Developing Yourself as an Effective Human Resources or Learning and Development Practitioner Essay

Today’s human resources department are in each and every company, one of the important aspect for human resources is to develop an emphasis and educate their human capital, in order for more efficiency and effectiveness for the company. The Charted Institute Personal Development â€Å"CIPD† covers the implication of profession map which assists for better results in companies. The profession map captures the knowledge and behaviors that human resources need to improves and sustain the value for the organization to meet its requirements, the professional map is divided into three segment where each segment defines. First segment Profession areas: contains ten activities that human resources apply for the employee to gain knowledge. Performance and reward: Assist in create and sustain a high achieving organization culture environment by carrying programs that prize and recognize the productivity and capabilities of the employee. Through motivation, employee enhances their skills and performances and experience to receive a reward for an outstanding performance. For example; American Express Company, any agent who meet the quality of the call center and deliver the message in a professional way, by having high quality and quantity calls, the agent will be recognized and rewarded for this outstanding performance. Another example; in Ithamar Bank any employee who has a creative and innovative idea will get rewarded, this is an appreciation from the bank to encourage the behavior of brainstorming, which might lead the company to huge success. Learning and development: Learning and development is a subdivision of human resources department, which objects to develop and to educate group and individual performance by increasing and enhancing knowledge and skills. For example; Direct English institution provided me for a course in human resources course â€Å"CIPD† in order to have improved effect company by applying the benefited knowledge from the course. Developing the human capital to have a better outcome performance and experience and knowledge helps the company to have improved outcome. Learning and development is part of an organization’s management strategy which is designed to align with the organization’s general vision and goals. Organization design: confirms the company’s structure design is according to company’s goals for both the long run and for the short. Organization development: ensures that human resources applies its strength and improving its weakness to develop the organization by changing its activities through align strategies with the company’s objective. Resourcing and talent planning: ensure that the human resources the use its assets in useful and efficient and productive approach for achieving company’s objective. Employee engagement: ensures that to improve the communication skills in the work environment for greater productivity and greater contribution toward the company’s objective through leadership Employee relations: enhance the relationship between the employees and manage it through the company’s structure through policies and code of conduct and rules and by relevant law. Service delivery and information: Ensures the quality and informatio n of the customer through human resources by applying project management to enable effective and cost-efficient service delivery throughout the company. Learning and managing human resources function: Ensures that the leadership is to hence the maximizing the contribution by supporting and developing others, by acting as a role model in the organization. Strategy insight and solutions: develop a strategy that aligns with the company’s vision by improving the understanding of the organization. Second segment behaviors: The Profession Map Behaviors define the capabilities for human resources profession. Human resources need to carry and achieve related role to reach the level of professionalism, the role requires specific competencies to be proven at each band level throughout the human resources path. Courage to challenge: Shows courage and confidence to speak up skillfully and to challenge others, even when challenged with resistance or unfamiliar circumstances. For example; you have to prepare a presentation for an important meeting for the first time, the person needs to overcome this challenge and break their fear of a failure, by putting the trust in their self for this accomplishment. Role model: Regularly leads by example. Acts with honesty, A role model is a person other individuals look up to in order to help define appropriate behaviors. Role models can be either positive or negative. For example, positive role models offer a variety of supportive or valuable behaviors and actions. On the other hand, the negative role models offer examples of injurious or troublesome failure behaviors and actions. Curious: Future concentration, create an evolving and innovative ways to add value to the organization. Decisive thinker: Establishes the ability to investigate and understand data and information. Using knowledge and information in a structured way to recognize opportunities. Skilled influencer: Reveals the ability to inspire and to gain the necessary commitment and support from the organization. Personally credible: create professionalism through joining commercial and human resources expertise to add value to the organization. Collaborative: Works effectively and inclusively with a variety of employees, both within and outside of the organization. Driven to deliver: Establishes determination, creativity, and persistence to carry the finest outcome for the organization and its people.Third segment bands: The four bands of professional competencies define, the contribution that human resources professionals mark at every stage of their profession. It aids to give a clear path and em phasis to all human resource professionals progress planning and behaviors. At Band 1: the role would be a human resource consultant, whose role would be to focus on consumer support and direct and ongoing problems, spend time providing information, handling data and serve the consumer with facts and evidence and peace of mind. They must also be well-organized, flexible and give client satisfaction. Band 2: the role would a human resource advisor who counsels and manages human resource related matters and linking to the individual or a team. Human resource advisor has an understanding of the estimated process and solutions available. Assists the consumer with flexible selections and recommendations and allow frequent business. Band 3. Leads a professional range acting as an advisor or partner, reports the key human resource challenges at an organizational level for the average and long-term. Band 4. Leads and accomplishes professional areas in the organization. Responsible for devel oping and carrying organizational and human resource strategy.Activity 2 2.1 In order to priorities the conflicts within the company and to manage the customer’s priority, each matter needs to be adjusted to either imported or urgent. Upon this, a decision can be made whichever is important or urgent, and the matrix describes it into four categories, 1. Important and Urgent: There are two different types of urgent and important activities: ones that you could not have expected and others that you have left until the last minute. 2. Important but Not Urgent: These are the activities that support you to achieve your personal and professional goals for the long run and complete important work. 3. Not Important but Urgent: Urgent but not important tasks are things that prevent you from accomplishing your goals always try to reschedule or delegate them. 4. Not Important and Not Urgent: These activities are just a disruption, avoid them if possible. An external customer is someone who consumes your business’s products but is not part of your company. For example, an external customer is an individual who enters your store and buys merchandise or service. An internal customer is any member of your company who trusts on support from another to their job responsibilities, for example; sales representative who needs help from a customer service representative to complete an order. Another example for an internal customer; a customer calls on the call center to ask about his credit balance, the customer service agent calls the credit department to assist him to pass on the information to the end customer. And lastly, we have end users customer, business to business; which is a business that emphasis on marketing and selling products and services to other companies; for example in our direct English institution, we have other institutions that request to purchase our particular education course. Dealing with different customers the organization must priorities for each, which mainly depends on its importance and its urgency for each situation and condition. 2.2 Effective communication is important to the company and it can be improved in many ways. In truth, communication act as a role in product development and customer relations also employee management and almost every aspect of a business’ operations process. Employees are a key audience because they often serve as the conduit to other audiences. If employees are knowledgeable, communications with other communities are likely to be strong as well. Effective structural communication will create a strong communication and the teamwork for employees to achieve company goals. There are mainly three types of communication, Verbal Communication which can be through a telephone or internet Skype, which is only through a voice channel, and Nonverbal Communication like emails, fax, SMS, test and lastly we have, Visual Communication which is mainly faced to face or meetings. Each has its own advantages and disadvantage for example; Verbal Communication you can communicate with a large numb er of customers in short time, on the other hand, customer won’t be able to fully understand everything as the visual communication, and for Nonverbal Communication for example; customer has a reminder and a proof of the text which is reliable, on the other hand, some messages might be sent incorrectly and cause a large damage, Visual Communication is what customers prefer as so that they can express their emotions in better way, the disadvantage that this process takes lots of time to deal with each customer. 2.3 Effective service delivery, There are several overall points to think about when managing and planning the delivery of your services and products to be measured. There are also some particular aspects and methods that you may find helpful if you have limited time or resources. Within the framework of planning the business some aspects should be considered in order to improve the quality and the trust relationship with the community: Delivering service on time Time is limited. You cannot buy more time, but there are several things you can do to manage your time more efficiently. Plans rarely show up to be accomplished in the best way, and even the finest managers have to deal with unpredictable matters like suppliers not delivering on time, one of the employee members getting ill or trains are being delayed, equipment breaks, etc. Nevertheless, if you plan sufficiently you are more likely to deliver on time. When business starts deliver on time the business will start to be trusted and dependable, and this will attract lots of customers due to its timely delivery quality. Delivery service on a budget Planning a strategy based on a budget will enable you to identify the resources needed accurately before you start a project. Try to mark the things that may cost additional money. You should also make sure you are not forgetting anything that could end up costing you additional cost. Some practical preparation tools can be used to assist you to approximate how much resources will be needed at each stage of the process and how much will it cost and how long will it take. By then the business will start to reduce cost and be more efficient and effective in dealing the on a budget. Dealing with difficult customers First of all the one who deals with the customer needs to adjust his mindset once he/she is aware that the client is unhappy then the first priority is to have a customer service mindset. Secondly listen actively which is the most important phase of the whole dealing process is listening actively to what your client or customer is saying. Repeat the customer’s concerns to make sure that addressing the right issue, ask questions to make sure that you’ve identified the problem correctly. These matters should be considered when dealing with difficult customers, and it helps to solve future problems. Handling and resolving complaints Be Empathic and Apologize for example; â€Å"I understand why you’re upset. I would be too. I’m very sorry that we didn’t get the samples to you on time, especially since it’s caused these problems. And then to find or suggest the solution to his problem, if the suggested solution didn’t please the customer try to hear his perspective suggestion for the solution. Once you have both decided on a solution, you need to take action straight away. Explain every process to fix the problem to your customer Take Action and Follow-up to show your customer that you care. And lastly, use the Feedback from the complaints to decrease the risk of the condition happening again. References BIBLIOGRAPHY Eisenhower. (August 19, 1954). Eisenhower’s Urgent/Important Principle. Address at the Second Assembly of the World Council of Churches, Evanston, Illinois: The American Presidency Project. Steven Edwards, K. J. (n.d.). Turning a Challenge into an Opportunity. Retrieved from www.mindtools.com: https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/unhappy-customers.htm

Safety and quality

I believe that there are positive and negative consequences in the safety and quality affecting the delivery of healthcare today. For example, in the past patients used to be on prolonged bed rest following surgical procedures thus the promotion of atelectasis, pneumonia, thrombus formation and so on†¦ Positively, the safety and quality has evolved by enforcing patients to ambulate early, use tri-flows, apply ted hose and sequential compression devices have eliminated the amount of these post operative complications. Also advanced technological inventions, such as laparoscopy, have lessened the extensive hospital stays. According to Dr. Porter-O’Grady, â€Å"Thirty years ago today when somebody entered the health care system for surgery, 86% of the times, they were inpatient. Today, 83% of the people who come through the health care system are outpatients. † However, negatively, after several procedures patients are sent home in a matter of hours and many of these patients wind up in emergency rooms. This was my experience last month, after a diagnostic laparoscopy. At the hospital I felt fine. After a couple of hours when the anesthesia wore off at home, I was in an incredible amount of pain, had urinary retention, and to this day my voice after being intubated is not the same. The staff was professional and comforting but I was disappointed that no one told me about these potential adverse effects. Also, many patients who have cesarean sections and are discharged after 2 to 3 days visit the OB/GYN triage with wound infection, wound dehiscence, and other complications. We are steered by such strict guidelines placed upon us by insurances and Medicaid that we do not have adequate time to monitor the patients for side effects from the procedures and I believe this is a negative impact on the nursing practice. It has become a prominent concern on OB/GYN triage, due to insurance and Medicaid does not pay for re-admits, thus meaning the unit is losing money when it is bombarded with these patients. We need to remember as nurses patients expect us to be proficient and will advocate for them. â€Å"We need to hold on the fact that nurses have been leaders in the health care and society, and that is something we need to act on and emulate and leave for the next generation. † (Mason, 2005) This issue does affect our job because the patients’ experience will be negative if they assume that they are receiving insufficient care.

Animal Testing is Wrong Essay Example for Free

Animal Testing is Wrong Essay Animal testing is cruel and inhuman! It is morally wrong to toture animals for our own benefit. Over 3 million animals have been tormented all in the name of research. It has been found that only 5-25% of side effects caused by medicines are accurately predicted. This leads me to wonder what is actually being gained by animal experimentation. It’s bad science! The Food and Drug Administration reported that 92 out of every 100 drugs that pass animal tests fail on humans, making it wasteful. In recent years there has been the recognition that animals rarely serve as good models for the human body. Animal experiments prolong the suffering of people waiting for effective cures by misleading experimenters and squandering precious money, time, and resources that could have been spent on human-relevant research. â€Å"In the name of science†, animal experiments globally are around 100 million experiments each year. Cats, dogs, rabbits, mice and other animals, no different to those we have as pets, are used in experiments. Animals are force-fed harmful substances, infected with lethal viruses, subjected to brain damage, heart attacks, stokes, cancers and ultimately killed. Several cosmetic tests commonly performed on mice, rats, rabbits, and guinea pigs include:skin and eye irritation tests where chemicals are rubbed on shaved skin or dripped into the eyes without any pain relief. repeated force-feeding studies that last weeks or months, to look for signs of general illness or specific health hazards. widely condemned â€Å"lethal dose† tests, where animals are forced to swallow large amounts of a test chemical to determine what dose causes death. The fact that animals are used to study pain, depression, anxiety, and to test pain-killing drugs for human use, demonstrates that scientists recognize that animals are capable of suffering in many ways just like humans, but these sentient animals are unable to give their consent to participate in research. The fact that animals can suffer and experience pain is sufficient reason to refrain on moral grounds from harming them. Beyond pain, there is also persuasive evidence that animals, in particular mammals and birds, have thoughts, intentions, and memories. This means they can be harmed by confinement, frustration, fear, isolation, and loss of life – experiences unavoidable for animals confined in Laboratories and used in experiments. The measurement of stress hormones, and presence of ulcers, immune suppression, abnormal behavior and brain dysfunction in laboratory animals, provide further evidence that animals commonly used in labs do suffer pain and distress. Some people claim that because animals do not have duties or responsibilities in the way humans do, they are not deserving of the same protection. However, some humans have no responsibilities or duties, such as babies, the mentally ill, or very infirm, yet they are not stripped of their rights in this way. Indeed, such individuals are usually considered more deserving of protection, not less. Others argue that the potential benefit to human society justifies experiments on animals. However this argument is a slippery slope, as this reasoning would also justify experiments on a few non-consenting humans for the ultimate benefit of human society — a clearly unethical scenario. â€Å"If we didn’t use animals, we’d have to test new drugs on people. † The fact is that we already do test new drugs on people. No matter how many animal tests are undertaken, someone will always be the first human to be tested on. Because animal tests are so unreliable, they make those human trials all the more risky. What I have to wonder is why do we test on animals, or feel the need to have people volunteer for something potential dangerous with its unknown side effects when we have child molesters, rapists, and murderers in prison who are catered to three meals a day? I believe we should enact instead of animal testing, (which has been proven to be highly ineffective) testing on convicted criminals on death row, or prisoners looking to cut down some time in exchange for experimentation and observation. Animal Testing is Wrong. (2018, Nov 03).

