Thesis Project Essay Example for Free

Thesis Project Essay My senior year of college required me to do a thesis project.   As a drama major I had to choose and direct a full length play.   From the moment I began choosing this project, until its completion; I learned a lot about myself, mainly how I approached and solved problems.   I had two primary goals to focus on while working on this.   The first and biggest, I had to satisfy the panel of reviewing professors before opening night.   The second, I had to please a college audience of savvy theatergoers, in addition to making good changes requested by the professors.    As one might imagine the road to completion came with some bumps. First off, I had to choose my play, and then the cast of characters.   Choosing it came more easily to me than most.   I wanted a contemporary play and found one I liked very much in the library quite easily, David Rabe’s Hurlyburly.  Ã‚   Finding the right cast proved more difficult than I imagined.   We had a few good actors who I knew I wanted for the principal roles.   Generally the department frowned on having more than one set of auditions. However, I could call myself a friend of several of these key players; so I approached them before auditions and begged them to try out for the play.   I had an open mind to any surprises, and some occurred, but I ended up casting my preconceived choices in the main roles.   I never had high hopes for some of the lesser roles, but luckily the right people auditioned for those.   So with some luck and begging, I had my cast. It turned out that casting the play was the easiest thing I had to do, next part editing.   If I had not edited this play it would have gone on for well over three hours, which I could not accept, nor could the professors.   I had an editing assistant who simply started crossing out pages haphazardly.   I basically ignored her recommendations and made edits of my own.   I stubbornly kept the play too long, which I regretted later. Lastly, came directing.   I quickly found that conceiving an entire play differed greatly from directing a single scene for a class.   Mainly, with all the time on our hands until opening, I had to get the most out of my actors.   At the same time, actors do not enjoy a director telling them how to do their job.   One simply needs to elicit more out of them.   I learned to do that over the course of rehearsals, by asserting myself more, coupled with having a clear vision of how I wanted things to look. Luckily the play opened to good reviews.   I learned a lot about myself in the process.   I met each of my challenges choosing a play, casting, editing, and directing head on.   I enjoyed it, but would give serious thought before doing it again.

Job Stress Essay -- essays research papers

Over the past few decades, many people are hearing more about job related stress. With many households depending on duel incomes, people are working more and having less leisure time. Many claim that job stress has contributed to such illnesses as heart disease, depression, gastric problems, exhaustion, and many other related illnesses. This paper will focus on the background issues surrounding stress; as well as, the steps that need to be taken by one’s self and the employer. According to The Random House Dictionary, stress is defined as “physical, mental, or emotional tension.'; Job stress occurs when demands are imposed upon the workers in which they can not meet those demands, or when there are not enough adequate supplies or information available for the employee to perform their job as required (Paine, 1982, pg. 68). In the book The Overworked American, author Juliet Schor (1991) reports that 30 percent of adults have reported experiencing high levels of stress on a daily basis. There is an even higher percentage of adults who have claimed to have high levels of stress at least once or twice a week. In 1965, only a quarter of the population reported that they are rushed to get things done resulting in high stress levels. Today, that number has increased to one-third of the American population claiming they are rushed on a daily basis (Schor, 1991, p.11). King 2 Prolonged severe stress can cause emotional depression, the exhaustion stage is not depression, but a physical process. Long-lasting excessive stress can cause a variety of physical illnesses. Among them: high blood pressure, ulcers, colitis, arthritis, diabetes, stoke, and heart attack. The same type and level of stress can effect individuals differently. It depends on the person’s physical condition (age, sex, genetic predisposition) and on certain external factors (diet, or treatment with certain drugs or hormones) as to the physical or emotional suffering that will occur. The weakest link in a chain breaks down under stress, even though all parts are equally exposed to it (Bensahel, Goodloe, and Kelly, 1984, p. 130). Illnesses that derive from stress usually develop slowly, without the individual being clearly aware of what is happening. Guidelines were developed by Robert J. Ban Amberg, a practicing psychiatrist in Montclair, New Jersey to help individua... ...t should be flexible with goals which are reasonable, rather easily achieved, promoting high success rates, and participation should be voluntary. 8. Program should be chosen or constructed and implemted on on the basis of close cooperation between mangement, employees, and professionals in the field. Employers and employees share responsibility for the maintenance of a healthy and safe working enviroment. Employers are by law obligated to provide a safe working intervention, formal and informal, is shared responsibility and calls for a coperative effort. In general people react badly with either to little or to much stress. In basic terms,stress is one aspect of living that can be beneficial when it motivates,encourages changes or inspire. Bensahel,Jane,Goodloe,Alfred,and Kelly,John. (1984). Managing Yourself-How to Control Emotion,Stress,and Time. New York: Franklin Watts. Kizer, William M. (1987). The Healthy WorkPlace. New York: John Wiley and Sons Paine, Whiton Stewart. (1982). Job Stress and Burnout. Beverly Hills: Sage Publications. Schor,Juliet B. (1991). The Overworked American. New York: Basic Books. Cooper and Marshall. (1985) Stress in the Workplace Job Stress

