Religion In American Culture Essays - Nation Of Islam,

Religion In American Culture Race and religion are two concepts in American culture that can really tie people together, or clearly separate them apart. A group forged by strong common roots in both race and religion can be a powerful societal force, if it wants to be. The Nation of Islam is a small but growing religion in America that has become somewhat of a social movement because of its strong and radical ideas on race. In this paper, I will try to explore the beliefs of the Nation of Islam, and the ramifications it could and has had on racial relations in America. The Nation of Islam, or NOI, is a relatively new religion. The first temple of Islam was established in Detroit by Master Fard Muhammed in 1930. Much of the theology was based on the simple facts that: Allah is god, the white man is the devil, and the so-called Negroes are the Asiatic black people, the cream of the earth.(1) And, in accordance with their bizarre view of creation, involving a mad scientist creating the white race from the black rac e, the twentieth century represents the time for black people to regain their rightful position as god?s chosen people. (1) The Nation of Islam was spawned from Orthodox Islam, an age-old religion. However, Orthodox Islam has openly denounced the NOI as a heretic sect for three main reasons: the NOI?s rejection of the belief in an afterlife, its tendency to view human leaders as deified figures, and its strong racist attitudes. (2) For a brief time, during the seventies, Wallace Deen Muhammed became the leader of the NOI and tried to take it in a new direction, more conforming to true Islamic beliefs. This group is now called the American Muslim Mission and still exists in small numbers today. (1) The NOI?s presence has implications on American racial relations in more than one way. First of all, the NOI is tied to a very specific American racial group: blacks. Although the majority of black people in America do not consider themselves members of the NOI, the group still attempts to represent all black people. And, because of the strong messages of strength, unity, and betterment of the black race, the NOI reaches the hearts and minds of many blacks as a driving social force, even if they don?t consider it their religion. Another major way the NOI impacts race relations is through the strong seemingly racist beliefs that are inherent to its theology. The NOI has always been open about its views. Not only have they always taught that the white man is the devil, but they believe that the battle of Armageddon will consist of a holy war between Islam and Christianity of which Islam will be the victors, representing the victory of black people over white people. (1) Jews are referred to as great enemies for no particular reason. The NOI has been viewed as a strongly anti-Semitic organization since the early eighties. (4) I think the NOI theology can best be understood as an example of power-conflict theory. First of all, the NOI is strongly against cultural assimil ation for American blacks. They believe that black people should exist entirely apart from American (white) culture. Elijah Muhammed, an early and extremely powerful leader who is now viewed as a deified human clearly taught against assimilation. (1) Since whites were inherently created as an evil and inferior race, they are therefore flawed since birth. Seeking their acceptance by acquiring any part of so-called American culture is a low and humiliating thing for blacks to do. Under this philosophy, Elijah Muhammed went so far as to teach that even living among white people in the same building or block is wrong, and that basic integration of blacks and whites in schools and workplaces should be reversed. (1) These separatist and elitist attitudes toward one race over another is clearly a power-conflict characteristic. I don?t necessarily think all of these ideas are so wrong. In his striving towards total segregation, Elijah Muhammed was hoping to achieve powerful and independent black communities capable of providing everything for themselves education, hospitals, workplaces, neighborhood organizations in the greatest quality. And they should

Free Essays on This Is America

This Is America â€Å"In no way would having English as the official language intrude upon anyone’s private life, business, or day-to-day living. Official English applies only to the conduct of government business.† -S.I. Hayakawa America today is obviously a melting pot of different societies. Everywhere, in every city and in every state, there are Germantowns, and Chinatowns, and Greektowns. America has certainly developed into one big multicultural society. With the many different cultures, come the many different languages as well. When a person imagines the language of the United States, naturally most believe that English is the national language. America, however, does not have an official language. According to the Center of Immigration Studies, more than 300 languages are currently spoken in the United States (U.S. Bureau of the Census). Immigration in the United States is a positive event that cannot be altered no matter what actions are taken against it. Immigration, in fact, has many positive influences upon this great nation. With the positive effects on this country also come the harmful effects. If America wants to continue to live harmoniously with the multitude of different cultures, ! the first step would be to make English the official language of the United States of America. Today, 1.9 billion people speak the English language; more than one-third of humanity (U.S. Bureau of the Census). English is also the national language of many countries- countries with a multiple of different cultures- including India and several populous countries in Africa. People in those countries use English to conduct common and official business, but they continue to speak many different languages as well. It seems ironic that the United States, the land almost synonymous with English, does not have it as its official language. In those countries, the peo... Free Essays on This Is America Free Essays on This Is America This Is America â€Å"In no way would having English as the official language intrude upon anyone’s private life, business, or day-to-day living. Official English applies only to the conduct of government business.† -S.I. Hayakawa America today is obviously a melting pot of different societies. Everywhere, in every city and in every state, there are Germantowns, and Chinatowns, and Greektowns. America has certainly developed into one big multicultural society. With the many different cultures, come the many different languages as well. When a person imagines the language of the United States, naturally most believe that English is the national language. America, however, does not have an official language. According to the Center of Immigration Studies, more than 300 languages are currently spoken in the United States (U.S. Bureau of the Census). Immigration in the United States is a positive event that cannot be altered no matter what actions are taken against it. Immigration, in fact, has many positive influences upon this great nation. With the positive effects on this country also come the harmful effects. If America wants to continue to live harmoniously with the multitude of different cultures, ! the first step would be to make English the official language of the United States of America. Today, 1.9 billion people speak the English language; more than one-third of humanity (U.S. Bureau of the Census). English is also the national language of many countries- countries with a multiple of different cultures- including India and several populous countries in Africa. People in those countries use English to conduct common and official business, but they continue to speak many different languages as well. It seems ironic that the United States, the land almost synonymous with English, does not have it as its official language. In those countries, the peo...