Small bussines Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Small bussines - Essay Example As can be seen from Appendix A, the business will have losses for the first two years but beginning in the third year profitability will become positive and the following years thereafter. However this paper will report only the first three years. The higher expenses than revenues in the first two years are understandable as the business is just starting. Sales revenues will expand over time with higher sales volume into new locations as the branded products of the business become known. The decreasing expenses starting after two years would come as the business take less expensive locations. This would result to increasing gross monthly margin overtime as can be seen in Appendix B. Increasing sales is observable for the next three year period and such behavior should indicate growth of the business for the next three years. The greater the revenues the higher would be the changes for better profitability after deducting the expense (Bernstein, 1993; Droms, 1990). The profitability of the business is obvious the third year and as reflected in the positive net profit margin of 16.7% after having negative rates for the past two years because of the losses. See Appendix C. Profitability essentially means higher revenues than expenses which would mean that the business would naturally incur cost or expenses in running the business but the same should generate higher revenues in exchange of the expenses to indicate profitability of the business. The profit generated by the business is not enough to assure that business will prosper. The business must be able to pay its maturing obligations on time like the salaries of employees, payment for goods and services to supplies, regular bills for electricity, telephone and other utilities. In other words, it must have sufficient working capital or excess of current assets over its current liabilities at one point in time which can be measure also by liquidity ratios

Book critique Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Book critique - Assignment Example Content Summary The book "The 5 Love Languages of Teenagers: The secret to Loving teens effectively" by Gary Chapman deals with teenagers and the bond they share with their parents. Teenage is a time of life at which an individual is establishing his moralities, social beliefs and personality. Therefore children in their teens need their parent’s support, acceptance and unconditional love. Teenagers are vulnerable to negative and accusing words; instead they require words of affirmation and affection. Spending quality time with your teenagers and having real conversations is vital and so is to give your free acts of service. Parents should give thought to their child’s mood and preferences and should show patience when anger comes along, to win with their children ultimately by making them see reason. But in the view of the author the most significant of all things is to keep loving your children unconditionally, that is to show your support even when they fail to come up to your expectations1. Evaluation "The 5 Love Languages of Teenagers: The secret to Loving teens effectively" by Gary Chapman is a manual to parent child relationship when the child hits his teens. It looks into the matters of routine relationships and gives cause to make them special. It does that by giving counsel to parents such as when teenagers’ provide the parents with a cause of ceremony; they should celebrate it with gifts and praise. A particularly neglected idea when it comes to respect child’s want for independence was emphasized that the teenagers should start being given suitable responsibilities so that they might not feel their lives to be useless. The book also devotes some chapters for times when trouble in the life of teenager or the parent child relationship occurs. For example it gives excellent advice upon times when your child is not being the communicative type, and parents are having a hard time understanding the root of his problems. In addi tion it has helpful advice for single parents, who are the neediest cases. Looking into cons, the book fails to address (at large) teenage children who have a natural inclination towards law breaking and misconduct or have fallen into seriously bad company. Overall the book is a gain to youth ministry because it delves into teenage psychology to a great extent and provides reasonable solutions to the underlying intricacy. â€Å"Middle School Ministry Made Simple† by Kurt Johnston Author Information Kurt Johnston is working for junior high ministry from late 1980’s; to be specific he is the junior high Pastor at saddleback church in southern California. He has written a couple of books on the request of Standard publishing. His first book was â€Å"Controlled Chaos: Making Sense of Junior High Ministry†, whose upgraded version is presented in his new book "Middle School Ministry Made Simple†. He lives at Lake forest, California with his wife Rachel and his two children Kayla and Cole. Content Summary The book "Middle School Ministry Made Simple† and its author Kurt Johnston believe in the reforms that the junior high school world has been through and think it important to change the strategies to run junior high schools accordingly. The book provides a guideline on recruiting volunteers and the role they can play in middle school ministry by emphasizing on taking in a number of volunteers but

Resort management Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Resort management - Assignment Example It highlights the key factors that lead to the success of businesses in different mountain resort locations in Austria. Furthermore, it supports these factors by providing case studies of three different resort locations in Austria. One of the major flaws in the presentation is that it does not address challenges that are faced by small and medium resorts. It only focuses on the factors that are presently prevailing in the Austrian but fails to address factors that could affect the future of this industry (Hinteregger). The audience or users of this conference document could easily follow the report, but the analysis report does not provide details of different services and events that take place in this market or steps taken by the Austrian government to promote tourism. Furthermore, The report Moreover, an interesting element of comparing Austrian resort industry could have been compared with other locations in Europe that compete with the Austrian resort industry and

Production of an Industrial Blood Research Paper

Production of an Industrial Blood - Research Paper Example Industrial Production Since there is periodic blood shortage, there is need to industrially produce blood to counter the shortage, as well as the emerging concerns that arise from infection transmission that are attributed to blood transfusions. The infection through blood transmission was sporadic in the late 80s and early 90s, therefore bringing up the need to industrially produce blood (Goldman et al 15). S. Kimoto of the School of medicine in Tokyo University initially enhanced progress towards industrial production of blood. The discovery made by Dr. Kimoto together with assistance from S Kambara was successful in the production of a synthetic substance capable of transporting reasonable amount of oxygen. Dr. Kimoto was able to extract haematin from a cow’s blood and ultimately adding the large molecules of the polysterin type that would be capable of obtaining matter that would in turn release oxygen to the body (Assembly of the Japanese Medical Society, 213). Moreover, by 2006, there was hemoglobin analog that had received approval for human use in the United States (Newton, 66). Newton continues to assert that a veterinary product called oxyglobin that is essentially produced by Biopure, a pharmaceutical company, received approval in the United States and the Europe. In 2001, its human counterpart known as Hemopure was ready for human use in South Africa. Therefore, this was the first hemoglobin analog to attain approval for human use in the world. It is imperative to ascertain that South Africa approved the product because the country needed alternative transfusions since its supply of human blood was at high risk of being damaged by the HIV and hepatitis C viruses (Newton). Compassionately, according to Newton, Hemopure has also been widely used in the United States in almost forty cases. Compassionate-use is a situation that occurs when a patient has developed serious medical condition that requires special attention, thus instigating the Unit ed States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to grant a special, normally one-time permission to utilize a substance that has not yet been officially approved for human use. Similarly, in august 2001, another industrially produced blood called PolyHeme was subjected for approval to the FDA by Northfield Labs, its manufacturer. PolyHeme is the end product of the extraction of Red blood cells and filtering them to sieve impurities, thereafter modifying them through certain chemicals to produce the polymerized hemoglobin analog (Newton 66). Some researchers are on the verge of applying a very different approach in industrial production of blood that will have its focus on synthesizing non-natural substances with blood-like properties. One advantage that this approach can boast of is avoiding animal or human blood, or any of its components. Specifically, some researchers are applying the use of certain chemicals called perfluorocarbons (PFCs). In this regard, fluorine atoms replace hydr ocarbons. Significant achievements were obtained when the first PFC to be commercially marketed was called Fluosol-DA that was manufactured by Japan’s Green Cross Corporation in 1983 (Newton, 66). Fluosol product had the objective of creating the first industrially prod

Environmental Ethics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Environmental Ethics - Essay Example The lives of many citizens are still difficult trying to make ends meet satisfaction is yet to be achieved through technology (Mander 29). The people who are in support of technology claim that the concept has brought a standardized lifestyle characterized with speed meaning that transportation enhanced and information retrieved easily (Mander 30). People offered with the freedom, to make preferences this encompasses the skill to jobs and items of choice. Leisure time and spending has also been promoted since technology has improved the weight of work and has enabled people to have time for rest and pleasure times, but Mander argues that none of these advantages inform more about human contentment, delight, safety or the power to prolong life in the world. Mander does not agree that having lots of choices of products in the market makes life satisfactory as judge against friendship, affection and a reasonable work. He further says that choice cannot be equated; to freedom since the technology development controls a person’s mind and influences new experience that eventually make the choices of commodities in the market (Rhodes 35). He also argued on the subject of leisure, watching television and going for shopping considered by the modern man as leisure, but with the increased automation and robotics leisure, time will change used in searching for items over the internet ad employment opportunities that are scarce in nature (Mander 31). In contrast, in the Stone Age period people then had more time for leisure which they used for meditation and contemplating about life. The modern man uses technology to find solutions, and many have abandoned their spiritual background. Furthermore, critics have noticed that the modern man spends lots of time and money to cater for technological gadgets lacking time for pleasure and rest (Braziller 55). Moreover,

Central Bank and Monetary Policy Research Paper

Central Bank and Monetary Policy - Research Paper Example The main reason why countries create their own central banks is to ensure control of their currency. The central bank is the only authority that can print money and such responsibility cannot be given to anyone else as the consequence may turn out to be disastrous. The role of the central bank evolved over time and the literature in monetary theory points out that central banks work to reduce the impact of economic fluctuations and to minimize volatility in the financial system. They pursue five objectives to ensure economic and financial stability. The goals of central banks are generally specified as price stability, stable real growth, financial stability, interest rate and exchange rate stability (Mankiw, 2011; Geraats, 2006, pp. 37-40). The main goal of this research project is to help understand how the central bank manages and controls the quantity of money in the economy and its relation to price stability. It also brings out the main tasks of central banks and the challenge they face in conducting monetary policy. Objectives of Central Bank: The major role of the central bank of any country in the world is to monitor the financial structure of the respective country. Central banks also control the volume of financial transactions which are made by all other banks in the economy. These other banks include commercial banks, other non-banking financial institutions. The most important objective of the central bank is to manage the amount of financial resources of the economy and thus to maintain the stability in the economy. This stability is maintained in the economy by the central bank of the country in respect to stability of prices of goods and services, stability of financial transactions and prices of these transactions. Also stability is required to be achieved by the central bank in terms of movements in nominal as well as real interest rates and stability in exchange rates. Finally, the most important role of the central bank is to maintain stabi lity in the real growth of the economy (Mankiw, 2011). Central banks of different countries have long been correlated with secrecy. Even in regard to the present trend toward higher level of transparency of different monetary policies, it can be said that, this has not dispersed the inscrutability with which all central bankers often argue. Various researchers have provided an economic explanation for different roles of oblique communication. Under the conceivable assumption that there exists imperfect common knowledge or information about the level of transparency, all economic outcomes have been decided by both actual as well as perceived transparency. It has been shown, in numerous researchers, that it can be helpful to merge actual transparency with the perceived opacity. The optimal or most efficient communication strategy for the central bank is related to the process of providing clarity about the target level of inflation. But the role of the central is also related to the p rocess of providing information with recognized ambiguity about the target of prevailing as well as expected output-gap and supply shocks. Therefore, â€Å"the central bank benefits from sustaining transparency misperceptions, which helps to explain why transparency of monetary policy has not eliminated the mystique of central bank speak† (Geraats, 2006, p. 38; Blanchard, 2007, pp. 69-75). Balance sheet of central bank: The balance sheet of the central consists of assets and liabilities.

