Talent Management In Current Economic Conditions Management Essay

Talent Management In Current Economic Conditions Management Essay INTRODUCTION: The present global economy has not only created a complex but dynamic environment as well and the firms need to learn how to compete effectively and efficiently in order to achieve viable growth. (Briscoe et al, 2009 and Friedman, 2005).But one of the greatest obstacles for the success of an organization is due to shortage of workforces with needed enthusiasm and competencies. Even in the period of recession talent management practices have been put aside in order to cut cost. However it is at this time that the strategies of the company should be reassessed and practices of talent management should be encouraged. The organization needs to ensure, in order to have success, that they are having right people with the needed qualities at the right time and in right location. (U.S. Department of the Interior Office of Personnel Policy, 2001) In this essay I would be explaining the meaning of talent management, along with a history (in the appendix) and then I would be critically analyzing the importance of talent management in current economic conditions followed by a conclusion and the learning outcome. TALENT MANAGEMENT: There is no proper definition of talent management as each organization thinks differently. To some organization it is about managing the highly talented individuals having specialized skills which helps the organization to withstand the market and for the others it is about managing the talent i.e. all people have talent and it should be identified and then to train them as per the requirement of the organization. Most of the talent management decisions are done based on core competency of an organization and the skills required for the particular position. Thus talent management is basically a recruitment of people both internally as well as externally, developing them in line with the organizations current business goals, and then promoting and retaining those people for the future business goals. These all functional aspects are done by human resource department who work in line with the companys business goals. (Sundararajan, 2009) ROLE OF TALENT MANAGEMENT IN CURRENT ECONOMIC CONDITIONS: In the current economic downturn most of the organizations around the world have taken tough decisions in terms of managing their talent. Most of the companies has slashed jobs, reduced training and development budget on their staff and have put talent management programmers on hold or have cancelled. The HR professionals are put under pressure by the companies to cut cost. (Bersin, 2008) Even the demographics are considered to be an important for success of an organization and are also the main driver for talent management challenge. Nearly 70 million baby boomers are expected to stop working in U.S. in the next 15 years and only 40 million workforce are expected to retire in the similar period, thus creating a shortage of workers. (Adecco, 2008). All the above shows that how significant is talent management practices and the job which HR plays is a launch pad of talent mindset. But the companies, thinking of bright future prospects have taken a positive approach towards their business and also managing their talents in the  present economic downturn. The companies which have implemented well controlled talent management programs have not only helped the company to overcome short term business challenges but it has relocated the company to achieve long term success and growth. It also has helped the organizations to increase their profits by employing the right people at the right time. (Deloitte,2009). A recent survey conducted by Bersin Associates(2009) have shown that the organizations which have implemented talent management programs have achieved a 60% higher return as compared to the organization that have not implemented it. Thus the organizations have felt the importance of effective talent management processes and have focused more on retaining their highly skilled people and reviewing their systems to ensure that they have maximum return on inve stment. There is an important requirement of knowledge workers, in an organization, having precise skills which are developed through extensive learning and guidance. These workers have created an essential impact on the success of the company. (Jackson,Hitt and DeNisi, 2003). Most of the organizations require constant innovative products to satisfy the needs of the customer. These can be done only through the workforces of the company. This shows that how the talent management practice is crucial to success. Even most of the multinational organizations have felt the need of these workforces and for these they are moving to other countries to recruit and hire talent people. They always look out to enter into new markets as quickly as possible before their competitor does as this helps them to hire the best talent at best prices which helps the organization to remain competitive in this global environment.