Mentoring Essay -- essays research papers

Managing People Individual Assessment Managing Mentoring With the development of the more organic and less formal organisational structures the role of mentors has shifted with these changes. Unlike previously where mentors where seen as formal trainers who taught newcomers the processes and got them acquainted with the cultures and the systems within the organisation. Which required good interpersonal skills and a good knowledge of the activity or tasks the mentee would have to undertake, and be able to effectively relay or demonstrate the tasks or activities to the mentee. As opposed to more recently where a mentor would have to be more of an emotional counselor and demonstrate more skills than were traditionally required from mentors in the past, such as being emotionally sensitive and sometimes employing diversity mentoring and culture mentoring skills. The term Mentor is derived from Greece. Levinson et al defined the mentor as â€Å"someone who is ordinarily several years older, a person of greater experience seniority in the world the young man is entering† This shows that not all mentoring takes place on an organisational level and in many instances is less organic and more mechanic within organisations. Mentoring also differs depending on the organisation the mentee is entering and the capacity that they are entering that organisation, mentoring is extremely prevalent in the education and training of young people in this context Murray and Owen define it as â€Å"a supportive relationship between a youth or young adult and someone who offers support, guidance and concrete assistance† The is an interesting shift in emphasis when organisational mentoring takes the place educational mentoring the focus changes from the personal nature of the mentor and the mentee to the structure and the processes within that relationship. Which really begs the question â€Å"which mentoring style brings about the best results?† but in order to answer that we must analyse what exactly we want to achieve from the mentoring?†. What facilitated mentoring does is set out to encapsulate the relationships and influence that develop in informal mentoring and transfer it to the organisational framework. One of the reasons organisations influence mentoring because it is a cost effective way training and developing, mentors relive the line managers of the responsibility of training... ... of information over the internet will lead to the emergence of more personal relationships being formed on a work related basis. Mentors and mentoring have been part of organisational culture in some capacity since humans started to organise things. It has survived several shifts in the context it was viewed in and how it was and is applied in the organisation. The challenge for organisations of the day be mindful of these constant changes and aim to be responsive not reactive for them. To diagnose exactly what, when and how mentoring should take place and challenge more staff to aspire to be mentors of the future. Referencing Brian Gay - What is Mentoring? Education + Training Vol.36 No.5 1994 pp 4 –7 Linda Holbeche – Peer Mentoring: the challenges and opportunities Career Development International Vol. 1 No. 7 pp 24 – 27 Leonora Kane - Mentoring For Black Students Education + Training Vol.36 No.8 1994 pp 18 –24 Clutterbuck and Megginson – Mentoring Executive and Directors Butterworth-Heinemann, Oxford Ragins B.R.- Mentor functions and outcomes: a comparison of men and women in formal and informal mentoring relationships Journal of Applied Psychology Vol.84 No.4 pp529 550

Foundation of Christian Thought Applied Essay

If I were to sum up what I have learned from this course it would be focused on Faith and a new understanding of the Bible. Faith is not just part of religion but every aspect of our everyday lives, and is fascinatingly carried through the Bible from the beginning to the end. It began with the Creation, and continued throughout the Fall, Redemption, and Consummation of Christ. It is the foundation of the Christian perspective and what leads God’s people to salvation and good works. Our modern world is so corrosive to faith that Jesus Christ asked, â€Å"When the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth? (Luke 18:8). He is there to give his people the gift of faith and to help them to grow in living faith that will last forever. â€Å"In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. † (Genesis 1:1) In Genesis 1 we are presented with the beginning of a divine drama that can only be examined and understood from the standpoint of faith. How long did it take? How did it happen, exactly? No one can answer these questions definitively. In fact, these mysteries are not the focus of the creation story. The purpose, rather, is for moral and spiritual revelation. God was very pleased with his creation. Six times throughout the process of creating, God stops, observes his handiwork and says, â€Å"It was very