Core Ethical Values of Military Essay Example for Free

Core Ethical Values of Military Essay The paper examines some core ethical values that are followed in the military organization. These include: 1. Honesty: this means that the military men should be truthful and avoid lying as it affects their image in the society. However any lies for selfless reason is resented in the service. 2. Straightforwardness: military officers should be frank and confident as this leads to clarity and thus no confusion arises. 3. Candid: military ethics requires the military personnel to be candid and thus provide the information without being requested. If military personnel withheld certain information and stay quiet then this is regarded as dishonesty. 4. Loyalty: loyalty refers to faithfulness and devotion. Military soldiers are expected to be loyal with their profession, their country and their seniors. Loyalty doesn’t mean that they blindly obey what they are told to but it is a balance between different interests and principles and thus creating a harmony together. 5. Fairness: military personnel are expected to be fair and open and should not be biased. They should treat everyone equally and their decisions should not be arbitrary. 6. Respect: military personnel have to deal with diverse people in the society therefore they are required to treat people with respect and dignity 7. Promise Keeping: keeping promises enhance trust and cooperation therefore soldiers should commit what they can deliver so that there is no loss of commitment from their end. 8. Caring: This code requires the military men to be kind and compassionate with those whom they serve and also with the workforce. 9. Accountability: military personal should take the responsibility of their decisions and they should know that they are accountable for all the duty that they perform. Distinctive Culture of Military: The military culture is very much different from that of civilian culture. Their traditions, dresses and rituals are distinguished to a greater extent from that of civilians. Their physical and social space is separated as they are usually located in isolation. Cadets receive their training in different schools where they get their education in a unique way. Military organizations require a lot from their workers as the workers have difficult and long working hours and even their leaves are subject to cancellation Vision of Military Organization: The vision of military is to form a force that will continue to give more strategic flexibility and will strive to become strategically dominant to fully support all operations. The objective is to form a force which has war fighting capabilities and is more responsive, lethal and versatile (Evany, 2002). Training in Military Organization: The training and education in military organization is controlled by the organization itself in a very specialized manner. Specialized trainings are provided to the cadets. Military itself determines the education format for the cadets. All the contents and methodology are planned by the military. There are colleges that have been set up to train the junior officers and develop them to become future senior officers. These training programs give the juniors knowledge and skills and also a sense of responsibility towards their duties and their country. Military culture and values are provided to them from the very beginning of their training program. Military ethics are also taught to them by specialized instructors. They are taught that military is not a job but it is a way of life and they are expected to love their life in adherence with the standard code of conduct as they act as a symbol for the other civilians of the society (Robbert, 2010). Personal Values as a Manager To have a clear set of personal values is important as it helps in building up trust that facilitates leadership. Leaders that have a clear set of values are more successful as their followers would follow them blindly once they are able to understand their values. Therefore it is important that one should take time to list what is most important for them in life. Once they have listed their values, it is time for them to act upon it. My personal values that would guide me as a future manager includes: a. Trustworthiness: honesty and integrity are the most important elements for trustworthiness. If a manger is honest and loyal then the subordinates would folle the manager blindly as they know they are in the safe hands. b. Respect: as a manager it is important that all the subordinates are treated with dignity and respect. Acceptance and tolerance are the most important elements that would enable managers to respect their subordinates. c. Responsibility: as a manager it is important to realize that they are accountable for they do therefore their responsibilities and duties should be met properly as they set an example for others to follow. d. Caring: it is important that managers are caring and compassionate with their subordinates as such relations increases productivity and creates an environment that is friendly and peaceful. e. Justice and fairness: a manager should take the responsibility of all his decisions and should be biased. Justice and fairness affects the credibility of the manager therefore he should treat everyone equally. Personal Code of Ethics to Guide a Manager My personal code of ethics that would guide me a future manager includes: a. Conflict of interests. A conflict of interest arises when the private interest of a person interferes the interest of their organization. These conflicts also come when one misuses his position in the organization to favor his friends or families. I believe a manager should avoid such conflicts that stop him to work effectively for the organization. b. Corporate Opportunities: Managers should not use the opportunities that they get from the corporate properties or position without the consent of the Directors. If they do this then it is regarded as a cheating. c. Fair dealing: Managers should deal with everyone honestly and ethically. Secret information and confidential matters should be taken care of and should not take unfair advantage of people or information. Changes required in the military organization: Changes are required in every organization from time to time so that the organization can cope up with the environmental changes. Bringing about change in an organization is a great challenge for leaders as it requires effective leadership and management skills to implement change. It seems that bringing a change in military organization is quite easy because of the commanding nature of the seniors. But this is not true because even in military organization if the change is not implemented effectively, it will reduce the productivity of the soldiers. Military leaders should understand that even if they bring the change on the bases of their authority, still they need to asses the change through follow up assessments so that they know if the change is successfully implemented. The changes that I believe should be taking place in the military organization include the following: The military leaders should understand that in today’s time there is an utmost need that their management styles should change. In older time infarct even nowadays the management style in military organization is such that authority of command lies only with the seniors and they very harshly communicate those command. Such attitudes of the seniors would not be successful in today’s world. A change is required in this area so as to create an environment that increases the morale of the soldiers and helps in making them more productive and dedicated towards their duties. It is really important that leaders of the military organization are such who understands the mission of the organization and their roles completely. These leaders should not only try to achieve these missions but also take care of the welfare of the members of the organization. Usually what is seen in these organization is that leaders are so much focuses on achieving their missions that they often neglect the welfare of the members which should not happen especially in military organization because military is not just a job but it is a selfless services therefore motivation of the members is of utmost importance (Kelly, 2008). Conclusion Military leaders need complete training about the organization and also the members should understand the change management that is an important requirement for the organization. Code of conduct and ethical principles of the military organization should be communicated properly to the soldiers and such an environment should be created where these principles are followed without being imposed on the military men. Roles and responsibilities of individuals should be clearly stated so that the duties are carried out in the most appropriate manner (Kelly, 2008). Reference Evany,R. 2002, How Army Run Retrieved on 2010, July 18 from http://www. carlisle. army. mil/usawc/dclm/army. pdf Kelly, 2008, Resistance to Organizational Cultural Change in the Military– A JFO Case Study. Retrieved on 2010, July 18 from http://www. dtic. mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc? Location=U2doc=GetTRDoc. pdfAD=ADA479711 Portman, What is ethics? , Retrieved on 2010, July 18 from http://sun. menloschool. org/~sportman/ethics/definition. html Robbert,S. Military Ethics. Retrieved on 2010, July 18 from http://www. articlesnatch. com/Article/Military-Ethics/999532

