Recruitment, Training and Compensation Assignment

Recruitment, Training and Compensation - Assignment Example A Telenor company is purely 100% owned by Telenor ASA in addition to adds-on to its operations in the continent Asia plus country Malaysia,Pakistan , Thailand, and Bangladesh. In March of the year 2005 Telenor in Pakistan successfully launched its operations in Pakistan just like a single biggest direct European investment, while setting their priority for further more foreign investments in the sector of telecom (Telenor Group, 2012). As of end of December in the year of 2013 ,It has got a subscriber base of around 150 million all over the world. It specifically ranked among the top 500 largest mobile operator in the world with a total of around 150 million of subscribers in the mobile operations. The company names Telenor ASA is actually an international provider of very high quality telecommunications, all data along with media communication services. They have broadened themselves from corner to corner in the country where they have operated, and having around more than thirty on e thousand plus employee . Telenor has set up cellular phone operations in 12 different markets and as well in 17 markets via our  ownership in VimpelCom Ltd. ... The process of Personnel selection is the systematic placement of persons into the main jobs for the duration of which applications are calculated against currently available and offered vacancies and evaluated as per the skills, talents and experience of the applicant in the compliance with the Telenor selection procedure that is without a doubt specified in the Recruitment Policy. . . . . . The strategy or the policy that Telenor adopted is in this manner as described below: Coordination with all of the departments on the recruitments and sourcing of the well qualified candidates in conformity with an approved hiring plan. Job advertisement is done through web site or the newspapers or via third party recruitment sources. . . . . . . . CV Screening and short listing, as well as conducting interviews plus tests. Synchronize with the selected universities for graduate placements and internship. An appropriate match is essential and compulsory between culture and employee in the recru itment hand hiring if the individual Excellence Division feels just like a person will not be capable to adjust in the environment of the organization, although he/she is doing functionally very well, the individual is completely rejected. . . . . The talent and the appropriate skills that are actually required by the main and major company Telenor is that each and every employee should have very high-quality communication skill, have to be result oriented, ought to be developing yourself as well as others having the capability of innovation , should be a very good team player. Question no 3:Outline a training and development strategy for your selected MNE that could be used to effectively meet organizational requirements for operating in multiple countries Telenor is

