Discuss the film A SEPARATION Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Discuss the film A SEPARATION - Assignment Example One of the ethical dilemmas illustrated on the film is about minor understandings and confusion that lead to separation of a husband known as Nader and his wife Simin. The main reason for the couple’s misunderstanding is the decision of Simin to leave Iran. The film writer depicts that the couple has been married for fourteen years but the living condition in Iran leads Simin to make a decision of leaving. Her main objective is to go in a place where she can manage to offer a better education and life for their eleven years daughter. However, Nader does not support her wife’s decision because he wants to stay in Iran and cater for his eighty years old ailing father. Another issue related to ethical dilemma that the film writer illustrates is dispute dissolution. The couple is unable to solve their disputes and disagreement involved in their marriage. This leads to Simin in filing for a divorce. The family court judges rules that the couple’s disagreement does not weigh enough to consider divorce as the final option. However, Simin had already made her decision and finally moves out. Another ethical dilemma relates to the issue of poverty in the society. The film writer depicts that Razieh moves to work for Nader even without her husband’s permission, as recommended in the society. The film also illustrates various circumstances of emotional upheavals. One of these instances is during the separation of Nader and Simin. The later is mainly concerned of their child’s future life and this creates a difficult moment in her thoughts to the point of making a firm decision of leaving. Nader also depicts to have emotional upheavals in the fact that he has to balance his ailing father’s life to the well-being of his family. Eventually, he makes a decision of staying back with his father rather than moving. The film writer also demonstrates Nader’s daughter, Termer experiencing emotional upheavals because of her parent’s divorce. She loses the

Contemporary Issues in OB Paper-Based on the article Essay

Contemporary Issues in OB Paper-Based on the article - Essay Example Some of these changes that are meant to improve the performance and communication at work end up leading to negative effects. It is important for the managers and consultants to closely examine the changes being made and whether the intended effect is what is actually being provided (Nelson & Quick, 2006). If not, then further research is necessary in order to ensure the employees are not only comfortable in their workplace but they communicate frequently as well as this equates to increased performance in the long run. The article by Bernstein, (2015) is explaining how the transparency in the office space which is meant to encourage accountability, openness as well as facilitate sharing of knowledge and information may not be working. This transparency has led to productivity problems instead, such as reduced overall communication amongst employees as well as affects negatively creative team performance. People are much more distracted than they originally were which means less work is being carried out than before the openness and transparency in the office. The article is further discussing how employees’ performance is suffering as a result of the increase in evaluation of their performance. Evaluation of performance is a good thing but when there is too much evaluation, then it hinders the ability of the employees to concentrate on their work as they are constantly worried about the evaluation. The evaluation tendencies miss the whole point of just giving feedback and become much more intense eventually destroying the very performance they aim to examine and improve. Lastly, there is discussion about how transparency leads to less sharing of ideas and criticisms due to the open that has no restraints at all. When there is a little privacy amongst the employees, it means that whatever work the employees are carrying out will be theirs privately and hence they will work effectively on it without fear of

Life after death Essay Example for Free

Life after death Essay Life after death is credible to a large extent, as there is a large of percentage of people who believe in it. A study carried out between October and November 2009 showed that out of 2,060 people, 53% believed in life after death, with 55% believing in heaven and 70% believing in the human soul in the UK. However, there are many problems with believing in life after death – not least the fact that there is no proof. As Hume might have said, ‘there aren’t enough witnesses’ and ‘testimony isn’t proof. ’ Some evidence put forward is parapsychological, such as near-death experience, mediums, and so on, though the data generated from such evidence is contested. While there may not be any hard evidence for rebirth, it provides advantages to those who believe in it, therefore attaining the label of credibility. For instance, there is an idea of moral value because if one is constantly reborn, one must constantly strive for good karmic effects. However, G. E Moore’s theory of ‘naturalistic fallacy’ might intervene because rebirth confuses moral ideas with factual information about how the world works. There is no means of verifying the principle of karma, and it assumes a dark view of reality with the inevitability of suffering. On the other hand, there is some psychological truth in the ideas of anatta and anicca, since an individual continues to grow throughout their life. Resurrection also delivers benefits for those who believe in it, thus making it