(Schuler Jackson, 2009) The talent management programs are vital for an organization as it brings a greater long term benefits as compared to short term benefits. Thus the organization needs to have a long term mindset which is crucial in period of economic instability as it brings benefits to the organization than cutting cost in the short term. SHORTCOMINGS OF TALENT MANAGEMENT: As per Cappelli, the large corporations especially in U.S. talent management practices have become dysfunctional leading to the failure of its practices. The main two reasons for its failures are firstly the surpluses of employees during downturn leading to layoffs and reshuffle and secondly the lack of adequate talent resulting in talent crisis. (Cappelli, 2008) The talent management practices in U.S. were done in two ways that were equally ineffective and fruitless. The most regular practice done by the U.S. companies is that they never did anything nor made any plans to combat the crisis of talent. Thus whenever they require a new talent or any employee leaves the job, they relied on outside hiring to fulfill the gap of talent which proved to be costly.(Cappelli,2008) The second approach which is commonly used among older companies is that they relied on multifaceted and authoritative models of 1950 for forecasting and succession planning. This legacy system proved to be a great success when the business was predictable. But in the present economic conditions, where the environment is unstable and unpredictable, it was very tough to have a long term succession planning.(Cappelli, 2008) The companies could not forecast of how many employees would be staying with them once the development program was completed. Thus whenever an important vacancy occurs, the candidate identified as a successor may not be able to meet the needs of the job because of the unstable environment. The company then searches for the talent from outside to fill the gap. This outcome resulted to have a negative impact. Firstly the candidate feels betrayed as the succession plan creates an implicit promise and secondly the investment made in developing these candidates is wasted.  (Cappelli,2008) As per Cappelli, the survey conducted shows that nearly two third of the American companies are not doing any sort of manpower planning nor predicting how many employees are required and the advice they got was to return to the traditional practices of 1950s and create a long term succession plans. For implementing these plans they need to ensure that some sort of planning are done or else the company may have to depend on outside hiring to fill those gaps. The problems related to outside hiring is that it led to the problem of retention of current workers as they feel demoralized and also the cost of hiring a new employee is also very high. (Cappelli, 2008) IMPACT OF ECONOMIC CRISIS ON TALENT MANAGEMENT: Whenever an economic crisis occurs, the first and foremost which the organization does is to make deep reductions in cost by eliminating jobs and also eliminating any cost related to recruitment and professional development. Even the learning and development budget gets reduced. This results in two different scenarios: firstly the people get promoted without having necessary talent, knowledge or exposure to execute the roles effectively and secondly the studies have shown that the employees greatly value the growth of their own talent and thus plummeting the training and budget cost. This results in reduced self-esteem and act as a de-motivator for the employee and it also leads the employee to leave their job.(Insight Research, 2009) Most of the organizations have downscale their business by removing the workforces mainly due to global economic and financial conditions. The research conducted in the area of talent management have reflected that the impact of loss was not felt initially but later on it did make the organization to realize their mistake, when they had no employee with the required knowledge and skills to either foresee or solve problems that occurred. (Collins Mellahi,2009) Finally whenever a crisis occurs the managers shouldnt forget about talent management practices. They should take time to vigilantly re-evaluate their talent management strategy and make sure that they are using their largest talent their staff- as effectively as possible.(Street,2008) CONCLUSION: The most novel way to manage the talent is to use the four values drawn from the operations of supply chain management .The two of them address the improbability in the demand side and the other two addresses the supply side. Make and Buy to Manage Risk: having too much of employees are expensive. So the best way to combat such problems is to develop less candidates than the future requirement and if there is shortfall of talent then it can be hired from outside. The organization must carefully review where to put their assets as some positions can be easily crammed by outside talent.