Salem Witch Trials and Vengeance Essay Example for Free

Salem Witch Trials and Vengeance Essay In Arthur Millers play, The Crucible, vengeance plays a major role in the actions of the characters through the witchcraft trials in the Puritan village of Salem, Massachusetts in 1692. Anger, jealousy, rejection, and betrayal all occur throughout the play and are all things that could provoke someone to seek vengeance on someone else. Abigail Williams, niece of Reverend Parris, is one of the main characters who is very guilty of wanting vengeance on others throughout The Crucible. In Act I, the reader gets a taste of who each character is and the previous troubles theyve had with each other at Reverend Parris house, where many of the characters have come to check on Betty who is supposedly ill after a night of dancing in the woods. Abigail shows that she does not favor Elizabeth Proctor when Parris asks her why she was no longer a servant for the Proctor household. Abigail replied to him, â€Å"She hates me, uncle, she must, for I would not be her slave. Its a bitter woman, a lying, cold, sniveling woman, and I will not work for such a woman! † (Miller 1240). This statement foreshadows that there was an incident between the Proctors and Abigail while she was working for them. Then once Abigail and John Proctor are alone in Bettys room, she speaks to him about his affair with her and how she waits for him every night. He then tells her, â€Å"Abby, I may think of you softly from time to time. But I will cut off my hand before Ill ever reach for you again. Wipe it out of mind. We never touched, Abby. † (Miller 1246). This greatly angered Abigail. Feeling a sense of rejection, she decided that she needed to seek vengeance on Elizabeth, since she is unable to be with John. Also, when Abigail was alone with Betty and Mary Warren, she threatened to get vengeance on them if either of them turned her in. â€Å"And mark this. Let either of you breathe a word, or the edge of a word, about the other things, and I will come to you in the black of some terrible night and I will bring a pointy reckoning that will shudder you. And you know I can do it; I saw Indians smash my dear parents heads on the pillow next to mine and I have seen some reddish work done at night, and I can make you wish you had never seen the sun go down! † (Miller 1244). After reading about Abigails anger towards the other characters, it is very evident that she will be a major problem throughout the rest of the play. Knowing that Abigail was very angry about John Proctor, it was like her character to get accusations in order against Elizabeth Proctor. Not only did Abigail hate Elizabeth, but she also saw her as the only thing holding John back from being with her, which is selfish, yet typical. In Act II John and Elizabeth end up arguing about him going into Salem that day, which turned into an argument about Johns affair with Abigail. It is then, that Mary Warren comes home with a poppet to give to Elizabeth as a gift. Once Mary informs them that Elizabeths name was mentioned in court she automatically knows that Abigail has to be behind this searching for vengeance. â€Å"It is her dearest hope, John, I know it. There be a thousand names; why does she call mine? There be a certain danger in calling such a name I am no Goody Good that sleeps in ditches, nor Osburn, drunk and half-witted. Shed dare not call out such a farmers wife but there be monstrous profit in it. She thinks to take my place, John. † (Miller 1274). When Elizabeth was about to get taken away after finding the poppet, John was angry and said, â€Å"If she is innocent! Why do you never wonder if Parris be innocent, or Abigail? Is the accuser always holy now? Were they born this morning as clean as Gods fingers? Ill tell you whats walking Salem vengeance is walking Salem. We are what we always were in Salem, but now the little crazy children are jangling the keys of the kingdom, and common vengeance writes the law! This warrants vengeance! Ill not give my wife to vengeance! † (Miller 1283). Act III of The Crucible takes place in court and John Proctor ends up confessing to having an affair with Abigail when he says, â€Å"She used to serve me in my house, sir. A man may think God sleeps, but God sees everything. I know it now. I beg you, sir, I beg you see her what she is She thinks to dance with me on my wifes grave! And well she might, for I thought of her softly. God help me, I lusted, and there is a promise in such sweat. But it is a whores vengeance† (Miller 1309). Not only did this cause an emotional breakdown for John, it also disclosed that Abigail only set Elizabeth up with the needle in the poppet to get her out of the way so she could be with John. Even though Abigail had managed to get vengeance on Elizabeth Proctor, she still did not reach her goal of being with John Proctor. Instead, all of her conniving tricks, ridiculous accusing, ealousy, lying and pretending led John to his death; leaving Abigail Williams with nothing but â€Å"his name†. In this play, the salvation of innocent people has been sacrificed for the satisfaction of one seeking vengeance on another; innocent or not, confession was the only way to get out of death. It goes to show that vengeance can go a long way if the hatred, jealousy and anger is strong enough. In Arthur Millers play, The Crucible, vengeance plays a major role in the actions of the characters through the witchcraft trials in the Puritan village of Salem, Massachusetts in 1692.

