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Most Sufis in Islamic History

December 6, 2019 Admin Posts Leave a comment

Most Sufis in Islamic History

1. Most Sufis in Islamic history have been Sunnis, and many Sunnis have been Sufis. We see this with Hujwiri and Attar, and also in how al-Ghazali argued for Sufism. Why can there be an affinity between Sunnism (theological beliefs and other beliefs) and Sufism?2. Al-Farabi and al-Ghazali have different views about the relationship between philosophy and religion. How would you describe the difference between their views?

3. What is the relationship between religion and political science according to al-Farabi? Could his view of this relationship apply to the modern US or another country?

4. What is the Sufi idea of purifying the self as we see it in the Shaykh Sam’an story? How does this relate to Yahya b. Adiyy’s idea of virtue?

5. Yahya b. Adiyy explains what virtue is and why we should pursue it. Is his account compatible with Sufism? You can use al-Ghazali’s work Deliverance from Erroror the Shaykh Sam’an story as your example.

6. The Shaykh Sam’an story conveys Sufi ideas in a way that is quite different from Hujwiri in Kashf al-Mahjub and al-Ghazali. What makes poetic stories effective in a way that is different from Kashf al-Mahjubor Deliverance from Error? Focus on one idea, like love, gnosis or nafs, that you can compare in a concrete way.

7. The Shaykh Sam’an story and al-Ghazali’s story about himself have a great deal in common but they also have differences. Make an argument about something that you think is a key difference between the two stories.

8. Why does Ibn Khaldun think that Bedouins have to be the basis of civilized polities?Guidelines:

The paper should be 4-6 pages (about 1500 words)
The paper should have a clear argument/thesis.
The argument/thesis should be supported by evidence, including references to the texts you are talking about.
Try to address any obvious objections to your argument, if there are any.
Remember that your argument should not be something obvious, but something that you need to persuade people of.
It does not matter if your thesis could ultimately be proven wrong. What matters is how well you express it and support it.
If you use any other sources, make sure to cite them properly. You can use any standard method of citation.
Turn in the paper in the dropbox on D2L and bring a printed copy to class on the day it is due.

Grading and Evaluation:

Clarity of thesis (CT) – thesis is clearly expressed, prominently stated. 20%

Strength of thesis (ST) – thesis is not something obviously true or false, but something that is plausible, that can be supported and argued for, and could be true or false. 20%

Organization of paper (O) – it is clear what point each paragraph is making and how it is connected to the thesis. The paragraphs come in some kind of apparent order that helps the argument. 15%

Support (S) – the points made by the paper clearly support the thesis. 15%

Reference to texts (R) – the paper provides examples from the texts as evidence for the points it is making and indicates where these examples came from. 15%

Writing style (W) – the paper is clearly written and easy to follow. Grammar and spelling are fine. 15%

Final Exam Roman History Solved

December 3, 2019 Admin Posts Leave a comment

Final Exam Roman History Solved

The final exam will have a section of 20 multiple-choice questions (40% of the grade) and one long essay (60%). All possible essay prompts are provided below. On the exam, two of these prompts will be given as options. You will respond to only one. The wording of the prompts may change slightly on the exam.You should write the essay with your own analysis and with specific details from the textbook chapters, lectures, and (when relevant) primary source documents. Your essay should make an argument. It should also present information from around the world (and from the entire second half of the semester), not simply information concerning a narrow topic.

Your goal is both to write an original and thoughtful response to the prompt and to demonstrate how much factual material you have learned. Remember the Three Cs as a way to include plenty of information: You want to write about change (and its causes), make comparisons, and identify connections.

I. “As much as we obsess over ‘globalization’ in the early twenty-first century, globalization is not really new. The same forces have been at work since at least the 1700s. Present-day globalization is a matter of degree, not fundamental change.” Respond to this claim. (A good answer will explain the concept[s] of globalization, identify ways human society has become more or less global since the eighteenth century, identify key examples and turning points from around the world, and explain how and why the world situation has changed over time.)II. “The most important cause of human conflict since the late 1700s has been belief, not economic interest. Different social classes or nations don’t fight each other; different worldviews do.” Respond to this claim. (A good answer will examine different kinds of conflict from around the world and throughout the second half of the course, including not only various wars but also other kinds of struggle, and will make a clear argument about causes and effects.)

