Skinner’s Use of Metaphor in Explaining the Behaviorism...

Skinner’s Use of Metaphor in Explaining the Behaviorism of Walden Two B. F. Skinner revolutionized the field of psychology through his numerous writings on behaviorism. However, he began his collegiate life as an English major, and his education in literary techniques and devices clearly shows through in the manipulation of metaphor in his famous novel Walden Two. Although Skinner rarely diverges from the incessant description of behavioral engineering through his mouthpiece in the novel, Frazier, he occasionally digresses from the theory and application of scientific experimentation to the literary elements that are essential to any novel. One of these elements, the metaphor of the sheep that appears at the beginning and†¦show more content†¦The novel, an exposition of behaviorist thought, is almost a Socratic dialogue with Frazier acting as the famed questioning philosopher and Castle as the ignorant pupil, through which the superiority of behavioral engineering is eventually proven. Although Castle leaves disenchanted with w hat he considers a fascist ideology, Burris eventually succumbs to the appeal of Walden Two and participates in Frazier’s experiment of humanity. Although these crucial ideas might overshadow the literary merits of Walden Two, Skinner the English major understood the importance of every minor detail and digression from the main narrative. The sheep, which serve no purpose to the plot of the story, illustrate Skinner’s behaviorist ideas through metaphor. The sheep benefit the community in a superficial sense by acting as a more efficient lawnmower, requiring only the work of moving a portable fence. Although once electrocuted, the fence is now just string, and the only other restraint is a sheepdog, the Bishop, which guards the sheep watchfully. This idea works on a deeper level to help Skinner relate his scientific ideas to literary ones. As Frazier expounds upon the

The Crucible And The Scarlet Letter - 2065 Words

Most people agree that Nathaniel Hawthorne changed his last name from â€Å"Hathorne† to â€Å"Hawthorne†. This is one of the many signs that suggest that Hawthorne was ashamed of his Puritan past and tried to do anything to remove that â€Å"black mark† on his past. Furthermore, it can be seen through the themes and symbols in his play that Arthur Miller was no fan of Puritanism as well. Both Miller and Hawthorne take negative stances against Puritanism. This can be seen in their works The Crucible and The Scarlet Letter. The Scarlet Letter deals with the Puritan intolerance of those who committed a sin. In Hester Prynne’s situation, her adultery with Reverend Dimmesdale seemed to have sparked a particular hatred for her within her community. The Crucible deals with the Puritan fight against witchcraft. Many people in the town are accused of being witches and are forced to confess in order to save their lives. The intolerance that the Puritans show to wit chcraft symbolize Miller’s complete dislike of Puritanism and their strictness. Both Miller and Hawthorne’s negative views on Puritanism are strongly seen in their respective works of literature. Also, both authors seem to think that the outsider is treated quite brutally. Miller’s take on the Puritan way of forgiveness of sins is somewhat painless compared to Hawthorne’s version of forgiveness. Hawthorne’s novel highlights hypocrisy and its detrimental impact. Miller similarly writes about hypocrisy and how it can destroy society as aShow MoreRelatedThe Crucible And The Scarlet Letter1130 Words   |  5 Pagespeople in society, there is a certain set of logical unspoken rules that are not written rules. The understanding and following of these rules will allow you to belong in most groups. Unspoken rules are what make a group who they are. The Crucible and The Scarlet Letter both have perfect examples for the relationship between unspoken rules a nd belonging. Also, these works take place in the 17th century around the same area. This creates almost the same setting for both stories where the unspoken rulesRead MoreThe Scarlet Letter And The Crucible1169 Words   |  5 Pagesof the different ideologies and beliefs of the time period. The Scarlet Letter and The Crucible both take place at a time in our nation’s history that is much studied for its significance. These were times when America was just beginning to become colonized. The Scarlet Letter and The Crucible teach the readers vital information about the time period in which these texts take place. To begin with, The Scarlet Letter and The Crucible relay vital information to the reader about how rule-breakers wereRead MoreThe Crucible And The Scarlet Letter1322 Words   |  6 PagesThe Crucible and The Scarlet Letter have several commodities in common. A basic summary of The Crucible is, it’s about a village, Salem, in the 1600’s, wherein witchery is loose and several conflicted souls must be captured, purified, confessed, or hung. The attempt to dispose of all witchcraft was tampered with by citizens of Salem being dishonest and deceitful. Lots of the deception stemmed from the jealousy, vengeance, and other personal vendettas. The Scarlet Letter summarized is that it is aboutRead MoreThe Scarlet Letter And The Crucible821 Words   |  4 Pagesis one that that is both emitted in the Scarlet Letter and The Crucible. Both literary works share similar ideas, but also have quite a few differences. Nathaniel Hawthorne, the writer, utilizes symbolism for the scarlet letter, to be a symbol of Hester’s shame. The embroidered â€Å"A† on Hester’s bosom symbolizes the sin of adultery which she had committed. Not only was the sign of embarrasment used but also the scaffold had great importance in the Scarlet Letter. The scaffold was used as place of humiliationRead MoreThe Crucible And The Scarlet Letter1337 Words   |  6 PagesThe Crucible and The Scarlet Letter are two literary works that helps to shape themes for generations of inquiry. The books emphasize the themes stated all throughout the deposition of the story. They were also books that spoke about a messages as the social issues were taking place during their time periods known as, ‘The Red Scare’ and ‘Puritan Takeover.’ The two books are especially interesting in the way they display these themes, while going about them differently. The Crucible focuses on theRead MoreThe Scarlet Letter And The Crucible1502 Words   |  7 PagesThe Scarl et Letter and The Crucible are two stories both set in the early days of the Massachusetts colony. Both of these stories have many similarities between them, including setting, situations, and conflict. The two stories were also very different. The effects of sin on the characters, how they deal with their sin, and the consequences of their actions are different in each story. The Crucible and The Scarlet Letter are different works and although they deal with similar conflicts the consequencesRead MoreComparing the Crucible and the Scarlet Letter1071 Words   |  5 Pagesbooks. Two selections that go into detail about some of the different aspects of the Puritan people are The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, and The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne. These two particular writers who wrote of Puritan times conveyed, in their text, the similarities of religion, punishment, and adultery in the Puritan community of 17th century. br brBriefly, The Crucible looks at some the actual his torical events of the Salem witch trials. It was witchcraft that the story was setRead MoreThe Scarlet Letter and the Crucible Comparison948 Words   |  4 PagesSkyler Vincent English 2333 Amanda Cuellar April 04, 2012 In The Crucible and The Scarlet Letter, they are both known to be a part of the Puritan religion. The puritans are known to be very strict. Often people are put to cruel punishments for mistakes or sins they had committed. The actions they take to â€Å"punish† a person are extreme. The Puritans act and seem so committed to their religion. The people seem â€Å"Holy† but you never really know what happens behind closed doors. The Puritan religionRead MoreScarlet Letter And The Crucible Comparison732 Words   |  3 PagesThe Comparison of The Scarlet Letter and The Crucible Both in the novel The Scarlet Letter, written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, and the play The Crucible, written by Arthur Miller, women play an important role in the story. Whether it’s for the good of the town or for the worse is the main difference in the stories. Both take a different view on women, and make them the main driving feature of the story, leading to be an interesting comparison when put side by side. In The Crucible, the women of the storyRead MoreThe Scarlet Letter vs. the Crucible Essay703 Words   |  3 PagesThe edgy tale of The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne is comparable in many ways to Arthur Miller’s haunting play The Crucible. Both are set in Puritan New England in the 17th century and revolve around the harsh law enforcement of the time. However, The Scarlet Letter tells the story of a woman as she deals with her heavy Puritan punishment, whereas The Crucible follows hysteria as it spreads throughout an entire town. Hester Prynne, the main character of The Scarlet Letter, was found guilty for

Organizational Leadership to Meet Emerging Challenges

Question: Describe about the strategic leadership, external factors and how they have changed leadership. Answer: Strategic Leadership The strategic leadership has been embraced currently by most of the leaders due to the changes in technological innovation, culturally diverse workplaces and globalization (Ireland Hitt, 2015). The previous leadership where the leaders used the power of their position to command the employees is passed in time. According to Goleman, Boyatzis, McKee (2002), the command, hierarchical and control structure that were embraced by the past leadership have become an outdated version of leadership. The strategic leadership is the modern form of leadership which is devoid of command and use of force or threat in order for the employees to follow. Hernez-Broome Hughes (2004) argues that the strategic leadership influences the employees to work towards the success of the company voluntarily. The leaders have an open forum where employees can be able to challenge a leader and hence the employees have a role to play in decision-making for the success of the company. Enterprise leadership has started to replace the traditional form of leadership. The traditional leaders were not enterprise leaders as they simply focused on their business unit, their teams, and their individual objectives. reland Hitt (2015) assert that the modern leadership does not only focus on enterprise outcomes by leading the teams to reach their goals but also a great network leadership to improve organization outcomes by collaborating with other leaders. The changing work environment has inspired the leaders to abandon the traditional