credible to a large extent. It has a basis in tradition and is supported by evidence from Sacred Scripture, while it is also fair and encourages morality. However, many challenges to belief in resurrection have been centred on the fact that there is no available way to falsify claims concerning life after death. But, non-Christian sources agree that Jesus was executed by crucifixion and his disciples believe that he rose from dead. A Church persecutor, Saul of Tarsus, unexpectedly transformed into a believer after the resurrection. Verification is only possible in the weak sense of eschatological verification suggested by John Hick in his Celestial City analogy. John Hick is a materialist, who believes that the soul and the body are ‘psycho- physically’ unified. Hick explains in his Replica Theory, where he discusses how God makes it possible for people to be ‘replicated’ on a parallel universe. Hick talks about how the instantaneousness replication would be different from simply being transported from London to New York, he says all the individuals would know their dead and would be on a world populated by deceased individuals. His theory could be seen as incoherent because there is no evidence in science to suggest there is a parallel universe, however if you accept God’s omnipotent existence, this theory is plausible and does not depend on dualism. But, even Hick recognised the limits of his own theory and the fact that it is hypothetical in the extreme. It should be noted that this is an extending theory into the unknown and is purely hypothetical. To conclude, life after death is credible because believers avoid the limitations of rationality and focus on faith, rather than empirical evidence. While some philosophers like Bertrand Russell, argue that the hope of a better life in heaven relieves humans of responsibility for what happens on Earth and encourages a fatalist mentality, such beliefs may do the opposite and soothe fears of demise.

Classical management theory and scientific management

Classical management theory and scientific management The Classical Management Theory is thought to have originated around the year 1900 and dominated management thinking into the 1920s, focusing on the efficiency of the work process. It has three schools of thinking: Scientific management, which looks at the best way to do a job; Bureaucratic management, which focuses on rules and procedures, hierarchy and clear division of labour; and Administrative management, which emphasises the flow of information within the organisation. Scientific Management Frederick Winslow Taylor (1856-1915) is known as the father of scientific management. His approach emphasised empirical research to increase organisational productivity by increasing the efficiency of the production process. In the United States especially, skilled labour was in short supply at the beginning of the twentieth century. The only way to expand productivity was to raise the efficiency of workers. Scientific management theory states that jobs should be designed so that each worker has a well-specified, well-controlled task and specific procedures and methods for each job must be strictly followed. Taylors management theory rests on a fundamental belief that managers are not only superior intellectually to the average employee, but that they have a positive duty to supervise staff and organise their work activities. Thus, it was only applied to low-level routine and repetitive tasks that could be managed at supervisory level. Taylor developed four principles of scientific management: 1. A best methodology should be developed scientifically for each task. 2. Managers should select the best person to perform the task and ensure that the best training is given. 3. Managers are responsible for ensuring that the best person for the job does the job using the best methodology. 4. Remove all responsibility for the work method from the worker and give it to management. The worker is responsible only for the actual job performance. Taylor based his management system on production-line time studies. Using time study as his base, he broke down each job into its components and designed the quickest and best methods of performing each component. He also encouraged employers to pay more productive workers at a higher rate. Scientific management became very popular in the early part of this century as its application was shown to lead to improvements in efficiency and productivity. Advantages of Scientific Management à ¢Ã‚ - Introduced a scientific approach to management. à ¢Ã‚ - Improved factory efficiency and productivity. à ¢Ã‚ - Used as a model upon which the creation of modern assembly lines was based on. à ¢Ã‚ - Allowed managers to reward workers for higher performance and productivity through the differential rate system. à ¢Ã‚ - Built a sense of co-operation between management and workers. Disadvantages of Scientific Management à ¢Ã… ¾Ã‚ ¢ Limited by its underlying assumption that workers were primarily motivated by economic and physical needs. It therefore overlooked the desire of workers for job satisfaction. à ¢Ã… ¾Ã‚ ¢ Led, in some cases, to the exploitation of workers and it has been often suggested that scientific management was at the centre of many strikes prevalent in those days. à ¢Ã… ¾Ã‚ ¢ Excluded the tasks of management in its application. à ¢Ã… ¾Ã‚ ¢ Instilled an authoritarian leadership approach. à ¢Ã… ¾Ã‚ ¢ Focused only on the internal operations of the organisation. Bureaucratic management Max Weber (1864-1920), known as the father of Modern Sociology, was the first person to use the term bureaucracy to describe a particular, and in his view