III. “Although humanity has grown increasingly powerful and wealthy since the late 1700s, this does not represent true ‘progress.’ In fundamental ways, the world has actually become worse.” Respond to this claim. (A good answer will discuss different possible meanings of “progress” or “worsening,” key events and experiences from around the world and from throughout the second half of the course, and factors that apply to different kinds of people. It will include large amounts of factual information and historical interpretation, not mere generalization about the state of the world today.)

Develop an Operational Plan Scenario

December 3, 2019 Admin Posts Leave a comment

Develop an Operational Plan Scenario

Scenario: You have been seconded to manage a team in another business area that undertakes work very similar to that of your current team. Your new team has been without a manager for several months and performance/productivity and morale are low. During your six month secondment your role is to re-operationalise the team and achieve agreed performance standards. Using the method of your choice, formulate a comprehensive operational plan including the following:• Rationale: Explain your reasons for selecting the approach you have chosen for your plan, describing why it is suitable for the situation and what approval you will need.
• Defined Goals and general strategies to achieve the agreed performance standards – include Key Performance Indicators
• Actions and Milestones: Create a summary of the major tasks or sub-projects. Outline the schedule and any timeline dependencies.
• Supportive Documents: instructions for necessary technology and software to be used, relevant documents and procedures and an indication of how the plan fits within the activities of the wider organisation e.g.: other departments.
• Communication and Consultation: Develop a communication and consultation plan (who needs to know what; when and how). This should include approval requirements from relevant parties.
• Resource Requirements: Explain the resources you will require (financial and otherwise) and justify your use of resources with particular reference to any existing budgets or budgeting processes (including approvals). Create a Resource Request document/proposal that shows you have researched resource options to support your proposal.
• Human Resource Requirements: Provide strategies to ensure that employees are recruited and/or inducted within the organisation’s human resources management policies, practices and procedures
• Monitoring and Review: Describe how you would monitor and review the performance of the plan. This must include:
o how you would address performance issues;
o monitoring financial budget vs actual profit and productivity.Recommend actions to address financial and/or other issues of under-performance. Include these as part of the actions and milestones described earlier.
• Contingency/Risk Management Plan: Develop a contingency plan to minimise any risks that could have negative impacts on your operational plan.

Danone Organisational Behaviour Scenario

December 3, 2019 Admin Posts Leave a comment

Danone Organisational Behaviour Scenario

In February 2016, Emmanuel Faber, chief executive of Danone, put a radical proposal to the French food multinational’s senior US executives at a meeting in White Plains, New York.Against the grain of agricultural production in the US, where the vast majority is genetically modified, Mr Faber proposed shifting about half Danone’s products — representing some $1bn of yoghurt sales — to non-GMO ingredients. He argued that this was an important change that would improve soil health and biodiversity.

The reaction from Mr Faber’s lieutenants was immediate: impossible. One said it could only happen if the group imported the non-GMO feed for dairy cattle from Russia. As they went to work, though, the executives started to change their gloomy prognosis about how long such a shift would take.

“Three weeks later, it was 10 years. Two months later, it was five years. Finally, it was two years — and we did it in two years,” says Mr Faber, in an interview at the group’s Paris headquarters.

The pledge triggered vocal protests from some US farm and dairy groups. It did not harm sales. Despite a price rise, the children’s yoghurt brand Danimals, now certified as containing only nonGMO ingredients, has increased its US market share from 30 to 40 per cent.

Danone’s shift on GMO might be dismissed by some as a marketing gimmick and criticised by others as an exercise in managerial self-indulgence. But it is one sign of a powerful shift in the way that large companies think about their purpose and their responsibilities — and an example of the challenges companies face in managing that shift…………………………………….Coursework question

From the case study information on Danone, and material covered in class, identify which organisational structure would be most effective for Danone and why? 10 marks
Using theories covered in class, identify reasons why Danone first faced resistance to change when implementing their new proposal, and explain how the culture within an organisation can help or hinder this. 30 marks
Taking into considerations the current business environment, what are the implications of Friedman’s (1970) statement that “the social responsibility of business is to increase its profits”? Build on the provided article and use relevant theories to support your arguments. 30 marks
Provide some criticism of the stakeholder approach to CSR and explain how it is impacting organisations such as Danone and Natura & Co. covered in the case study 30 marks

Context for Effective Workplace Coaching

December 3, 2019 Admin Posts Leave a comment

Understand the context for effective workplace coaching

AC 1.1: Describe and define the purpose of workplace coachingThere is a full definition that states precisely the meaning of workplace coaching

The principal features of workplace coaching are fully and correctly described and the context is detailed and appropriate

Provide a precise and thorough definition what is meant by Workplace Coaching.

