...HBR.ORG THE PRICE OF INCIVILITY LACK OF RESPECT HURTS MORALE AND THE BOTTOM LINE. BY CHRISTINE PORATH AND CHRISTINE PEARSON January–February 2013 Harvard Business Review 115 The Price of inciviliTy R udeness at work is rampant, and it’s on the rise. Over the past 14 years we’ve polled thousands of workers about how they’re treated on the job, and 98% have reported experiencing uncivil behavior. In 2011 half said they were treated rudely at least once a week—up from a quarter in 1998. The costs chip away at the bottom line. Nearly everybody who experiences workplace incivility responds in a negative way, in some cases overtly retaliating. Employees are less creative when they feel disrespected, and many get fed up and leave. About half deliberately decrease their effort or lower the quality of their work. And incivility damages customer relationships. Our research shows that people are less likely to buy from a company with an employee they perceive as rude, whether the rudeness is directed at them or at other employees. Witnessing just a single unpleasant interaction leads customers to generalize about other employees, the organization, and even the brand. We’ve interviewed employees, managers, HR executives, presidents, and CEOs. We’ve administered questionnaires, run experiments, led workshops, and spoken with doctors, lawyers, judges, law enforcement officers, architects, engineers, consultants, and coaches about how they’ve faced and handled incivility. And...
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...In Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad uses contrasts and ironies between the native Africans and the intrusive Europeans to prove that Civilization is not truly civilized. The Europeans claim to be in the Congo to “civilize” the “savage” natives, yet they are far from paragons of civility. The Europeans are violent, greedy, and extensively lazy while the natives show restraint, non-violence, and reluctant yet exemplary work ethic. Although the Europeans have enslaved the natives of the Congo, they themselves are slaves to greed. Marlow describes them best when he refers to them as “greedy phantoms” (137). The pilgrims and the company employees share a common goal, profit. They drift about day to day, unorderly, collecting ivory from their...
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...call meetings together, to piggy’s glasses, to The Beast, to the dreadful Lord of the Flies himself; all of these things are symbols of much deeper aspects of humanity. Even many of the characters are symbols of deeper things, of carnal desires or raw emotions unexpressed by most. Overall, Golding out did himself with this book, managing to create a world where everything means something deeper. A big symbol in the story is the Conch Shell, the magical item that is used to summon the other boys to meetings, and grants the holder the right to speak. This shell becomes a powerful symbol of civility and order in the novel, and effectively governs all the boy’s meetings, as whoever holds it holds the power to speak. When the shell is being used, the boys are generally calm and orderly, highlighting Golding’s intent in putting the shell in the novel, which is to have a symbol of the civility of the outside world. As the novel progresses and the island community descends into total anarchy, the shell loses all power over the boys, thus their sense of order is vanquished. This is symbolized when the boulder that crushes piggy also crushes the shell, signifying the demise of the civilized instinct of most of the boys on the island. Another powerful symbol in the story is The Beast, the frightening creature that terrifies all the boys on the island. The Beast is a clear symbol for the savage nature and primal instinct that exists within all human beings. All of the boy’s fear the...
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...consists of multiple parts of procedures the doctor needs to perform before following through with the abortion. One bill is that doctors need to ask the patient alone if they want the abortion or if they have to oblige. The second bill is that no medical expense paid from insurance agencies unless the pregnancy is through rape, incest, or of people who need it medically. According to "Controversial Abortion Bill Among Several Walker Quietly Signed Into Law" (2012), "Another bill comes into play with Health Care Reform in 2014, banning abortion coverage sold through a health insurance exchange, except in cases of rape, incest or medical necessity” (para. 11). I do support the cause of why the governor is doing this; however, he is doing it for the wrong reasons. He signed these bills before he is leaving office and has done them secretly. According to "Leadership = Controversy With Civility" (2011), "Involve everyone in planning and problem solving. Avoid making decisions behind closed doors” (para. 10). This states that to avoid controversy that all decisions should avoid secrecy and allot everyone in the decision. This shows bad leadership by the governor. It also shows how the governor had made the decisions hastily because of the rush out of office and the want to passing these bills. According to "Wis. Gov. Walker Signs Abortion, Sex Ed Bills" (2012), "Walker…signed the bills Thursday but didn't announce…until midday Friday…a list of more than 50 bills he signed Thursday and Friday” (para...