What characterised the Anglo-American Special Relationship during the Essay

What characterised the Anglo-American Special Relationship during the Cold War - Essay Example ps were cemented by the establishment of close ties between subsequent leaders of these countries as they sought to work together in national goals of influencing global economic and political systems. The cold war era is one of the period were the United States and Britain cooperated in a number of areas as both nations sought to secure their interests against resilient Soviet Union. The Anglo-American cooperation during cold was set had the objective of establishing close coordination in areas such economic performance, sharing of technological innovations and enhancing security through cooperation in defence and military movements in strategic areas. The strategies for achieving these goals were pegged at achievement of mutual benefit although there were instances where the two friendly nations were unable to share a common perspective on an issue as seen in the British attempt to ouster Nasser from Egypt presidency, which the United States did not support.1 However, the Anglo-American special relationship worked for the benefit of the countries especially when facing a perceived common threat. Therefore, given the mutual perception of Russia held by both Britain and the United States, it was only practical that the relationship would establish more areas that they agreed than where the countries did have a consensus on the best approach to handle a given domestic or international situation. Many nations that emerged from the Second World War as well as countries that had gained their independence in the past few decades faced considerable danger of falling under the influence of Soviet Union especially since they did not have strong institutional and political structures to assert their own identity. However, the reaction from these countries towards the Soviet Union could not be compared to the level of cooperation put in place by the United States and Britain as the two countries developed a coalition to face any potential threat from the Soviet Union in

Economics recession Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Economics recession - Assignment Example The beginning and impacts of the 2008 recession in individual countries today remains a constant reminder of the policies and measures the governments and financial analysts in the financial institutions ought to address as priorities. Most economists and analysts tend to an emphasis on the start and spread of the recession in 2008. While its spread is quite clear in the western countries during and after 2008, there is no doubt it began in the United States towards the end of 2007. The National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) recognizes the global recession to have started in December 2007 in the US economy, when it was identified with the sliding of the labour market especially in the last quarter of the year (Borbely, 2009). However, it was only a hit for the national economy of the US until it spread to other linked economies in 2008. The cause of the recession is linked to the cyclic economic performance of the housing market in USA, which later affected the economic performances of other industries. The United Stated had been experiencing a steady economic growth, with a healthy labour market and a rapid growth in the housing market after 2001. In the housing sector, home prices increased and more construction took place, contributing to increased employment, mortgage financing and growth in real estates and generated a positive wealth effect that triggered higher spending vital for the overall economic growth (Goodman and Mance, 2011). All the housing price inflations in the USA tended to follow a particular pattern after WWII. The 2001-2006 case was no exception, as it was a period marked by loose monetary policy. Two years prior to the 2007 recession, the US economy experienced expansion in credit and money supply. This fuelled excessive borrowing at low-interest rates to finance housing purchases; this in turn increased aggregate demand for household products and other consumption (Stlouisfed.org, 2010).

