High and Popular Islam Essay -- Islam History Religion

History of the Middle East and North Africa 600-1258 Unlike India that has a clearly defined caste system to divide classes, other nations have classes that are implied by economic and social differences. The Middle East after the rise of Islam had an implied class system as well, referred to as High Islam and Popular or Low Islam. There is no actual High and Popular Islam that people are officially divided into, but is perceived through historical analysis. They are concepts derived from historical findings that provide a way to compare and contrast the people, religion, and government of Islam. (Frierson) Hopefully this essay will shed some light on these concepts. â€Å"Allah is the Protector of those who have faith: from the depths of darkness He will lead them forth into light.† (Cow 2:257) Jesus Christ would never have expected animated DVD’s, Santa upstaging neither his ‘birthday’, nor the endless sects of Christians all claiming to truly understand his message and scripture. (Unless of course one is Christian and believes he is god and therefore knows all) Whether Muhammad foresaw the possibility of the Muslim community headed for similar disregard of the sacred is debatable. However, the fact that the sin of idolatry was so feared by Muslims has proven substantial power to suppress the same abandonment of the sacred that Christianity has modernized to. Despite the lack of Muhammad dolls and Allah t-shirts, the religion of Islam evolved into a government, empire, and ultimately a vague ideal of holiness interpreted thousands of ways. Having a faceless, mysterious deity not only prevented commercialism of a religion, but served to allow any culture to adopt their unique vision of God. When Muhammad first formed the small... ... English translation of The Koran. London: Penguin Classics, 2006. Specific Sura The Cow (Referred to as Cow) Frierson, Elizabeth. In-class lectures, PowerPoint’s, and Portfolio Guidelines University of Cincinnati Course Number 15-HIST-170-001, 20 September- October 2010. (Referred to as Frierson) Haug, Dr. In-class lectures and PowerPoint’s, University of Cincinnati Course Number 15-HIST-170-001, 20 September- October 2010. (Referred to as Haug) Lewis, Bernard. Islam: from the Prophet Muhammad to the Capture of Constantinople, Volume 1. Oxford University Press, 1987. (Referred to as Lewis 1) Lewis, Bernard. Islam: from the Prophet Muhammad to the Capture of Constantinople, Volume 2. Oxford University Press, 1987. (Referred to as Lewis 2) Ochsenwald, William and Sidney Fisher. The Middle East: A History. McGraw-Hill, 2004. (Referred to as F&O)