good. † This is a great example of being a part of God’s creation. Even when I feel unworthy of his pleasure, I have to remember that God made me and is pleased with me. In verse 26, God says, â€Å"Let us make man in our image, in our likeness †¦ † On the seventh day, God rested. I often wondered if God needed to put in a day of rest for us to follow. I could not imagine God, who can do anything, being tired, but apparently he considered it important. Rest is often an unfamiliar concept in today’s busy, fast-paced world. It seems to have become socially unacceptable to take an entire day to rest, yet God knew that there would need to be a time of reenergizing. I thought a good example of this could be when Jesus, spent time alone away from the crowds. This shows that as human beings we need to rest and renew our bodies, souls, and spirits. The Creation story clearly shows that God truly enjoyed himself as he created his masterpiece. As noted previously, he stopped six times to enjoy his accomplishments. If God can stop to enjoy his handiwork, why is it so hard in today’s society to stop and truly take time to feel good about our achievements? Whether it is a job, hobby, or ministry service, if the work is pleasing to God then it should also bring pleasure to the person. When God created man and woman, Adam and Eve, he gave them many beautiful plants and trees to enjoy for food. But He also gave them one tree from which they were not to eat. This was the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. God’s command to them was that if they ate from that tree they would die. In The Fall of Adam and Eve The Bible says that the Devil entered into a serpent and tempted Eve (Genesis 3:1). He got Eve to doubt God’s Word. Satan told her that God knew that Eve would become enlightened and possess the same knowledge as God had if she ate from the fruit of the tree. This is much like Satan’s temptation within society today. There is constant temptation lurking over peoples whispering that there is no need for God. This is proven by all the violence, lying, murder, war, hatred, and disobedience of the 10 Commandments. The fruit was beautiful and Satan was cunning. Eve fell to the temptation and took the fruit from the forbidden tree. Finding it delicious she took it to Adam. As soon as Adam tasted the forbidden fruit, their lives, and that of all future humanity, changed. They immediately knew they had done wrong. They disobeyed God and would be punished. I can completely relate to this feeling of conscience. It is amazing when I do something wrong, and know that it is wrong, how it sits in the pit of my stomach and eats away at me until I make it right. I believe that that is how it is for people with conscience. That is the soul’s way of notifying an individual that what they are about to do, are doing, or have done is not right in the eyes of God. When God came to visit Adam and Eve in Eden, they tried to cover their nakedness with fig leaves. Their nakedness was something they had never even noticed before. When they heard God coming they tried to hide from Him. Of course God is all knowing. He was not looking for them because He didn’t know where they were, but because he wanted to give Adam and Eve a chance to return to Him and acknowledge their sin. God spoke with Adam, Eve and the serpent. Each one had a specific punishment from God. Adam was told that his work would be hard and become toilsome (Genesis 3:17-19). The woman would bear children with great pain (Genesis 3:16). The serpent was given the punishment of crawling on the ground and that he would be cursed more than any other creature (Genesis 3:14). God told Adam and Eve in the beginning that they would die on the day they ate from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. One death was immediate; this was that they were spiritually separated from God. However, their physical bodies continued to live, but they would not live forever as God apparently intended. They would become old, sick and die. All three (Adam, Eve and the serpent) were put out of the guard and the curse came not only on them but on the whole world. They no longer had a personal communion with God. This is where faith really has to come into play for me. It is hard to take this all in with no proof, and yet part of me says is that not what faith is, giving one’s total self to God in body, mind, and spirit. I have to be able to trust in Him wholly. This is where I need to truly work on â€Å"letting go and letting God†. After the Fall there was Redemption. â€Å"Redemption is being set free from slavery to one’s own sinful nature, slavery to the pressures of the culture which is under the spirit of this present evil age, and slavery to principalities, powers, and spiritual wickedness in the high places. † When Cain became angry that the offering he had brought to the Lord did not have the same response as the offering of his brother Abel, God spoke directly to him warning him (Gen 4:6-7) that †¦ sin is