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...harassment and verbal abuse. Mr. Oncale filed a complaint against Sundowner in the United States District Court for Eastern District of Louisiana alleging that he was discriminated against in his employment because of his sex. The District court granted summary of judgement to the defendant, writing that Mr. Oncale, a male, has no cause of action under Title VII for harassment by a male co-workers. Mr. Oncale appealed, the United States Courts of Appeals for Fifth Circuit affirmed the decision. The Supreme Court reversed the decision of the district court and remanded the case for further proceedings in accordance with the instruction that a male can be discriminated against by member of the same sex under Title VII. Does the Oncale decision transform Title VII in a general Civility code for the American workplace? Yes, recognizing liability for same sex harassment will transform Title VII into a general civility code for the American workplace. The risk is no greater for same –sex then for opposite’s sex harassment, and is adequately met by careful attention to the requirements of the statue. Title VII does not prohibit all verbal or physical harassment in the...
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...personifies him as a polite man as you can see in this quote: “He kindly stopped for me”. Death is normal a negative described condition and something we don’t wish for anyone. But in this poem Death is in a way positive described as in the quote: “For his civility”. The speaker personifies death and it sounds like the speaker thinks that he’s a gentleman. Death takes the speaker to the grave and it’s described as “A swelling of the ground. The roof was scarcely visible. The cornice but a mound”. The description of the grave isn’t in words that we usually compare with a grave. The speaker uses words as: stopped, drove, passed that usually are words which are used in connection with kind of transport and in this case it’s a carriage. Most people see Death as a negative condition which gives sadness and grief, but in this poem the journey to the grave is calm and in a way a positive experience. The poem is written many years ago where people had a different view of Death, just because it happened more often than today. Throughout the poem, the speaker… Isn’t afraid of death. The speaker knows it’s time to go the grave. The speaker tells that “And I had put away. My labor, and my leisure too. For his civility” The speaker has surrendered to Death and puts her life away. Properly because she knows that there isn’t anything else to do and choose to...
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...Kaplan University Writing Center Writing an Informative Essay Did you ever pick up a magazine or newspaper and after reading the article say, “Hmm! I didn’t know that!” That article is an informative essay. Informative essays, also called expository essays, seek to inform or educate the audience on a given topic. The goal is not to persuade the reader but to give the reader more information, to provide the reader with insight, and to support the writer’s interpretations with factual information. The essay should make the reader say “Aha! I didn’t know that.” Informative essays do not express the writer’s opinion. Views, pro and con, can be included but they must be presented in an unbiased fashion, pointing out comparisons and contrasts of viewpoints. One way to do this is to imagine that the audience holds a common view of the topic; the writer’s purpose is to give the audience a surprising new view based on research. To do this you can: • • • • Enlighten your audience with new facts and/or statistics. Give them usable material that they can apply. Present sufficient information to explain the new findings about the topic. Make clear from the beginning of your paper its purpose. Here is an example of an informative essay topic: a student wrote about technology invading churches in the form of ATM machines. He called it “Technology goes to Church.” His purpose was to inform readers that because of the decrease in weekly donations some churches are now installing ATM machines...