Nucor Corporation Essay

Nucor Corporation is characterized by its owner? operators who take pride in their work and teams and as a result have created great profitability for a traditional steelmaker. Nucor is known for many things including its pay practices that base earnings on performance as well as the value and trust the corporation places in its employees. At Nucor employees are rewarded based on their effort, treated with great respect and empowered to make decisions based on their expertise and knowledge. Nucor is a unique organization among its rust? belt counterparts. To understand its success it is necessary to understand the leadership mentality, empowerment strategy, motivation and rewards base as well as its approach to change and innovation. All of these elements have turned Nucor into a desirable place to work with the potential for future success as it acquires new entities and grows. Leadership When looking at the Nucor Case Study, it is advantageous to discuss the leadership styles in relation to the Vroom? Jago Leadership Model as well as other concepts and issues of leadership. The initial leader to focus on is F. Kenneth Iverson, a former Nucor Steel President (1965? 999) and legendary leader. His leadership fostered the close? knit culture that exists even today. When Iverson and Sam Siegel, Financial Vice President, initially assumed leadership roles, they exhibited the AI Autocratic style at individual and group level in selling off many wide? ranging operations to focus on one area. They also made the decision to move corporate headquarters to where it is even today, Charlotte, NC. From that point leadership has continued to have a basis in the group with Nucor employees empowered to make decisions that will benefit the organization. Nucor Steel‘s leaders also exhibited other Vroom ? Jago leadership styles as they evolved to the present day. Iverson installed radical concepts giving employees better pay and real power exhibiting GII decision Style: willing to accept and implement employee decisions. Current CEO Daniel R. DiMicco uses a different leadership style when purchasing 13 new companies and instilling the unique culture in those new facilities. Nucor management, as a whole still focuses on the people in the front line of their business predominately using DI individual style leadership and GII group level decision style. Different perspectives of leadership also can explain Iverson and DiMicco. Both exhibit traits of charismatic leaders. The case study points out how employees are willing to accomplish tasks based on an emotional commitment to Nucor Steel. The example of electricians helping sister plants in another state on their own initiative shows, when crisis arose, the employees showed extraordinary behavior. All General Managers contact a new GM within 2 days of starting in a different factory, offering help, and meaning it. This behavior is unconventional, and counters to established norms in the current business culture. Only a visionary charismatic behavior from the leader could motivate such commitment. Leadership approaches discussed here point out that leadership is an exchange process with employees. A look at transactional leadership and transformational leadership helps further explain Nucor’s success. Transactional leaders help the follower identify what is done to accomplished desired results and ensure the resources are on hand to complete the job. Transformational leadership motivates followers to work for goals rather than on short term self-interest this leader is able to express clear vision and inspire other to accomplish that vision. Nucor’s management, in this case study continually exhibit transformational leadership attributes. When Nucor employees innovate themselves out of tight spots, the leader’s charisma has instilled this sense of value respect, and pride. The General Managers reaching out to the new GM shows leaders reaching out to help individual needs. These leaders allow the employees to rethink rational ways to correct problems, and do not intervene in work tasks unless people are sidetracked. The most important aspect of transformational leadership is charisma coupled with other roles. The deep emotional attachment to Nucor management is one facet of this style. These leaders also play the role of teacher, coach, mentor, reformer, or revolutionary further establish their transformational style of leadership. Power In addition to the various leadership styles and involvement of the employees and commitment to the organization there are different types of power between leaders and employees at Nucor. There is a lot of employee power at the Nucor Steel Company generating from the flat organization structure found within the company and the leaderships focus on employees. A standard joke in the company is that if you were a janitor and you got five promotions you would have the CEOs job. Unlike the pyramid structure that is found in other companies, at Nucor the CEO believes that he is the one who was at the bottom and he works for all the others in the organization. Power within Nucor, as in other corporations, comes from two places: interpersonal and structural. With the flat organizational structure at Nucor the majority of the power is interpersonal rather than prescribed by the organizational structure and layers of management. At Nucor employees have a large amount of power – specifically expert power. Expert power arises an individual has the ability to influence as a result of a highly valued expertise regardless of job title. Expert power is clearly exhibited in the case study when employees call upon each other (as in the case of the Hickman plant calling expert electricians from another plant) and when leadership entrusts decision making to employees. In addition to expert power, referent power is also common among Nucor employees. Referent power is based upon charisma – whether it is the charisma of the CEO or of the line worker, this type of power comes from interactions with others. Not only did Nucor leaders Iverson and DiMicco have structural power they also had referent power from charismatic leadership styles. Where interpersonal power results from expertise, attitudes and actions, structural power comes from the organizational structure itself. At Nucor with its flat hierarchy structural power is not the main source of influence or power. A type of structural power that is present is the decision making power of the employees. Individuals at Nucor have a broad range of decision making power as seen in the electrician situation. The decision making power is based on the premise that they will make the best decisions for the organization since their compensation depends on the organizational success. Motivation & Rewards When looking at the Nucor Corporation, it is important to understand why the employees are motivated to act the way that they do. Nucor has high job satisfaction which in turn brings improved job performance. This improved performance benefits everyone in the company instead of just management at Nucor. Herzberg’s two factor theory is utilized in the Nucor case study. The people from Nucor demonstrated there were motivators by traveling to fix a problem that was a great distance away. The people in this situation had achievement, recognition, and responsibility all in mind when they decided to take steps not required to help others in the organization. Achievement motivated the employees in the example because they knew that they were helping the company immensely and this would in turn help them. The recognition would be shown in their personal pay checks. The responsibility in this situation was the people agreeing to help out without any supervisors there to persuade them to go. Additionally, teams in Nucor’s situation are beneficial in motivation. People are willing to help one another because both people will be rewarded for a job well done. The mentality of â€Å"us guys† instead of â€Å"you guys† motivates people to form teams in a manner that is beneficial to the company. The hygiene factors in Nucor case does not apply to their company. The areas of dissatisfaction that most other companies face such as pay and security do not come in to account. The factory workers by percentage make a much more comparable amount to their managers in comparison to different companies. The primary reward for the executives at Nucor is financial compensation, including benefits. In their roles as executives, they naturally have many of what could be considered rewards by others in the organization. Autonomy, the ability to effect decision, and many other roles are a natural part of the role as an executive within an organization. The executive salaries are on average are a bit lower than average, while performance based pay is more and makes up more than 50% of total compensation. The performance? based component is primarily paid in the form of stock options and restricted stock. Options allow the holder to purchase the stock at a specified price, usually lower than market value. Restricted stock is direct partial ownership in the organization that vests over a period of time. These types of rewards are common among executives, as there is a direct correlation between how the company performs and the ownership stake the executive receives in the organization they have the ability to effect. The employee reward system contains both financial rewards (including benefits), as well as non financial. The average employee at Nucor makes $100k a year, 20% more than industry average. This reinforces the organizations belief that people are the backbone of the company, and further strengthens the commitment to try and retain its employees. One of the most difficult aspects to manage in the milling industry is the turnover and training of employees; Nucor has recognized this and used financial rewards to deter this from taking hold within its own organization. The employee also has intrinsic rewards available within the organization. They include: completion, autonomy, achievement, and personal growth. Moreover, they are all encouraged within the culture. This is most evident in the recalling of employees taking it upon themselves to help during a time of need. This allows them to grow, achieve a goal, make their own decision, and work until completed.