(Cappelli,2008) Adapt to the uncertainty in Talent demand: the actual requirement of talent in future is uncertain and hence the company should employ the demand in shorter groups. Then these groups are selected in regular interval thus putting fewer burdens on the management and also the employees are given general common training to all, and then they are send them back to their jobs to specialize.(Cappelli,2008) Improve the return on investment in developing employees: In order to improve the ROI, the employees should be made to bear the cost of development which helps the employees to gain knowledge. It can also be that the employees may be asked to do work on certain projects on freely basis. And the most important part is to maintain the relationship with the former employees, so that when they return back to job they bring back your ROI in the form of skills.(Cappelli,2008) Preserve the Investment by balancing the Employee-employer relationship: the employees can leave the job if they find better prospects. The best way to retain these employees is to maintain a relationship by having him share the advancement decisions.(Cappelli,2008) BIBLIOGRAPHY: Brscoe, D., Schuler, R. and Claus,E.(2009), International Human Resource Management 3rd Edition, Routledge London.[ONLINE] Available at: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/B6W5M-4XK321Y-1/2/814a88aaea2c415c71975e14a443484e?zone=raall. (Accessed on: Friedman, T.L., The World is Flat, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, New York. [Online]. Available at: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/B6W5M-4XK321Y-1/2/814a88aaea2c415c71975e14a443484e?zone=raall. (Accessed on: U.S. Department of the Interior Office of Personnel Policy(2001), Workforce Planning Instruction Manual, Available at: http://www.doi.gov/hrm/WFPImanual.pdf. (Accessed on: Sundararajan(2009), Emerging Trends of Talent Management and Challenges of HRM ,[ONLINE] Available at: http://www.articlesbase.com/human-resources-articles/emerging-trends-of-talent-management-and-challenges-of-hrm-957837.html.(Accessed on: Bersin,J. (2008), Talent Management: State of the Industry, Human Resource Executive [Online], Available at: http://www.hrexecutive.com/HRE/story.jsp?storyId=98598263query=talent%20management.. (Accessed on: Tarique, I. and Schuler, R.S. (2009), Global Talent Management: Literature Review, Integrative Framework and suggestions for further research, Science Direct, [ONLINE], Available at : http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/B6W5M-4XK321Y-1/2/814a88aaea2c415c71975e14a443484e?zone=raall. (Accessed on: Adecco(2008), The next decades talent war, [ONLINE], Available at: http://www.dgfp.de/perdoc/document.php?id=81143. (Accessed on: Schuler, R.S., AND Jackson, S.E. (2009), The Global Talent Management Challenge: Drivers and HR actions for Attaining and Sustaining Global Competitive Advantage Science Direct, [ONLINE], Available at: http://www.dgfp.de/perdoc/document.php?id=81143. (Accessed on: Mellahi,K. and Collings, D.G.,(2009), The barriers to effective global talent management: The example of corporate elites in MNEs, Science Direct, [ONLINE], Available at: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL_udi=B6W5M-4XJW048-2_user=8742368_coverDate=10/29/2009_rdoc=1_fmt=high_orig=search_sort=d_docanchor=view=c_searchStrId=1211489006_rerunOrigin=google_acct=C000009999_version=1_urlVersion=0_userid=8742368md5=4c47e726a2ba56294846ce945e8801ef. (Accessed on: Ready, D.A. and Conger, J.A. (2007), Make your company a talent factory, Harvard Business Review, [ONLINE], Available at : http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL_udi=B6W5M-4XJW048-2_user=8742368_coverDate=10/29/2009_rdoc=1_fmt=high_orig=search_sort=d_docanchor=view=c_searchStrId=1211489006_rerunOrigin=google_acct=C000009999_version=1_urlVersion=0_userid=8742368md5=4c47e726a2ba56294846ce945e8801ef. (Accessed on: Deolitte(2009), Balancing talent strategies in difficult times, Available at : http://rss.hsyndicate.com/file/152003927.pdf. (Accessed on: Bersin Associates And Centre for Creative Leadership Industry Study(2009), High Impact Succession Management, Available at: http://www.centerforcreativeleadership.com/leadership/pdf/research/HighImpactSuccessionManagement.pdf. (Accessed on: Jackson, S.E., Hitt, M.A. and DeNisi, A. (2003), Managing knowledge for sustained competitive advantage, [ONLINE], Available at: http://www.dgfp.de/perdoc/document.php?id=81143. (Accessed on: Cappelli, P.(2008), Talent Management for the Twenty first century, Harvard Business Review,[ONLINE], Available at: Moodle of the University of Glasgow.(Accessed on: Insight Research(2009), Perspectives of talent management in challenging times, Available at: .http://www.accaglobal.com/documents/talent_management.pdf. ( Accessed on: Street, M.(2008), Talent management in a Recession , Available at: http://www.management-standards.org/client_files/Talent%20management%20in%20a%20recession.pdf. (Accessed on:

Aspects of Creative Work