superior, organisational form. He considered the ideal organisation to be a bureaucracy whose activities and objectives were rationally thought, whose divisions of labour were explicitly spelled out. He believed that technical competence should be emphasized and that performance evaluations should be made entirely on the basis of merit. Weber defined the key elements of a bureaucracy as: I. 1. A well defined hierarchy with a clear chain of command where higher positions have the authority to control the lower positions. II. 2. Division of labour and specialisation of skills, where each employee will have the necessary expertise and authority to complete a particular task. III. 3. Complete and accurate rules and regulations, in writing, to govern all activities, decisions and situations. IV. 4. Impersonal relationships between managers and employees, with clear statements of the rights and duties of personnel. V. 5. Technical competence is the basis for all decisions regarding recruitment, selection and promotion. Webers model of bureaucratic management advanced the formation of huge corporations such as ford. Bureaucratic Management Contributions à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Ensured that the organisation would be operated and managed by qualified/high calibre personnel only. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Allowed many organisations to efficiently perform routine organisational tasks through job specialisation. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Allowed management and employees to be more objective in their judgement and approach due to rules and procedures for doing specific tasks being clearly set. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Placed emphasis on job position, specialised employees and job continuity thus providing the organisation with long-term perspectives and quality employees. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Surpassed the loss of any employee or even of any manager due to the nature of job specialisation. Hence in such a bureaucracy, anyone can be replaced. Bureaucratic Management Limitations o Overwhelming concentration on authority discourages innovation and creativity; o Imposed a formal and structured chain of command which is not compatible with organisations that require flexibility and rapid decision-making. This is truer today where organisations are constantly faced with a turbulent external environment of increased competition. o the emphasis on impersonality and division of labour leads to boredom, dissatisfaction and discontent within the workforce o rules and procedures may become so important in their own right that there is a tendency to forget the underlying processes that they are meant to make more efficient. Administrative Management Henri Fayol (1841-1925) was a French industrialist and one of the most influential early management thinkers. Scientific Management was concerned with increasing the productivity of the shop floor. Classical Organisation Theory grew out of the need to find guidelines for managing such complex organisations as factories. An early attempt was pioneered by Fayol to identify the principles and skills that underlie effective management. He believed that sound management practice falls into certain patterns that can be identified and analysed. He focused on management, which he felt had been the most neglected of business operations. Based on his experience in management, he developed fourteen general principles of management: 1. Division of Work and specialisation to produce more work for less effort. 2. Authority to give orders and the power to exact obedience. 3. Discipline and respect between a firm and its employees. 4. Unity of command where an employee receives orders from only one superior. 5. Unity of direction where there is only one central authority and one plan of action. 6. The general interest is superior to individual interests. 7. Remuneration is fair and provides satisfaction both to the employee and employer. 8. There is centralisation, where there is always one central authority. 9. There is a scalar chain, where a chain of authority exists from the highest level to the lowest ranks. 10. Order, where the right materials and people are in the right place for each activity. 11. Equity, kindliness and justice are seen throughout the organisation. 12. Stability and tenure of personnel to maintain a stable work force. 13. Initiative is encouraged to motivate employees. 14. Esprit de Corps is recognised as important, and teamwork is encouraged. Before Fayol, it was generally believed that managers are born, not made. Fayol insisted, however, that management was a skill like any other one that could be taught once its underlying principles were understood. Chester Barnard (1886-1961) developed the concepts of strategic planning and the Acceptance theory of Authority, which states that managers only have as much authority as their employees allow them to have. It suggests that authority flows downward, but depends upon acceptance by the subordinate. Barnard considered that the acceptance of authority depends on four conditions: 1) That the employee understands what the manager wants them to do. 2) That the employee is able to comply with the directive. 3) That the employee thinks that the directive is in line with organisational objectives. 