Summary Of Character Development In Jane Eyre - 709 Words

Jane Eyre, Question1 part b: Character Development Answer: in Jane Eyre one character that was pulled in conflicting directions is Jane. When searching for freedom she was being persuaded by Mr. Rochester and St. John Rivers to be their mistress and she had to decide if either lifestyle was something she wanted and if she didn’t want either then shed be compromising her own freedom. 1. â€Å"My bride is here,† he said, again drawing me to him, â€Å"because my equal is here, and my likeness. Jane, will you marry me?† (Bronte 159) a. Context: This is towards the middle of the book, Mr. Rochester and Jane are talking and he asks her to marry him. b. Significance: This sets Jane up for some very tough decisions throughout the novel. Jane likes Mr.†¦show more content†¦3. â€Å"I scorn your idea of love,† I could not help saying, as I rose up and stood before him, leaning my back against the rock. â€Å"I scorn the counterfeit sentiment you offer: yes, St. John, and I scorn you when you offer it.† (Bronte 256) a. Context: This is after St. John had asked Jane to marry him and she refused, but he asked again, insisting that they get married and go to India together. b. Significance: Here, jane is forced to make another difficult decision. St. John is someone she pictured herself wanting to marry, someone with good Christian morals. However, when he asked her, she realized that’s not how she wants to live and she doesn’t want to be his wife. She is stuck between choosing the lifestyle she pictured herself living, and leaving to marry someone she wants to marry because she loves the person. 4. â€Å"I will at least choose — her I love best. Jane, will you marry me?† â€Å"Yes, sir.† (Bronte 280) a. Context: After refusing to marry St. John, Jane realizes she wants to marry Mr. Rochester. She returns to Mr. Rochester and he asks her to marry him and she agrees. b. Significance: This quote signifies Jane finally coming to a decision. She has decided to leave this ideal of a man with perfect Christian morals and instead marry someone because she truly loves them not just because they fit this mold a someone whom she always thought she would marry. Deciding to go back to Mr. Rochester wasn’t an easyShow MoreRelatedEssay on Fire Imagery in Charlotte Brontes Jane Eyre2660 Words   |  11 PagesFire Imagery in Charlotte Brontes Jane Eyre Incomplete Works Cited The prevalence of fire imagery and its multitude of metaphoric uses in Charlotte Brontes Jane Eyre expresses two things that could not be expressed openly in the Victorian Period, which are mainly passion and sexuality. Brontes writing was dictated by the morals of her society, but her ideas were not. 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