Aspects of creative work: Fallingwater by Frank Lloyd Wright A creative work is a manifestation of creative effort such as artwork, literature, music, paintings, and software. Creative works have in common a degree of arbitrariness, such that it is improbable that two people would independently create the same work. Creative works are part of property rights. A creative work depends on how you look at that particular art. Every art or craft is not creative for us or for everyone.When we say something is creative we always have some reference. If one says a building is creative we always compare it with all principles of design whether it is in harmony or contrast with the surroundings or if it is balanced or the whole building is in unity or not. I have tried to understand aspects of creative work by studying Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater. In 1933, Kaufmann’s asked Frank Lloyd Wright to design a new weekend house in Bear Run, a stream which flows at 1298 feet above sea level and then breaks to fall about 20 feet.Kaufmann’s needed a year round weekend house, with all modern conveniences, away from the highway and closer to the waterfalls. Instead of designing a house which overlooks waterfalls, Wright designed a house on the waterfalls. Wright says,† I think you can hear the waterfall when you look at the design. 1 When Wright first drew sketch of the house he imagined a house with series of terraces or ledged which would appear to be mere extension to the cliff. These reinforced 1 Wright, in a conversation with Hugh Downs at Taliesin, copyright 1953 by the National Broadcasting Company.Aspects of creative work: Theory of Conservation Submitted by: Manasi Pundlik, Code: AC-0212 Page 1 concrete cantilevered terraces were anchored to the rock and thus it was placed between the rocky outcrop and the stream, parallel to an old wooden bridge. The house was conceived as a living space projecting above the falls and into the forest, simil ar to the ledges of rock along the cliffs, and beneath the stream. 2 Initial sketches of the house 2 Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater, the house and its history, copyright 1993 by Dover Publications, Inc.Aspects of creative work: Theory of Conservation Submitted by: Manasi Pundlik, Code: AC-0212 Page 2 First floor plan Second floor Plan Aspects of creative work: Theory of Conservation Submitted by: Manasi Pundlik, Code: AC-0212 Page 3 Third floor plan There were four boulders on northern side of the stream, Wright placed living room floor above one of the boulder. Spaces inside the house were framed by five nearly equal bays. West bay defined the kitchen and two bed rooms above. Two middle bays after that formed the central space of the living room.Mrs. Kauffmann’s room was on first floor and a long gallery at the third level was provided above the living room in the middle bay. The Fourth bay or east bay defined sky lighted study area, principle entrance and stairs, while guest room was built over the eastern bay above the main entry and staircase. The fifth and the last bay encompassed the east living room terrace and the entrance loggia. South Elevation Aspects of creative work: Theory of Conservation Submitted by: Manasi Pundlik, Code: AC-0212 Page 4West Elevation The terrace besides the west living was cantilevered past the line of the west kitchen wall and thus the monotonous and simplistic expression of the bay module was avoided, enhancing the drama of cantilever. On the ground floor a pool kind of space was created this can be accessed by floating staircase. The pool was constructed as per clients wish, it could have been constructed anywhere, but Wright placed it in such a way that as if it is part of the stream. Floating staircase adds to the feeling of one big flowing space from where you cannot separate nature from the building.The cantilevers in the house already appeared everywhere at Bear Run, not just in the rock ledges, but in the long green leaves of the laurel and rhododendron. 3 Wright said that he saw them as a profoundly natural principle. With little sense of its latent poetry or expressive potential and with imagination the cantilever could be turned into the most romantic and free of all structural principles. These cantilevers appear as if they are the driving boards, their one end is anchored to the boulder and other end extends out into space with no vertical support underneath its free end.These series of cantilevers rest on three bolsters and they rise from the edge of the stream as if on tiptoe in support of the cantilevered slab of the first floor. Even if the house has an overriding strong horizontal force expressed through series of terraces it never feels out of place and it never tries to empower itself from the nature. The series of terraces appear as if they are floating on the stream. Even the material used for construction is justified in every sense.Sandstone used gels with the sur roundings which was quarried about 500 feet west of the waterfalls and