4) That the employee does not think that the directive is contrary to their personal goals. Barnard believed that each person has a zone of indifference within which the individual will willingly accept orders without consciously questioning authority and that it is up to the organisation to broaden each employees zone of indifference. Advantages of Administrative Management o Viewed management as a profession which can be trained and developed. o Offered universal managerial guidelines. o Promoted communication between managers and employees. o Highlighted the needs of employees through the unity of command, unity of direction, equity, etc. o Encouraged employees to act on their own initiatives. Disadvantages of Administrative Management à ¢- ª Lacked consideration for organisations environmental, technological and personnel factors, due to the blind application of Fayols concepts. à ¢- ª Fayols recommendations are too experience-based and therefore not driven by formal research. Hence its concepts have not been tested. Although these schools, or theories, developed historical sequence, later ideas have not replaced earlier ones. Instead, each new school has tended to complement or coexist with previous ones. The ideas of classical theorists have many applications in the management of todays organizations although with some modifications. Many of the internal challenges faced by managers during earlier periods were similar to those faced by managers today. For example, Taylors concern for the productivity of employees is still shared by managers. Even today, the Scientific Management Theory is still relevant. While not as popular as in the past, this method of job design is still used. This sort of task-oriented optimization of work tasks is nearly ubiquitous today in industry, and has made most industrial work menial, repetitive, tedious and depressing; this can be noted, for instance, in assembly lines of car manufacturers and fast-food restaurants like McDonalds and KFC. McDonalds divides its com plete operation into a number of tasks such as supervising, cooking operations or operating a deep fryer and assigns people to carry out these tasks. The modern mass car assembly lines pour out finished products faster that Taylor could have ever imagined. In addition, its efficiency techniques have also been applied in the training of surgeons. Todays armies employ Scientific Management. Of the key points listed a standard method for performing each job, select workers with appropriate abilities for each job, training for standard task, planning work and eliminating interruptions and wage incentive for increase output all but wage incentives for increased output are used by modern military organizations. Wage incentives rather appear in the form of skill bonuses for enlistments. Furthermore, industrial engineers today are still taught the methods of Scientific Management including time and motion studies, job-tasks analysis, wage-incentive determination and detailed production planning with respect to the field of operation research and management. The Bureaucratic Management is still used in the USA by service-based organizations such as libraries. One concrete example where Fayols Bureaucratic Management ideas are still in use is at the Wichita State University Libraries. Bureaucracy is also still being used in the US Postal Service. In Mauritius, mass production lines and piece rate systems are used in the garment and manufacturing industries. Another industry where the Classical Management Theories are still in use is in the sea-food hub, more specifically at the Mauritius Tuna Processing Plant. Mauritius and its economy are at a pivotal point. The pace of change is exhilarating. That is why in his budget speech 2008-2009, Hon. Rama Sithanen, Minister of Finance pointed out the urgency for our economy to shift from the traditional pillars to a service-oriented economy and to a knowledge-based society. For instance, he advocated that the ICT sector must add to the pillars of the Mauritian economy. Business leaders expect ICT to have a greater impact on their business. The industries experiencing the greatest change are the technology, telecommunications and financial services. The Minister also stressed on the development of the SMEs as he formulated that in terms of job creation, new jobs will come mostly from small businesses and medium-sized companies. But since the formulation of the Classical Management Theories in the 18th century, the economic landscape has changed. Businesses do not exist in a vacuum. They are in fact open systems with constant and dynamic interaction with the environment. Todays business environment is global and highly competitive. Managers are becoming increasingly aware of the effects of the business environment There are two aspects of the business environment, namely the internal and the external environment. The internal environment relates to those factors that the organisation can relatively control. These are the owners, employees, customers, suppliers, authorities and pressure groups. But the external environment that constitutes the PEST (Political, Economical, Social and Technological) factors is relatively remote from what the organisation can control. Without the ability to analyse the strength and weaknesses of the internal and the opportunities and threats of the external environments, managers risk making decisions that are not in the best interest of the organisation. At the same time, worldwide concern about the natural environment has emerged. Current natural environmental concerns are pollution, climate changes, ozone depletion and other global issues like biodiversity, adequate water supplies, population and food security. As McDonalds concluded, todays managers have to be concerned not only with the scientific facts but with public perception. Todays business environment is characterized with changes, innovations and uncertainty. It is becoming more challenging