Government agencies tend to define performance in terms of economy, Assignment

Government agencies tend to define performance in terms of economy, efficiency and effectiveness. What do you understand by thes - Assignment Example The public also fails to appreciate the government for its services and think that it should do more. However, the government performs its major role of providing an enabling environment where this private sector is able to do its activities. The problem is, therefore, the negative public perception towards the government not lack of efficiency, effectiveness or being economic. Introduction A government is a group of people who are chosen by citizens, of a particular, to run various activities on their behalf. The running of the country’s affairs by the people they have elected, requires various resources. The resources needed to run a government are financial resources, human resources, and natural resources. These resources especially the financial resources are not always in good supply. With the current state of uncertainty in resources available to a government, they have to make maximum use of any resource that they have at a certain time. Most governments finance their operations through collecting taxes and then using the money on the basis of how well the money can bring benefits to the people. To know how well the money from tax is utilized, the issue of comparing how well a government and private sector uses a certain amount of money, is the starting point. Discussion A government has its set goals to ensure that it utilizes its resources well. Efficiency is said to be achieved when a government uses a given amount of resources and gets as much benefits as possible from the use of that resource. Efficiency is measured by gauging how great the results or the outputs obtained exceeds cost consumed or resources utilized. Efficiency is a word used to mean how close or far a government or a private organization is, so that it can achieve what it had planned to get or how well they have solved a problem. The two words, efficiency and effectiveness, therefore, are different. Efficiency is measured without paying attention to cost. In efficiency the g overnment tries as much as possible to do an activity well, but in effectiveness the government does the right activity for the citizens. Efficiency, most of the time is associated with the private sector. The private sector are organizations or private people who are investing their resources, with the hope of getting more than what they invested. In this sense, therefore, the private sector is said to be more efficient because they can show how well they have done their activities. For example, since the main focus of private sector is to make big profits, many private companies report to the public how much money they have earned as profit (Starks 22). When people realize that a certain company has made huge profits, they tend to criticize the government for lack of efficiency. The public feels that the government should be able to do many activities using the money it collect from them through taxation. The private sector at times also criticize the government for lack of effici ency. The public also blames the government and demands that it should embrace ways used by the private, but forgets two important issues. The first issue is that the private sector would wish to be given control over the areas that they complain the government is not efficient. (Granof 43). The private sector complains deliberately so that the public would supports them in forcing the government, to give