crouching at the door; its desire is for you, but you must master it’ What I feel this is saying is that sin is almost like a wild animal, waiting at the door of Cain’s life, and that it needs to be tamed and mastered. In comparison to society for all generation, this is something that is yet to be mastered. The same is true today as it was all those years ago; when an individual finds them self in a situation where they get angry because one person has more than they do, the normal reaction is to plot to ‘put down’ the other. On some occasions this even leads to murder. There is a freedom of choice in every sin committed. Even though human beings have the resources to take authority over sin; we often choose to submit our will to it and become its slave. ‘If you yield yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are the slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness’ (Rom 6:16). As Christians, we have a belief system and a life that is based upon even some laws and regulations that are Biblical. Even people who have never read the Bible and do not therefore know what God has said; have a ‘morality’ that they like to think that they live up to, but often fall short. I feel that Paul says it best in Romans 3:23 ‘†¦ all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God’ and that in Rom 3:9‘†¦ we are all under the power of sin. ’ As a human being, our greatest problem is not that we are living in captivity but that we will not accept that we are in captivity. Human beings need to face up to the reality of their dilemma and not to rely upon any false hopes or ideals. Some people rely on doing good in hopes that somehow their good deeds may outweigh the evil they do, but all such arguments are lacking in a recognition of individual human responsibility, and lacking in a dependence upon the work of Christ. The dilemma, then, is not just that we subject to the bondage of sin, but that it is necessary to acknowledge it before Christ who is able to minister redemption. Jesus died on the cross for us. The penalty of sin, under the Law, is both spiritual and physical death. Jesus took that death upon Himself, paying the price for our freedom. Jesus gave His life. Mark 10:45 says ‘†¦ the Son of man came†¦ to give His life as a ransom for many’. Jesus had nothing else to give us but Himself. He is both our ransom and our Redeemer and, more than this, redemption is only found in Him even though we may try and find it elsewhere and in different people who now exist or who have existed throughout history (Rom 3:23-24, Acts 4:12). Because Christ has fulfilled the requirements of the Law by taking the penalty upon Himself, we can be free to look forward to the day of our death because our sin has been dealt with. Although Jesus made the ultimate sacrifice for his people, it is still an ongoing task trying to figure out why individuals still behave as they do. The early chapters of Genesis helps to explain why individuals behave as they do, and to understand how we should act so as to please God. The subject of Paul’s teaching in Ephesians 5:21-33 is that of submission in the context of marriage. Paul’s instructions here create a head-on collision with the beliefs and practices of our culture. Paul’s instructions are written off as the ranting of an ancient male chauvinist. It is one thing for the unbelieving world to reject Paul’s instructions; it is quite another for Christians to do so. Many Christians refuse to take Paul’s words seriously; even some of those who profess to take the Scriptures at face value, try to â€Å"tip toe† past certain passages in order to avoid the stigma of professing and practicing its teaching. Some individuals claim that they have not taken Paul’s words seriously out of ignorance. Unknowingly, they believe Paul’s teaching to be a mere reflection of his culture, and not a timeless teaching, independent of the culture of that day, and of our own. I believe most Christians fail to understand the responsibilities of Christian husbands and wives in the light of the biblical basis which underlies and necessitates them. For example, The Lord’s Supper is one of the two ordinances our Lord has given to His church in this age. As Christians we are to regularly remember the Lord’s death at communion and the New Testament church devoted itself to a regular observance of it. What if someone were to suggest that this was merely an ancient celebration, applicable and meaningful only to the saints of days gone by, instead of preserving this ancient ceremony, they tell us, let us do something more meaningful, more enjoyable, and more relevant to our culture. What if they suggest having an ice cream and pie supper? Would our unsaved friends be more likely to attend? Would people find it more beneficial? As Christians we must be able to stand up for our faith and explain that we cannot set aside that which our Lord has instituted and which His church has continued to practice, from New Testament days onward. We should