Analysis of the Term Victorian

Analysis of the Term Victorian How useful is the term ‘Victorian’? The era of Queen Victoria’s reign witnessed the passing of milestones in social, economic, and personal progress. It was the age of industrialisation, a time of travel, a battleground for the conflict between science and religion. Yet further to these great markers by which many of us recognise the nineteenth century, and indeed because of them, Victoria’s reign inspired change within the individual; a revaluation of what it meant to be a human being. The literary artists gave new form to the questions on the lips of the society around them: questions that were no longer so easily answered by Christianity. This essay will explore how the term ‘Victorian’ does or doesn’t fit into the context from which it supposedly arises. I will look at trends such as the development of literary criticism, pioneering scientific discoveries, the exploration into psychic phenomenon, the increasing independence of women, the mapping of the world, all of which contribu te to what we know and understand as ‘Victorian’, and have in some way shaped the work of authors such as Eliot, Conan Doyle, and H.G Wells. Using some close textual analysis I hope to identify the nature of the inspiration behind the literature of the time and whether or not such work transcends the limits of the term ‘Victorian.’ Many great literary minds of the time such as Arnold, Dickens, and Ruskin helped define the era in their critical attitudes towards it. (Davis 2002, p.10). Criticism appears to have become a form of exploration in an attempt to turn what concerned and worried the artist into something that questioned and reassured. Arnold, in his Essays in Criticism (Arnold, 1865, p.V) explains how he perceives the difference between logical and artistic thought The truth is I have never been able to ht it off happily with the logicians, and it would be mere affectation in me to give myself the airs of doing so. They imagine truth something to be proved, I something to be seen; they something to be manufactured, I as something to be found. It is this growing awareness of difference that was to become a defining feature of Victorian literature. Differences appeared in the very perception of things, which led to feelings of isolation, despair, alienation all prominent themes in nineteenth century work. In Arnold’s A Summer Night (Arnold 1913, p.167) we see the poetic mind struggling to find meaning on a moonlit street where the windows, like hostile faces, are ‘silent and white, unopening down’: And the calm moonlight seems to say Hast thou then still the old unquiet breast That neither deadens into rest Nor ever feels the fiery glow That whirls the spirit front itself away, 30 But fluctuates to and fro Never by passion quite possessd And never quite benumbd by the worlds sway? And I, I know not if to pray Still to be what I am, or yield, and be Like all the other men I see. Arnold recognises that the society around him is unfulfilled, that men are giving ‘their lives to some unmeaning taskwork’ and he questions whether he should be questioning at all. He is aware of a gap between the reality of working life and life outside of work; a difference that he strives to find explanation for. Arnold appears to be lost amidst the streets of his own mind afraid of not being able to define who he is, what he is. These feelings in part express what it meant to be a Victorian struggling to place thoughts and feelings which appear to no longer fit into society. The Victorian era contained much of what had past and much of what was still to come it cannot be seen as an isolated time, nor as an isolated term. It contained aspects of the Romantic period for instance in Arnold’s poem, The Buried Life, we see vestiges of Wordsworth’s legacy of Ode to Immortality. In both poems there is a sense of something lost an old passion or instinct that has gone with the passing of time yet Arnold, unlike Wordsworth, finds it more difficult to come to terms with this: ‘A longing to inquire / Into the mystery of this heart that beats / So wild, so deep in us, to know / Whence our thoughts come and where they go.’ (Arnold 1913, p.170). The language is more passionately discontent than the resolute tone of Wordsworth’s visionary acceptance: ‘We will grieve not, rather find/Strength in what remains behind.’ (Wordsworth 1928, p.136). The styles are obviously connected, but the trouble with defining the era usi ng literary terminology is that it is clearly neither a quirky extension of the Romantic’s vision, nor is it a straightforward path to the modernists. The 1870’s saw the maturation of authors such as Anthony Trollope who brought out his later novels, yet only twenty years later in 1896 these publications are sitting beside the considerably different form and subject matter of work such as H.G. Wellls’ The Time Machine and The Island of Dr. Moreau, with literary experiments with the modern such as Richard Jefferies’ The Story of My Heart occurring between in 1883. A growing concern in nineteenth century life was the potential loss of the Romantic link between human nature and the natural world, and the gap which sudden industrial progress highlighted between nature and mechanisation. As technology developed so did the notion of artificiality. It is worth noting J.S.Mill’s essay on Nature (Mill 1874, p.65) where he says that it is man’s nature to be artificial, to remedy nature by artificial pruning and intervention. Further to this, a contemporary of Mill’s Richard Jennings also drew a line between the ‘province of human nature’ and the ‘external world.’ (Lightman 1997, p.80). In the countryside more efficient methods of farming were employed (see the contrast between Henchard’s methods and Farfrae’s ‘ciphering and mensuration’ in Hardy’s Mayor of Casterbridge, (Hardy 1886, p.122)), and new machines introduced which no longer required the labour force to run the m, encouraging people to migrate to towns and cities. The urban reality was harsh in 1851 roughly four million people were employed in trade and manufacture and mining, leaving only one and a half million in agriculture. (Davis 2002, p.13). City life, as portrayed by Dickens, was a cruel, unhealthy and unwholesome existence for many (see Bleak House and Little Dorritt). However, much of his work was set in the period of his youth and childhood which was pre-Victorian. (Lawton (ed) 1995, p.xvi). Working conditions in cities were often cramped, unhygienic and poorly ventilated, and living conditions could be even worse. Mrs. Gaskell, living in Manchester, witnessed the appalling pressures that these conditions forced upon family life, and in North and South depicts the difficulties of urban living, offering that salvation for the working classes lay with themselves and their employers, working together. (see North and South 1855) However, city life was not all desolate based in cit ies, the development of the detective novel brought the city back to human scale (Lehan, p.84). Detectives pieced together and reconstructed past events through clues for example, the murder of Bartholomew Sholto in The Sign of Four by Conan Doyle: As far as we can learn, no actual traces of violence were found upon Mr Sholto’s person, but a valuable collection of Indian gems which the deceased gentleman had inherited from his father had been carried off. The discovery was first made by Mr Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson () Mr. Athelney Jones, the well-known member of the detective police force, happened to be at the Norwood police station () Mr Jones’ well-known technical knowledge and his powers of minute observation have enabled him to prove conclusively that the miscreants could not have entered by the door or by the window but must have made their way across the roof of the building, and so through a trapdoor into a room which communicated with that in which the body was found. (p.66) The city provided an exciting backdrop to crime scenes its labyrinthine streets similar to the mapping of the pathways of the human mind so that the two became inextricably linked. As Joseph McLaughlin says in Writing the Urban Jungle, ‘the urban jungle is a space that calls forth a pleasurable acquiescence to something greater, more powerful, and, indeed, sublime () also an imaginative domain that calls forth heroic action: exploring, conquering, enlightening, purifying, taming, besting.’ (McLaughlin 2000, p.3). Further to what McLaughlin suggests, the Victorians’ perception of time and space in the city and the countryside was changing radically from the medieval perceptions that still existed in the Romantic period. People saw the finished products in both manufacturing and farming no longer involving the long, drawn-out means to an end, instead the end result was being achieved faster and with more control. Here developed the root of modern industry which continues today in intensive farming and factory lines. Yet here too the beginnings of waste and excess. Richard Jefferies, a nineteenth century naturalist and mystic, known for his essays on nature, remarks on the abundance of food in the natural world in his essay Meadow Thoughts: The surface of the earth offers to us far more than we can consume the grains, the seeds, the fruits, the animals, the abounding products are beyond the power of all the human race to devour. They can, too, be multiplied a thousandfold. There is no natural lack. Whenever there is lack among us it is from artificial causes, which intelligence should remove. (Jefferies, 1994, p.26). Unfortunately there was plenty for those who could afford it but not enough to spare for the poorer lower classes. (Ritvo 1997, p.194). Trends of over production and wastage which became a worry in Victorian times are reflected in the literary concerns of Jefferies’ spiritual autobiography The Story of My Heart, and in his children’s story, Bevis, where words, despite their abundance, are in danger of becoming an insufficient medium of expression and not filling the metaphysical space on the page. In describing a sunrise and the thoughts and feelings associated with watching it, Jefferies struggles to articulate the beauty before him: The sun had not yet stood out from the orient, but his precedent light shone through the translucent blue. Yet it was not blue, nor is there any word, nor is a word possible to convey the feeling. (Jefferies 1881, p.391) We see too in James Thomson’s City of Dreadful Night (Thomson 1892, p.2) the desperateness of trying to articulate thoughts and feelings: Because a cold rage seizes one at whiles To show the bitter old and wrinkled truth Stripped naked of all vesture that beguiles, False dreams, false hopes, false masks and modes of youth; Because it gives some sense of power and passion In helpless impotence to try to fashion Our woe in living words howeer uncouth. In both passages there is a sense of trying to convey so much more than the words will allow. And that is the essence of the problem of defining the era with a word which the era itself selected ‘Victorian’ like the authors of its time struggles to convey the enormity and the condensed nature of its changing environment. Victorian literature is thus perhaps best studied between the lines of its texts rather than for what it offers at face value. Thomson’s words ‘to try to fashion our woe in living words’ although appearing dismal could actually withhold a more positive message: it deals with the notion of perseverance that by creating words, however difficult, the author is refusing to give in to despair by trying to transform it into creative energy. There is a sense of crisis in the work of Thomson, just as there is to be found in Jefferies futuristic After London where the lone explorer Felix discovers the land after humanity has overreached itself to sociological disaster and has lost the harmonious relationship between mankind and nature. London becomes no more than a crystallised ruin in a ground oozing with poison ‘unctuous and slimy, like a thick oil.’ (Jefferies 1885, p.205). Through work like this we see that ‘Victorian’ was an era of possibility where visions of the future suddenly became tangible concerns and possible realities, and where contemporary conceptions of language and life might no longer hold up to the pressures of the time. In H.G. Wells’ the Time Machine, the time traveller discovers a land in the year 802,701: The air was free from gnats, the earth from weeds or fungi; everywhere were fruits and sweet and delightful flowers; brilliant butterflies flew hither and thither. The ideal of preventative medicine was attained. diseases had been stamped out. I saw no evidence of any contagious diseases during all my stay. And i shall have to tell you later that even the processes of putrefaction and decay had been profoundly affected by these changes. (Wells 1995, p.28) In this description of a futuristic age the Victorian imagination still retains the idea of a paradise a place full of ‘butterflies’ and ‘flowers.‘ This Christian concept is a literary hangover from Milton’s Paradise Lost, and remains an important theme for the moderns such as D.H. Lawrence. (see The Rainbow). The Victorian age suffered from a dualistic split between a bright future on the one hand promised by leaps in technology, education and economical success and an increasingly alienated, confused society on the other. There were those writers like Huxley who believed that by human intervention within a political and economic framework humans could evolve out of their condition seeing ‘no limit to the extent to which intelligence and will () may modify the conditions of existence’ (Huxley 1911, p.149), and there were those like Hardy whose characters were destined to fail because they were not emotionally fitted into the cosmos ou t of which they evolved. (see Tess and Jude the Obscure). It was the nineteenth century spiritual crisis which precipitated the literary shift into the new genre of the realist novel. By the mid-nineteenth century, society had begun to grow away from the idea of atonement for sin within an omnipotent religion, where judgement would come solely in heaven, and towards the more humanistic idea of God as in-dwelling, so that salvation could be achieved on earth: We have now come to regard the world not as a machine, but as an organism, a system in which, while the parts contribute to the growth of the whole, the whole also reacts upon the development of the parts; and whose primary purpose is its own perfection, something that is contained within and not outside itself, an internal end: while in their turn the myriad parts of this universal organism are also lesser organisms, ends in and for themselves, pursuing each its lonely ideal of individual completeness. (Gore (ed) 1890, p.211) A spiritual lack created a need to define, order and categorise a world that suddenly appeared chaotic. When Darwin published On the Origin of Species in 1859 he raised issues of public concern as to the truth of the bible and the essence of Christianity. However, it’s content and its methodology were seriously criticised (Appleman 2001, p.200). It was a difficult work to accept as it caused the public to rethink and redefine their history that they were a product of evolution and not a tailor made being came as a shock. The future of thought and literature was suddenly changed as people tried to sew together the threads of the past. Natural Science became a national obsession exotic flora and fauna from across the world were brought into London daily, to be displayed in the British Museum or Kew Gardens (Lightman, 1997 p.1). In literature, we see the author begin to play the part of evolutionist: Eliot’s Middlemarch although concerned with the evolving character of D orothea Brooke follows the threads of sub-plots and the successes and failures of other characters which form a pattern of development. As Gillian Beer says: There is not one primitive tissue, just as there is not one key to all mythologies () emphasis upon plurality, rather than upon singleness, is crucial to the developing argument of Middlemarch. (Beer 2000, p.143). Gone is the tradition of the valiant hero or heroine singularly conquering their environment (a trend set by classics such as Homer’s The Odyssey) and in its place a landscape upon which the author grafts and nurtures developing shoots of life. It is this sort of growth that is in danger of remaining unseen to the contemporary historian or critic as it can become shrouded by generalising concepts which are so often prescribed to the term ‘Victorian’ concepts such as ‘repression‘, ‘old-fashioned’ and ‘prudish.’ (http://www.victorianweb.org/vn/victor4.html). These sort of terms restrict the individual’s perception of the era when it was a time when growth was encouraged rather than restricted. Authors used the metaphor of pruning and nurturing plant life to symbolise the development of the self for example in North and South Gaskell discusses the problem of the working individual who struggles to reach his or her potent ial when the manufacturers are ‘unsparingly cutting away all off-shoots in the direction of literature or high mental cultivation, in hopes of throwing the whole strength and vigour of the plant into commerce.’ (Gaskell 1865, p.69). For Gaskell, it is through the everyday interaction between people that such difficulties are given the chance to be overcome. And this was the essence of the realist novel set amidst a world which had witnessed such alteration to transform the lostness felt by society into a seeing of the smaller things in life which could withhold qualities of greater spiritual value. As Philip Davis says, ‘the realist novel was the holding ground, the meeting point, for the overlapping of common life.’ (Davis 2002, p.144). And it was within this common life that a more calm acceptance of the new state could be achieved. Gillian Beer suggests that through her novel’s organisation Eliot creates order and understanding of the evolving process of novel-writing. In Middlemarch, the naming of Casaubon‘s books ‘Waiting for Death, Two Temptations, Three Love Problems draws attention to the book’s organisation by emphasising categorisation: But the process of reading leads into divergence and variability. Even while we are observing how closely human beings conform in the taxonomy of events we learn how differently they feel and think. For Dorothea and Casaubon waiting for death means something very different from what it means for Mary Garth and Featherstone. The relations are different. The distances between people are different. Lydgate, here at one with the project of the book, longed to demonstrate the more intimate relations of living structure (1:15:225). In this double emphasis on conformity and variability George Eliot intensifies older literary organisations by means of recent scientific theory. In Darwinian theory, variability is the creative principle, but the type makes it possible for us to track common ancestry and common kinship. (Beer 2000, pp.143-4) Writing itself was becoming an almost divine representation, an inner order of a chaotic external world. The idea that humans had evolved from primates meant that the boundaries between what was one thing and what was another were no longer so clearly defined. There developed a fear of the animate and a fear of the inanimate, and efforts were sought to understand them. As Harriet Ritvo says in The Platypus and the Mermaid: Depending on the beholder, an anomaly might be viewed as embodying a challenge to the established order, whether social, natural, or divine; the containment of that challenge; the incomprehensibility of the creation by human intelligence; or simply the endless and diverting variety of the world. And beholders who agreed on the content of the representation could still disagree strongly about its moral valence whether it was good or bad, entrancing or disgusting. (Ritvo 1997, p.148). In a world where categorisation was important but not so easily achievable, the novel too became neither one thing nor another; realism became a melting pot for ideas, a sort of hybrid of styles. In Eliot’s The Lifted Veil realism is used as a vehicle for the exploration of her ideas into psychology and psychic phenomena. Latimers clairvoyance forces him to endure a painful insight into the minds of the people around him: I began to be aware of a phase in my abnormal sensibility, to which, from the languid and slight nature of my intercourse with others since my illness, I had not been alive before. This was the obtrusion on my mind of the mental process going forward in first one person, and then another, with whom I happened to be in contact: the vagrant, frivolous ideas and emotions of some uninteresting acquaintanceMrs Filmore, for examplewould force themselves on my consciousness like an importunate, ill-played musical instrument, or the loud activity of an imprisoned insect. But this superadded consciousness, wearying and annoying enough when it urged on me the trivial experience of indifferent people, became an intense pain and grief when it seemed to be opening to me the souls of those who were in a close relation to me when the rational talk, the graceful attentions, the wittily-turned phrases, and the kindly deeds, which used to make the web of their characters, were seen as if thrust asund er by a microscopic vision, that showed all the intermediate frivolities, all the suppressed egoism, all the struggling chaos of puerilities, meanness, vague capricious memories, and indolent make-shift thoughts, from which human words and deeds emerge like leaflets covering a fermenting heap.(Eliot 1859, pp.13-14) Latimer is no longer caught up in the ‘web’ of people’s characters. Eliot plays with the idea that his consciousness has the ability to transcend the mundane the ’rational talk’, the ’kindly deeds’ in order to gain insight into an alternative and not so rosy vision of the mechanics of the human mind where thoughts are ‘make-shift’ and ‘chaotic.’ The nineteenth century saw the acceptance of the concept of otherworldly phenomena into the working classes. Robert Owen, a social reformer, who influenced the British Labor movement (Oppenheim 1985, p.40) encouraged many working class ‘Owenites’ to ‘follow him into the spiritualist fold, where they enthusiastically continued their ongoing search for the ‘new moral world.’’ Interests such as spiritualism and psychology which had previously been more underground pursuits, were brought out into the open. The concept of telepathy, a term coined by Frederic Myers in 1882 (Luckhurst 2002, p.1) even helped to ‘theorize the uneasy cross-cultural encounters at the colonial frontier.’ (Luckhurst 2002, p.3) These developments suggest that the Victorians felt imbued with the power of their age they felt confident of their ability to communicate on different planes of consciousness. So it could be argued that ‘Victorian’ was not simply a time devoted to the discovery of the self and the workings of the inner mind, but a time that also focused on the projection of ideas and thoughts outside of the self; ideas which themselves stand outside of the category ‘Victorian.’ In 1869 the Spiritualist Newspaper began selling first as a fortnightly, then as a weekly publication. (Oppenheim 1985, p.45). This draws the discussion to the point of representation the social nature of Victorians seems to suggest that they enjoyed the focus being on themselves. Self-obsession is an aspect of the time which the term ‘Victorian’ usefully represents: by specifically referring to the rule of the Queen the term draws attention to the importance of the individual. The era saw the development of many different styles of fashion and the use of photography. As part of the Freudian influence great importance was placed on childhood and it was during the nineteenth century that the first laws concerning child welfare were passed. (Mavor quoted from Brown (ed) 2001, p.i) The focus on the central, the ego, was paramount. As Mavor says, it was as if the camera had to be invented in order to document what would soon be lost, childhood itself; and childhood had to be invented in order for the camera to document childhood (a fantasy of innocence) as real. (Brown (ed) 2001, p.27). Perhaps because of society’s awareness of change there seems to have been a necessity to record and keep track of the world around. Discovery took place on a much grander scale in the exploration of the world. The British Empire was global, yet as Patrick Brantlinger suggests in Rule of Darkness, (Brantlinger 1988, p.4) imperialism was not generally reflected in the literature of the time. What we do see evidence of however is the mapping of new worlds and territories (see Robert Louis Stevenson‘s Treasure Island and Richard Jefferies’ Bevis). The development of the adventure story suggests that Victorians desired to explore what lay outside of what they knew and in this respect the term ‘Victorian’ which people can think of as representing a society closed within in itself is misleading. The rise of imperialism began to shape the ideological dimensions of subjects studied in school (Bristow 1991, p.20) and so through literature the Victorian child was offered an exciting world of sophisticated representation and ideas with the knowledge that the world was theirs to explore. Does the term then encourage us to think of the society as a class of people set apart from the rest of the world? In The Island of Dr. Moreau it is not just the future of science that is explored but the concept of a new territory and its effects on the mind. For example, when the protagonist first sees the beast-servant on board the ship he is immediately frightened: I did not know then that a reddish luminosity, at least, is not uncommon in human eyes. The figure, with its eyes of fire, struck down through all my adult thoughts and feelings, and for a moment the forgotten horrors of childhood came back to my mind. Then the effect passed as it had come. An uncouth black figure of a man, a figure of no particular import, hung over the taffrail, against the starlight. (Wells 1997, p.31). The circumstances of being at sea is disorientating and causes the imagination to play tricks so that the man is first one thing ‘a figure with its eyes of fire’ and then suddenly becomes an ‘uncouth black figure of a man.’ The effect is that the protagonist suddenly regresses to the ’forgotten horrors of childhood.’ This sudden fluctuation is important as it represents the fluidity of the era and how change and discovery on a global scale, although empowering, also caused instability within the individual. Therefore, when considering the age in the context of its name we can understand that the term was perhaps created out of both the desire to represent achievement but also out of a need to belong. This desire to belong which manifested itself during an age ruled by one woman placed great importance on the role of the female in society. It was a time when women began to travel and write without the necessity of using a pseudonym (see Cheryl McEwan on Kingsley in West Africa, (2000, p.73)). In books such as Hardy’s Tess the idea of the fallen woman is tested: Tess attempts to rediscover paradise at Talbothays but ultimately a life with her lover is denied. The nineteenth century began to be more explicit concerning issues of gender: for example, the relationship between Arthur Munby and Hannah Cullwick (see McClintock 1995, pp.132-138) where Cullwick is photographed cross-dressed as a farm worker. A ‘Victorian’ man however appears to have had more stigma attached to him and in this context the term is commonly associated with heroism and English valour (Ridley/Dawson 1994, p.110). There is less flexibility surrounding the notion of Victorian men -as if the te rm somehow threatened their masculinity. However, this did not seem to affect the male authors of the time. Lewis Carroll captured the public imagination through Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, which although following the story of a little girl, depicts many male characters. (see Carroll 2000). In conclusion, the term ‘Victorian’ although useful to refer to a specific time period in history, does however encourage us to make sweeping generalisations without investigating how diverse the era was. In terms of the subject matter of Victorian Literature there is no clear cut distinction between early, middle and late Victorian for example, Bulwer-Lytton (see Zanoni and A Strange Story) attempts at the beginning of the century what Richard Jefferies does at the end the difference is in style and form. Within that time frame there was condensed an incredible diversity of styles, tastes and attitudes, yet the term suffers from being associated with prejudices and assumptions about Victorians. However, it is worth bearing in mind that prejudices were indeed a part of Victorian society. When the Victorians explored the rest of the world they made generalisations and assumptions based on what they found (eg: The Island of Dr. Moreau) where experience and the nature of what is discovered defines behaviour. As a critic in 1858 wrote ‘we are living in an age of transition’ (quoted from Houghton 1957, p.1); therefore when considering the Victorian age we should remember that values and trends were evolving it was not a static time governed by repression or old fashioned values. From the research carried out for this essay it appears that through the gaining of knowledge, Victorians also realised how little they knew and how much more there was to discover. As Arnold says in The Buried Life: How fair a lot to fill / Is left to each man still. (Arnold 1913, p.168). In this context the term ‘Victorian’ can be dualistically representative: discoveries of the time, although revolutionary, were often rudimentary in nature, and it was humbling for the individual to consider how much further knowledge and discovery had yet to go. On the other hand, the term suffers too from being inadequate: a single word is too smaller term for the vast wealth and diversity of discovery, and it could be argued that the era is better realised if seen as a second revolution. Like the Victorian authors themselves we are left with no suitable words to convey the entirety of an era as John Lawton says in his introduction to The Time Machine (1995, p.xxvi) ‘the term ‘Victorian’ is used too loosely to encompass a sequence of eras, the diverse reign of a woman who lent her name to objects as diverse as a railway terminus and a plum.’ When studying Victorian Literature it is worth bearing in mind the fluidity of the time and the changeability which arose out of living on the cusp between the passing away of old values and the unknown territory of the new. Realism recognised the gaps which were forming in society such as the distancing of the self from religion and offered to paper the cracks through its vision of bringing people together on a mundane level. It’s territory stretched to include the darkest recesses of the mind to the smallest of everyday events, celebrating the grey area between extremes as we now know as ‘Victorian.’ Bibliography Arnold, M., 1913, The Poems of Matthew Arnold, 1840-1867. Oxford: Oxford University Press Appleman, P, 2001, Darwin. London: Norton Beer, G., 2000, Darwin’s Plots. Cambridge: Cambridge University Pr