leadership and adopt the modern leadership (Goleman, Boyatzis, McKee, 2002). The new work environment that is less predictable and unfamiliar with increasingly complex responsibilities and portfolios has been the main drive for adopting modern leadership as traditional leadership is not sufficient. External Factors and How They Have Changed Leadership Technology and Leadership The technology has been changing over the years that have made the enterprise leaders change their leadership styles (Owen Demb, 2004). The technological innovations have enabled the leaders to create participatory organizations. The role of the chief Executive officers have now changed and has focused more on technology to a point of undertaking the role of chief information officer due to technology changes. According to Owen Demb (2004), the enterprise leaders have changed the leadership styles to accommodate more chief information officers within the organization in order to deal with the changing technology. The new leadership style does not use commanding power over the chief information officer on what they should do but influences them to work toward the achievement of the goal and vision of the organization. The internet has influenced the leaders to become collaborative leaders (Owen Demb, 2004). The social media have become the source of collaborative inspiration for the leaders. The social media equalizes individuals and eliminate the traditional social hierarchies, therefore, promote collaboration and sharing of the information. The leaders can be able to connect with the workers and co-workers allowing communication, partnership, and teamwork between the leaders and the employees. The social media and the internet have enabled the stakeholders and consumers to have power over the leadership that enterprise leaders can use while managing their organization. The stakeholders and the consumers can use the social media to either build the name of the company or create a bad reputation and therefore the leaders of the company have changed their leadership style to suit the technological advancement. According to Owen Demb (2004), the leaders have allowed online training of the employee s, and use of both the emails and web meeting as a means of communication in order to accommodate the advancing technology. Political Environment The political environment can change due to changes in policies enacted by the legislative arm of the government. The political environment affects the business when the policies made by the government affect economic environment, influence cultural and social environment and also influence the adoption of new technology (Feng, 2001). The enterprise leaders change their leadership roles in order to abide by the regulations and laws required by the government. High taxation may discourage certain business which will help the leaders to decide on which type of business to invest on (Feng, 2001). The enterprise leader may authorize the closing of the business and hesitate in making investment decisions due to political instability. The affordable care act or the Obamacare was a health care law that aimed to increase the number of Americans with health insurance (Buchmueller, Carey, Levy, 2013). The law required that the American get health insurance or otherwise pay a penalty annually. The health insurance company are expected by the law to cover all people regardless of their pre-existing condition. The affordable care act has changed the leadership by of the enterprise leaders. According to Buchmueller, Carey, Levy (2013), the enterprise leaders have removed the health care benefits for the workers working below 30hours per week and they have reduced the hours for part-time workers to go below 30hours per week. The Affordable care acts require the employers to provide compulsory health insurance coverage to the employees working more than 30hours per week. The enterprise leaders have also reduced the benefits that the employees were acquiring before the law was passed as the provision of medical cover to th e employees have become costly (Buchmueller, Carey Levy, 2013). The hiring processes have also changed and the leaders are now hiring part-time employees in order to prevent the health insurance cover for the employees. Economic Condition The economic condition also has influenced the way the enterprise leaders exercise their leadership. According to Dooley, Mohan Gopalakrishnan (2010), the economic factors that affect the business includes inflation, interest rates, consumer confidence and employment. The confidence levels of the consumers determine how they purchase the products. The consumers with high confidence level purchase the products more than those with low confidence levels. The period of economic boom is characterized result to the leaders recruiting more employees and hence creation of more jobs while the period of economic stagnation the leaders do not recruit more employees in order to reduce the cost of operation (Dooley, Mohan Gopalakrishnan, 2010). According to Dooley, Mohan Gopalakrishnan (2010) inflation affects the business as high inflation rate increases business expenses like cost of inputs, utilities, and rent. Inflation and high-interest rates from lenders result to change in leadership r oles leading to layoff and reduced benefits for the employees in order to reduce the cost of running the organization (Dooley, Mohan Gopalakrishnan, 2010). The Great Recession was a period where many leaders of various