Beowulf :: Epic of Beowulf Essay

Beowulf The poem Beowulf, translated by Seamus Heaney, is largely based around the monstrousness of Grendel and his mother. It was a difficult task for Heaney to translate the poem into Modern English while maintaining the beauty of the language and capturing the horror of the monsters. He utilises devices such as structure, literary devices and characterisation to emphasise the fear apparent in the text. Though Heaney’s writing is effective, it is impossible to use the incidents in the poem that relate to events which took place centuries ago to instil fear into the story. Though many of the issues in Beowulf are no longer relevant, Heaney is still able to capture the monstrousness of Grendel and his mother. The poem Beowulf was composed some time around the mid Seventh Century in Anglo-Saxon English. It is over three thousand lines long and stands as one of the foundation works of poetry in English. It is an imaginative work where the structuring is as important as the language. Seamus Heaney’s translation of Beowulf was labour intensive, slow work. He tried to pick a way through the syntax, get the run of the meaning establishes and then hope that the lines could be turned into metrical shape and raised to the power of verse. Seamus Heaney began his translation of Beowulf in the mid 1980s and it took him until 1999 to finish capturing the beauty of the poem in Modern English. The structure of Beowulf is first involved in capturing the monstrousness of Grendel by stating his ancestry and background: â€Å"Grendel was the name of this grim demon haunting the marches, marauding round the heath and the desolate fens; he had dwelt for a time in misery among the banished monsters, Cain’s clan, whom the creator had outlawed and condemned as outcasts.† (Lines 102-107) After Grendel’s first attack the poet allows a large amount of time to pass to give the reader a sense of despair and to emphasise the impact that Grendel had on Hrothgar’s people: â€Å"For twelve winters, seasons of woe, the lord of the shieldings suffered under his load of sorrow; and so, before long, the news was known over the whole world.† (Lines 147- 150) The poet builds up the monstrousness of Grendel’s attacks by recounting them so that the reader absorbs the force of the battle. He also repeats the pattern of Beowulf’s victory ie.