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...car patrol. The thesis offered by Wilson and Kelling in the article "Broken Windows" is that "we must return to our long-abandoned view that the police ought to protect communities as well as individuals.” Wilson and Kelling offer many suggestions on how to prevent crime and how to deal with it when it happens. Their analogy using broken windows is a good example of a way to prevent crime. "The sense of mutual regard and the obligations of civility are lowered by actions that seem to signal that no one cares". They determine that if it appears as though no one cares then crime similar in nature will occurs much more frequently and to a greater extent. An example of that idea evolving graffiti was illustrated in the article, "The proliferation of graffiti, even when not obscene, confronts the subway rider with the 'inescapable knowledge that the environment he must endure for an hour or more a day is uncontrolled and uncontrollable, and that anyone can invade it to do whatever damage and mischief the mind suggests'". The graffiti, in this case, is not dangerous or even necessarily offensive. What remains is the feeling that this is...
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...progress. The fear of the beast has been haunting the island and disrupting their society. The boys are terrified of the beast, and that fear slows them down by allowing them to put their efforts into a non existent cause: killing or appeasing the beast. Simon sees this and knows the truth. There is no beast because the beast is within everyone. Evil is within everyone. The Lord of the Flies is Satan, and humans project all their evil onto Satan. By putting their evil onto another being, they are excusing themselves from their evil. The flaw of humans is the beast, and the beast is humans. Being human is an inherent flaw because humans are not wholly good. There is evil in a human, a natural savagery, that is there no matter what mask of civility is...
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...who is a minor goddess known for her wisdom and his father was the king of Uruk before him. Throughout the story there are instances of the gods interfering in the deeds of men, for instance once Enkidu and Gilgamesh return to the city of Uruk with the wood they have taken from the great cedar forest Ishtar the goddess of love, war, and half a dozen other things asks Gilgamesh to be her consort which Gilgamesh turns down rather rudely citing the terrible fates of her past lovers. Enraged Ishtar acquires the bull of heaven to destroy the city of Uruk and in another deed of heroic valor Enkidu and Gilgamesh kill the bull of heaven. So not only do the gods mate and interact with humans, they also feel emotions like that of a human. In the case of Ishtar she is quite capable of feeling petty emotions like jealousy and rage, these feelings push her to potentially punish all of Uruk by releasing the bull of heaven. Ishtar paints a picture of the gods that portrays an unwieldy and cantankerous relationship between men and gods that most of the time ends up putting people in a not so desirable situation. This relationship is also mirrored by the tale of Utnapishtim and the story of the great Deluge and ultimately the fate of Enkidu, the gods feel very human emotions and their judgment can be clouded which normally results in many people dying. Enkidu himself is very metaphysical himself since he himself was fashioned from clay and spittle by the goddess Aruru. Enkidu in a way embodies...
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...and charges for the studio time. However, Mr. Douaola confirmed the dates with the plaintiff but never mentioned the charges. Additionally, the defendant continued by stating he had performed numerous times for the plaintiff for no charge and believed those performances were payment enough for the studio time. My Verdict Although the plaintiff in this case left a message stating he wanted compensation for the studio time which would be used, he did not receive a response acknowledging the fee. In the case of Smith v. House of Kenton Corp., 209 S.E.2d 397 (1974) the court ruled in favor of the defendant stating that “an offer and acceptance must be communicated.” Furthermore, there must be a mutual collaboration and approval for there to be any type of contract created between the two parties. I applied the case of Zamore v. Whitten, 395 A.2d 435 (Maine 1978) where the court declared “there must be a meeting of the minds or “mutual assent” for the parties to be bound to the contract.” Since Mr. Douaola never agreed or accepted the terms Mr. Ferrucci set out, a valid contract was never created....
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...o Substantive Law: doctrines the rights and duties of an individual. Such as the right to retribution of an individual in a motor vehicle accident because of the negligence of another driver. Procedural Law: this ties in with the other laws dictating the process through which each law, statute, ordinance will be conducted. Such as when, where, and how to file a lawsuit. Example would be when two parties who reside in different states initiate court proceedings against each other. Procedural law would help to dictate which state would have jurisdiction over the person or the case in general. Criminal Law: deals with the act of committing a crime, i.e. driving while intoxicated, possession of an illegal firearm, possession of an illegal substance. Civil Law: deals with the 'civility' of the nature of an action. Just as driving while intoxicated is a violation of criminal law, the negligence associated with the damages done to another entity's person or belongings is factored under civil law. Common Law: A law that has not necessarily passed through a legislative body, but is accepted because of basis provided in similar court proceedings. One example that comes to mind deals with Common Law marriages in certain states. Statutory Law: Laws created by a legislative body that are capable of being approved or disapproved by an executive branch of that legislation. Can be federal, state, or local legislative bodies. Examples include tax laws, state...