The Great Sheep Debate :: essays research papers fc

The Great Sheep Debate My high school was relatively small. To put it into perspective, I graduated with eighty-six people. In my class there were the usual cliques. There were the smart kids, the athletes, the cheerleaders, the drug users, and the slackers. But somehow I didn’t fit into all of this. I wasn’t, and still am not, the smartest person in the history of the world. I’m way too clumsy to play any sports. I wasn’t the right size to be a cheerleader. I wouldn’t even consider using drugs, and I certainly am not a slacker. I was just Nikki the girl that no one liked. I just wasn’t like them. I dressed differently, and had my own opinion, and that just didn’t fly with them. Day in and day out, I saw the struggle. It happened most with the incoming freshman every year. I saw people almost killing themselves with dieting so they could fit the cheerleader mold. I saw some of the most intelligent people not apply themselves, just because it’s not â€Å"cool† to be smart. I really think that is sad. These people could really have made something of themselves, but instead they chose being â€Å"cool† over having a future. I was teased and mocked for attempting to be an individual. Even one of my teachers told me one day that I only dressed differently so I could get attention. Her saying that really made me think. Is it really so bad to not want to be a conformist sheep? Has the world really come to either being alike or being miserable? I hope not. I’ll admit to sometimes wishing I could be like them. But I know that I wouldn’t be here now if I had been. As Doris Lessing said, â€Å"It is the hardest thing in the world to maintain an individual dissident opinion, as a member of a group† (334). She also said, â€Å"the hardest thing in the world is to stand out against one’s group of peers† (334). I don’t exactly find this to be true. High school wasn’t exactly the easiest time for me, but I got by. I would have rather gone through it without friends, than to have changed whom I was just to belong. I was relatively happy just being myself. I liked wearing clothes that had color, and I liked for people to notice me. People who change to fit into a mold aren’t happy as themselves. The Great Sheep Debate :: essays research papers fc The Great Sheep Debate My high school was relatively small. To put it into perspective, I graduated with eighty-six people. In my class there were the usual cliques. There were the smart kids, the athletes, the cheerleaders, the drug users, and the slackers. But somehow I didn’t fit into all of this. I wasn’t, and still am not, the smartest person in the history of the world. I’m way too clumsy to play any sports. I wasn’t the right size to be a cheerleader. I wouldn’t even consider using drugs, and I certainly am not a slacker. I was just Nikki the girl that no one liked. I just wasn’t like them. I dressed differently, and had my own opinion, and that just didn’t fly with them. Day in and day out, I saw the struggle. It happened most with the incoming freshman every year. I saw people almost killing themselves with dieting so they could fit the cheerleader mold. I saw some of the most intelligent people not apply themselves, just because it’s not â€Å"cool† to be smart. I really think that is sad. These people could really have made something of themselves, but instead they chose being â€Å"cool† over having a future. I was teased and mocked for attempting to be an individual. Even one of my teachers told me one day that I only dressed differently so I could get attention. Her saying that really made me think. Is it really so bad to not want to be a conformist sheep? Has the world really come to either being alike or being miserable? I hope not. I’ll admit to sometimes wishing I could be like them. But I know that I wouldn’t be here now if I had been. As Doris Lessing said, â€Å"It is the hardest thing in the world to maintain an individual dissident opinion, as a member of a group† (334). She also said, â€Å"the hardest thing in the world is to stand out against one’s group of peers† (334). I don’t exactly find this to be true. High school wasn’t exactly the easiest time for me, but I got by. I would have rather gone through it without friends, than to have changed whom I was just to belong. I was relatively happy just being myself. I liked wearing clothes that had color, and I liked for people to notice me. People who change to fit into a mold aren’t happy as themselves.

Considering the Praises and Criticisms of The Catcher in the Rye :: Catcher Rye Essays

Considering the Praises and Criticisms of The Catcher in the Rye    Since its publication in 1951, J.D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye has served as a firestorm for controversy and debate. Critics have argued the moral issues raised by the book and the context in which it is presented. Some have argued that Salinger's tale of the human condition is fascinating and enlightening, yet incredibly depressing. The psychological battles of the novel's main character, Holden Caulfield, serve as the basis for critical argument. Caulfield's self-destruction over a period of days forces one to contemplate society's attitude toward the human condition. Salinger's portrayal of Holden, which includes incidents of depression, nervous breakdown, impulsive spending, sexual exploration, vulgarity, and other erratic behavior, have all attributed to the controversial nature of the novel. Yet the novel is not without its sharp advocates, who argue that it is a critical look at the problems facing American youth during the 1950's. When developing a comprehensive opinio n of the novel, it is important to consider the praises and criticisms of The Catcher in the Rye. When studying a piece of literature, it is meaningful to note the historical background of the piece and the time at which it was written. Two J.D. Salinger short stories, "I'm Crazy" and "Slight Rebellion off Madison," were published in periodicals during the 1940's, and introduced Holden Caulfield, the main character of The Catcher in the Rye. Both short stories were revised for later inclusion in Salinger's novel. The Catcher in the Rye was written in a literary style similar to prose, which was enhanced by the teenage slang of the 1950's. It is a widespread belief that much of Holden Caulfield's candid outlook on life reflects issues relevant to the youth of today, and thus the novel continues to be used as an educational resource in high schools throughout the nation (Davis 317-18).    The first step in reviewing criticism of The Catcher in the Rye is to study the author himself. Before his novel, J.D. Salinger was of basic non-literary status, having written for years without notice from critics or the general public. The Catcher in the Rye was his first step onto the literary playing field. This initial status left Salinger, as a serious writer, almost unique as a sort of free agent, not bound to one or more schools of critics, like many of his contemporaries were. Considering the Praises and Criticisms of The Catcher in the Rye :: Catcher Rye Essays Considering the Praises and Criticisms of The Catcher in the Rye    Since its publication in 1951, J.D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye has served as a firestorm for controversy and debate. Critics have argued the moral issues raised by the book and the context in which it is presented. Some have argued that Salinger's tale of the human condition is fascinating and enlightening, yet incredibly depressing. The psychological battles of the novel's main character, Holden Caulfield, serve as the basis for critical argument. Caulfield's self-destruction over a period of days forces one to contemplate society's attitude toward the human condition. Salinger's portrayal of Holden, which includes incidents of depression, nervous breakdown, impulsive spending, sexual exploration, vulgarity, and other erratic behavior, have all attributed to the controversial nature of the novel. Yet the novel is not without its sharp advocates, who argue that it is a critical look at the problems facing American youth during the 1950's. When developing a comprehensive opinio n of the novel, it is important to consider the praises and criticisms of The Catcher in the Rye. When studying a piece of literature, it is meaningful to note the historical background of the piece and the time at which it was written. Two J.D. Salinger short stories, "I'm Crazy" and "Slight Rebellion off Madison," were published in periodicals during the 1940's, and introduced Holden Caulfield, the main character of The Catcher in the Rye. Both short stories were revised for later inclusion in Salinger's novel. The Catcher in the Rye was written in a literary style similar to prose, which was enhanced by the teenage slang of the 1950's. It is a widespread belief that much of Holden Caulfield's candid outlook on life reflects issues relevant to the youth of today, and thus the novel continues to be used as an educational resource in high schools throughout the nation (Davis 317-18).    The first step in reviewing criticism of The Catcher in the Rye is to study the author himself. Before his novel, J.D. Salinger was of basic non-literary status, having written for years without notice from critics or the general public. The Catcher in the Rye was his first step onto the literary playing field. This initial status left Salinger, as a serious writer, almost unique as a sort of free agent, not bound to one or more schools of critics, like many of his contemporaries were.

Advertising Manipulates People Essay -- Advertisements, Adverts

In our society, we are constantly surrounded by advertising. From the time our alarm clock wakes us up in the morning until we set it at night, our brains are bombarded with advertisements. Ads play a huge role in our lives, telling us what to buy, what car to drive, how our families should interact, and what we should look like. The business of Advertising is built on persuasion. Advertisements attempt to persuade us that we are not rich enough, pretty enough, thin enough, family oriented enough, and the list goes on. To put it more clearly, the advertising empire is built on the exploitation of the fears of the American people. They take the knowledge of our fears and attempt to convince us that if we buy their product, we will achieve all the things we need to attain perfection. The possessing of material goods and wealth as a determinate of our status and self-worth is a huge emphasis of advertising. It works by convincing people that the amount of money they have, and the quality of the goods that they own will gain them social acceptance. Advertising is then exploiting a persons fear of rejection. We are constantly being bombarded with images of famous people in designer clothing, driving expensive cars, and living in enormous mansions. We are taught that this is a portrait of success, and to be happy you must be successful. Therefore, the possession of these items will endow the possessor with happiness. The rich and famous are viewed as the most socially acceptable persons in our world. Advertising uses the images of these famous people to convince the rest of us average Americans that we need to buy all of the things that the celebrities have in order to be accepted and consequently happy. This is why celebrity endors... ...er and get along better if once a week you sit down at the table and play one of their games together. I mean, what else unites a family better than a good game of chutes and ladders? People are so afraid of having a â€Å"dysfunctional† or imperfect family that they will go as far as spending money on things they do not need in order to achieve this ideal. Once again, advertising has accomplished its goal. Advertising is a complex industry, focused on the selling of products by convincing people that they need them. It is a business that manipulates people in order to accomplish its goals, which it does quite effectively. Our society is one with many fears, and because of this advertising will continue to find new and different ways of exploiting them in order to market their goods. And as long as the American people continue to buy into it, they will be successful