amid global economic slowdown and turmoil in the financial sector. Businesses must at all cost adapt or die. Out of five businesses experiencing a disaster or extended outage, a) Two never re-open their doors. b) One of the remaining three will close within two years. The business environment is exceedingly tough and competitive. Competition is intensifying in many sectors. Technology is constantly creating new opportunities and threats. There are changes to the regulatory environment: the advent of the Equal Opportunities Act being a clear example. Customer tastes are also changing providing a moving target. Smart companies operating in highly competitive business environments are working very hard to improve efficiency and productivity, test high-yielding new initiatives, and differentiate themselves from competitors. Command and Control Management style (as stated in the Classical Management Theories) is effective in an environment where both change and competition are limited and there is plenty room for error (high profit margins). Such is not the case in the age of computing and communications. In todays business environment, things change very quickly and profit margins are reducing. In addition, more things are happening on a continuing basis. Because of the speed at which things are changing, it is important to push decision-making down in the organization to the level that has all of the information at the time when a decision must be made. This calls for very different management attitudes, it demands a democratic and flexible point of view and of course accountability must be delegated. All these are not present in the Classical Management Theories. Rapid change that is sweeping through every aspect of the business environment today prompts managers to rethink the ways they do things. Although the Classical Management model has evolved quite a bit, it is still geared to a rigid structure and command-and-control mentality. This model was well tailored to an environment where change was slow and evolutionary rather than rapid and revolutionary. It helped organise processes and foster a sense of accountability, order and discipline. What it lacks is flexibility, making the organisation irresponsive to continuous internal and external environment changes. We have reached a limit to what can be accomplished using the Classical Management approaches. But by changing the way managers do things, that constraint can be removed. This is not to say that the basics of Classical Management should be ignored, but they are just not enough to get the job done in todays business environment. Although Classical Management Theories are quite useful in the early stages of economic development, they are not an adequate explanation of how to administer organisations in a complex, developed society. When it comes to seeking cost, efficiency, productivity and profitability improvements, the Classical Management Theories have a limited field of action. Managers need to get used to the idea that what worked yesterday wont tomorrow. They need to work on tomorrow today. When the business environment becomes more challenging, it is actually an opportune time for managers to think about ways to reinvent their business. We find that new managers are willing to investigate innovative solutions to business problems because they are unhampered by the limitations of tools and methods of the past. It is not so much that established managers are not willing to change; it has more to do with that fact that they are using methods that were designed for different circumstances. And they worked . So, established managers have to be prepared to discard something that has been effective for them. Managers need to use todays tools to solve todays problems. They must be willing to learn about new ways of doing things. To compete successfully in the global arena, managers must now act as entrepreneurs and create new business models rethink, re-plan, strategize, innovate and learn continuously. Innovation is the most important source for organisations to gain competitive advantage, and advanced innovation management is critical to a businesss sustainable development. Classical Management theories cant catch up with the dramatic changes of the business environment. Once-reliable guides for managerial actions no longer exist. In an environment virtually bereft of the old rules of conducting business, there is no safety net. Every process, procedure, rule of thumb and standard ratio is being challenged, re-engineered and morphed into a new form. This fundamental change has brought a daunting new reality to the challenge of growing and managing business. Conclusion Today, organizations are mostly influenced by the external environment (fierce market share competition, continuous technology change, globalisation, hiring and retaining qualified executives and front line workers) that often fluctuate over time. Yet Classical Management Theories present an image of an organisation that is not shaped by external influences. Classical Management Theories are now gradually fading for the principal reason that people and their needs are considered by Classical theorists as secondary to the needs of the organisation. Nowadays, The Scientific approach is very seriously challenged by Human Resource Management. Furthermore, The Bureaucratic Management is fast giving way to the Matrix Structure in organisations. However, Classical Management theories are important because they introduced the concept of management as a subject for intellectual analysis and provided a basis of ideas that have been developed by subsequent schools of management thought.