also point out that the bread and the wine of communion are symbols, symbols of our Lord’s sacrificial death for sinners. If we were to change these symbols radically, we could not do so without modifying the symbolism. Chocolate syrup might taste delicious on vanilla ice cream, but it would hardly replace the wine as the symbol for Christ’s shed blood. Like communion, marriage is a divine institution. Christian marriage has certain commitments, obligations and duties which are symbolic. The roles which God has given to a Christian husband and his wife are intended to symbolize and represent a greater, more fundamental reality. While marriage is temporal, the reality which is symbolizes is eternal; and thus we cannot understand the importance of the duties of the husband or the wife without grasping the reality which Christian marriage is to symbolically communicate. This fundamental reality which underlies and explains the attitudes and conduct of a man and his wife in marriage is the relationship of Jesus Christ to His church. This relationship was not understood clearly in Old Testament times; even Paul found it to be a mystery. The symbolism of marriage can only be understood in the light of the substance on which a Christian marriage is based: the mystery of Christ’s relationship to His church. Out of all the messages in the Bible, the view of consummation and marriage is what I struggle with the most. In Genesis chapter 2, God created Adam. Adam was given the task of naming all of the animals God had made. As they passed by two by two it became apparent that every male animal had its female counterpart. Adam was conspicuous as the only creature without a corresponding mate. I believe that by this means God created a yearning in Adam for a mate of his own. God provided her, but she was not like any other creature, in that she was not made from the dust of the earth; she was created instead from Adam’s flesh and bones. God created the woman as Adam’s partner, fashioning her to correspond to him in every way. God then brought the woman to Adam, and presented her to him as his wife. Adam joyfully responded, â€Å"This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh; She shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man† (Genesis 2:23). As creation’s first husband and wife, Adam and Eve symbolized by the marriage the unity of Christ and His church which would be achieved at the cross of Calvary, centuries later. While reading Ephesians, Paul says â€Å"Wives, be subject to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the head of the church, He Himself being the Savior of the body. But as the church is subject to Christ, so also the wives ought to be to their husbands in everything. † As I read on Paul explains in verse 23 how our Lord is the Head of His church, He is the â€Å"Savior of the body†. I understood this to mean that, the headship of Christ is evident in the salvation which He accomplished at Calvary. (Ephesians 5:21-33) In the early chapters of Ephesians, Paul spoke much more about our salvation in Christ, but he laid the foundation for Christ as the head of His church as its Consummation by teaching that all of history is being divinely directed toward the goal of â€Å"summing up all things in Christ† (Ephesians 1:10). In Genesis 2:24 Moses instructs us that when a man and a woman come together in marriage, the man is to leave his mother and father and to unite his wife, to become one flesh. While there may be practical benefits to a man leaving his parents and bonding to his wife, Moses does not bother to mention them. His words indicate that there is one fundamental reason. The Bible says that the fundamental and primary union evident in the marriage of Adam and Eve is to be reflected in every subsequent marriage, to symbolize the union of Christ and His church. Because God created Adam from the dust of the ground and Eve from Adam’s flesh and bone; they began as one flesh through the creation of Eve. This union was also to become evident in their sexual union and in the bearing of children, but the first marriage on earth began with only one relationship, a man and his wife. This husband-wife relationship, Moses indicated, is the primary one, and the parent-child relationship is secondary. When President Obama announced he now supports same-sex marriage, he cited his Christian faith. â€Å"The thing at root that we think about is, not only Christ sacrificing himself on our behalf, but it’s also the Golden Rule, you know; treat others the way you would want to be treated,† he said in his interview with ABC News. I think when Christians at large talk about gay marriage, they are missing the point. The point is not that gay people want to take away other people’s right to get married. The whole struggle is really centered around the desire to be allowed in, to be able to participate in this ritualistic display of how much love the human heart can hold. It is about the basic right to choose who you want to