Employee Theft

†¢Explain the reasoning behind employee theft. Employee theft could be a result of many issues that arise at the place of employment. Low morale at the workplace is a major reason why businesses suffer from low production and stealing at the workplace, especially if the employee feels that the business or company has wronged or mistreated them in some way. Another reason would be if the employee feels that they are underpaid or under-appreciated for their performance. In sales, lack of control over inventory makes it easier to steal because the employer does not have preventive measures to avoid it. Preventive measures are crucial to reducing the risk of employee theft. If preventive measures are not existent then the opportunity to steal is very high. The best way to control employee theft is to set policies and guidelines regarding the issue. If there are no set consequences to employee theft then employees will continue to steal, because they think that they won’t be punished. †¢Explain ways the culture of our capitalists society encourages attitudes like those Sheehy describes. I would say a culture of technological revolution and an ever expanding ‘action-packed’ business world, along with an image shaped by a culture of video games and action movies has definitely contributed to encouraging attitudes like those Sheehy describes. As it is stated in the text, â€Å" The college students in particular, reports Sheehy, believed that a no- holds- barred, trample- over- anybody, get- what –you- want approach is the necessary and glamorous road to success. This relates directly to the John Rawls notion of justice as fairness. Rawls lists the following among the equal basic liberties: â€Å"freedom of thought and liberty of conscience; the political liberties and freedom of association, as well as the freedoms specified by the liberty and integrity of the person; and finally, the rights and liberties covered by the rule of law. † This notion is characteristic of the capitalist society. There are many contributing factors surrounding employee theft. I think that the desire to steal is a direct result of your moral values. Sheehy stated, employee theft accounts for 50 percent more revenue loss for retailers than shoplifting. So what’s causing the employees to steal? Some employees may steal because the opportunity presents itself, others may steal because it’s part of their DNA, and some may still because they feel that they may be underpaid therefore; they are entitled to more and will compensate themselves. For example, I have a friend that was a Shift Manager at Popeye’s and she was recently fired for stealing money. I asked her to rationalize her actions; she stated that she was getting underpaid and was upset because the company recently hired a new Shift Manager with a higher salary. She also, stated that she was very flexible, worked long hours if needed, and always helped others with their tasks and duties. Bottom line, she felt that the company did not value her hard work and dedication; therefore she stole the money to even the score. She is now looking for a job and her unemployment was denied due to theft. I believe the employees that steals from their workplace, did not take time out to think about the consequences if their caught. In summary, the attitudes Sheehy shared in his report is evident in most businesses today. Some people feel that they will do enough just to get by until something else comes along. Others may feel unappreciated and underpaid, which may cause them to steal from the company to make up the difference. The implications of the work ethics Sheehy reported in the article will have a negative impact on future American businesses, which may cause businesses to close and an increase in corporate fraud. If society does not change the attitudes, we will be a nation without purpose. Having strong work ethics and a mindset of appreciation for the workforce/ environment will help shape our future. Would you report an overpayment to your manager or would you pocket the money if a customer forgot to get his/her change? As mentioned earlier, Sarah reported the overpayment to her manager and coincidently the customer returned back to the store for her change 3 hours later. Sarah displayed a level of integrity and appreciation for her workplace. I believe we still have hope. Sheeny, J. (2010). A New Work Ethic? In W. H. Shaw, Business Ethics (p. 164). http://www. ifpo. org/articlebank/employee_theft. html Explain the reasoning behind employee theft. Sheehy reported that the number cause of employee theft is peer pressures, teenagers are been forced to steal in order to become part of the pack, they feel like they are not been compensated accordingly with their jobs to the nature of their jobs so they feel like it is their given right to get what is owed to them. Also because they can get away with it, it is hard to prove something when no one is willing to tell the truth because they all do it. Explain ways the culture of our capitalists society encourages attitudes like those Sheehy describes. People can actually do what they want to do, if you have a job that you hate, you will not be able to motivate yourself to perform the way you suppose to. On my email signature a work I have a quote saying â€Å"find something you love to and you will never have to work again a day in your life†. It is important that your job should be a hobby, something you are willing to do even if you are not getting paid, but the economy is causing for more people just to take any kind of job in order to survive even if they hate what they are doing.

Personal Ambition And Self Respect By Mary Jane Ward s...

Personal Ambition and Self-Respect in The Bell Jar Inspired by Mary Jane Ward’s The Snake Pit, The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath was released in 1963 and discusses a great deal of how difficult it was to be a woman in the 1960s. The 1960s was a struggling time for women; society set standards that women felt obligated to follow. Society told women that their only jobs were to get married, have children, and become homemakers, and if a woman did not fall under all of these categories, she was considered a social outcast. The main character, Esther Greenwood, fears that she will not make a good wife because she could not cook, she stood too tall, and danced poorly. Women also had many restrictions on what they could do. For example, they could not serve on a jury, get an Ivy League education, and they did not experience equality in the work place. Society expected women to follow these standards perfectly, without fault. How were women to live by all of these standards and still thi nk of themselves as strong and independent? Alas, because society focused so much on what women should do, that they did not appreciate some of the other things that some women could do. Intelligence, determination, and understanding were not considered impressive or useful to women in this time. The character Esther Greenwood in Sylvia Plath’s The Bell Jar reflects the struggle to maintain self-respect and personal motivation in a society that demands perfection. Sylvia Plath starts off The Bell Jar