due to the rough shifting manner it appeared as if they are coming out of the rocky outcrop. Wright was inspired from nature and by using glass in windows and walls he created a space which is inseparable from its surroundings. Glass gave different perspectives form inside as well as from outside. In the daytime it becomes very reflective and appears as mirror like surface created by still and clear pond water, while in the night glass appears as if it disappeared.The bold projecting cantilevers are made of reinforced concrete but they echo the rocky landscape. New material helped Wright to build large floating terraces. Even the colours which were used like the pale ochre colour given to the beams matched with the back of a fallen rhododendron leaf. 3 Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater, the house and its history, copyright 1993 by Dover Publications, Inc. Aspects of creative work: Theory of Conservation Su bmitted by: Manasi Pundlik, Code: AC-0212 Page 5When Wright visited the site for first time every aspect of the building to be constructed was clear to him. He imagined and designed the house then and there itself in his mind. Every little detail in the house adds to the exquisite designing. The whole idea to live around the stream and not just look at it from a distance is fascinating. Mr. Kauffman loved the stream but no one ever thought of building a house there. Wright very modestly says that â€Å"by way of concentrated thought, the idea is likely to spring into life all at once and be completed eventually with the unity of a living organism. 4 Thus when I studied the architectural and structural aspects of Fallingwater I realized how the architect was inspired from the setting and how he imagined the building in first site visit and he never deviated from that imagination. His principle of organic architecture can be seen in every aspect of the building from choosing the site , designing flowing spaces which follow function too, to choosing right materials to express it. Use of natural material like sandstone so that the building becomes part of the landscape, and use of modern material like reinforced concrete for structural stability and strong and bold form of terrace.Entrance to the site was so thoughtful that while crossing the wooden bridge and approaching the entrance of the house you get a feeling of uphill journey into a private territory, even though the entrance was at an elevation only six inches higher than the bridge roadway. By understanding all these aspects one can realize the cultural significance of the building. After industrial evolution and emergence of modern architecture, concepts of cultural significance are changed. It doesn’t mean that we don’t respect our cultural heritage, but it forces us to understand significance in different erspective. These examples we study in Indigenous traditional architecture and that we study in modern architecture have very different significance. Modern architecture like Fallingwater has cultural significance because it shows us how lifestyle of India as well as whole world has changed over time. How architecture changed over time. How our culture and architecture evolved due to British rule and also due to exchange of ideas and culture. When we are studying about conservation all these aspects are very important to understand a building. Wright, in the Architectural Forum, 94 (Jan. 1951), p. 93 Aspects of creative work: Theory of Conservation Submitted by: Manasi Pundlik, Code: AC-0212 Page 6 Replica and memory: Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater Frank Lloyd Wright was an American architect, born in Richland Center, Wisconsin. His mother, Anna Lloyd Wright had a great influence in shaping of his life.. Things which he learned on his uncle’s farm helped him to relate to nature. The architectural style which he developed has a strong belongingness to nature.In initial practice Wright worked with Louis Sullivan and his principle of Form follows function is also seen in Wright’s work. Inspired from principles of Sullivan he created his own style inspired from nature i. e. Organic Architecture, an American style in architecture that even influenced the best European builders of the 20th century. For Wright, organic architecture should incorporate: †¢ †¢ †¢ Designs based on nature Natural building materials and, Architectural plans that integrate buildings with natureA classic example of organic architecture, Fallingwater, created in 1936, at Bear Run, Pennsylvania, showcases Wright’s skills and his command on his imagination. The client Mr. Kauffman wanted to build a weekend country house near Bear Run stream where he and his family can enjoy the fall. When Wright visited the site he had something different in mind. He knew that the Kauffmann’s loved the stream, so instead of designing a house which overlooks the stream he designed a house where you can live in the stream and enjoy every bit of it.The whole structure is built such that it never tries to