American Films in the 1970's Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

American Films in the 1970's - Essay Example Their thematic and stylistic innovations represented a radical break from Hollywood's classic paradigms. The decade saw a revolutionary change in the outlook of film critism also. Films were now being perceived as personal art pieces rather than only commercial blockbusters. Films were no longer evaluated in terms of their stories, but as art works whose style and mise-en-scene were more important than their contents. The 70s witnessed the birth of some of the most inspiring and exhilirating films directed by the greatest of film makers of the era. Nashville a 1975 classic is arguably one of finest films of the century that can be regarded as one of the finest masterpieces of the film making wizard, Robert Atman. Written by Joan Tewkesbury and produced by Robert Atman himself, Nashville features Altman's trademark overlapping dialogue that depicts classic improvisation and film making brilliance. The 159 min overwhelming fantasy, deals beautifully with classical real country music, deftly touching gospel music businesses in Nashville Tennessee. The characters in te film, evolve from real country music figures that material on U.S presidential politics. The film craftilly weaves together multiple storylines that eventually coalesce in the final half-hour in a climactic sequence at the Parthenon in Nashville. The movie widely despised from the mainstream country-music community at the time of its release, with many artists believing it was ridiculing their talent and sincerity. Since then, however, the songs that were mostly composed by the film's actors themselves have achieved a certain popularity in alternative-country circles, well away from the world of the music establishment. Among its many musical sequences, the song "It Don't Worry Me" is the film's theme, heard sporadically throughout and then performed at the climax. The 70s also witnessed the emergence of class film makers such as John Cassavetes. His films such as A Woman under the Influence are hailed as masterpieces despite the fact that they are incorporated with superficiality, gasp, and an in-your-face self-indulgence kind of a feeling. They are also sometimes blamed to carry a blatant artificiality in them. A Woman Under the Influence is one of the most devastating films ever made and is arguably the masterpiece of John Cassavetes' lauded career. with a startling realism, the film depicts supremely the relationship between a housewife on the verge of a nervous breakdown and her blue collared worker husbend. It's a marriage unlike any other seen before on the American screen - Nick (Falk) and Mabel (Rowlands) love each other intensely but that's not enough to keep her from descending into madness. In this shockingly intimate drama, housewife Gena Rowlands suffers a nervous breakdown and Dixit Page 5 her blue-collar construction worker husband, Peter Falk, decides to have her committed.Despite a dramatic theme of insanity, the film doesn't make a melodrama out of Mabel's crazy moments. Instead, painfully long scenes are wittnessed o this family together and with their social circle (particularly his construction work

Hochschilds Emotional Labour Theory

Hochschilds Emotional Labour Theory Emotional labour was first put forward by sociologist Arlie Hochschild in 1983 in her classic book, The Managed Heart. Hochschilds (1983) thesis mostly focuses on the job of flight attendants and bill collectors where she described the work involved in being nasty or nice and have also been expressed as toe and heel of the growing service sector (Cited in Steinberg Figart, 1999: 9) , also implying call centre, which has been targeted for analysis purpose in this study. Repercussions of rapid growing call centres globally have highlighted the importance of the service industry in recent years, whereby organisations accentuate on service quality where the impact is mostly upon selling a service with a smile. This new work organisation focuses on creating a pleasant service interaction for the clients or customers through good and pleasant customer service representative (CSR). As such, service employees are expected to regulate the emotional expression and display certain pre-establis hed and contextually appropriate emotions as per the organisations norms and culture while interacting with customers due to the nature and characteristics of the job as well as the work environment  [1]  . According to Steinberg Figart (1999), emotional labour emphasis is laid on the relational rather than task-based aspect of work, principally found in service economies. It is labour-intensive, it is skilled, effort-intensive, and productive labour. It creates value, affects productivity, and generates profit Steinberg Figart (1999) For such type of emotional labour, wage is their reward; that is, they get paid for their emotional work demands specifically for performing Emotional Labour (Grandey Brauburger, 2002; Zapf, 2002). Most of interactions nowadays include emotional labour (Gibson, 1997; Pugliesi Shook, 1997). For long emotions have been of interest to psychologists and sociologists (Hochschild, 1983; Thoits, 1990), but recently they have been of particular interest to organisational researchers (Ashforth Humphrey, 1993, 1995; Fineman, 1993; Morris Feldman, 1996, 1997). Arlie Hochschild (1983:7) defined emotional labour as the management of feeling to create a publicly observable facial and bodily display (Cited in Ashforth Humphrey, 1993). She also points to the need for an employee to induce or suppress feeling in order to sustain the outward countenance that produces the proper state of mind in others (1983 Cited in Murphy McClure, 2007:7). Emotional labour is demarcated as having different characteristics that may be analysed along different dimensions. Firstly, it requires a personal contact external or within organisations entailing either face-to-face or voice-to-voice client contact (Zapf, 2002; Steinberg Figart, 1999). Emotional labour also requires a worker to produce an emotional state in another person while at the same time managing ones own emotions (Steinberg Figart, 1999:13  [2]  ). Initially, Hochschild (1983) pointed to facial and bodily displays that were observable but further, researchers broaden the view including words , voice tone and other behaviours shaped by efforts undertaken by the person (Wharton Erickson, 1993). Emotional expression is required to follow certain rules, that is, display rules of the organisation (Grandey Brauburger, 2002; Humphrey, 2000; Zapf, 2002). This directs to the alignment of emotional labour with call centre environment due to their respective characteristics such as voice-to-voice or face-to-face, emotions expressed and following display rules during interactions for customer satisfaction. Ashforth Humphreys (1993, 1995) contribution to emotional labour have pushed forward Hochschilds thesis by incorporating the concept of social identity into their study of emotions in the workplace. They define emotional labour as the act of displaying the appropriate emotion (1993:90). Their definition differs from Hochschilds definition as they focus on behaviour rather than on the presumed emotions underlying behaviour (Ashforth Humphrey, 1993:90) because they see it as a possibility to conform to display rules without the employee having to manage feelings (Ashforth Humphrey, 1993:90). Their focus is on what the employee should feel at work instead of focusing on feeling rules (Hochschild, 1983), which leads us to display rules which are generally a function of societal norms, occupational norms, and organisational norms  [3]  (Rafaeli Sutton, 1989) (Figure 1). Figure 1: Rafaeli Suttons Factors that influence Emotions Expressed by Role Occupants. Source: Rafaeli, A., Sutton, R. I., The expression of emotion in organisational life, Research in Organisational Behaviour, Vol. 11, p.5. Copyright (1989) Surface Acting and Deep Acting: Hochschild (1979, 1983) argued that emotional labour is performed in one of two ways. First, the service provider may act in accordance with display rules through Surface Acting, which involves Simulating emotions that are not actually felt, which is accomplished by careful presentation of verbal and non verbal cues, such as facial expression, gestures and voice tone. Ashforth Humphrey (1993:92) Hereby, the service agents simulate emotions that are not felt by the latter. However, surface acting does not mean that the agent do not experiences any emotion but instead a display emotion that is not felt (Ashforth Humphrey, 1993). This causes a discrepancy between felt and displayed emotion as we will discuss in this study. There are also cases where the agent is or is not particularly concerned about the welfare of the customer which is referred to as faking in good faith and faking in bad faith by Rafaeli Sutton (1987: 32 Cited in Ashforth Humphrey, 1993). Surface acting can also be part of acting typically discussed as Impression Management (Ashforth Humphrey, 1993) and this converges with Goffmans dramaturgical analysis of daily encounters (Goffman, 1959, 1969). The second means of complying with display rules is through Deep Acting, which involves a service agent attempting to actually experience or feel the emotions that one wishes to display (Ashforth Humphrey, 1993:93). Deep acting can also be described as actors psyche themselves for a role in the same way, the service provider psyches himself or herself for a desired emotion (Ashforth Humphrey, 1993:93). Surface acting focuses on ones outward behaviour, deep acting focuses on ones inner feelings (Hochschild, 1983). The concept of surface and deep acting refer to The effort or act of trying to display the appropriate emotion, not the outcomes that is, the quality of the effort and the effects this effort has on target audience Hochschild (1979)  [4]   Further, the efforts may become effortless, for instance, in call centre works, the pre-described scripts and repetitive nature of the work makes deep and surface acting such that emotional labour becomes relatively effortless (Ashforth Fried, 1988 Cited in Ashforth Humphrey, 1993). In the same vein, Ashforth and Humphrey (1993) include the spontaneous and genuine emotions in his conceptualisation of emotional labour, which explains the instances where a service agent spontaneously and genuinely experiences and expresses the expected emotion Ashforth and Humphrey (1993:94). The service provider may naturally feel what he or she was expected to express without having to fake the emotion as per Hochschild (1983) thesis. Ashforth and Humphreys perception was no compliance but instead, a natural expression of feelings, for instance, a nurse who feels sympathy at the sight of an injured child has no need to act' (Ashforth Humphrey, 1993:94). Grandey (2000) provides another conceptualisation of emotional labour  [5]  in an attempt to refine the construct of emotional labour and the display rules involved. She defines emotional labour as: the process of regulating both feelings and expression for organisational goals (2000: 97). Grandey (2000) argued that previous conceptualisation of emotional labour does not include the emotion management process that employees undertake to conform to organisational display rules. She also developed a model to illustrate her conceptualisation of emotional labour which is