How do the poems reflect the experiences of going to War and at War? Essay

The experiences of World War One are reflected in a variety of different ways. Poems are a very good source of seeing how the different attitudes from the War, are expressed. In this essay I will analyse the mood and tone, mood, language and attitudes of the writers in â€Å"Dead Man’s Dump† and â€Å"Exposure†. The mood and tone in Dead Man’s Dump (DMD) is defined from the very first stanza. It is very descriptive and describes the actual movement of the horses that pull the gun carriages over a ruined and battle wounded road (â€Å"Plunging limbers over the shattered track†). This creates a very negative image in the readers mind and sets an attitude against the War. There is also a very strong, prominent religious tone in the poem which is also seen in the first stanza when the barbed wire is described as â€Å"Crowns of thorns† which links towards the death of Christ. This could imply that the soldiers, like Christ, are sacrificing their lives for God and their people. This could be seen as a Pro-War meaning. On the other hand it could mean that the Soldiers are also doomed to die like Christ was doomed to be crucified. The Language used in DMD is very archaic, such as â€Å"Man Born of Man, and born of woman†, which reflects more of the religious undertone in the whole of the poem and expresses that since the age of Christ, people have died for Christ and Kingdom. Moreover the language is very emotive and strong, like in stanza three â€Å"Now she has them at last†, where Earth is personified and is repossessing the men after she had made them, watched them live and now is waiting for the soldiers to die and return to her soil and be part of the earth again. The attitude of the writer, Isaac Rosenberg, is shown throughout the poem but is most prominent in the last stanza when he is describing one soldier dying. â€Å"So we crashed round the bend, / We heard his weak scream, / We heard his very last sound, / And our wheels grazed his dead face.† This is a very personal ending as Rosenberg uses collective viewpoint and therefore includes himself into the poem, and it shows it from his personal experience. The last four lines of this poem seem very sudden and it seems as if it is happening in the present with the reader. The impact of the experience of seeing the newly dead body not only affects the reader but also must have affected the writer, which he shows us through his writing. Exposure has lots of different meanings. Even though it is only one word it makes us wonder what he meant, who is exposed and to what? It could be the men are exposed to the elements, which could be what the whole poem is about. It could be the men being exposed to death, so, like a flower, in winter which slowly freezes, until, eventually it shrivels up and dies, or it could be the men being exposed to the enemy but which is very unlikely as the enemy is not directly mentioned in the poem at all. In Exposure the mood is dreary and cold and sad. Words that prove this are â€Å"Knive†, â€Å"Mad† and Shaking Grasp†. It shows that this poem was an anti war poem as it is graphic and truthful. Owen probably wanted to shock people because the description is very vivid. Also a lot about the elements is mentioned which shows that the real enemy was not the Germans (who are not mentioned at all in the poem) but the wind, snow, rain and hail, which could also be why he used this as one of his main themes. Also Misery was a theme which he showed by using â€Å"Wearied† and â€Å"Nervous† which shows just how scared these men in the trenches were of everything. Exposure does not really have a rhythm because it is very messy and the dactylic diameter is very weak. I think it is to show the confusion and tiredness on the soldiers in the trenches, but it could also represent their slurred speech and their sluggish thoughts. It could also represent the mess and destruction, so we can picture it clearly. A very long layout of the stanzas is used in Exposure. The sentences are long and slow, which starts to bear down on the reader – to create a sense of empathy with the soldiers’ situation. Each stanza is cut short through the use of caesuras, which makes you more aware of the poem, sharply drawing your focus; Owen could be trying to represent how the soldiers jolt in and out of consciousness when they are on guard or waiting to fight and how they then are alerted by something like a flurry of bullets. It is very vivid and unpleasant, which Owen does purposely to mimic the soldiers’ experience. The ellipsis help to show this too, â€Å"the poignant misery of dawn begins to grow†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Exposure demands a less deep understanding of it because the meaning is less hidden. The misery is very direct and powerful. This shows that Owen wanted the reader to empathise with the soldiers. An example of this is shown in stanza two: Like twitching agonies of men among its brambles It is a use of imagery and personification. It also links the barbed wire to nature, which is used a lot in the poem to show the harshness and merciless wrath of it. It could also be from a religious point of view, as it could mean that god is shunning them for causing a war on earth. This could lead to the meaning that the men were on the verge of gaining or losing faith in god and that they are questioning his existence. Collective pronouns like â€Å"we† and â€Å"our† are used to show that the men are united and stand together against the enemy. But it could also mean that they are one writhing mass of pained soldiers that have changed so much that they are unidentifiable, that they have forgotten names and just use collective pronouns. Exposure is altogether a very serious and deep poem, as it encourages you to think about it a lot during the process of reading it. The reader empathises during it and also at the end gets to feel a fraction of what the soldiers did in the trenches, so they are left with a sense of misery and distraught. It helps to learn about the soldiers by reading this, as it is very vivid and uses imagery and personification. Both â€Å"Dead Man’s Dump† and â€Å"Exposure† reflect very negative aspects of the war, but from very different perspectives. Whereas â€Å"exposure concentrates on nature as an enemy, â€Å"DMD† concentrates on Death and Loss and is very personal, and they both help us to view the war in different more realistic ways.