Subway Assignment Essay Example for Free

Subway Assignment Essay Fred and his friend Dr. Peter Buck got a loan of $1,000 to open the submarine sandwich shop which now we know as Subway. Subway opened in August 1965 in Bridgeport, Connecticut. Both men had decided that the goal for Subway was to operate 32 stores in 10 years. By 1974 they had 16 Subways up and running. Knowing they would not reach the goal set back in 1965 the two men decided to franchising and launching the Subway brand into the global brand it is today. Subway has amassed 37,885 restaurants in 99 countries. For something that started off as just a way to make money for a man to live his dream of becoming a doctor, it has turned into one of the biggest food chains in the world. These numbers mean that Subway has the most restaurants in the world of any other restaurant chain. Subway has three big values and philosophy. Family – Subway build their business relationships by treating each other, the customers and communities like family. These brings a very close feeling to the whole franchise. Teamwork – Subway challenge themselves to succeed through teamwork against goals shared by everyone at Subway and to all be accountable for their responsibilities. Opportunity – Subway create great chances for entrepreneurs, by allowing people with good business sense to open a franchise of their own. The Structure and Employees The structure for Subway starts at the main headquarters in Milford, Connecticut. From there it goes globally. It goes as far as USA to Ireland, onto Afghanistan and even further. Every different Subway shop opened has got the same structure to it. Subway has got a tall structure, meaning it has different levels of management and people have to answer to people who work above them. Many businesses that run like this aren’t like Subway though. Subway is extremely friendly, from the store owner all the way down to the sandwich artists and everyone working in the store does get an opinion on some new ideas. The Subway departments are as follows: Executive, Administrative, Franchise Brands, Development, Operations, Technology, Marketing, International, Finance, Legal, Store Owner, Store Manager, Assistant Store Manager, Team Leaders and then Sandwich Artists. Considering Subway has so many restaurants in so many countries, they have provided so many jobs which is brilliant. According to the main Subway website, the headquarters alone employ a thousand people. Across all of the franchises worldwide there is more than three hundred thousand jobs. Subway are always looking to open more franchises which will provide more jobs and the fact that they are such compact restaurants, means there is so much opportunity to open more franchises. The Functions of staff Executive – This team supports company wide operations at Subway’s headquarters. This role includes customer care and the business process eam. Administrative – The administrative team is responsible for employee management and grounds and shipping centre oversight. Franchise Brands – This team offers a diversified portfolio of new and promising ideas that will improve the Subway experience for franchises and customers. Development – This is the team th at works very close to the people who want to open their very own Subway restaurant. Part of the job is to help with real estate planning and recruiting new franchisees. Operations – This is the team that enforces and provides training and operational assistance to franchisees and field staff. Technology – This is the team who are responsible for implementing and maintaining all technology systems that are in the company and provide technology initiatives so franchisees can operate their business more efficiently. Marketing – This is the team who present the public face for Subway. These teams departments include research and development, which develop and test markets the food that Subway serve and the franchising advertising fund are responsible for the creation and placement of commercials and print ads. International – This is the team that deal with the franchises outside of the USA and Canada. Franchise Owner – This is the person or people that pay for the right to use the Subway name and they own that particular franchise. Store Manager – The store manager reports directly to the franchise owner. The store manager must maintain a high quality store operation. The store manager must also analyse financial performance, ensure that customers are happy and make sure that all sandwiches sold are a high quality. The store manager must also provide support for all of the other shop staff. Assistant Manager – The assistant manager pretty much assists the store manager in his or her job and will be able to stand in if need be. Team Leader – The team leader must report to both the store manager and the assistant manager. The team leader must also be responsible for serving customers, following health and safety procedures and keeping the store clean. They also must train in new sandwich artists. Sandwich Artists – The sandwich artists are the face of the shop. These are the people you will see the most when you walk into a Subway restaurant. It is their job to make the delicious sandwiches and to make sure that the customers are happy with everything. They also must make sure the shop is clean all the time and maintain good health safety standards.