based on the emotion regulation lab studies and emotional labour field studies. The situational cues of her model illustrated below (Figure 2) include the interactions expectations based on frequency, duration, variety, and display rules based upon Morris Feldman Dimensions of Emotional Labour (1997). Figure 2: Grandeys Emotion Regulation Process Source: Grandey, A.A., Emotion Regulation in the Workplace: A new Way to conceptualise Emotional Labour, Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, Vol. 5, No. 1, p.95-110. Dimensions of Emotional Labour: Morris Feldman (1996) also contributed to the conceptualisation of emotional labour. They define emotional labour as the effort, planning, and control needed to express organisationally desired emotion during interpersonal transactions (Morris Feldman, 1996: 987). Their perception of emotional labour differs from Hochschilds thesis in the sense that instead of focusing of the management of feeling (Hochschild, 1983), they instead, focus on expressive behaviour, because it is appropriate expressive behaviour that is organisationally desired (Morris Feldman, 1996:988). The level of planning, control, and skill that are required in organisations to display appropriate emotions is what has much significance to them (Morris Feldman, 1996 Cited in Lewig Dollard, 2003). So, Morris Feldman (1996) conceptualise the construct of emotion labour along four dimensions  [6]  (Figure 3) namely, the frequency of appropriate emotional display, the attentiveness to required display rules, va riety of emotions to be displayed, and emotional dissonance. Figure 3: Morris Feldman Four Dimensions of Emotional labour Source: Morris, J.A., Feldman D.C., The Dimensions, Antecedents, and Consequences of Emotional Labour, The Academy of Management Review, Vol. 21, No. 4, p.986-1010. Consequences of Emotional Labour: Though emotional labour can create economic benefits for the organisations and the individual such as self-efficacy and task effectiveness, it can also and most probably, has negative consequences on both physical and mental health on the employees. Positive Consequences: Staw et al. (1994) emphasized that employees with positive emotions will be more successful in organisations than employees with negative emotions. Ashforth and Humphrey (1993) proposed that expression of positive emotions is related to increased task effectiveness. They discussed that compliance with display rules facilitates task effectiveness if the emotions displayed by service provider is the emotion is alleged to be sincere to a certain extent (Rafaeli Sutton, 1989; Feldman, 1984; Ashforth Humphrey, 1993). Ashforth Humphrey (1993) propose that emotional labour can increase self efficacy of the employees and also increase personal well-being by fulfilling task requirements and task effectiveness  [7]  . In the same vein, they noted that by fulfilling social expectations, emotional labour makes interactions more predictable and avoids embarrassing interpersonal problems that might otherwise disrupt interactions (Ashforth Humphrey, 1993:94). Rafaeli Sutton (1987) also found that positive emotions of service employee brings about immediate sale, or cause revisit of customers and can be beneficial to the organisation t hrough word of mouth. Ashforth Humphrey (1993) also argued that emotional labour may facilitate self-expression. This is due to the certain degree of autonomy in the enactment of display rules. They disputed that at least some of the authentic self were projected by the service agents into the enactment, for example, Jackall (1978) described how bank tellers modified organisationally directed display rules to suit their own interpersonal styles (Cited in Ashforth Humphrey, 1993). Thus, this may facilitate self-expression. The expressions of positive emotions by service employees also influence outcomes that are prominent to the role occupant like financial wellbeing, mental and physical well being (Rafaeli Sutton, 1987). Staw et al. (1994) also found that employees expressing positive emotions are often more appreciated and receive favourable evaluations and better pay than those with negative expressions. Cote and Morgan (2002) also supported that positive emotions can increase job satisfaction as ser vice employees displaying such emotions are judged by others as sociable, pleasant, and likeable (Staw et al, 1994). And this supports organisations as service employees are in better positions to gain control over demanding customers (Mishra, 2006). Negative Consequences: Emotional labour is a double-edge sword (Ashforth Humphrey, 1993). Most studies undertaken reflected the negative aspects of emotional labour which is more inflicting on individual mental and physical well-being, and eventually affects organisational needs. Emotional Dissonance, Burnout, and Emotional exhaustion: Emotional labour can become dysfunctional for the worker when dissonance between felt emotions and displayed emotions is experienced (Lewig Dollard, 2003:268). This discrepancy between felt and display emotion is termed as emotional dissonance (Lewig Dollard, 2003). Hochschilds (1983) interest in emotional labour derived from what she argues as pernicious effects of both surface acting and deep acting on the labourer (Cited in Ashforth Humphrey, 1993:96). Displaying emotions that are not felt, creates a sense of strain, resulting in what Hochschild (1983) termed as emotive dissonance or cognitive dissonance. Hochschild (1983:90) defined emotional dissonance as maintaining a difference between feeling and feigning. This discrepancy is common because even though display rules regulate expressive behaviour, they cannot regulate expressive experience (Ashforth Humphrey, 