Gender Essay -- essays research papers fc

â€Å"A businessman is aggressive; a businesswoman is pushy. A businessman is good on details; she is picky. He follows through; she doesn’t know when to quit. He stands firm; she is hard. His judgements are her prejudices. He is a man of the world; she’s been around. He isn’t afraid to say what is on his mind; she is mouthy. He exercises authority diligently; she’s power mad. He’s closemouthed; she’s secretive. He climbed the ladder of success; she slept her way to the top. From the first moment a child begins to understand the spoken word, they begin to receive messages about societies view of the different sexes. Language itself can not be deemed good or bad, but it does reflect individual or societal values. The above example displays the way in which language can be used to stereotype gender. Both sexes in the example are behaving in the same way but the language used has separated them, praising the male while disparaging the female. In order to explore the differences between males and females regarding language we must look at whether or not language is sexist, whether it is used differently by different genders and how language has changed, if at all, in relation to these points. Women’s roles in society have changed considerably over time, and they are now valued more than ever in society. It has been claimed that this has largely arisen due to the media. It has been said that newspapers and magazines now largely avoid sexist language, and even advertisers have changed their depiction of both genders to some degree. Universities have expanded their curricula to include courses for women, even hospital’s have changed their policies pertaining to childbirth in directions originally propounded by women’s movement activities; i.e. developing birthing centers etc. These examples are merely a few of the multitudes of changes that have occurred. It has been pointed out that the utilization of language differs with gender. For instance, women have more of a tendency to use finer discriminations than men do in some areas such as color terms. Women would be more at ease using the labels ‘Crimson’, ‘ecru’, or ‘beige’, more than men and men would be found to use the simpler version: â€Å"It’s blue, not cornflower.† It’s also been noted that men have a tendency to drop more expletives into a conversation than women, although some women do swear, especially younger fem... ...ten exploited as sexual objects. Women are described by their appearance while men normally are not, the implied message being that looks are more important for women and also the cause of their circumstance. In drawing an overall conclusion we have found that language itself is not sexist, but has been used by a male dominated society to oppress and denigrate females. Slowly but surely through a wave of feminist movements, this fact is being recognized. Steps are being taken to try and correct this and to give females a chance at being equal and not second class citizens. The more I became engrossed in this assignment the more I realized (being female) that we are being belittled by men’s use of language. It is true that many women apologize for their existence when conversing in general but more especially when interacting with men. This appears to be due to a general feeling of inferiority or lack of confidence. When society itself institutionalizes such attitudes, the language reflects the bias. When everyone in society is truly created equal and treated as such there will be little concern for the asymmetries that exist in the language. Bibliography: CrossCultural Psychology

Micro Expressions: Detecting Lies in the Face and Eyes Essay -- Facia