empower itself from nature. It sits quietly on the rocks as if it belongs there. This dynamic building is suspended over a fall, which pours down from underneath one of Wright’s bold projecting terraces. The building seems to grow out of the landscape. Flowing spaces, extended terraces besides the living and dining rooms brought nature into the house. Even though a modern material like reinforced concrete was used for constructing terraces it merged with the surroundings as if they were part of the rocky site.Glass used for walls and windows, pale ochre coloured sandstone used all added belongingness. Sandstone used for construction was queried from nearby site Fallingwater is both integrated into the landscape and designed to echo the shapes of the landscape where it is nestled. Wright allows a boulder from the si te to penetrate the floor of the house, so that the natural rock foundation actually merges with the interior of the house. This boulder forms the living room fireplace. With this design element, Wright blends rock, fire and water.Aspects of creative work: Theory of Conservation Submitted by: Manasi Pundlik, Code: AC-0212 Page 7 Wright embeds his building supports into solid rock and even manages to build around nature, totally integrating his structure into the natural landscape. For instance, Wright actually built around a tree, incorporating the tree into the design of his building. The extreme union of human habitat and natural world is visible in the stairs that are suspended directly over the falls. These stairs go nowhere they simply allow people to experience the falls and be in direct contact with nature.Glass windows in the living room , extended beams on the second floor which act as trellis beams for first floor and all such small details emerge from Wrights inspiration of bringing nature into the building, so that the building is part of nature and the people living inside should also feel the same way. That is what organic architecture is. Replica – Dictionary Meaning: : an exact copy or model of something Memory: the faculty by which the mind stores and remembers information, a person or thing remembered, the length of time over which one can remember things. Every artist tries to interpret nature in its own way. Some get inspired from some form of flower or any form which exists in nature, some understand nature and try to relate their understanding of nature by reinterpreting it. Some try to interpret on paper, some by composing music, some by building, but basic concept is same to understand nature. In terms of architecture, Frank Lloyd Wright felt the need of relating his structures with the nature. He tried to interpret nature by evolving his architectural style which was close to nature.Replica means a model which is inspired from s omething which belongs to nature and had gone through a process of evolution. It can never be exactly same as the inspiration but the essence remains. When a model lacks spirit, essence and inspiration it is merely a copy. Replica cannot be studied in isolation of its context. Context, cultural significance is very important to understand from where the artist got its inspiration. 5 Ed. Catherine Soanes, Oxford dictionary thesaurus, Oxford university press, New York (2005) Aspects of creative work: Theory of Conservation Submitted by: Manasi Pundlik, Code: AC-0212 Page 8

Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein Essay

In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein there are a lot of examples of how she is warning the readers about the perils of modern science. One of the biggest examples is the creator of Frankenstein, and Frankenstein himself. The fact that someone was taking the role of â€Å"god†, and trying to create life is a very scary factor in life. If someone of our kind can gain the power to create their own human life from machines, science, and electricity then they could have the ultimate power. Power is something that all human kind wants to achieve, but also fear. Power goes along with the perils of modern science, which Mary Shelley warns the readers about. Modern science is definitely something to fear, and that is exactly why Mary Shelley was warning her readers. Frankenstein is just a huge example period about how scary modern science is, and why she was warning us. Mary Shelley makes references in Frankenstein from Milton’s Paradise and Garden of Eden. So much has been done, exclaimed the soul of Frankenstein—more, far more, will I achieve; treading in the steps already marked, I will pioneer a new way, explore unknown powers, and unfold to the world the deepest mysteries of creation. † The quote shows; especially the part where he says he will â€Å"explore unknown powers, and unfold to the world the deepest mysteries of creation†, a great example of how she is warning the readers about the perils of modern science. It states how exploring more with science will help him create more out of life. The deepest mysteries of creations†, is something scary to