1993:97). According to Ashforth Humphrey (1993:96), emotional dissonance may cause the individual to feel false an d hypocritical  [8]  . In due course, this dissonance could lead to personal and work-related maladjustment such as low self-esteem, depression, cynicism, and alienation from work (Lewig Dollard, 2003)  [9]  . Correspondingly, Ashforth Humphrey argued that deep acting may impair ones sense of authentic self (1993, p.97) and ones well-being, leading to self-alienation. They disputed that as a person loses touch of its authentic self, this may damage ones ability to express genuine expression (Ashforth, 1989). Finally, according to Ashforth and Frieds Study (1988) of mindlessness, with each interaction, deep acting becomes difficult for the service provider  [10]  . Many studies have been undertaken upon the link between emotional dissonance, emotional exhaustion, and burnout and results have been very prominent (Pierce, 1996; Pugliesi, 1999; Pugliesi Shook, 1997). Morris and Feldmans study also made an impact on this relationship (Figure 4), explaining the antecedents and consequences of emotional labour. Figure 4 shows the link that Morris and Feldman (1996) illustrated, taking emotional dissonance as the fourth dimension of the emotional labour construct which leads to emotional exhaustion and job dissatisfaction. Figure 4: Morris Feldman Antecedents and Consequences of Emotional labour Source: Morris, J.A., Feldman D.C., The Dimensions, Antecedents, and Consequences of Emotional Labour, The Academy of Management Review, Vol. 21, No. 4, p.986-1010. Emotional exhaustion is a specific stress-related reaction, and is a key component of burnout (Maslach, 1982 Cited in Morris Feldman, 1996). Emotional exhaustion refers to a state of depleted energy caused by excessive emotional demands (Saxton, Phillips, Blakeney, 1991, Cited in Morris Feldman, 1996, p.1002) made on service providers interacting with customers or clients. It has also been associated with withdrawal behaviour and decreases in productivity (Cordes Dougherty, 1993; Jackson, Schwab Schuler, 1986). Lewig and Dollard (2003) found that emotional dissonance intensifies the level of emotional exhaustion at high levels of psychological demands, indicating that jobs having more emotional demands result in more emotional dissonance, hence more emotional exhaustion  [11]  . Maslachs (1982) work also suggests that greater planning for a wide variety of emotional displays is emotionally exhausting. Emotional exhaustion is a component of burnout, which is a stress found typically in service industries (Brotheridge Grandey, 2002; Grandey, 2000; Maslach, 1982). Hochschild (1983) indicated that burnout was a likely outcome for emotional labourers who identified too completely with their jobs (also see Maslach, 1982; Maslach Jackson, 1981). Initially, there is no standard definition of burnout, but most researchers conceptualisation of burnout refers to burnout as a syndrome consisting of emotional exhaustion, depersonalisation and reduced personal accomplishment that results from interactions with people in some capacity (Maslach Schaufeli, 1993). The research supports that emotional labour is related to burnout and to emotional exhaustion specifically (Abraham, 1998, 1999c; Brotheridge Lee, 2002; Zapf et al., 2001). Similarly, Kruml Geddes (2000) examined the relationship between emotional dissonance and burnout and results proved that those faking their emotions risk becomin g emotionally exhausted. Job Satisfaction, Autonomy, and Performance: Previous theoretical work on emotional labour suggests that a negative relationship between emotional labour and job satisfaction. Hochschild (1983) argued that those employees suffering from burnout is usually a result of low autonomy and high job involvement, ultimately leading to low job satisfaction. According to Parkinson (1991), employees masking their felt emotions, lead to job dissatisfaction. This result from the consequences of emotional dissonance caused from the discrepancy between felt and displayed emotions which lead to exhaustion and burnout, eventually, affects job performance and job satisfaction  [12]  . Gendered Aspect of Emotional Labour: Work organisations and jobs are gendered (Acker, 1990) and this involves jobs requiring interactive work and emotional labour (Cited in Erickson Ritter, 2001). Traditionally, a differential form of emotional labour has been associated with jobs performed mostly by women. Nevertheless, Women do not experience more burnout or inauthenticity than men because of the type of jobs they perform, but rather because managing feelings of agitation have a different effect on women than it does on men. Erickson Ritter (2001:147) Thus, conventionally, Hochschild (1983) chose to study Flight Attendants and Bill Collectors as she believed these were jobs requiring high levels of emotional labour, or she wanted to illustrate the extent to which such jobs were emotionally gendered (Cited in Erickson Ritter, 2001) . As per Acker (1990), emotionally gendered jobs should display emotional patterns of emotional experience that should be distinctive for man and woman  [13]  . The gendered dimension of emotional labour can be illustrated through Rafaeli Sutton (1989) three norms, namely, the social norms, the occupational norms, and the organisational norms Social Norm: Historically, emotional expression has been differential in society and organisations, in that women have the tendency to perform more deferential forms of emotional labour than men (Erickson Ritter, 2001). Women are generally thought to be more expressive than men (Brody Hall, 1993). This issue was traditionally due to the social status of man and woman. Women are socialised to