Institutionalized Organizations: Formal Structure as Myth

Institutionalized Organizations: Formal Structure as Myth and Ceremony Author(s): John W. Meyer and Brian Rowan Reviewed work(s): Source: American Journal of Sociology, Vol. 83, No. 2 (Sep. , 1977), pp. 340-363 Published by: The University of Chicago Press Stable URL: http://www. jstor. org/stable/2778293 . Accessed: 25/01/2012 14:10 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at . http://www. jstor. org/page/info/about/policies/terms. jspJSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email  protected] org. The University of Chicago Press is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to American Journal of Sociology. http://www. jstor. orgInstitutionalized Organizations: Formal Structure as Myth and Ceremonyl John W. Meyer and Brian Rowan Stanford University Many formal organizational structures arise as reflections of rationalized institutional rules. The elaboration of such rules in modern states and societies accounts in part for the expansion and increased complexity of formal organizational structures. Institutional rules function as myths which organizationsincorporate,gaining legitimacy, resources, stability, and enhanced survival prospects.Organizations whose structures become isomorphic with the myths of the institutional environment-in contrast with those primarily structured by the demands of technical production and exchange-decrease internal coordination and control in order to maintain legitimacy. Structures are decoupled from each other and from ongoing activities. In place of coordination, inspection, and evaluation, a logic of confidence and good faith is employed. Formal organizationsare generall y understood to be systems of coordinated and controlled activities that arise when work is embedded in complex networks of technical relations and boundary-spanningexchanges.But in modern societies formal organizational structures arise in highly institutionalized contexts. Professions, policies, and programs are created along with the products and services that they are understoodto producerationally. This permits many new organizations to spring up and forces existing ones to incorporatenew practices and procedures. That is, organizationsare driven to incorporate the practices and procedures defined by prevailing rationalizedconcepts of organizationalwork and institutionalized in society.Organizationsthat do so increase their legitimacy and their survival prospects, independent of the immediate efficacy of the acquired practices and procedures. Institutionalized products, services, techniques, policies, and programs function as powerful myths, and many organizations adopt them ce remonially. But conformity to institutionalized rules often conflicts sharply 1 Work on this paper was conducted at the Stanford Center for Research and Development in Teaching (SCRDT) and was supported by the National Institute of Education (contract no. NE-C-00-3-0062). The views expressed here do not, of course, reflect NIE positions.Many colleagues in the SCRDT, the Stanford Organizations Training Program, the American Sociological Association's work group on Organizations and Environments, and the NIE gave help and encouragement. In particular, H. Acland, A. Bergesen, J. Boli-Bennett, T. Deal, J. Freeman, P. Hirsch, J. G. March, W. R. Scott, and W. Starbuck made helpful suggestions. 340 AJS Volume 83 Number 2 Formal Structure as Myth and Ceremony with efficiency criteria and, conversely, to coordinate and control activity in order to promote efficiency undermines an organization's ceremonial conformityand sacrificesits support and legitimacy.To maintain ceremonial conformity, o rganizationsthat reflect institutional rules tend to buffer their formal structures from the uncertainties of technical activities by becoming loosely coupled, building gaps between their formal structures and actual work activities. This paper argues that the formal structures of many organizations in postindustrial society (Bell 1973) dramatically reflect the myths of their institutional environments instead of the demands of their work activities.The first part describesprevailing theories of the origins of formal structures and the main problem the theories confront. The second part discusses an alternative source of formal structures:myths embeddedin the institutional environment. The third part develops the argument that organizations reflecting institutionalized environments maintain gaps between their formal structures and their ongoing work activities. The final part summarizes by discussing some researchimplications. Throughout the paper, institutionalized rules are distin guished sharply from prevailing social behaviors.Institutionalized rules are classifications built into society as reciprocated typifications or interpretations (Berger and Luckmann 1967, p. 54). Such rules may be simply taken for granted or may be supported by public opinion or the force of law (Starbuck 1976). Institutions inevitably involve normative obligations but often enter into social life primarily as facts which must be taken into account by actors. Institutionalization involves the processesby which social processes, obligations, or actualities come to take on a rulelike status in social thought and action.So, for example, the social status of doctor is a highly institutionalized rule (both normative and cognitive) for managing illness as well as a social role made up of particular behaviors, relations, and expectations. Research and development is an institutionalized category of organizationalactivity which has meaning and value in many sectors of society, as well as a collection of actual research and development activities. In a smaller way, a No Smoking sign is an institution with legal status and implications, as well as an attempt to regulate smoking behavior.It is fundamental to the argument of this paper that institutional rules may have effects on organizational structures and their implementationin actual technical work which are very different from the effects generated by the networks of social behavior and relationshipswhich compose and surrounda given organization. PREVAILING THEORIES OF FORMAL STRUCTURE A sharp distinction should be made between the formal structure of an organization and its actual day-to-day work activities. Formal structure is 341American Journal of Sociology a blueprint for activities which includes, first of all, the table of organization: a listing of offices, departments, positions, and programs. These elements are linked by explicit goals and policies that make up a rational theory of how, and to what end, ac tivities are to be fitted together. The essence of a modern bureaucratic organization lies in the rationalized and impersonal character of these structural elements and of the goals that link them.One of the central problems in organization theory is to describe the conditions that give rise to rationalized formal structure. -In conventional theories, rational formal structure is assumed to be the most effective way to coordinate and control the complex relational networks involved in modern technical or work activities (see Scott 1975 for a review). This assumption derives from Weber's (1930, 1946, 1947) discussions of the historical emergence of bureaucraciesas consequencesof economic markets and centralized states. Economic markets place a premium on rationality and coordination.As markets expand, the relational networks in a given domain become more complex and differentiated, and organizationsin that domain must manage more internal and boundary-spanning interdependencies. Such factors as size (Blau 1970) and technology (Woodward 1965) increasethe complexity of internal relations, and the division of labor among p organizationsincreasesboundary-spanning roblems (Aiken and Hage 1968; Freeman 1973;Thompson 1967). Because the need for coordinationincreases under these conditions, and because formally coordinated work has competitive advantages, organizations with rationalized formal structures tend to develop.The formation of centralized states and the penetration of societies by political centers also contribute to the rise and spreadof formal organization. When the relational networks involved in economic exchange and political managementbecome extremely complex,bureaucraticstructuresare thought to be the most effective and rational means to standardize and control subunits. Bureaucratic control is especially useful for expanding political centers, and standardizationis often demanded by both centers and peripheral units (Bendix 1964, 1968).Political cente rs organize layers of offices that manage to extend conformity and to displace traditional activities throughout societies. a The problem. revailingtheoriesassumethatthe coordination nd controlof P h activityare the criticaldimensionson whichformal organizations avesucceeded in the modern world. This assumption is based on the view that organizations function according to their formal blueprints: coordination is routine, rules and proceduresare followed, and actual activities conform to the prescriptions of formal structure. But much of the empirical research on organizations casts doubt on this assumption.An earlier generation of researchers concluded that there was a great gap between the formal and the informal organization (e. g. , Dalton 1959; Downs 1967; Homans 1950). A related 342 Formal Structure as Myth and Ceremony observation is that formal organizations are often loosely coupled (March and Olsen 1976; Weick 1976): structural elements are only loosely linked to each other and to activities, rules are often violated, decisions are often unimplemented, or if implemented have uncertain consequences, technologies are of problematic efficiency, and evaluation and inspection systems are ubverted or renderedso vague as to provide little coordination. Formal organizations are endemic in modern societies. There is need for an explanation of their rise that is partially free from the assumption that, in practice, formal structures actually coordinate and control work. Such an explanation should account for the elaboration of purposes, positions, policies, and procedural rules that characterizes formal organizations, but must do so without supposingthat these structuralfeatures are implemented in routine work activity. INSTITUTIONAL SOURCES OF FORMAL STRUCTUREBy focusing on the management of complex relational networks and the exercise of coordination and control, prevailing theories have neglected an alternative Weberian source of formal structure: the legiti macy of rationalized formal structures. In prevailing theories, legitimacy is a given: assertions about bureaucratization rest on the assumption of norms of rationality (Thompson 1967). When norms do play causal roles in theories of bureaucratization,it is because they are thought to be built into modern societies and personalities as very general values, which are thought to facilitate formal organization.But norms of rationality are not simply general values. They exist in much more specific and powerful ways in the rules, understandings, and meanings attached to institutionalized social structures. The causal importance of such institutions in the process of bureaucratizationhas been neglected. Formalstructures are not only creaturesof their relationalnetworksin the social organization. In modern societies, the elements of rationalizedformal structure are deeply ingrained in, and reflect, widespreadunderstandingsof social reality.Many of the positions, policies, programs, and pro ceduresof modern organizations are enforced by public opinion, by the views of important constituents, by knowledge legitimated through the educational system, by social prestige, by the laws, and by the definitions of negligence and prudence used by the courts. Such elements of formal structure are manifestations of powerful institutional rules which function as highly rationalized myths that are binding on particular organizations. In modern societies, the myths generatingformal organizationalstructure have two key properties.First, they are rationalized and impersonal prescriptions that identify various social purposes as technical ones and specify in a rulelike way the appropriatemeans to pursue these technical purposes 343 American Journal of Sociology rationally (Ellul 1964). Second, they are highly institutionalized and thus in some measure beyond the discretion of any individual participant or organization. They must, therefore,be taken for granted as legitimate, apart from evaluations of their impact on work outcomes. Many elements of formal structure are highly institutionalized and function as myths.Examplesincludeprofessions,programs,and technologies: Large numbers of rationalized professions emerge (Wilensky 1965; Bell 1973). These are occupations controlled, not only by direct inspection of work outcomes but also by social rules of licensing, certifying, and schooling. The occupations are rationalized, being understood to control impersonal techniques rather than moral mysteries. Further, they are highly institutionalized: the delegation of activities to the appropriate occupations is socially expected and often legally obligatory over and above any calculations of its efficiency.Many formalized organizational programs are also institutionalized in society. Ideologies define the functions appropriateto a business-such as sales, production, advertising, or accounting; to a university-such as instruction and research in history, engineering, and li terature; and to a hospital-such as surgery, internal medicine, and obstetrics. Such classifications of organizational functions, and the specifications for conducting each function, are prefabricated formulae available for use by any given organization. Similarly, technologies are institutionalized and become myths binding on organizations.Technical procedures of production, accounting, personnel selection, or data processing become taken-for-granted means to accomplish organizational ends. Quite apart from their possible efficiency, such institutionalized techniques establish an organization as appropriate, rational, and modern. Their use displays responsibility and avoids claims of negligence. The impact of such rationalized institutional elements on organizations and organizing situations is enormous. These rules define new organizing situations, redefineexisting ones, and specify the means for coping rationally with each.They enable, and often require, participants to organize along prescribedlines. And they spread very rapidly in modern society as part of the rise of postindustrial society (Bell 1973). New and extant domains of activity are codifiedin institutionalizedprograms,professions,or techniques, and organizationsincorporatethe packaged codes. For example: The discipline of psychology creates a rationalized theory of personnel selection and certifies personnel professionals. Personnel departments and functionaries appear in all sorts of extant organizations, and new specialized personnel agencies also appear.As programs of research and development are created and professionals with expertise in these fields are trained and defined, organizations come under increasing pressure to incorporate R & D units. As the prerational profession of prostitution is rationalized along medical lines, bureaucratized organizations-sex-therapy clinics, massage parlors, and the like-spring up more easily. As the issues of safety and environmental pollution arise, and as relevant 344 Formal Structure as Myth and Ceremony i a b professions nd programs ecomeinstitutionalizedn laws, unionideologies, t nd public opinion,organizationsncorporate hese programsand profesi sions. The growth of rationalized institutional structures in society makes formal organizations more common and more elaborate. Such institutions are myths which make formal organizationsboth easier to create and more necessary. After all, the building blocks for organizationscome to be littered around the societal landscape; it takes only a little entrepreneurialenergy to assemble them into a structure. And because these building blocks are considered proper, adequate, rational, and necessary, organizations must incorporate them to avoid illegitimacy.Thus, the myths built into rationalized institutional elements create the necessity, the opportunity, and the impulse to organize rationally, over and above pressures in this direction created by the need to manage proximate relational n etworks: Proposition 1. As rationalizedinstitutionalrules arise in given domains of f work activity,formal organizations orm and expand by incorporatingthese rules as structuralelements. Two distinct ideas are implied here: (1A) As institutionalized myths define new domains of rationalized activity, formal organizationsemerge in these domains. iB) As rationalizing institutional myths arise in existing domains of activity, extant organizationsexpand their formal structures so as to become isomorphicwith these new myths. To understandthe largerhistorical process it is useful to note that: Proposition 2. The more modernizedthe society, the more extendedthe i rationalizedinstitutionalstructure n given domainsand the greaterthe number of domainscontainingrationalizedinstitutions. Modern institutions, then, are thoroughly rationalized, and these rationalized elements act as myths giving rise to more formal organization.When propositions 1 and 2 are combined, two more specific ideas follow : (2A) Formalorganizationsare more likely to emergein more modernizedsocieties, even with the complexity of immediate relational networks held constant. (2B) Formal organizationsin a given domain of activity are likely to have more elaborated structures in more modernized societies, even with the complexity of immediate relational networks held constant. Combiningthe ideas above with prevailingorganizationtheory, it becomes clear that modern societies are filled with rationalizedbureaucraciesfor two reasons. First, as the prevailing theories have asserted, relational etworks become increasingly complex as societies modernize. Second, modern societies are filled with institutional rules which function as myths depicting various formal structures as rational means to the attainment of desirable ends. Figure 1 summarizes these two lines of theory. Both lines suggest that the postindustrial society-the society dominated by rational organization even more than by the forces of production -arises both out of the 345 American Journal of Sociology The prevalence of rationalized institutional elements The presence and elaboration of formal organizational structures Societal Societal odernization The complexity of networks of social organization and exchange FIG. 1. -The origins and elaboration of formal organizational structures complexity of the modern social organizationalnetwork and, more directly, as an ideologicalmatter. Once institutionalized, rationality becomes a myth with explosive organizingpotential, as both Ellul (1964) and Bell (1973)though with rather different reactions-observe. The Relation of Organizationsto Their Institutional Environments The observationis not new that organizationsare structuredby phenomena in their environments and tend to become isomorphic with them.One explanation of such isomorphism is that formal organizations become matched with their environmentsby technical and exchange interdependencies. This line of reasoning can be seen in the works of Aiken and Hage (1968), Hawley (1968), and Thompson (1967). This explanation asserts that structural elements diffuse because environments create boundary-spanning exigencies for organizations, and that organizations which incorporate structural elements isomorphic with the environment are able to manage such interdependencies.A second explanation for the parallelismbetween organizations and their environments-and the one emphasized here-is that organizations structurally reflect socially constructed reality (Berger and Luckmann 1967). This view is suggested in the work of Parsons (1956) and Udy (1970), who see organizations as greatly conditioned by their general institutional environments and therefore as institutions themselves in part. Emery and Trist (1965) also see organizations as responding directly to environmental structuresand distinguishsuch effects sharply from those that occur through boundary-spanningexchanges.According to the institutional conception as developed here, organizations tend to disappear as distinct and bounded units. Quite beyond the environmental interrelations suggested in opensystems theories, institutional theories in their extreme forms define organizations as dramatic enactments of the rationalizedmyths pervading modern societies, rather than as units involved in exchange-no matter how complex-with their environments. 