Lying has been a problem since societies were first formed. Some people are great liars, others are not. But, whether someone is a good liar or not, one-tenth of a second is all it takes for subtle changes known as micro expressions to appear and disappear from a person’s face. These micro expressions are a sign of emotion. The people who read these micro expressions are human lie detectors. Although. police have machines such as the polygraph test, which measures body temperature and voice tone to help them detect when people are lying, micro expressions are far more reliable. Micro expressions are more useful to police than polygraph tests because, polygraph tests only detect spikes in emotion, there is little scientific evidence about accuracy, and micro expressions are proven to help people further scientific research. In the first place, the polygraph test can only detect spikes in emotion unlike micro expressions. Micro expressions are more useful to police because polygraph tests are unreliable; polygraph tests cannot tell which emotion is being felt by the person, they cannot tell why an emotion is being felt, and micro expressions cannot be controlled by people like polygraph tests can. To begin, polygraph tests cannot tell which emotion a person is feeling. Paul Ekman is one of the few scientists who researches micro expressions. He wrote a book called The Polygraph as a Lie Catcher, in this book he addresses the worldwide debate of whether the polygraph is an accurate lie detector. Ekman says, â€Å"Remember that the polygraph test is not a lie detector. It only detects emotional arousal† (251). The polygraph test cannot accurately detect the specific emotion a person is feeling; someone may be feeling nervous and the po... ...ons. Guliford, 2010. 211. books.google.com. Web. 30 jan. 2014. â€Å"Microexpressions: More Than Meets the Eye.† Talk of the Nation/Science Friday (NRP) (2013): Newspaper source. Web. 14 Jan. 2014. â€Å"Micromovements Hold Hidden Information About Severity of Autism, Researches Report.† newsmedicine.iu.edu. Indiana University, ISUM Newsroom, 2 December 2013. Web. 30 Jan. 2014. â€Å"Polygraph Validity Research.† polygraph.org. American Polygraph Association, 2010. Web. 30 Jan. 2014. Porter, Stephen, and Leanne Ten Brinkle. â€Å"Reading Between the Lies.† People.ok.ubca.ca. N.P. 31 Oct. 2007. Web. 19 Jan. 2014. PDF. Leach, Amy-May, et al. â€Å"The Reliability of Lie Detection Performance.† Law and Human Behavior 33.1 (Feb. 2009): JSTOR. Web. 19 Jan. 2014. Lock, Carrie. â€Å"Deception Detection.† Science News 66.5 (Jul. 31, 2004) : JSTOR. Web. 19 Jan. 2014.

How Far Had the Bolsheviks Created a ‘Totalitarian State’ by 1924?

A totalitarian state, is a where the central government of a state does not tolerate any parties with opposing views and exercises complete dictatorial rule over all or most aspects of life. Lenin, the leader of the Bolsheviks, took many measures in an attempt to create a totalitarian state, including the dissolution of Constituent Assembly, the use of decrees and the establishment of a secret police group called the Cheka. However there were also some ways in which he failed to achieve full totalitarianism.The most basic characteristics of a Totalitarian state, are lack of free speech and state control over the media. This is important to establish social control over the state. Lenin's described free speech as ‘bourgeois prejudice', and thus ensured strict control over the media and speech. Understanding the role of propaganda to strengthen his rule, he established the Pravda. The Pravda controlled what media was available to the public and who could utilize it.The Bolsheviks were in reality the only group aloud to publish propaganda, and groups such as the Mensheviks, were not aloud to publish. These rules meant that no negative material about the Bolsheviks could legally be published, and all the public would ever see, would be positive Bolshevik propaganda, increasing their support. This is a key characteristic of a Totalitarian state, and thus is evidence that the Bolsheviks had successfully created a Totalitarian state. Another common aspect of a totalitarian state, is the establishment of a secret police force.Lenin had created a terror police force called the Cheka. Shortly after the establishment of the Bolshevik government, a period knows as the ‘Red Terror' saw mass killings, torture and oppression conducted by the Cheka under orders of the Bolsheviks. This force meant that Lenin could assert his physical authority over the people and counter any opposition. To supplement the secret police, Lenin also established a system of Gulags and L abour camps, specifically aimed at the opponents of the regime. These would house and contain any ‘enemies' of the Bolshevik rule.The creation of the secret police and the establishment of the gulags and labour camps, are signs that Lenin had created a successful totalitarian state, and could assert physical control over