Describe, not just list, the features and primary aspects of Workplace Coaching, mentioning in your answer how coaching benefits employees in the workplace.

The example must be related to the workplace

AC 1.2: Explain the role and responsibilities of an effective workplace coach

There is an explanation of the purpose of workplace coaching at both organisational and individual levels with a clear understanding of ‘effective’ and the context is detailed

The principal features of the roles, responsibilities and characteristics of an effective coach are explained in depth

Explain precisely what is meant by an “Effective Workplace Coach”.

Explain in depth, not just list , the roles and responsibilities of an Effective Coach (What does an effective coach do in the workplace?, e.g. effectively empower people to find their own answers).

Elaborate by giving examples related to the workplace.

AC 1.3: Describe the behaviours and characteristics of an effective workplace coach

There is a correct and comprehensive description of the full range of behaviours and characteristics of an effective workplace coach

Explain in depth, not just list, the characteristics of an effective coach in the workplace (What are the set of knowledge, skills, abilities and attitudes of an effective coach?, e.g. Listing skills, problem solving abilities…etc.)

Refer to the seven competencies that contribute to good coaching in the Coaching Self-Assessment.

Elaborate by giving behavioral examples related to the workplace.AC 1.4: Explain how coaches should contract and manage confidentiality to coach ethically

Explanation is given of what is meant by ethical coaching
There is a full and clear explanation of how to contract and manage confidentiality in coaching contracts that includes organisational as well as individual considerations
Impact of legislation on coaching confidentiality is explained

Explain thoroughly what is meant by “Ethical Coaching”.

Make sure you tackle “How Confidentiality Should be Contracted” in the coaching agreement.

Explain precisely the importance of managing the confidentiality during the coaching process.

Refer to Appendix 6in the Workbook (The Ethics Toolkit for Coaches)

People Organisations and Society

December 2, 2019 Admin Posts Leave a comment

People Organisations and Society

Los Ros del Sol Medical Centre is a hospital and surgery centre located in Florida. Its main facility has 500 beds and several outpatient centres, it employees 2,600 people, and has recently partnered with the Mayo Clinic. Despite this seeming success, Los Rayos is experiencing high turnover amidst its nursing staff. The nurse average turnover rate is 14% for hospitals, while Los Rayos has a turnover rate of 21%. New graduate nurses turn over at a rate of 27% within the first year, with an additional 37% of those new nurses wanting to leave, according to a survey conducted nationwide. At Los Rayos, new nurse turnover is 40%. The hospital spends an average of 13% weeks to fill a vacant position and thousands of dollars per hire. Turnover often leaves units understaffed, which creates poor patient experiences, nurse burnout, and lower quality of care. It also cuts into the firm’s bottom line. Why are the nurses leaving? Los Rayos strives to provide the highest quality in patient care, but it also has to manage costs and comply with the new government regulations from the Affordable Care Act. Thus, over the last 10 years, Los Rayos has made a number of changes. Ten years ago, Los Rayos changed the staffing model. All units had two licensed nurses and a housekeeper. Housekeepers were minimum-wage staff that helped the nurses do things like wash linens and stock the nurses’ station with basics. These tasks can take a lot of time away from normal nurses’ job duties of doing rounds, required charting, administering doctors’ orders, and helping patients. Los Rayos promoted the housekeepers to health techs, which were supposed to do more patient care tasks, but most were not equipped with the skills needed to do these advanced tasks and were not given training by the hospital. At the same time, Los Rayos reduced the number of nurses per unit by one. This raised staffing ratios from 12 patients to one nurse to 24 patients to one nurse.

 Eight years ago, Los Rayos cut the annual employee picnic and Christmas party in order to save money.

 Five years ago, Los Rayos expanded nurses’ jobs to engage in activities like cost cutting and quality control. It required nurses to provide three to five cost saving ideas per year or they would be negatively evaluated on their performance appraisals. The next year, the firm put a cap on each position’s wage brackets, which resulted in nurses with greater than 12 years of service not receiving raises.