Analysis of Russias Financial and Labour Crisis

Analysis of Russias Financial and Labour Crisis INTRODUCTION In 2003, major economic organisations and key economists predicted that within a decade, the Russian Economy will face a human capital and labour crisis that will be unable to meet the growing demands of the country. This prediction came true and Russia slowly witnessed diminishing labour market performance following the Global Financial Crisis starting in 2009. The Russian Federation has a very flexible labour market. Cutting wages, reducing working hours and minimising non-wage labour costs are some of the policies adopted by most of the companies to adjust to the economic scenario. The workers respond to this by changing jobs. Hence, there exists a high and stable overall employment rate, but also high wage inequality, informality and labour turnover, due to which firms do not have the incentive to invest in human capital and productivity improvements. Hence, the growth figures of the Russian Economy rarely indicate how the economic performance is impacting the average man. Problems in the labour market of Russia slowly became noticeable following the Global Financial Crisis that started in 2008. The global financial crisis had a significant impact on the Russian economy and its labour market. According to OECD Database, in 2009, the decline in the GDP was −7.9% (World Bank Economic Outlook, 2009). However, since the latter half of 2009, Russia showed economic recovery. There was 4.5% growth rate in 2010 (World Bank Economic Outlook, 2010), and 4.3% in 2011 (World Bank Economic Outlook, 2011). The graph above indicates the changes in the unemployment rate and GDP of Russia during 2008-09. Russia was the third country along with Slovenia in the list with highest downfall in the GDP after Estonia and Finland. The unemployment rate increased, although it was stable as compared to other countries This period saw a fall in the output generation of goods. Working hours and wages were reduced to adjust to the scenario. The Youth of the country were the most affected by the sudden increase in unemployment. As shown in the diagram, from 2009 to 2012, unemployment rate was the highest for people aged 15-24. The labour market strengthened a little in early 2013. Unemployment in the months of January, February, and March lowered by 0.4% than the rate prevalent in 2012. But the second quarter of 2013 again saw a reversal of this trend, with unemployment again growing up by 0.1% compared to 2012 (OECD Economic Survey- Russian Federation, 2013) This marked the advent of an Economic Slump in the Russian Economy that is discussed in the succeeding chapter. Russian Economic Slump: How and Why? Russia suffered from major economic slump in 2012 and tried to make efforts to recover from it using the oil and gas revenues. However the living standards and productivity was below those of advanced BRIICS countries. Growth in 2012 slowed not only because of cyclical factors but also due to slow down of potential output growth. The Ministry of Economic Development, in November 2013, projected long-term average growth to 2.5% (OECD Survey 2013) down from 4.3% (ibid) projected in April, warning that Russian growth until 2030 would lag behind the global average. The reason that led to the emergence of slump is the heavy dependence on natural resources and the challenge lies in reduction of dependence on exhaustible natural resources, strengthen sustainable, productivity-driven, regionally balanced and broad-based growth. The abovementioned Economic slump emerged in late 2012 and into 2013, resulting in the recent Russian Economic crisis triggered by stagnant terms of trade due to inefficient labour market reforms. The temporary factors that earlier boosted growth slowed down, reducing investment mostly driven by natural resource related sectors and public expenditures. The employment and capacity utilization rates are near their pre-crisis records. The unemployment rate has fallen because of employment gains, a fall in labour force, high wage flexibility and extremely low unemployment benefits. Inflation rose above the central bank target range of 5-6% (Ibid). Although this rapid rise was driven mostly by high food prices due to the poor 2012 harvest and headline inflation, the second half of 2013 was on a downward trend and inflation expectations are sticky. These factors structurally limited growth , slowing potential growth below 3% (ibid) This Russian economic slowdown led to several changes in the society and some significant trends were seen: Partial employment increase No demand for radical life changes or political changes Dormant discontent against crisis situation unique adjustment function of the Russian labor market suppressed the impact of the economic crisis on the workers and they did not express their discontent in the form of strikes The policies and reforms for this slump are given in further chapters as discussed by the OECD report on Russian Economic Crisis. OECD ECONOMIC REPORT: REFORMS AND POLICIES Previously we studied the background of Russia and the possible reasons that triggered the current Russian economic slump. OECD is a world organisation that has come up with a report about the changes required for the current economic slump. The Organization of economic cooperation and development (OECD) is a forum founded in 1961 that discusses economic growth and world trade of its 34 member countries. It provides answers to common problems, identify practices in favour of these countries and also provide coordination between the domestic and international policies. It gives assistance in economic, environmental and social issues. Objectives of the OECD- To promote sustainable development in economic growth and employment, giving a rise in standard of living along with the maintenance of financial sector. To provide economic expansion to member countries in order to promote development in world economies. To carry out this expansion on a non-discriminatory basis. OECD: Russian Labour Market The Russian Labour market is in segments even though the global financial crisis ended the long period economic growth .The labour market faces a number of problems like unequal earnings, lack of enforcement of effective labour laws and underdeveloped collective bargaining. To improve this imbalance between labour market flexibility and the protection of workers the Russian federation needs to impose favourable labour market institutions. This imbalance can be improved by shifting to a more sustainable based growth from dependence on revenues from natural resources such as oil (main relying natural resource) by making it attractive place to invest, study and work. Russia should ensure growth beyond natural endowment. BOOSTING PRODUCTIVITY Stronger and more sustainable growth is not possible without better use of skills and stronger innovation. Considerable resources are employed in lowà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Ëœproductivity activities. Lifelong learning, activation programmes and temporary income support remain underdeveloped. Key Recommendations: Better market oriented training. Strengthening the quality of the education system Improve the governance of higher education. IMPROVING THE BUSINESS CLIMATE The business climate in Russia is turning out to be risky as rule of law is weak and widespread corruption