The character of Scrooge Essay Example for Free

The character of Scrooge Essay He asks the ghost: Tell me if Tiny Tim will live if these shadows remain unaltered by the future, the child will die. This shows that Scrooge feels guilty for not giving his clerk more money as he witnesses their way of life. The ghost then takes Scrooge to visit his nephew Fred on Christmas day. Fred is having a splendid time and is celebrating a more modern Christmas with fun, laughter, drinking booze and playing games such as: similes and yes or no. It is less religious as they have more money and a bright, dry gleaming house However, they still have strong moral values like the Cratchits. Dickens suggests that Scrooge is missing out on the fun and games by saying, that the consequence of his taking a dislike to us and not making merry with us, is, as I think, that he loses some pleasant moments, which could do him no harm. This suggests that Scrooge starts to feel a bit of remorse, since he turned the invite down. Scrooge is forced to realise that he has missed a chance to be merry with the only family he has left in the world. Finally, the ghost shows Scrooge two personifications of the social situation in the form of two children: Ignorance (a boy) and Want (a girl), who symbolise mankinds downfall. Dickens uses this personification to emphasise the point of mankinds destruction, for instance the spirit says, Most of all beware this boy, for on his brow I see that written which Doom This signifies if people continue to ignore the poor, society will crumble. In this stave Scrooge feels new emotions such as regret for not paying his clerk Bob Cratchit enough money, since he lives in poverty with a huge family and a crippled son, and more regret for not attending the invite from Fred. Also, he feels a lot sadder and some happiness for Freds games and the laughter, Scrooges family had without him. The ghost of Christmas yet to come represents death and judgement, this ghost is also known as a phantom because it is wearing a black cloak which conceals its face and it doesnt say a word to add to the morbid atmosphere. They visited a house where there was one little knot of business men with a lady trying to sell some of Scrooges possessions, he sees nobody is upset by his death, but instead raiding his hose and selling off his property. I hope he didnt die of anything catching Eh? Dont you be afraid of that. This shows that people are joking over his death and no-one cares about his departure from the face of the earth. He is very upset that no-one cares about his death, all they can do is laugh and attempt to make a profit from his belongings. Scrooge asks the spirit If there is any person in the town, who feels emotion caused by this mans death Show that person to me, spirit They go to the Cratchits house, but The only emotion that the ghost could show him, caused by the event, was one of pleasure. This emphasises that no-one liked him and cared about him at all, so they were not sad to witness his death. After a while, they return to the Cratchits house where Bob has just returned from work. Dickens makes Scrooge feel miserable, regret and guilt that he did not offer his help to save Tiny Tim from dying, by making the Cratchit family more depressed, for instance, My little, little child! Cried Bob. My little child! He broke down all at once. This makes the reader feel sympathy for the Cratchits and anger towards Scrooge, as he did not help a poor family at need. Also, it makes Scrooge feel terrible and he realises that he must change his ways and become a better person, to stop these perceptions from happening. Stave four is a particularly religious section of the book, as it deals with Scrooges redemption and moral reformation. The language used by Dickens is similar to that used in a religious teaching, for example: Oh cold, cold, rigid, dreadful death, set up thine altar here. This biblical language is meant to make us aware that as readers we are being taught a moral lesson. All Christians believed strongly in heaven and hell; the thought of spending the rest of eternity in hell, frightened most Christians, so even the meanest of people would consider changing their ways to go to heaven. In stave five, Scrooge awakens on Christmas day as a changed man. He buys the largest turkey in town and donates it to the Cratchits. Ill send it to Bob Cratchits! This shows that Scrooge has finally reformed and he is now a better man, as he is being a lot more generous. Dickens shows that Scrooge has learnt his moral lessons and is not going back to his old ways, he does this by this continual joy, care and generosity, throughout the character of Scrooge in stave five, for example: Heres the turkey. Hallo! Whoop! How are you! Merry Christmas! This again emphasises that Scrooge has realised and acknowledged his faults and changed them; plus he donates lots of money to the poor, Scrooge says, not a farthing less This once more shows Scrooges generosity, the poor and the two gentlemen were very grateful. He also celebrates a lovely Christmas with his nephew; Dickens shows this by saying, Wonderful party, wonderful games, wonderful unanimity, won-der-ful happiness This stresses the changes Scrooge has made and that he is having a magnificent time with his family, at last. The next morning Scrooge was at his office ready to meet Bob Cratchit and give him a pay rise, he says Ill raise your salary, and endeavour to assist your struggling family And thats exactly what Scrooge did, he did not just raise Bobs salary, but he became like a second father to Tiny Tim, who did not die. There are many references to heaven in this stave such as: I am as happy as an angel, He went to church and God bless us, every one! in contrast to the references to hell when he was parsimonious, mean-spirited and had a cold heart, for instance, It is doomed to wander through the world , ages of incessant labour by immortal creatures, for this earth must pass eternity and dark master! This creates the impression that Scrooge was going to hell in stave one because he was stingy, cruel and uncharitable. Dickens teaches a social lesson to us, near the end of the book, so we remember it. He tells us not to worry if people laugh at the sudden change in you as long as you are doing good deeds that is all that matters, for instance, Some people laughed to see the alteration in him, but he let them laugh His own heart laughed: and that was quite enough for him. This puts emphasis on Scrooges reformation and confirms that Scrooge has changed for the better and for good. A Christmas Carol is an inverted tragedy, since it has five staves similar to the five acts of a Shakespeare play; but Scrooge begins a cold-hearted, cruel, spiteful and uncharitable and ends a loving, caring generous man with a stronger, warmer heart, especially to the poor and needy. Through the character of Scrooge, Dickens hoped to change the views of society by showing the rich people, who would have read the book that they were Scrooge (not sharing their wealth; being grumpy and cold-hearted). It reflects that money does not lead to happiness, but living a high-quality Christian, moral life does. As the book continues on, Scrooge becomes more and more enthusiastic to learn his moral lessons, for example: As I know your purpose is to do me good, and as I hope to live to be another man from what I was This shows his eagerness to gain knowledge of his moral and social lessons and his acceptance of his faults. Christianity was a vast issue in the 1840s, and the idea of burning in hell would have made a lot of people change their miserable, tight-fisted ways. This Christian theme is set throughout the book and if you repent your ways you will be saved (go to heaven). Dickens uses Christmas because it is an occasion when generosity, exuberance and affection should be in our hearts as a time to convey this message of charity.