Definition and Examples of Pedagogical Grammar

Pedagogical grammar is  grammatical analysis and instruction designed for second-language students. Also called ped grammar or teaching grammar. In An Introduction to Applied Linguistics  (2007),  Alan Davies observes that a pedagogical grammar may be based on the following: a grammatical analysis and description of the language;a particular grammatical theory; andthe study of the grammatical problems of learners or on a combination of approaches. See the observations below. Also see: English as a Second LanguageApplied LinguisticsEnglish as a Second LanguageLanguage StandardizationMake-Believe Grammar, by Gertrude BuckTen Types of Grammar Observations Just as a pedagogical grammar can be regarded as a description of the grammar of a language made for teaching and learning purposes, to aid in the teaching and learning of that language, so pedagogical phonetics and phonology can be regarded as a description of the sound system and pronunciation of a language for the purpose of allowing teachers to teach it more effectively and learners to learn it more effectively. The point about pedagogical grammars is that they are not the same as linguistic grammars because they have different functions and uses.(David Taylor, What Do EFL Teachers Need to Know About Pronunciation? in Studies in General and English Phonetics, edited by Joseph Desmond OConnor and Jack Windsor Lewis, Routledge, 1995)Drawing on work in several fields such as linguistics, psychology and second language acquisition theory, pedagogical grammar is of a hybrid nature, which usually denotes grammatical analysis and instruction designed for the needs of second language stu dents. In its expanded view, it involves decision-making processes on behalf of the teacher which requires careful and time-consuming interdisciplinary work. This process is influenced by the teachers’ cognition, beliefs, assumptions, and attitudes about the teaching of grammar.(Nagynà © Foki Là ­via, From Theoretical to Pedagogical Grammar: Reinterpreting the Role of Grammar in English Language Teaching, dissertation, University of Pannonia, 2006)