spend forever with, and to have that celebrated by family and friends. Freedom of religion is a great thing, but since when did our ability to choose how or what we worship translate into our ability to dictate to others that they must conform to our chosen lifestyle, and that they must obey the rules of our personal faith? I find it rather alarming just how many laws are drifting to the top of legislation, laws that propose the outright imposition of one section of one religion’s believers on the entirety of the population. What is even more alarming to me is how many Christians seem completely okay with this blatant show of force. It is true that we are allowed to believe whatever we want to believe in. It is also true that we are able to express those beliefs freely. Just as the human heart has the capacity to hold so much love, it seems to have the ability to brim full of just as much hate. When we disregard the claims of others to rights do we fully enjoy ourselves, simply because we adopt a â€Å"normative† sexual preference? That is when we find that we are no better than all the people we have learned about in history classes in school who denied the rights they enjoyed to those who were not in the majority with them. It is not about whether or not it is right or wrong to be gay. What matters is when Christians begin to be okay with forcing someone else to follow the scripture, when it may not be something they are ready for or interested in. If Christians want to claim the freedom to speak our religion, and to choose our opinions, we cannot do so while denying others that same right. Christians come out in droves to protest whenever they feel their right to be a Christian is being threatened. I believe that if the Christian community were at large to have one of their basic civil rights legislated against, voted against by non-Christians, there would be a wave of outrage like this country has never seen. With a marriage license comes so many other benefits such as; taxes, home ownership, joint bank accounts, insurance policies, the decision to take a partner off life support, and being allowed in their hospital room after surgery. These are the kind of things that piece of paper can grant, and they are the kinds of things we take for granted. I believe that everyone deserves to be with someone who will cherish them as much as God cherishes us. God made man and woman in his image. We are told to love our neighbor as ourselves, and sometimes in the words of John Lennon, maybe â€Å"All you need is Love†.

Fortinbras in Hamlet by William Shakespeare - 577 Words

Every character in William Shakespeare’s Hamlet is important in their own way, even if they have very few appearances. One character in particular, King Hamlet’s Ghost, influences several characters in Hamlet, as well as the actual theme of the story as a whole. Perhaps one of the most important things about King Hamlet’s Ghost is how a character that holds no physical form, can influence and shape the outcome in such a way that makes Shakespeare’s Hamlet what it is; a tragedy. When King Hamlet’s Ghost is first introduced, Hamlet is not even the first to see it. Marcellus and Bernardo are the first the ghost decides to appear to, and whenever Horatio sees the ghost some time later, he recognizes the figure as Hamlet’s father, and so he tells Marcellus and Bernardo the story of Hamlet’s father’s death. Hamlet after seeing the ghost for the first time, wonders whether or not this ghost is truly who he says he is. He thinks that ma ybe there is some other motive the ghost could have. At first, Hamlet is suspicious of the ghost and thinks that it only wants to harm him and persuade him to do things that he would not normally do. Naturally, without the help of the ghost of Hamlet’s father, Hamlet would have never known anything about how he truly died. When Hamlet first learns of this he is skeptic, but swears Marcellus and Horatio into secrecy. After that, Hamlet did go out and try for revenge, he vows it even (Act 1 Scene 5). This begins Shakespeare’s famous tragedy. The GhostShow MoreRelatedFortinbras in Hamlet by William Shakespeare691 Words   |  3 PagesWilliam Shakespeare was an excellent writer. His plays always have deeper meanings and complex plots, but most importantly, they have wonderful characters. Every character Shakespeare creates has some kind of purpose to fulfill, important even when they are background characters with few lines or appearances. Sometimes, even though the chara cters have no major role in Shakespeare’s plays, they have some type of significance. In Hamlet, one of these characters is Fortinbras. The character of FortinbrasRead MoreCommon Themes In The Tragedy Of Hamlet By William Shakespeare1071 Words   |  5 PagesWilliam Shakespeare tends to focus on a common theme throughout his many works. He uses characters to show the flaws in humans and as society .   In   Shakespeares classic play The Tragedy of Hamlet, the main character, Hamlet is shown with wanting revenge on his mother and uncle after his father’s death.  