346 Formal Structure as Myth and Ceremony The two explanations of environmental isomorphism are not entirely inconsistent.Organizations both deal with their environments at their boundariesand imitate environmentalelements in their structures. However, the two lines of explanation have very different implications for internal organizationalprocesses, as will be argued below. The Origins of Rational Institutional Myths Bureaucratization is caused in part by the proliferation of rationalized myths in society, and this in turn involves the evolution of the whole modern institutional system. Although t he latter topic is beyond the scope of this paper, three specific processes that generate rationalizedmyths of organizational structure can be noted.The elaboration f complexrelationalnetworks. -As the relational networks o in societies become dense and interconnected, increasing numbers of rationalized myths arise. Some of them are highly generalized:for example, the principlesof universalism (Parsons 1971), contracts (Spencer 1897), restitution (Durkheim 1933), and expertise (Weber 1947) are generalizedto diverse occupations, organizational programs, and organizational practices. Other myths describespecificstructuralelements. These myths may originatefrom narrow contexts and be applied in different ones.For example, in modern societies the relational contexts of business organizationsin a single industry are roughly similarfrom place to place. Under these conditions a particularly effective practice, occupationalspecialty, or principle of coordinationcan be codified into mythlike form. The laws, the educational and credentialing systems, and public opinion then make it necessary or advantageous for organizationsto incorporatethe new structures. The degree of collective organization of the environment. The myths generated by particular organizational practices and diffused through relational networks have legitimacy based on the supposition that they are rationally effective. But many myths also have official legitimacy based on legal mandates. Societies that, through nation building and state formation, have developed rational-legal orders are especially prone to give collective (legal) authority to institutions which legitimate particular organizational structures. The rise of centralized states and integrated nations means that organized agents of society assume jurisdiction over large numbers of activity domains (Swanson 1971).Legislative and judicial authorities create and interpret legal mandates; administrative agencies-such as state and federal gover nments, port authorities, and school districts-establish rules of practice; and licenses and credentials become necessary in order to practice occupations. The stronger the rational-legal order, the greater the extent to which rationalized rules and procedures and personnel become 347 American Journal of Sociology institutional requirements. New formal organizations emerge and extant organizationsacquire new structural elements. Leadershipeforts of local organizations. The rise of the state and the expansion of collective jurisdiction are often thought to result in domesticated organizations(Carlson1962) subject to high levels of goal displacement (Clark 1956; Selznick 1949; and Zald and Denton 1963). This view is misleading: organizations do often adapt to their institutional contexts, but they often play active roles in shaping those contexts (Dowling and Pfeffer 1975; Parsons 1956; Perrow 1970; Thompson 1967). Many organizations actively seek charters from collective authorities and manage to institutionalize their goals and structures in the rules of such authorities.Efforts to mold institutional environmentsproceed along two dimensions. First, powerful organizations force their immediate relational networks to adapt to their structures and relations. For instance, automobile producers help create demands for particular kinds of roads, transportation systems, and fuels that make automobiles virtual necessities; competitive forms of transportationhave to adapt to the existing relational context. But second, powerful organizations attempt to build their goals and proceduresdirectly into society as institutional rules.Automobile producers, for instance, attempt to create the standards in public opinion defining desirable cars, to influence legal standards defining satisfactory cars, to affect judicial rules defining cars adequate enough to avoid manufacturerliability, and to force agents of the collectivity to purchase only their cars. Rivals must then compet e both in social networks or markets and in contexts of institutional rules which are defined by extant organizations. In this fashion, given organizational forms perpetuate themselves by becoming institutionalized rules.For example: Schooladministrators ho createnew curricula r trainingprograms tw o a i tempt to validatethem as legitimateinnovationsn educationalheoryand t I t c governmental equirements. f they are successful, he new procedures an r o a be perpetuated s authoritatively equired r at least satisfactory. r w s a New departments ithinbusiness nterprises,uchas personnel, dvertise a ing, or research nddevelopment epartments, ttemptto professionalizey d a b t r c creating ulesof practiceandpersonnel ertificationhat areenforced y the b schools,prestigesystems,and the laws. Organizations nder attack in competitiveenvironments-smallfarms, a o passenger ailways, r RollsRoyce-attempt to establishthemselves s cenr tral to the culturaltraditionsof their societiesin orderto receiv eofficial protection. The Impact of Institutional Environments on Organizations Isomorphismwith environmentalinstitutions has some crucial consequences for organizations: (a) they incorporate elements which are legitimated externally, rather than in terms of efficiency; (b) they employ external or 348 Formal Structure as Myth and Ceremony eremonialassessment criteriato define the value of structuralelements; and (c) dependence on externally fixed institutions reduces turbulence and maintains stability. As a result, it is argued here, institutional isomorphism promotes the success and survival of organizations. Incorporatingexternally legitimated formal structures increases the commitment of internal participants and externalconstituents. And the use of externalassessmentcriteriathat is, moving toward the status in society of a subunit rather than an independent system-can enable an organization to remain successful by social definition, bufferingit from failure.Changingformalstructu res. -By designing a formal structure that adheres to the prescriptionsof myths in the institutional environment, an organization demonstrates that it is acting on collectively valued purposes in a proper and adequate manner (Dowling and Pfeffer 1975; Meyer and Rowan 1975). The incorporationof institutionalized elements provides an account (Scott and Lyman 1968) of its activities that protects the organizationfrom having its conduct questioned. The organization becomes, in a word, legitimate, and it uses its legitimacy to strengthen its support and secure its survival.From an institutional perspective, then, a most important aspect of isomorphism with environmental institutions is the evolution of organizational language. The labels of the organization chart as well as the vocabulary used to delineate organizational goals, procedures, and policies are analogous to the vocabularies of motive used to account for the activities of individuals (Blum and McHugh 1971; Mills 1940). Just as jealousy, anger, altruism, and love are myths that interpret and explain the actions of individuals, the myths of doctors, of accountants, or of the assembly line explain organizationalactivities.Thus, some can say that the engineerswill solve a specific problem or that the secretaries will perform certain tasks, without knowing who these engineers or secretarieswill be or exactly what they will do. Both the speaker and the listeners understandsuch statements to describehow certain responsibilitieswill be carried out. Vocabularies of structure which are isomorphic with institutional rules provide prudent, rational, and legitimate accounts. Organizationsdescribed in legitimated vocabulariesare assumedto be oriented to collectively defined, and often collectively mandated, ends. The myths of personnel ervices, for example, not only account for the rationality of employment practices but also indicate that personnel services are valuable to an organization. Employees, applicants, mana gers, trustees, and governmental agencies are predisposed to trust the hiring practices of organizations that follow legitimated procedures-such as equal opportunity programs, or personality testing-and they are morewilling to participate in or to fund such organizations. On the other hand, organizations that omit environmentally legitimated elements of structure or create unique structures lack acceptable 349 American Journal of Sociology egitimated accounts of their activities. Such organizationsare more vulnerable to claims that they are negligent, irrational, or unnecessary. Claims of this kind, whether made by internal participants, external constituents, or the government, can cause organizations to incur real costs. For example: With the rise of modernmedicalinstitutions,largeorganizationshat do t not arrange edical-careacilitiesfor theirworkers ometo be seenas neglim f c gent-by the workers, y managementactions,by insurers, y courtswhich b f b legallydefinenegligence, nd oft en by laws. The costs of illegitimacy n ina i urance remiums nd legalliabilitiesare very real. p a e Similarly, nvironmentalafetyinstitutions akeit important or organis m f zations to create formalsafety rules, safety departments, nd safety proa grams. No Smokingrules and signs, regardless f their enforcement, re o a necessary o avoidcharges f negligence nd to avoidthe extremeof illegitit o a mation:the closingof buildings y the state. b The rise of professionalizedconomicsmakesit useful for organizations e to incorporate roupsof economists nd econometric nalyses. Thoughno g a a one may read,understand, r believethem,econometric nalyseshelplegitio a ate the organization's lans in the eyes of investors,customers(as with p DefenseDepartmentcontractors), nd internalparticipants. uchanalyses a S can also providerationalaccountings fter failuresoccur:managers hose a w plans have failed can demonstrateo investors,stockholders, nd superiors t a that procedures ere prudentand that decisions were made by rational w means. Thus, rationalized institutions create myths of formal structure which shape organizations. Failure to incorporatethe proper elements of structure is negligent and irrational; the continued flow of support is threatened and internal dissidents are strengthened.At the same time, these myths present organizations with great opportunities for expansion. Affixing the right labels to activities can change them into valuable services and mobilize the commitments of internal participants and external constituents. Adopting external assessmentcriteria. -In institutionally elaborated environments organizations also become sensitive to, and employ, external criteria of worth. Such criteriainclude, for instance, such ceremonialawards as the Nobel Prize, endorsementsby important people, the standard prices of professionalsand consultants, or the prestige of programsor personnelin external social circles.For example, the conventions of modern accounting attempt to assign value to particular components of organizations on the basis of their contribution-through the organization's production function-to the goods and services the organization produces. But for many units-service departments, administrativesectors, and others-it is utterly unclear what is being produced that has clear or definablevalue in terms of its contribution to the organizationalproduct. In these situations, ccountants employ shadow prices: they assume that given organizational units are necessaryand calculate their value from their prices in the world outside the organization. Thus modern accounting creates ceremonial production 350 Formal Structure as Myth and Ceremony functions and maps them onto economicproductionfunctions: organizations assign externally defined worth to advertising departments, safety departments, managers, econometricians, and occasionally even sociologists, whether or not these units contribute measurably to the production of outputs.Monetary price s, in postindustrial society, reflect hosts of ceremonial influences,as do economic measuresof efficiency,profitability, or net worth (Hirsch 1975). Ceremonialcriteria of worth and ceremonially derived production functions are useful to organizations:they legitimate organizationswith internal participants, stockholders,the public, and the state, as with the IRS or the SEC. They demonstrate socially the fitness of an organization.The incorporationof structureswith high ceremonialvalue, such as those reflecting the latest expert thinking or those with the most prestige, makes the credit position of an organizationmore favorable. Loans, donations, or investments are more easily obtained. Finally, units within the organization use ceremonial assessments as accounts of their productive service to the organization. Their internal power rises with their performance on ceremonial measures (Salancik and Pfeffer 1974). Stabilization. -The rise of an elaborateinstitutional environment stabiliz es both external and internal organizational relationships.Centralized states, trade association, unions, professional associations, and coalitions among organizationsstandardize and stabilize (see the review by Starbuck 1976). Market conditions, the characteristics of inputs and outputs, and technological procedures are brought under the jurisdiction of institutional meanings and controls. Stabilization also results as a given organization becomes part of the wider collective system. Support is guaranteed by agreements instead of depending entirely on performance. For example, apart rom whether schools educate students, or hospitals cure patients, people and governmental agencies remain committed to these organizations, funding and using them almost automatically year after year. Institutionally controlled environments buffer organizations from turbulence (Emery and Trist 1965; Terreberry 1968). Adaptations occur less rapidly as increased numbers of agreements are enacted. Collecti vely granted monopolies guarantee clienteles for organizations like schools, hospitals, or professional associations.The taken-for-granted (and legally regulated) quality of institutional rules makes dramatic instabilities in products, techniques, or policies unlikely. And legitimacy as accepted subunits of society protects organizationsfrom immediate sanctions for variations in technical performance: Thus,American chooldistricts(likeothergovernmental nits) have near s u monopolies nd are very stable. They must conformto widerrules about a o a properclassifications nd credentials f teachers nd students,and of topics a of study. But they are protectedby ruleswhichmakeeducationas defined 351American Journal of Sociology by these classifications compulsory. Alternative or private schools are possible, but must conform so closely to the required structures and classifications as to be able to generate little advantage. Some business organizations obtain very high levels of institutional stabilization. A large defense contractor may be paid for following agreed-on procedures, even if the product is ineffective. In the extreme, such organizations may be so successful as to survive bankruptcy intact-as Lockheed and Penn Central have done-by becoming partially components of the state.More commonly, such firms are guaranteed survival by state-regulated rates which secure profits regardless of costs, as with American public utility firms. Large automobile firms are a little less stabilized. They exist in an environment that contains enough structures to make automobiles, as conventionally defined, virtual necessities. But still, customers and governments can inspect each automobile and can evaluate and even legally discredit it. Legal action cannot as easily discredit a high school graduate. Organizational success and survival. Thus, organizational success depends on factors other than efficient coordination and control of productive activities. Independent of their pro ductive efficiency, organizations which exist in highly elaborated institutional environments and succeed in becoming isomorphic with these environments gain the legitimacy and resources needed to survive. In part, this depends on environmental processes and on the capacity of given organizational leadership to mold these processes (Hirsch 1975). In part, it depends on the ability of given organizations to conform to, and become legitimated by, environmental institutions.In institutionally elaborated environments, sagacious conformity is required: leadership (in a university, a hospital, or a business) requires an understanding of changing fashions and governmental programs. But this kind of conformity-and the almost guaranteed survival which may accompany itis possible only in an environment with a highly institutionalized structure. In such a context an organization can be locked into isomorphism, ceremonially reflecting the institutional environment in its structure, functionarie s, and procedures.Thus, in addition to the conventionally defined sources of organizational success and survival, the following general assertion can be proposed: Proposition 3. Organizationsthat incorporatesocietally legitimatedrationalized elements in their formal structuresmaximize their legitimacy and a increasetheir resources nd survivalcapabilities. This proposition asserts that the long-run survival prospects of organizations increase as state structures elaborate and as organizations respond to institutionalized rules.In the United States, for instance, schools, hospitals, and welfare organizations show considerable ability to survive, precisely because they are matched with-and almost absorbed by-their institutional environments. In the same way, organizations fail when they deviate 352 Formal Structure as Myth and Ceremony from the prescriptionsof institutionalizingmyths: quite apart from technical efficiency, organizations which innovate in important structural ways bear considerablecosts in legitimacy.Figure 2 summarizes the general argument of this section, alongside the established view that organizationssucceed through efficiency. INSTITUTIONALIZED STRUCTURES AND ORGANIZATIONAL ACTIVITIES Rationalized formal structures arise in two contexts. First, the demands of local relational networks encourage the development of structures that coordinateand control activities. Such structurescontribute to the efficiency of organizations and give them competitive advantages over less efficient competitors.Second, the interconnectedness of societal relations, the collective organizationof society, and the leadershipof organizationalelites create a highly institutionalized context. In this context rationalized structures present an acceptable account of organizationalactivities, and organizations gain legitimacy, stability, and resources. All organizations, to one degree or another, are embedded in both relational and institutionalized contexts and are theref ore concernedboth with coordinatingand controlling their activities and with prudently accounting for them.Organizations in highly institutionalized environments face internal and boundary-spanning contingencies. Schools, for example, must transport students to and from school under some circumstancesand must assign teachers, students, and topics to classrooms. On the other hand, organizations producing in markets that place great emphasis on efficiency build in units whose relation to production is obscure and whose efficiency is determined, not by a true production function, but by ceremonialdefinition.Nevertheless, the survival of some