even think about someone exploring. Frankenstein has a lot of similar qualities to the god in Milton’s Paradise Lost. One great example is what was said earlier, which was the fact that they both want to create life. There is also the fact that both creators rejected their creations. The quote from page 57 Frankenstein says, â€Å"Oh no mortal could support the horror of the countenance†, which is him completely rejecting his creation and only based solely on his horrendous appearance. This book is all about him experimenting and creating life and acting as god. He creates life, and then instantly rejects it because it was not created to his full potential, which means he will continue to create again until his creation is perfect. With so many rejected creations can come so many problems, and who knows what the rejected creations will become. Just like with Frankenstein’s creations, he was portrayed as a fearful monster, which is what mankind was afraid of and wanted nothing to do with. Not only was Frankenstein’s creation hideous looking, but it also lacked in speech, which made people even more scared. People are afraid of not being able to communicate, and not being able to understand. Shelley is not only warning us as readers about science, and what the future could hold because of these experiments, but she is also showing what happens when someone acts as god, and completely fails. When you are not only ignorant, but also irresponsible on top of that, these types of mistakes will happen, and you will end up regretting what you have created; â€Å"I was seized by remorse and the sense of guilt, which hurried me away to a hell of intense tortures, such as no language can describe. â€Å"

In Confessions By Saint Augustine He Recognizes That...

In Confessions by Saint Augustine he recognizes that friendships are necessities to human life because they bring people happiness and during the course of his life he ponders the role of happiness plays in his life. The philosophical term for happiness is Eudaimonia which is imperative to creating a whole person. Friends help strengthen and encourage Augustine to find a sense of community and belonging. He evaluates his friendships over the course of the three life stages. These stages in his life are adolescence, early adulthood and adulthood. In Augustine’s life he became a close friend to many, and at different stages of his life, they leave him questioning his own morals. They contributed to Augustine’s life because of the different†¦show more content†¦During Augustine’s adolescence, all of his friendships were based off of utility because they were all self centered and did not last longer than adolescence. Also during this point in Augustine s li fe he is not religious and he does not yet have a relationship with God. The friends are only surface level friendships, serving Augustine at the moment bringing him temporal satisfaction. When he interacted with them, they deteriorated him from his morals and his beliefs leading him in the wrong path. Augustine continued to pursue these friendships because they brought him enjoyment. They did not bring him happiness because when he was surrounded with these friends Augustine felt peer pressure to do things that did not align with his morals. One day he and his friends sought out to steal pears from a neighbor s pear tree. They received no pleasure out of stealing and when they stole they did not even want the pears and they tossed them to the pigs. Augustine says, [I]ran wild,...in the jungle of erotic adventures...and became putrid in [God s] sight. Augustine reflects on this time period is his most sinful. He did not feel that it was not the pears that made him happy, but it was the sense of camaraderie he felt when he was with his friends. This shows at this point in life his conception of friendship and happiness was doing what your friends toldShow MoreRelated Happiness in the Fourth Epistle of Alexander Popes An Essay on Man5580 Words   |  23 Pagescreature, it was necessary first to know what condition and relation it is placed in, and what is the proper end and purpose of its being. For Pope, drawing on a venerable ideal from antiquity onwards, the end and purpose of humanity was happiness.1 As he exclaims at the very beginning of the fourth epistle, The heritage of the supremacy of happiness is impressive. For example, Aristotle believed that happiness was mans strongest desire which involved an activity of the soul in accordance with virtueRead MoreLogical Reasoning189930 Words   |  760 Pages........................... 553 Exercises .......................................................................................................................................... 555 1 C H A P T E R 1 How to Reason Logically T he goal of this book is to improve your logical-reasoning skills. Your logical-reasoning skills are a complex weave of abilities that help you get someones point, generate reasons for your own point, evaluate the reasons given by others, decide what