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...Case Study: Oncale v. Sundowner Offshore Services, Inc. HRMG 5700 QD F2 In the case of Oncale v. Sundowner Offshore Services, Inc., Joseph Oncale was the victim of repeated harassment, sexual, physical and mental, from at least three members of the work crew, of which two had a supervisory position over him. When Oncale brought his complaints to the supervisors, they took no noticeable actions against the harassers and, after he had experienced enough harassment, Oncale quit his position. When Oncale filed the sexual harassment complaint against Sundowner, the district court, relying on the precedent set by the Fifth Circuit courts, “. . . held that Oncale, a male, had no Title VII cause of action for harassment by male coworkers. The Fifth Circuit affirmed.” (Twomey, 442) In 1998, the case was brought before the Supreme Court of the United States, where that decision was reversed, and same-sex harassment was ruled actionable under Title VII. The Supreme Courts decision concerning sexual harassment does not transform Title VII into a general civility code for workplaces. If anything, it just further defines what sexual harassment can be, allowing workers to feel safer in the work environment. As Justice Scalia addressed this argument during his decision, “The prohibition of harassment on the basis of sex requires neither asexuality or androgyny in the workplace; it forbids only behavior so objectively offensive as to alter...
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...‘Throughout his writing career, Conrad’s obsessions and his treatment of them in his fiction remain remarkably consistent.’ Do you agree? “Is there not also a central obscurity, something noble, heroic, beautiful, inspiring half-a-dozen great books, but obscure, obscure?…These essays do suggest that he is misty in the middle as well as the edges; that the secret casket of his genius contains a vapour rather than a jewel; and that we needn’t try to write him down philosophically, because there is nothing to write” (Gekoski 3). Certainly, as Forster says, it has been a common description of Conrad that his work is obscure. Forster seems to imply here that Conrad cannot be knowable due to the contradictory nature of his philosophies and that he is “misty in the middle as well as the edges”. Amongst Conrad’s “mist” and ambiguity it may seem difficult to determine the consistency of Conrad’s philosophies throughout his career. This essay seeks to illustrate Conrad’s tendency to concentrate on a cluster of related issues throughout his work and to highlight the pattern of consistency in which he treats them. Three of Conrad’s “obsessions” will be mainly focused upon; isolation, fragility in identity, and fidelity. In order to show a broad time span of Conrad career I will be referring to three of his works: Nigger of the Narcissus, Lord Jim, and The Secret Agent. It is the view of this essay that although Conrad may be obscure in meaning, his treatment of his ‘obsessions’ remain...
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...the defendant is unable to afford a lawyer than a public defender will be appointed by the court to represent the defendant in court. The bailiff role is to maintain order in the court, call witnesses, announce the present of the judge, prevents the defendant from escaping and to supervise the jury. The courtroom reporter keeps records of all the activity that takes place during a trial. The courtroom clerk “maintains all records of criminal cases, including all pleas and motions made both before and after the actual trial. The clerk also prepares a jury pool, issues jury summonses, and subpoenas witnesses for both the prosecution and the defense. During the trial, the clerk (or an assistant) marks physical evidence for identification as instructed by the judge and maintains custody of that evidence. The clerk also swears in witnesses and performs other functions as the judge directs.” (University of Phoenix, 2011). The interaction between the players in a courtroom work group “involves an implicit recognition of informal rules of civility, cooperation, and shared goals. Hence even within the...
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