along with widespread state involvement. The implications are widespread such as low level of entrepreneurship and investment. Thus a stronger policy initiative along with stronger financial sector is required to match the skills of labour. Key Recommendations- Identify risks to integrity for particular jobs, work and project. Strengthening the rule of law by enhancing the quality of law instead of increasing the number of laws and regulations thus giving rise to judicial independence. Incorporating accountability and transparency of public institutions through promotion of media freedom. COMPETITION FRAMEWORK IN RUSSIA Russia has the highest barriers to competition when compared with any OECD country or emerging country. This halts the diffusion of technology and hampers the speed with which the labour productivity catch up with best performers. As suggested by OECD product market regulation (PMR) indicator, it suggests that Russia’s PMR is very restrictive as compared to any other OECD country. A PMR indicator tells the state involvement extent and administrative barrier to developing new enterprises. This high rate is reflected in Small and Medium sized enterprises sector in Russia. Key Recommendations- Lowering administrative burden on firms by cutting ‘red tape’, introducing deemed clearance regime and carrying out systematic Regulatory Impact Analysis and Stake Holder consultations. Strengthen the competition by eliminating subsidies to large firms, prioritize resources only to important cases and liberalization of foreign trade and investment policy. Widening scope of competition by taking WTO accession as an opportunity and supporting the concerned firms with framework measures rather than imposing entry barriers. POLICY IMPLICATIONS The basic problem in the Russian Economy is that it is still heavily dependent on the communist age infrastructure and economic mechanisms. No innovations or new methods of economic development have significantly evolved after the communist era collapsed. The economy still uses capitalist management styles that were used in the erstwhile USSR. The economy is heavily dependent on gas reservoirs and their rising prices. This leaves the domestic market open to major jolts due to the fluctuating world market prices of gas and other natural resources. Growth in 2013 slowed to 1.3 percent, the lowest in a decade other than during the global recession in 2009 (OECD Economic Indicators Report 2013). As mentioned in the previous chapter, the economic resilience of the economy can be raised through structural reforms. Making the economy more balanced, and less dependent on the volatile revenue from the energy market is one of the main challenges. This challenge can only be met by higher productivity of labour and energy efficiency which further, can by increasing competition in the market and investment in the structural economy. The improvement of the political economy and implementation of structural reforms is crucial to revive the Russian Economy. The society and not natural resources needs to partake in Russia’s transformation. And so there is need for investments in infrastructure, innovation and human resources. Russia needs to step up its governance and address the increasing inter-regional disparity. The OECD survey indicates that the Federation is doing well in numerous areas but future growth and development is being retarded by poor governance and laws. Russia faces major transport bottlenecks that hinder the infrastructural growth in many potential regions. The irony is that a majority of the Russian population- about a million, are engaged in the railways with most of them being disguisedly unemployed in the process. The Russian Federation has one of the highest shares of tertiary educated population in the world, but the education system has had difficulties in providing the education according to the needs of the market and the firms. The education system of the country is outdated. It needs to be revamped to suit the modern sensibilities and economic conditions. Education will have to target higher paying and more intellectual jobs (white collar jobs). Public spending on education is low and the high inequality of educational opportunities adds to the problem. Major public and private sector investments in the education sector, especially in backward areas should be a national priority. Better quality of market oriented vocational training and an improved technical curriculum is also the need of the hour. Another good way to increase the labour force of the nation is to decrease the gender gap in the labour market. Education and training focused solely on women would be beneficial. The Government should also increase the retirement age of women to equal to that of men. A boost in education and skill in turn will increase opportunities and investments in Research and Development that will bring the much needed innovation and further enhance the business climate. Flexibility in the Russian labour market has helped the economy achieve very low levels of unemployment. However, firms lose the incentive to invest in human resource due to the high labour turnover. This causes high wage inequality. The OECD encourages better communication between employers and labour, encouragement to engage in long term training programmes and temporary income support from the Government. One industry that has a lot of potential in the Russian economy and will benefit out of the recommended labour changes by OECD is the automobile industry. This will not only give a much required push to the economy but also solve the transportation bottleneck that the nation is facing. The Russian Federation will also benefit by strengthening its Immigration policies. There is a large influx of unskilled labour from countries that were part of the former Soviet Union, who come in the search for better employment opportunities and standards of living. They are seen to be putting additional burden on the Government’s diminished welfare schemes such as free education and healthcare systems. This is happening due to the easy immigration policy of the state. Hence the welfare labour policies that are already functional in the State cannot give quality output due to this additional burden put on them. CONCLUSION It can be asserted that the economic slump in Russia is a temporary bottleneck in its path of growth and development and can the removed by focusing on the improvement of the labour market performance by implementing the measures given in the OECD Economic Report on the Russian Federation 2013. As suggested by the OECD, encouraging lifelong learning among skilled workers, training and targeting the youth for inculcating better skills, developing advanced Information Technology in this arena, reducing the gender gap in the work force, reforms in the education system and promoting innovation and technology can take the nation a long way. However other measures such as State support in welfare schemes that boost labour performance and privatisation of firms can be beneficial. Encouraging better Human Resource policies in Russian Firms and stronger collective bargaining power of the workers can also help promote the right balance between wages and productivity. Russia also needs to look into its immigration policy to stop the rapid rise in immigrants who are unskilled and ultimately become a burden on the state.