express most feelings freely except anger and man are expected to suppress all feelings but to express anger openly (Sharkin, 1993). In organisations, mens anger is often acceptable and it is generally characterised by shouting and yelling, whereas women express their anger differently and usually characterised by tears (Hoover Dempsey, Plas Wallston, 1986). Hochschild (1983: 163) suggested that woman have a weaker status shield against the displaced feeling of others (Cited in Erickson Ritter, 2001). According to Hochschild (1983), the absence of the social shield implies that women are more like to be e xposed to others anger and frustration and will lack the structural resources to fight back those emotional attacks  [14]  (cited in Erickson Ritter, 2001). Occupational Norms: Occupational norms regarding the appropriateness of emotional displays at work are typically learned during the professional socialisation process. The extents to which organisations have explicit display rules and monitor employees expressive behaviour will depend on the level of skill and training required to perform the work. Morris and Feldman (1996: 997) Elaine Hall (1993) and Robin Leidner (1991, 1993) studies also focused on the gendered dimension of emotional labour which reflected on the service of a restaurant  [15]  . They argued that this organisational behaviour structured the interaction of women servers as sexual objects (Cited in Steinberg Figart, 1999:16). Jennifer Pierce (1995) also echoed the gendered occupational dimension of emotional labour with her study of paralegals, where woman paralegals entailed in tremendous emotional labour job content  [16]  . Similarly, OBrien study (1994) of the nursing profession in Great Britain focused on this aspect of emotional labour where many of the skills possessed by nurses derived not from the qualities of being a nurse but from the qualities of being a woman  [17]   (1994:399). The case of call centres that have become a new organisational phenomenon nowadays is greatly emotionally gendered. The call centre industry quickly arrived at the realisation that women sell (Carter Butler, 2008:6). Foreseths (2005) study demonstrates how feelings are commoditized and womans femininity and sexuality are sold alongside the companys product such as airline tickets, hotel reservations amongst others (Cited in Carter Butler, 2008:6). Most often, women are expected to make use of their inherent caring and nurturing nature to persuade customers to purchase the products or service or assist customers in their inquiries and complaints (Brannan, 2005; Fernandez et. al., 2005: 894-895). These situations provide examples of how the issue of gender makes a difference in occupations and how with the use of display rules, the gendered dimension of emotional labour is strengthen (Fineman, 1996). National culture also play an important part on the gendered emotional labour depending on which type of policies organisations employ and where national culture shape organisational culture, hence influencing the emotional labour (Aaltio-Marjosola, 1994; Gheradi, 1994). Organisational Norms: An organisations culture will have the most persistent influence on display rules and associated emotions (Rafaeli Sutton, 1989; Van Maanen Kunda, 1989). Gender is implicated within these social norms, which vary by culture  [18]  (Steinberg Figart, 1999). Organisational culture consists Of symbols, beliefs, and patterns of behaviour learned, produced, and created by the people who devote their energies and labour to the life of an organisation Sprati (1992:342) Consequently, this pattern of behaviour, which of itself is gendered, is reflected in their tacit rejection of emotional feelings at work (Sprati, 1992). Aaltio-Marjosola (1994) noted that gender stereotypes are becoming cultural product of the organisation. Hence, where service providers are interacting in this context, they believe that they are acting in their own, but in fact they are acting as per organisational norms and emotional displays become part of compliance and not emotional attachment, and no commitment. In the context of emotional exchanges, emotional dissonance and its relationship to emotional exhaustion and burnout are important. Research indicates that not only women are required to engage in emotional labour more than man (Morris Feldman, 1997; Rafaeli Sutton, 1989; Wharton Erickson, 1993), but at the same time, it is clear that woman express more positive emotions toward other than man (Stoppard Gunn Gruchy, 1993). Man, on the other hand, is restricted to those emotions that are considered manly to the society. As discussed above through Rafaeli and Sutton three norms that demonstrate the gendered dimension of emotional labour, man and woman are expected different forms of emotional labours, so this lead to more emotional dissonance, more emotional exhaustion, and more burnout. The gendered aspects of emotional labour can also affect job satisfaction and is illustrated through Stenross and Kleinmans study of sheriff (1989) (Steinberg Figart, 1999). The Self and Emotional Labour: What is of utmost importance is how the self of the individual is mostly affected as a result of emotional labour. The relevant questions shifts from Hochschilds  [19]   How is the self eroded or alienated by commodification? to What kinds of selves are constructed through labour processes? What are the social possibilities for the construction of selves and relationship within a given organisation? and How do Workers creatively negotiate, build upon, and negate these parameters? Ashforth and Humphreys social identity theory (1993) described the social possibilities that may construct the self of an emotional labourer and its