 A year ago, Los Rayos began requiring all its nurses to take turns developing, planning, and presenting continuing education courses to reduce training costs. Nurses are required to complete 60 hours of continuing education annually for license renewal. The nurses did not receive any additional compensation for the training they developed, nor were they given any nonmonetary rewards.

 Six months ago, Los Rayos changed from 8- to 12-hour shifts to reduce costs and to allow patients to be closer to their caretakers. However, patients from the maternity and geriatrics wards have complained about only seeing nurses at the start and end of shifts and negatively rated the hospital experience on surveys. Most employees agree that the 12-hour shifts are exhausting, and the nurses often state they do not have the time and energy to “go the extra mile” for colleagues and patients. Collaboration in solving unexpected issues and advice sharing between the staff members have decreased significantly.

Drawing on theories on job satisfaction, motivations, communication, leadership and organisational culture, write a report which analyses the decisions that hospital managers and administrators have made and discusses the consequences for the staff members (the nurses in particular) and the
hospital itself. As a starting point for drafting your report, consider answering the following questions:1. How do you think the changes Los Rayos made affected nurses’ attitudes and behaviours?
2. What problems to the business may poor nurse attitudes and motivations cause in addition to turnover?
3. What do the changes made suggest about the leadership and organisational culture at Los Rayos?

Please, note there is no need to follow the order, just be sure that all questions/issues are addressed
coherently and comprehensively.

Professional Identity and Practice

December 2, 2019 Admin Posts Leave a comment

Professional Identity and Practice

Vocational background:
With employment opportunities and career progression becoming increasingly competitive, it is vital that new employees appreciate the value of the correct skills and competences expected by employers.

This assignment will give you the opportunity to enhance your reflective and reflexive skills through the process of self-assessment of skills and competences, personal career planning. You also have the opportunity to enhance employability skills and to prepare for job applications and interviews in a formalised manner.Activity Two:
When you want to further your career, the best thing to do is a self-assessment which will help you identify all the key information about yourself. Thus, you are going to write a reflective report which will help you provide valuable content for your CV and interviews, as you will uncover examples that illustrate your capabilities. It will also enable you to benchmark your employability, flag up any gaps and ensure you keep on track with the type of opportunities that are right for you. In effect, it prepares you to run an effective job search campaign.

Reflective Report content:
1. Explore the benefits of on-going professional development in a workplace relevant you (in a hospitality related business). You will need to link your work experience with the benefits of training and employer’s expectations in terms of skills and competencies. (Include a reference list in Harvard referencing style!)

2. Assess your own skills and competencies in relation to the job role you applied for (activity 1 – the job interview) and ways of improving your weaknesses through lifelong learning opportunities and relating to various learning theories. You may use on-line resources to test your skills and abilities. (Include a reference list in Harvard referencing style!)3. Based on your work experience and your desired career goal (in a field related to hospitality) create a professional development plan using the template provided in the end of this assignment brief. It is advisable to use SMART objectives and clear deadlines and learning opportunities.

4. After experiencing Activity One – the Job Interview, you will reflect to this process thinking to its strengths and weaknesses. You may refer in a reflective way to the interview as a process part of recruitment and selection (advantages, disadvantages) and as well to your experience and challenges prior and during the job interview.

Recruiting Selecting and Training a Manager

December 2, 2019 Admin Posts Leave a comment

Recruiting Selecting and Training a Manager

Task Description
You are an International Human Resource Manager for a multinational bank based in Melbourne and you have been asked to advise your Chief Executive Officer about what needs to be considered when recruiting, selecting and training a manager for a three year term with your new subsidiary in Berlin, Germany. Further, you should assess the human resource and employment law issues that will impact on the manager during their posting.

Essay Writing Booklet

What is an essay?
An essay is a piece of writing that allows you to develop ideas and arguments using a logical sequence of interrelated paragraphs. Unlike reports, essays usually do not contain any headings, lists (bullet points) or diagrams. Rather they depend on direct links from one paragraph to the next in order to gradually build the argument and justify the point of view.