organizations changed their management approach for their employees in order to cut off the workforce cost (Boeri Bruecker 2011). The leaders changed their leadership role in their organization in order to sustain returns for their shareholders and boost profitability. Furloughs and layoffs were the new methods that were used during the Great Recession to workforce cost (Boeri Bruecker 2011). The other way the leaders changed their leadership is by cutting financial expenses and cost of production by limiting employees recognition and rewards, freezing wages increases and hiring and reducing material cost. Societal and Demographic Changes The population has been growing than ever before since the 20 century. The rising in the population of older people has resulted in demographic changes . The demographic changes have significantly impacted on the work of leaders in most of the organizations. According to Schalock Verdugo (2012), the aging of the population, especially in America, have resulted in enterprise leaders to develop the products that suit the order people especially the leisure activities, health care and financial services. The high proportion of the elderly people has also made the leaders shift most of the employees to part time jobs to suit their lifestyles expectation (Schalock Verdugo, 2012). The increase in a new generation of consumers has made the leaders change their leadership roles so that the business focuses on digital technology. Leadership has also changed due to forces of pressure from the unions and government to emphasize that the women and minorities should take leadership (Oakley, 2000). The modern leadership is now involving women and the minority group in leadership unlike the tradition form of leadership. According to Oakley (2000), stereotype threat has been the main issue that has been affecting the minorities and women leadership. The stereotype reminders make the woman and the vulnerable undermining themselves and they may opt out of leadership as a result of negative experience and performances. Oakley (2000) argues that the gender roles that women undertake in the society have been the main hindrance of leadership. Ecological Conditions The ecological environment is both the living and nonliving things that are within where the people live. The ecological environment of the business will, therefore, include the living things and nonliving things that surround the business location. According to Hopkins, (2012), a company has an obligation to take care of both nonliving and living environment. The corporate social responsibility is the new policy that the organizations take in order to take care of the people surrounding the company and the environment. The enterprise leaders have now been using the corporate social responsibility as an opportunity for strengthening their business (Hopkins, 2012). According to Hopkins (2012), the reputation of the business, customer enticement, and attraction of investors are the main positive changes that an organization acquires in engaging in corporate social responsibility. However, the leader faces challenges while engaging in corporate social responsibility. The leaders face ch allenges in convincing the shareholders to allocate resources for supporting corporate social responsibility as they dont see a direct gain. The company that is dedicated to so many social responsibilities will result in poor terms of pay for the workers in order to support the social responsibilities (Hopkins, 2012). The organizations have to make the annual report on the corporate social responsibility and present it in social media in order to alert the public on their social responsibilities. References Boeri, T., Bruecker, H. (2011). Short-time work benefits revisited: some lessons from the Great Recession.Economic Policy,26(68), 697-765. Buchmueller, T., Carey, C., Levy, H. G. (2013). Will employers drop health insurance coverage because of the Affordable Care Act?.Health Affairs,32(9), 1522-1530. Dooley, K. J., Yan, T., Mohan, S., Gopalakrishnan, M. (2010). Inventory management and the bullwhip effect during the 20072009 recession: evidence from the manufacturing sector.Journal of supply chain management,46(1), 12-18. Feng, Y. (2001). Political freedom, political instability, and policy uncertainty: A study of political institutions and private investment in developing countries.International Studies Quarterly,45(2), 271-294. Goleman, D., Boyatzis, R. E., McKee, A. (2002).The new leaders: Transforming the art of leadership into the science of results(p. 14). London: Little, Brown. Hernez-Broome, G., Hughes, R. L. (2004). Leadership development: Past, present, and future.People and Strategy,27(1), 24. Hopkins, M. (2012).Corporate social responsibility and international development: is business the solution?. Ireland, R. D., Hitt, M. A. (2015). Achieving and maintaining strategic competitiveness in the 21st century: The role of strategic leadership.The Academy of Management Executive,13(1), 43-57. Oakley, J. G. (2000). Gender-based barriers to senior management positions: Understanding the scarcity of female CEOs.Journal of business ethics,27(4), 321-334. Owen, P. S., Demb, A. (2004). Change dynamics and leadership in technology implementation.The Journal of Higher Education,75(6), 636-666. Schalock, R. L., Verdugo, M. A. (2012).A Leadership Guide for Today's Disabilities Organizations: Overcoming Challenges and Making Change Happen. Brookes Publishing Company. PO Box 10624, Baltimore, MD 21285.