that can successfully fill those gaps. A human resource department that does not ensure diversity in attracting and recruiting their staff risks being a barrier to creativity in an organization because they miss out on knowledge sharing brought by employees from different backgrounds (Jimenez-Jimenez Sanz-Valle, 2008). According to Li et al (2006), Oman Insurance Company has implemented a unique and broad CII training program for its employees. This program includes in-house learning sessions with CII experts, sharing of course related materials via online and mock exams. The primary goals of these courses are to distribute two types of certificates to the qualified candidates. Those two types of certificates are Award in General Insurance and Certificate in Insurance. The above-mentioned general insurance course is for those employees who are willing to start their careers in insurance sector. This course will help those employees to establish a general understanding of insurance principles, procedures, rules and regulations. According to Steiber and Alange, (2013), the Senior Manager of Learning and Development of Oman Insurance Company said that this training program received enormous support from the employees as more than 150 registrations were submitted and over 100 employees completed this c ourse. Therefore, it is clear that the organization is strengthening its insurance expertise by not only improving and enhancing its technical systems but also by supporting its employees to complete the insurance certificate course via Chartered Insurance Institute (CII). There is no doubt that it is an innovative and creative step taken by the organization to improve the performances of its employees and the performance of the organization. Conclusion The interactionist model establishes that organization environment if not properly managed can be the greatest barrier to creativity. Organization environment can be a barrier through the existence of work groups in an organization that do not value knowledge transfer and ridicule creative efforts from a creative employee which results to them developing fears to innovate. Organization environment may also be a barrier through bureaucratic organization structures that are rigid and not open to new ideas that may change the status quo of the organization. Such structures introduce inflexible policies and procedures and organization cultures that hinder creativity. Componential model on the other hand suggests that an organization is motivated to innovate if their leadership places high value on innovation and supports employees orientation to risk taking rather than advocating for a status quo. They are supposed to be role models to creativity and develop visions that are geared by in novation as evidenced in the case study of Google. However, from the study it is clear that the leaders of the organization are supporting the creativity and innovation in their Oman Insurance Company. Supporting innovation is the primary job of the leaders and the leaders of the mentioned organization are doing this thing accurately. On the other hand, Oman Insurance Company has also implemented innovative and creative ideas in their human resource department by implementing certification procedures from CII. Recommendation Following the componential approach by Amabile, organizations can foster creativity through offering encouragement to their employees, formation of work support groups, offering the employees freedom in their jobs, providing sufficient resources to their employees, challenging and motivating the employees to be creative and offering supervisory encouragement to their employees. The work groups facilitate utilization of problem solving techniques that foster creativity in an organization. Such techniques include brainstorming and creative problem solving (CPS). Brainstorming encourages creativity by allowing the exploration of rich ideas that exist among individuals. It also discourages critiquing of ideas which helps eliminate fear as a barrier to individual creativity. CPS on the other hand advocates for generation of unusual and diverse ideas in the initial stages of challenge and solutions identification. It encourages breaking down of a problem to understand it and generation of creative ideas to solve the problem (Mumford, 2012). Martins and Martins (2002) developed a model that would enhance creativity in an organization. With the help of Amabiles approach, the Oman Insurance company can improve their training involvements of employees by which their creativity can be fostered. For motivation, the company should offer them support groups. The work support groups can help employees to foster problem solving techniques through which employees creativity in the organization. The Oman insurance company is involving a well-planned training for their employees; however, problem solving techniques includes CPS, as discussed previously, if involved in the training program, the employees would be more efficient to solve problems by their own. Another recommendation for the company is to involve reward system in the work settings. The reward system is the most efficient system which helps to motivate employees and thereby fostering their creativity and innovative skills. Involvement of a reward system for the employee performed best in a particular session; therefore, the employee would attempt to perform better in the next session. Other recommendation for the company is to involve the feedback analysis, the feedback would be collected from the team leader and colleagues and based on which the performance of the employees would be evaluated. Based on the feedback collected, the employee would attend the specific person-centered training schedules. References Amabile, TM 1998, 'How To Kill Creativity. Harvard Business Review, 76, 5, pp. 76-87, Business Source Premier, EBSCOhost, viewed 21 April 2016. Amabile, Teresa. 1993. A Model of Creativity and Innovation in Organizations. In Research in Organizational Behavior. B. M. Staw and L.L. Cummings (eds.). Vol 10: Pp. 123-167 Isaksen, S.G. Lauer, K.J. (2002). The Climate for Creativity and Change in Teams. Creativity and Innovation Management, 11(1); 74-86. Jimnez-Jimnez, D. Sanz-Valle, R. (2008). Could HRM support organizational innovation?. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 19:7. 1208-1221 Jiang, J., Wang, S. Zhao, S. (2012). Does HRM facilitate employee creativity and organizational innovation? A study of Chinese firms. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 23:9, 4025-4047 Kim, S, Yoon, G 2015, 'An Innovation-Driven Culture in Local Government: Do Senior Managers Transformational Leadership and the Climate for Creativity Matter?', Public Personnel Management, 44, 2, pp. 147-168, Business Source Premier, EBSCOhost, viewed 21 April 2016 Li, Y., Zhao, Y. Liu, Y. (2006). The relationship between HRM, technology innovation and performance in China. International Journal of Manpower, 27:7, 679-697 MacAdam, R., Reid, R.S. Gibson, D.A. (2004). Innovation and Organisational Size inIrish SMEs: An Empirical Study. International Journal of InnovationManagement, 8(2);p 147-165. Martins, E., Martins, N. (2002). An organisational culture model to promote creativity and innovation. SA Journal of Industrial Psychology SA J Ind Psychol,28(4). doi:10.4102/sajip.v28i4.71 Mumford, M. D. (2012). Handbook of organizational creativity. London: Elsevier/Academic Press. Ramstad, E 2009, 'Expanding innovation system and policy - an organisational perspective', Policy Studies, 30, 5, pp. 533-553, Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost, viewed 20 April 2016 Shalley, C. E., Hitt, M. A., Zhou, J. (2015). The Oxford handbook of creativity, innovation, and entrepreneurship. Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press Steiber, A. and Alange, S. (2013), A corporate system for continuous innovation: the case of Google Inc, Journal of Innovation Management, Vol. 16 No. 2, pp. 243-264. Woodman, R, Sawyer, J, Griffin, R 1993, 'TOWARD A THEORY OF ORGANIZATIONAL CREATIVITY', Academy Of Management Review, 18, 2, pp. 293-321, Business Source Premier, EBSCOhost, viewed 20 April 2016.