Developing an Opacity Sensor :: Opacity Sensors Technology Essays

Developing an Opacity Sensor There is a huge range of different sensors in this world, designed to detect changes in temperature, size, distance and many other important factors. Their ability to do this makes them valuable for use in industry, in particular, production processes. I have chosen to develop a sensor which measures the concentration of solution, suitable for the factory production of pre-diluted fruit squashes. The sensor can control the machinery via a servo-mechanism, indicating whether more squash needs to be added. The context in which my sensor is to be used is an important consideration as it determines a suitable sensitivity and resolution. Factors to consider when designing a sensor: Sensitivity The ratio of change of output to change of input. A very sensitive sensor will give a big change of output for a small change of input. A sensor which detects very small changes of input will need to be very sensitive so these changes can be observed. Resolution The smallest change the sensor can detect in the quantity it is measuring. If you had a quantity which was displayed as 0.0076, this sensor would have quite a high resolution (depending on what it was measuring). If the last digit were fluctuating this would be the maximum resolution of the sensor as it can only just resolve a change of that magnitude – 10,000th. A cooks oven may only need a resolution of 5 ºC whereas a baby monitoring system requires a resolution of 0.5 – 1 ºC. Response time The time a sensor takes to respond to a change in input. If changes occur more rapidly than this then they will usually be averaged out. The response time should be suitable to detect important changes as they occur. Systematic Most sensors are affected by changes in temperature, even those that aren’t designed to detect them. Some sensors may also be affected by other environmental changes depending on their methods of detection, for example a LDR might produce different readings on a sunny day if the whole system isn’t enclosed. Such influences will produce readings that display the correct trend but each reading is erroneous by the same amount. For this reason systematic errors are difficult to detect and an only by making another more accurate measurement. Today â€Å"smart systems† process information to compensate for disturbing influences. Noise, random error, fluctuations The input signal may fluctuate or the sensor itself may generate noise. Unsystematic variations are present in all experimental data and their size determines the reliability of the data and limits the precision with which a measurement can be made. Taking an average over repeated measurements can improve the final result