Ã‚  Ã‚   In this play Hamlet feels the need avenge his father, as well as dealing with being â€Å"mad†. In his mantle break he murders the father of his love, Ophelia, and her brother. The theme of revengeRead More Revenge and Vengeance in Shakespeares Hamlet - Why Revenge?1054 Words   |  5 PagesRevenge in Hamlet        Ã‚  Ã‚   In Elizabethan times, a type of play known as a revenge tragedy became popular. These plays revolved around, ... the revenge of a father for a son or vice versa, the revenge being directed by the ghost of the murdered man... (Harmon and Holman #6). Other characteristics include real or pretend insanity, philosophic soliloquies, hesitation on the part of the protagonist, conspiracy, and the use of horror. William Shakespeares Hamlet fully satisfies each of theseRead MoreFriendship And Relationships In Hamlet919 Words   |  4 Pagesreason to read a novel in school is not so much for the fun of reading, but for the lessons learned. William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, is not considered a classic without good reason. The play touches upon a wide variety of topics, teaching the reader a great deal about life. Shakespeare provides wonderful insight into everything from friendships to death. Of all the stories taught in British Literature, Hamlet is certainly the most importa nt piece to keep due to the lessons in presents. It is definitelyRead MoreA Comparison of the Revenge of Fortinbras and Hamlet Essay893 Words   |  4 Pages In Hamlet, Shakespeare introduces us to Fortinbras and Hamlet. Both characters are bent on avenging the death of their fathers who were murdered. In Act I, two different revenge plots by these two men are revealed, and while Fortinbras is very open and bold about killing Claudius, Hamlet is sly and quiet about his plan. Fortinbras is also dead set on attacking Denmark no matter what but Hamlet is indecisive about killing Claudius. Fortinbras plans to lead an army to attack Denmark while Hamlet’sRead MoreEssay on The Character of Hamlet in William Shakespeares Play1618 Words   |  7 PagesThe Character of Hamlet in William Shakespeares Play Some critics have stated that the appeal of Hamlet to the audience is his many human weaknesses, the most notable being his indecision. His deliberations and procrastinations are particularly high-lighted when he is faced with the task of revenge. The law and Christianity, around the early seventeenth century, were clear in condemning personal revenge as an attempt by man to arrogate the prerogatives of God. Hamlet’sRead MoreCause and Effect Hamlet Essay902 Words   |  4 PagesCause and Effect Hamlet Essay William Shakespeare, arguably the greatest language in the English language and England’s national poet, has written numerous histories, tragedies, comedies and poems. Throughout his plays, his use of dramatic irony, immaculate word choice and wording, and his vast imagination has made him a successful playwright even in his time. Shakespeare’s scripts for his theatrical company, needed to pertain to the needs and fascinations of the Elizabethan audience. It is safeRead More Revenge and Vengeance in Shakespeares Hamlet - Beyond Vengeance1547 Words   |  7 PagesRevenge in Hamlet      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   There is an old saying, The sins of the fathers are visited upon the sons. When the sons in question are Hamlet, Laertes, and Fortinbras - pivotal characters in Shakespeares Hamlet - one might wonder how each mans father affects their particular natures - their particular sins. While Hamlet could be considered a story in the vein of Cain and Abel; a jealous man who slays his brother, an allusion which Claudius himself makes during his prayer at the climax of theRead More The Foils of Laertes and Fortinbras in Hamlet Essay1031 Words   |  5 PagesThe Foils of Laertes and Fortinbras in Hamlet  Ã‚        Ã‚  Ã‚   William Shakespeare wrote the classic play, Hamlet in the sixteenth century.   Hamlet would be a very difficult play to understand without the masterful use of foils.   A foil is a minor character in a literary work that compliments the main character through similarities and differences in personality.   The audience can identify similarities and differences between any of the characters and Hamlet, however, there are two characters thatRead MoreCharacters Of William Shakespeare s Hamlet886 Words   |  4 PagesIn William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, some specific characteristics of Hamlet’s peers help to show the character of Hamlet to the audience. Horatio supports every bold decision Hamlet makes, and is an authentic loyal friend. Fortinbras is a foil perceived in the play, and he wants to avenge his father s death. Laertes, Polonius’s son and Ophelia’s brother, is passionate and impulsive, who is also identified as Hamlet’s foil. A s Shakespeare reveal Horatio’s, Laertes’, and Fortinbras’ traits he also shows