organizationsdepends more on managing the demands of internal and boundary-spanningrelations, while the survival of others depends more on the ceremonial demands of highly institutionalized environments. The discussion to follow shows that whether an organization'ssurvival dependsprimarilyon relationalor on institutional demands determines the tigh tness of alignments between structures and activities. Elaboration institutional of rationalized myths Organizational conformity with institutional myths Legitimacy and resources Organizational Survival fficiency FIG. 2. -Organizational survival 353 American Journal of Sociology Types of Organizations Institutionalized myths differ in the completenesswith which they describe cause and effect relationships, and in the clarity with which they describe standards that should be used to evaluate outputs (Thompson 1967). Some organizations use routine, clearly defined technologies to produce outputs. When output can be easily evaluated a market often develops, and consumers gain considerable rights of inspection and control. In this context, efficiency often determines success.Organizations must face exigencies of close coordinationwith their relational networks, and they cope with these exigencies by organizing around immediate technical problems. But the rise of collectively organized s ociety and the increasing interconnectedness of social relations have eroded many market contexts. Increasingly, such organizations as schools, R & D units, and governmental bureaucraciesuse variable, ambiguous technologies to produce outputs that are difficult to appraise, and other organizations with clearly defined technologies find themselves unable to adapt to environmental turbulence.The uncertainties of unpredictable technical contingencies or of adapting to environmental change cannot be resolved on the basis of efficiency. Internal participants and external constituents alike call for institutionalized rules that promote trust and confidencein outputs and buffer organizationsfrom failure (Emery and Trist 1965). Thus, one can conceive of a continuum along which organizationscan be ordered. At one end are production organizations under strong output controls (Ouchi and McGuire 1975) whose success depends on the management of relational networks.At the other end are institutio nalized organizations whose success depends on the confidence and stability achieved by isomorphism with institutional rules. For two reasons it is important not to assume that an organization'slocation on this continuum is based on the inherent technical properties of its output and therefore permanent. First, the technical properties of outputs are socially defined and do not exist in some concrete sense that allows them to be empirically discovered. Second, environments and organizations often redefine the nature of products, services, and technologies.Redefinition sometimes clarifies techniques or evaluative standards. But often organizations and environments redefine the nature of techniques and output so that ambiguity is introduced and rights of inspection and control are lowered. For example, Americanschools have evolved from producing rather specific training that was evaluated according to strict criteria of efficiency to producing ambiguously defined services that are eva luated according to criteria of certification (Callahan 1962; Tyack 1974; Meyer and Rowan 1975). 354Formal Structure as Myth and Ceremony Structural Inconsistencies in Institutionalized Organizations Two very general problems face an organization if its success depends primarily on isomorphism with institutionalized rules. First, technical activities and demands for efficiency create conflicts and inconsistencies in an institutionalized organization'sefforts to conform to the ceremonialrules of production. Second, because these ceremonial rules are transmitted by myths that may arise from differentparts of the environment, the rules may conflict with one another.These inconsistenciesmake a concernfor efficiency and tight coordination and control problematic. Formal structures that celebrate institutionalized myths differ from structures that act efficiently. Ceremonialactivity is significant in relation to categorical rules, not in its concrete effects (Merton 1940; March and Simon 1958). A sick worker must be treated by a doctor using accepted medical procedures; whether the worker is treated effectively is less important. A bus company must service required routes whether or not there are many passengers.A university must maintain appropriatedepartments independently of the departments' enrollments. Activity, that is, has ritual significance:it maintains appearancesand validates an organization. Categoricalrules conflict with the logic of efficiency. Organizationsoften face the dilemma that activities celebratinginstitutionalized rules, although they count as virtuous ceremonial expenditures, are pure costs from the point of view of efficiency. For example, hiring a Nobel Prize winner brings great ceremonial benefits to a university. The celebrated name can lead to researchgrants, brighter students, or reputational gains.But from the point of view of immediate outcomes, the expenditure lowers the instructional return per dollar expended and lowers the univer sity's ability to solve immediate logistical problems. Also, expensive technologies, which bring prestige to hospitals and business firms, may be simply excessive costs from the point of view of immediate production. Similarly,highly professionalized consultants who bring external blessings on an organization are often difficult to justify in terms of improved productivity, yet may be very important in maintaining internal and external legitimacy.Other conflicts between categorical rules and efficiency arise because institutional rules are couched at high levels of generalization (Durkheim 1933) whereas technical activities vary with specific, unstandardized, and possibly unique conditions. Because standardized ceremonial categories must confront technical variations and anomalies, the generalized rules of the institutional environment are often inappropriateto specific situations.A governmentally mandated curriculum may be inappropriate for the students at hand, a conventional medi cal treatment may make little sense given the characteristics of a patient, and federal safety inspectors may intolerably delay boundary-spanningexchanges. 355 American Journal of Sociology Yet another source of conflict between categorical rules and efficiency is the inconsistency among institutionalized elements. Institutional environments are often pluralistic (Udy 1970), and societies promulgate sharply inconsistent myths.As a result, organizationsin search of external support and stability incorporate all sorts of incompatible structural elements. Professions are incorporatedalthough they make overlapping jurisdictional claims. Programs are adopted which contend with each other for authority over a given domain. For instance, if one inquireswho decides what curricula will be taught in schools, any number of parties from the various governments down to individual teachers may say that they decide. In institutionalized organizations, then, concern with the efficiency of day-to-da y activities creates enormousuncertainties.Specificcontexts highlight the inadequacies of the prescriptionsof generalizedmyths, and inconsistent structural elements conflict over jurisdictional rights. Thus the organization must struggle to link the requirementsof ceremonialelements to technical activities and to link inconsistent ceremonialelements to each other. Resolving Inconsistencies There are four partial solutions to these inconsistencies. First, an organization can resist ceremonial requirements. But an organization that neglects ceremonialrequirementsand portrays itself as efficient may be unsuccessful in documenting its efficiency.Also, rejecting ceremonial requirements neglects an important source of resourcesand stability. Second, an organization can maintain rigid conformity to institutionalized prescriptions by cutting off external relations. Although such isolation upholds ceremonial requirements, internal participants and external constituents may soon become disill usioned with their inability to manage boundary-spanning exchanges. Institutionalized organizationsmust not only conform to myths but must also maintain the appearancethat the myths actually work. Third, an organization can cynically acknowledgethat its structure is inconsistent with work requirements.But this strategy denies the validity of institutionalized myths and sabotages the legitimacy of the organization. Fourth, an organization can promise reform. People may picture the present as unworkablebut the future as filled with promisingreformsof both structure and activity. But by defining the organization'svalid structure as lying in the future, this strategy makes the organization'scurrent structure illegitimate. Instead of relying on a partial solution, however, an organization can resolve conflicts between ceremonial rules and efficiency by employing two interrelated devices: decoupling and the logic of confidence.Decoupling. -Ideally, organizations built around efficiency at tempt to 356 Formal Structure as Myth and Ceremony maintain close alignments between structures and activities. Conformity is enforced through inspection, output quality is continually monitored, the efficiencyof various units is evaluated, and the various goals are unified and coordinated. But a policy of close alignment in institutionalized organizations merely makes public a record of inefficiency and inconsistency. Institutionalized organizations protect their formal structures from evaluation on the basis of technical performance:inspection, valuation, and control of activities are minimized, and coordination,interdependence,and mutual adjustments among structural units are handled informally. Proposition 4. Because attempts to control and coordinate activities in institutionalizedorganizationslead to conflictsand loss of legitimacy,elements of structureare decoupledrom activitiesandfrom each other. f Some well-known properties of organizations illustrate the decoupling process : Activities are performed beyond the purview of managers. In particular, organizations actively encourageprofessionalism,and activities are delegated to professionals.Goals are made ambiguous or vacuous, and categorical ends are substituted for technical ends. Hospitals treat, not cure, patients. Schools produce students, not learning. In fact, data on technical performance are eliminated or renderedinvisible. Hospitals try to ignore information on cure rates, public services avoid data about effectiveness, and schools deemphasize measures of achievement. Integration is avoided, program implementation is neglected, and inspection and evaluation are ceremonialized. Human relations are made very important.The organization cannot formally coordinate activities because its formal rules, if applied, would generate inconsistencies. Therefore individuals are left to work out technical interdependencies informally. The ability to coordinate things in violation of the rules-that is, to get along with other people-is highly valued. The advantages of decoupling are clear. The assumption that formal structures are really working is buffered from the inconsistencies and anomalies involved in technical activities.Also, because integration is avoided disputes and conflicts are minimized, and an organization can mobilize support from a broader range of external constituents. Thus, decoupling enables organizations to maintain standardized, legitimating, formal structures while their activities vary in response to practical considerations. The organizationsin an industry tend to be similar in formal structure-reflecting their common institutional origins-but may show much diversity in actual practice. The logic of confidence nd goodfaith. -Despite the lack of coordination a nd control, decoupledorganizationsare not anarchies. Day-to-day activities proceed in an orderly fashion. What legitimates institutionalized organizations, enabling them to appear useful in spite of the lac k of technical valida357 American Journal of Sociology tion, is the confidenceand good faith of their internal participants and their external constituents. Considerations of face characterize ceremonial management (Goffman 1967). Confidence in structural elements is maintained through three practices-avoidance, discretion, and overlooking (Goffman 1967, pp. 1218).Avoidance and discretion are encouraged by decoupling autonomous subunits; overlooking anomalies is also quite common. Both internal participants and external constituents cooperate in these practices. Assuring that individual participants maintain face sustains confidencein the organization, and ultimately reinforcesconfidencein the myths that rationalizethe organization'sexistence. Delegation, professionalization,goal ambiguity, the elimination of output data, and maintenance of face are all mechanismsfor absorbinguncertainty while preserving the formal structure of the organization (March and Simon 1958).They contribute to a general aura of confidence within and outside the organization. Although the literature on informal organization often treats these practices as mechanisms for the achievement of deviant and subgroup purposes (Downs 1967), such treatment ignores a critical feature of organization life: effectively absorbing uncertainty and maintaining confidencerequirespeople to assume that everyone is acting in good faith. The assumption that things are as they seem, that employees and managers are performing their roles properly, allows an organization to perform its daily routines with a decoupled structure.Decoupling and maintenanceof face, in other words, are mechanismsthat maintain the assumptionthat people are acting in good faith. Professionalization is not merely a way of avoiding inspection-it binds both supervisors and subordinates to act in good faith. So in a smaller way does strategic leniency (Blau 1956). And so do the public displays of moraleand satisfaction which are characte ristic of many organizations. Organizations employ a host of mechanisms to dramatize the ritual commitments which their participants make to basic structural elements.These mechanisms are especially common in organizations which strongly reflect their institutionalized environments. 5 Proposition . The morean organization'sstructureis derivedrom instituf tionalizedmyths,themoreit maintains elaborate isplays of confidence, atisfacs d tion, and goodfaith, internallyand externally. The commitments built up by displays of morale and satisfaction are not simply vacuous affirmations of institutionalized myths. Participants not only commit themselves to supporting an organization'sceremonial facade but also commit themselves to making things work out backstage.The committed participants engage in informal coordination that, although often formally inappropriate, keeps technical activities running smoothly I and avoids public embarrassments. n this sense the confidenceand good faith 358 For mal Structure as Myth and Ceremony generated by ceremonial action is in no way fraudulent. It may even be the most reasonableway to get participants to make their best efforts in situations that are made problematic by institutionalized myths that are at odds with immediate technical demands.Ceremonial inspection and evaluation. -All organizations,even those maintaining high levels of confidence and good faith, are in environments that have institutionalized the rationalizedrituals of inspection and evaluation. And inspection and evaluation can uncover events and deviations that undermine legitimacy. So institutionalized organizations minimize and ceremonializeinspection and evaluation. In institutionalized organizations, in fact, evaluation accompanies and produces illegitimacy.The interest in evaluation research by the American federal government, for instance, is partly intended to undercut the state, local, and private authorities which have managed social services in the United States. The federal authorities, of course, have usually not evaluated those programswhich are completely under federal jurisdiction; they have only evaluated those over which federal controls are incomplete. Similarly, state governments have often insisted on evaluating the special fundings they create in welfare and education but ordinarily do not evaluate the programswhich they fund in a routine way.Evaluation and inspection are public assertions of societal control which violate the assumption that everyone is acting with competence and in good faith. Violating this assumption lowers morale and confidence. Thus, evaluation and inspection undermine the ceremonial aspects of organizations. 6 Proposition . Institutionalizedorganizationsseek to minimize inspection and evaluationby bothinternalmanagersand externalconstituents. Decoupling and the avoidance of inspection and evaluation are not merely devices used by the organization.External constituents, too, avoid inspecting and con trolling institutionalized organizations (Meyer and Rowan 1975). Accreditingagencies, boards of trustees, government agencies, and individuals accept ceremoniallyat face value the credentials,ambiguous goals, and categorical evaluations that are characteristic of ceremonial organizations. In elaborate institutional environments these external constituents are themselves likely to be corporately organized agents of society.Maintaining categorical relationships with their organizational subunits is more stable and more certain than is relying on inspection and control. Figure 3 summarizesthe main argumentsof this section of our discussion. SUMMARY AND RESEARCH IMPLICATIONS Organizational structures are created and made more elaborate with the rise of institutionalized myths, and, in highly institutionalized contexts, 359 American Journal of Sociology of structural The decoupling and from each other subunits from activity Isomor phism with an elaborated institutional environment â€⠀œ Rituals of ood faith The avoidance and effective FIG. 3. -The confidence and of inspection evaluation effects of institutional isomorphism on organizations organizationalaction must support these myths. But an organization must also attend to practical activity. The two requirementsare at odds. A stable solution is to maintain the organizationin a loosely coupled state. No position is taken here on the overall social effectiveness of isomorphic and loosely coupled organizations. To some extent such structures buffer activity from efficiency criteria and produce ineffectiveness.On the other hand, by bindingparticipants to act in good faith, and to adhere to the larger rationalities of the wider structure, they may maximize long-run effectiveness. It should not be assumed that the creation of microscopicrationalities in the daily activity of workers effects social ends more efficiently than commitment to larger institutional claims and purposes. Research Implications The argumentpr esented here generates several major theses that have clear researchimplications. 1. Environmentsand environmentaldomainswhich have institutionalized a greater number of rational myths generate more formal organization.This thesis leads to the research hypothesis that formal organizations rise and become more complex as a result of the rise of the elaborated state and other institutions for collective action. This hypothesis should hold true even when economic and technical development are held constant. Studies could trace the diffusion to formal organizations of specific institutions: professions, clearly labeled programs, and the like. For instance, the effects of the rise of theories and professions of personnel selection on the creation of personnel departments in organizations could be studied.Other studies could follow the diffusion of sales departments or researchand development departments. Organizationsshould be found to adapt to such environmental changes, even if no evid ence of their effectiveness exists. Experimentally, one could study the impact on the decisions of organizational managers, in planning or altering organizationalstructures, of hypothetical variations in environmentalinstitutionalization. Do managersplan differentlyif they are informedabout the existence of establishedoccupations or prog