socrates :: essays research papers

This paper will argue that during â€Å"The trial and Death of Socrates†, Socrates could have given better arguments for his defense. First it will outline the prejudices or accusations Socrates has to face during his trial. It will then show how Socrates acted as tough he wanted to lose the case and finally it will conclude explaining the arguments Socrates could have given in order to be acquitted. During the first speech (18a-19b) Socrates has to overcome two different types of prejudices: the old prejudice against Socrates set by the plays of Aristophanes and the new prejudices that included impiety charged by Meletus as well as the corruption of the youth.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In fact more than once is Socrates confused for someone else. Aristophanes is responsible for latter but it is reconstructed by Meletus as including both impiety and corruption and Socrates is portrayed as a corrupt teacher .the first charge of impiety also originates with Aristophanes but Meletus confuses Socrates with the atheistic Anaxagoras when he describes Socrates as seeking to study the heavens (18a) the second charge of corruption is also in Aristophanes' Clouds but confuses Socrates with Protagoras. This led to confusion (18e) of Socrates with other sophists like Gorgias, Prodicus, and Hippias. The new prejudice against Socrates really is because of the Socratic paradox (20c-21a): â€Å"he knows nothing and only in this he claims to be wise â€Å" this paradox aroused hatred against him (21b, 23ab), even though he explains that the knowledge of his ignorance lead to his philosophical mission in life .his mission to question and to seek â€Å"the unexamined life is no life for a man†(21c-23c) this is explained by Chaerephon's enquiry at Apollo's oracle at Delphi declaring Socrates the wisest of men (21b-) Socrates turns this philosophical interrogation into his philosophical purpose ,as a consequence the young followed him trying to copy his questions to their leaders (23c) this arose the charge of corrupting the youth ( 23d) since like Socrates, they also questioned the leaders of democracy and religion, claiming not to believe in the gods and discover the heavens (d) . Having in mind all theses accusations Socrates, should had defend himself better but that was not the case. Throughout the trial, he acted as though he wanted to lose the case. He went out of his way to antagonize the jury, making comments that associated himself with certain people and ideas that were offensive to the jury. socrates :: essays research papers This paper will argue that during â€Å"The trial and Death of Socrates†, Socrates could have given better arguments for his defense. First it will outline the prejudices or accusations Socrates has to face during his trial. It will then show how Socrates acted as tough he wanted to lose the case and finally it will conclude explaining the arguments Socrates could have given in order to be acquitted. During the first speech (18a-19b) Socrates has to overcome two different types of prejudices: the old prejudice against Socrates set by the plays of Aristophanes and the new prejudices that included impiety charged by Meletus as well as the corruption of the youth.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In fact more than once is Socrates confused for someone else. Aristophanes is responsible for latter but it is reconstructed by Meletus as including both impiety and corruption and Socrates is portrayed as a corrupt teacher .the first charge of impiety also originates with Aristophanes but Meletus confuses Socrates with the atheistic Anaxagoras when he describes Socrates as seeking to study the heavens (18a) the second charge of corruption is also in Aristophanes' Clouds but confuses Socrates with Protagoras. This led to confusion (18e) of Socrates with other sophists like Gorgias, Prodicus, and Hippias. The new prejudice against Socrates really is because of the Socratic paradox (20c-21a): â€Å"he knows nothing and only in this he claims to be wise â€Å" this paradox aroused hatred against him (21b, 23ab), even though he explains that the knowledge of his ignorance lead to his philosophical mission in life .his mission to question and to seek â€Å"the unexamined life is no life for a man†(21c-23c) this is explained by Chaerephon's enquiry at Apollo's oracle at Delphi declaring Socrates the wisest of men (21b-) Socrates turns this philosophical interrogation into his philosophical purpose ,as a consequence the young followed him trying to copy his questions to their leaders (23c) this arose the charge of corrupting the youth ( 23d) since like Socrates, they also questioned the leaders of democracy and religion, claiming not to believe in the gods and discover the heavens (d) . Having in mind all theses accusations Socrates, should had defend himself better but that was not the case. Throughout the trial, he acted as though he wanted to lose the case. He went out of his way to antagonize the jury, making comments that associated himself with certain people and ideas that were offensive to the jury.