the people. The introduction of War Communism during the Russian Civil War, is evidence of Russian moving towards a Totalitarian State. Many aspects of War communism were totalitarian in nature. For instance the creation of a Supreme Economic Council, formed to take complete control over the Russian highlights the central control over the most vital aspect of the state, that the Bolsheviks enforced.Other measures include the requisitioning of excess grain from the Peasants. Many of these policies were met with opposition, particularly among the agricultural peasants. This opposition was in turn met with brutal force, which was another example of the nature of complete state authority. War communism continued on until the end of the Civil war, by which time the Bolshevik forces had succeeded in crushing all opposition. The success of the red forces meant that Russia was a step closer in becoming a Totalitarian state, as they were now the most powerful party in Russia, with complete control over all its territory.Upon the creation of the USSR, Lenin introduced new rule that would ensure greater totalitarian control. Only communists would be able to stand for the soviets, and so this meant that the communist party had the true control over the government. Lenin had also created a ban on internal political factions, during the NEP. He called this ‘democratic centralism'. This ensured that Lenin and the Bolsheviks had strict control over all communists.Alongside the ban on other political parties, these measures are extremely totalitarian in nature, and centralised government control and authority to a high degree, ensuring Lenin and th e Bolsheviks had complete political control over the country. There were however many limits to the Bolshevik control over the country. The totalitarian control that the Government enjoyed with its ‘War communism', was lost by Lenin. The introduction of the NEP, showed Lenin was prepared for loosening economic control in favour of growth to save the economy.The abandoning of ‘War communism and the introduction of the NEP, shows the Bolsheviks losing control over the economy, and capitalist control emerging. Corruption was thus aloud to prosper, as many took advantage of the loser controls. The failures of the NEP and the corruption it introduced offers evidence of the Bolsheviks failing to create a complete totalitarian state. An important factor when considering Bolshevik totalitarian control are the events of the Kronstadt Rebellion. The naval base at Kronstadt were among Lenin's most loyal supporters, and home of the revolutionary Baltic fleet.However they had become disillusioned with Lenin's rule, and made certain demands, notably the end of the special position of the communists and the restoration of free speech. Consequently the base rebelled. The loss of authority over an entire base, and dangerously close to Petrograd, the capital, is a severe sign that the Bolsheviks did not maintain complete totalitarian control over the state. It could be argued that Lenin lost much totalitarian control, because of the weakening of his Leadership. In 1922, Lenin faced his first serious illness, that affected his leadership.An example of his weakening leadership, can be found when examining Joseph Stalin, the General Sectary. Up until Lenin's illness, Stalin had been a strong supporter of Lenin, and did not significantly oppose or cross him. Lenin highlighted his loyalty when describing as ‘that brilliant Georgian'. However when Lenin began to fall ill, Stalin began to oppose many of Lenin's policies. Accompanying this were divisions within the pa rty that grew stronger when Lenin fell ill. This highlights the loss of control that Lenin had due to his illness, and thus is evidence that he had not created a true Totalitarian state.The Bolsheviks under Lenin's leadership had indeed taken steps to create a Totalitarian state. The removal of all and any opposition from the political ‘arena', the establishment of the Cheka and Gulags all helped to strengthen the central control of government over the state. However aspects of the NEP, political divisions, and rebellions from apparently his most loyal supporters, showed how certain aspects were not completely controlled by the state, and thus that Lenin and the Bolsheviks had not created an entirely Totalitarian state.