relationship to organisations levels. They argued that The self concept is comprised of a personal identity that encompasses distinctive characteristics and traits and a social identity encompassing salient group classifications  [20]  . Ashforth Humphrey (1993:98); Ashforth Mael (1989); Tajfel Turner (1985) Ashforth Humphrey (1993) also noted that individuals who define themselves in terms of social groups and idiosyncratic characteristics whose display rules are discrepant with those of the organisational role are more apt to experience emotive dissonance and self-alienation (p.99). The self is constructed and modified upon the social group the individual identifies himself or herself with. The more strongly one identifies with the role, the greater the positive impact that fulfilling those expectations has on ones psychological well-being  [21]   (Ashforth Humphrey, 1993:99). Emotions are the construction of Identity but with deep and surface acting in emotional labour, this creates internal pressures on the individuals and eventually causes a dissonance (Richman, 1988; Sutton, 1991). Workers who construct emotional labour as performing a role do not have a sense of authenticity (Haman, 2005:89). The work of Michel Foucault is inevitable when talking about the self in emotional labour. His work mainly evolves the influences of power and control on the inner sphere of an individual. Foucault described the discourse of organisational and human needs and the case of emotional labour in service sectors has largely been a debatable subject. In performing service work, employees are not only consenting to degrading the self, they work on their own identities in ways that sometimes confirm with organisational norms, but very often do not. Whenever one is dealing with a multiplicity of individuals on whom a task or a particular form of behaviour must be imposed, the panoptic schema may be used Foucault (1977: 205) So, emotional labour is very well concerned with the foucauldian analysis, where display rules are imposed on the individual, the panoptic schema may be used. In late eighteenth century, Jeremy Bentham design a prison  [22]  , which was later adapted by Foucault, and the main idea behind the construct of the prison was to make the individual feel that they were constantly under carceral gaze and they would eventually internalise and disciplined and controlled themselves accordingly (Foucault, 1977: 201). He who is subjected to a field of visibility, and who knows it, assumes responsibility for the constraints of power; he makes them play spontaneously upon himself; he inscribes in himself the power relation in which he simultaneously plays both roles; he becomes principle of his own subjection Foucault (Discipline, 202-203) In early 1990s, the panopticon was perceived to be electronic in the workplace with new technologies advancements that increase ways of surveillance and monitoring through internet, telephones, ATMs. Credit cards, and the increasing number of surveillance cameras in urban spaces (Foucault, 1977). In fact, call centres are the best illustrations, where high emotional discrepancies are occurred as explained above in this study, has been perceived as heavy Foucauldian spin (Thompson, 2003) and the main conce

Science Run Amuck in Brave New World :: essays papers

Science Run Amuck in Brave New World Brave New World is a novel set hundreds of years into our own future. On Earth, the Nine Years War tore the planet apart in the year A.F 178. Eerily, anthrax bombs dropped from the sky killed scores of people, what we in the post 9/11 world fear the most. When the dust settled, mankind banded together to create a new world called the â€Å"World State.† Their motto is â€Å"Community, Identity, Stability,† and it is all too much present as you will see. This future is a severely different place. To stabilize the populace, mankind has cloned each other by the thousands. Babies are conditioned by a caste system, and everyone grows up to do a specific job. Cold and sterile science replaces religion, individuality, and risk. Everyone is encouraged to pleasure themselves (through promiscuity, recreation and drugs... soma,) but not to have a bad day. This is reminiscent of the â€Å"Roaring 20’s† and the â€Å"free love† movement of the 1960’s. In this future, to be monogamous, bond, or soul-search would single you out as a loner. Here, â€Å"everyone belongs to everyone else.† The years once noted by A.D (Anno Domini, or After Christ) are replaced by A.F (After Ford.) Ford’s philosophy became a religion, wiping out over two thousand years of Christianity from world history. Now there is no history, except that which existed After Ford, it was outlawed. As we all know, Henry Ford introduced the assembly line into modern society. In A.D, The assembly line was a more proficient way to produce the automobile. In the brave new world, however, the assembly line mass-produced human beings themselves. The brave new scientists discovered a way to progress the cloning process. They clone up to 96 embryos from a female ovum by Bokanovsky’s process. Embryos were then â€Å"bottled† and put on an assembly line that moved 33 centimeters a day. On the line, the fetuses were tampered with and they received early conditioning to be part of one of the five castes. â€Å"Alpha† was the highest class (think rocket scientist,) and Elipson was the l owest class (think gas station attendant.) These babies are not born of a mother’s womb, but â€Å"decanted† (unbottled.) They receive more conditioning and undergo â€Å"hypnopaedia† – a sleep teaching process where beliefs are inserted into their thoughts. Young children as young as seven years old are encouraged to be promiscuous and experiment with sex.