Communicating Through Numbers in Toni Morrisons Beloved Essay

Communicating Through Numbers in Beloved      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Humanity uses numbers as a way to communicate beyond words, evoking ideas more readily than words alone are able to. All religions and cultures have significant numbers that communicate an essence or idea more quickly and completely than words can. It is in this manner that Toni Morrison uses numbers in Beloved. Significant numbers occur starting with the first symbols of the text and the words on the pages before the body of the text starts.    124. The first thing to appear, and we already have a significant number. Sethe has four children. The third one is dead. Numbers 1, 2, and 4 remain. Another number that stands alone in its significance is twenty-eight. Twenty-eight is the length of the menstrual cycle, the lunar month, and the duration of Sethe's happiness: "Sethe had had twenty-eight days - the travel of one whole moon - of unslaved life. From the pure clear stream of spit that the little girl dribbled into her face to her oily blood was twenty-eight days" (95). Sethe has lived twenty years of sorrow, for twenty-eight days of pleasure, and spends another eighteen suffering before Paul D and Beloved brighten her life again. "Those twenty-eight happy days were followed by eighteen years of disapproval and a solitary life....Was that the pattern? she wondered. Every eighteen or twenty years her unbelievable life would be interrupted by a short-lived glory?" (173). This symbol is significant, and twenty-eight appears o nly within this context.    Many numbers occur that are significant even though they are not recurring themes throughout the book. Howard and Buglar "[ran] away by the time they were thirteen years old" (3), the traditional age of manhood ... ...tion" (695). This seems precisely what is happening when Sixo dies.    As we see, numbers play an enormous role in Beloved. They communicate concepts in a sort of psychic shorthand, adding a deeper subtext to many events. The way in which the numbers are used is universal, using symbols common to all of humanity. It is universal comprehension like that which gives Beloved the power it has, its genius, and its beauty.    Works Cited Gaskell, G. A. Dictionary of All Scriptures and Myths. (New York: The Julian Press, 1960) p. 695 Herder Dictionary of Symbols. Trans. Boris Matthews. (Wilmette, Illinois: Chiron Publications, 1993) Mackey, Cameron. Interviews with. Haverford College, December 1995. Morrison, Toni. Beloved. (New York: Plume, 1988) Schimmel, Annemarie. The Mystery of Numbers. (New York: Oxford University Press, 1993)  Ã‚  

Ceremony: Native Americans in the United States Essay

In Leslie Marmon Silko’s Ceremony, the use of storytelling is quite prevalent. Within the framework of Ceremony there are references of the tradition of Native American storytelling along with the progression of telling a story. Storytelling within the Native American culture is oral, traditionally. The method of storytelling within Ceremony at the beginning lays down the framework of the entire book. Silko starts out the novel with a series of stories. The first of which is about Ts’its’tsi’nako (or more easily said) â€Å"Thought Women†, who thinks of things and they appear. She happens to be thinking of a story and it just so happens to be the story being told to us. This then leads us to the next story (1). The next story turns out to be a story about stories. This story tells us (the reader) the importance of stories, and that they aren’t merely for entertainment, but are used to fight off death and illness. The narrator then states, â€Å"You don’t have anything, if you don’t have the stories.† Thus telling us the true importance of the stories of Native American culture, seeing as everything was passed down orally, and not much was written down if any at all (2). Now, for Tayo, these stories embody the understanding of the Native American world Tayo grew up with. Only the army, the doctors, and the white schools try to convince Tayo that the stories are wrong. As Tayo recreates and recalls the old tales, he begins to reunite with the community, pulls through the trauma of war, and ultimately brings back the rain to his land. Tayo learns from these stories that he is not alone, because the stories are shared within a community, and because the contents of the stories show him that others have shared like experiences (Notes/Class Discussions). The rest of the stories within the text of Ceremony announce elements that will reoccur within the novel. As the story is told either by a single person or by a group of people, it can fashion between those people a sense of community. As stated previously, that stories have the power to fight of death and illness. The stories contain the ceremonies and rituals that have the ability to cure individuals and the communities. Stories are able to provide this ability by restoring the affiliations betwixt all things and people. The stories within Ceremony are an integral part of the story line. The stories within the novel show us how important they are to the Native American culture and way of life. They provide us with the impending points of the plot, of how a ceremony is what can cure the people. Bibliography: Silko, Lesie Marmon; Viking Peguin Inc. 1977