Essay structure
Before beginning an essay, there are several planning steps that need to be undertaken. Do not attempt to begin writing without having first done the planning and research as you will find that your essay will have little to say and will lack organisation and structure. Academic writing requires you to develop your ideas with reference to evidence and the arguments of expert authors in the field. In an essay you need to support your opinion by discussing the opinions of experts. To find these expert opinions, you need to research.

An essay is made up of four key parts:
• Introduction (beginning) – This is the first paragraph (approximately 10% of the length of the essay).
• Body (middle) – These paragraphs develop the main idea and provide supporting arguments and evidence.
• Conclusion (end) –This is the last paragraph (approximately 10% of the length of the essay).
• Reference List

Each part of the essay plays an important role in its overall effect. Note however that although an essay must have these four parts, you should not put headings for any section except the Reference List. The first and last paragraphs should automatically serve as the introduction and conclusion and therefore everything in between constitutes the body.

Valeria Luiselli Response Questions

December 2, 2019 Admin Posts Leave a comment

Valeria Luiselli Response Questions

Please answer the following two questions in a series of short, thoughtful paragraphs. Responses to both questions combined should be approximately 1.5–2 pages in length, and should be typed and properly formatted.1. In Part IV, Gustavo observes that “What auctioneers auction, in the end, are just names of people, and maybe words. All I do is give them new content” (106). For this response, I would like you to consider how Gustavo’s profession of auctioneer functions as an allegory for fictional narrative. In what respect could we say that fictional narratives are merely “giving new content” to names and words that are already familiar to readers? What is this “new content” that fictional narratives provide? And why would Luiselli associate narrative fiction with a profession whose sole job is to sell things (i.e., auctioneers)?

2. As we will discuss in class next week, Luiselli is using the image of “teeth” as an overdetermined metaphor for art—and, in particular, for the way in which the artist’s name relates to the value of his or her work. For this response, I would like you to think about the auction series “Allegories of Ecatepec,” which takes up the majority of Part V. Gustavo presents this series as one that “would recycle our new collected objects by telling stories that used the names of my friends and acquaintances from the neighborhood” (123). The joke here is that these objects are trash that Gustavo is trying to pawn off as works of art. But what if we took Gustavo seriously? What would it take to consider these objects “works of art”? What would be gained by doing so—not just for Gustavo, but also for the residents of the neighborhood? What is Luiselli implying here about the nature of art and artistic value?Responses are due on Tuesday, December

Language Acquisition Factors Research

December 2, 2019 Admin Posts Leave a comment

Language Acquisition Factors Research

Note that number of pages for each section are suggested, but you may go beyond these. Don’t forget to number your pages! See this Your entire paper must be formatted following APA guidelines.

Title page, with title of project and your name (1 page, but this does not count toward your 10-12 pages)
An abstract (this also does not count toward your 10-12 pages)
Overview, Background & Justification of Project/Discussion of Related Research (3-4 pages)

Describe your project
Describe WHY you chose to propose this project
Discuss HOW it addresses/relates to inequality and diversity
SUMMARIZE the research that supports your project and justifies the need for your project

Description of targeted group (half-1 page)

Who are you targeting and why?
Grades/ages, SES level, racial ethnic background, etc.

Goals & Desired Outcomes (1-2 pages)

What are your intended goals and outcomes? Be sure these relate to the educational problem you are addressing.
Describe the research that supports why your goals are important and why your project will help reach the goals/outcomes
Goals and outcomes should be specific, and should clearly relate to equity in education

Description of your proposed solution and timeline (3-4 pages)

Be specific about the elements of your solution, use research articles to justify why you think your proposed solution will work, include a general timeline for implementing your project (e.g., weekly/monthly steps) and reaching your goals

Focus Group Feedback (2 pages): You will convene a group of at least 3 people and discuss your project with them. They can be anyone you know who has an interest in educational issues. Have a conversation about the educational problem you’re seeking to improve and what your proposed solution is. Ask them for feedback about your project. Include the following in writing this part up:

Who was part of your focus group? (Ages, number of people, gender & racial/ethnic background, how you recruited them and how you know them)
Describe the reactions to your project. What did the respondents think would work or wouldn’t work? Why/why not? What did the participants like? Why? What reactions surprised you?
What would you change about your project based on the focus group feedback?
Ask your focus group: How could your project be used in other ways by educators/parents/community members?

List all your references, APA style