Negotiating Identity: The Frontier in Moby-Dick, by Herman Melville :: Moby Dick Essays

Written during a period of American history characterized by great expansionism, Herman Melville's Moby-Dick may be read as a reflection upon both the rapidly changing geographical frontiers of America, and the accompanying shift of social, political, religious and cultural boundaries. The Pequod's world is governed by laws other than those of the American mainland. Figuratively situated at the frontier of the New World, the ship evokes the mythic American pioneer with the independent spirit, aggression and courage to wrench a nation from the wilderness. Melville lays out a version of the frontier myth that sees redefinition of national identity in terms of man confronting his other, reaffirming the self, and - through Ishmael's survival and narration - returning to civilization having defined what he is not.. Captain Ahab and his obsessive quest for the white whale symbolize in its most extreme form, an American desire to face the wild unknown and to promote national ascendancy thro ugh the confrontation. This paper will examine the seductive but limited conditions under which claims to define American-ness are able to be made in Moby-Dick, through interrogating the way in which the crew's desires are subsumed into Ahab's private vendetta. The notion of the frontier as a place of infinite possibility, where power relations are renegotiated, even as are geographical limits, goes some way towards explaining why, despite Ahab's disregard for his men's well-being, they agree to follow him down his tragic path. Both the license that Ahab's position gives him to compel them into action, and his ability to tap the crew's own belief in the power of the mythical American capacity for self-reinvention, indicate the potential for unbridled violence in the search for the self. Crucially, this highlights the discrepancy between America's claims of its own democracy, liberty and equality, and its national enthusiasm for imperialist conquest and its tolerance of slavery. The pervasiveness of the mythological connection between American self-invention and aggression, is underlined by Slotkin in his claim that the first colonists saw in America an opportunity to regenerate their fortunes, their spirits, and the power of their church and nation; but the means to that regeneration ultimately became the means of violence, and the myth of regeneration through violence became the structuring metaphor of the American experience. (Slotkin, 5) Renowned for the risk it involved, and for the physical demands it made on the sailors, whaling invites many comparisons with both the pioneer's intrepid conquest of the western wilderness, and the march of soldiers into war.

Business System Integration and Consultancy

â€Å"Abstract Customer relationship direction ( CRM ) is a combination of people, procedures and engineering that seeks to understand a company ‘s customers.†The faculty â€Å"Business System Integration and Consultancy† was one I had been looking frontward to of all time since I decided to fall in the class. The chance of holding existent clip experience of being a adviser and transporting out a undertaking was truly appealing. Over the class of the faculty, the assorted facets of consultancy and undertaking execution were introduced under the umbrella of a consultancy undertaking. My essay covers the assorted phases that I went through as a portion of my group, the alterations I would do if I were to travel through the procedure once more and the accomplishments I gained by undergoing the faculty. The essay is loosely divided into two subdivisions. The first subdivision covers the procedure of system integrating I would follow. This covers the phases like Request for Information and Request for Proposal which covers the execution scheme. The 2nd subdivision high spots the personal acquisition.THE PROCESS OF SYSTEM INTEGRATIONThe faculty took us through assorted phases of system integrating get downing from the client seting up petition for information. If the procedure was to be repeated, there is a series of alterations and betterments that could be incorporated into the same. These have been detailed below.The Request for Information ( RFI )S Daellenbach and Sally J Davenport suggest that organisations enter into confederation based on properties of organisation and its representatives instead than the property of the future confederation relationship ( Establishing Trust during the Formation of Technology Alliances ‘ , Journal of Technology Transfer, 29 ( 2 ) , 2004:1 87 ) . The RFI phase is the platform to demo the clients the credibleness and eligibility of the company in taking up the undertaking ( mention of where you got the info from ) . It is of import to affect the client ; demo them that you have the capableness and besides set up trust. For this it is indispensable to demo partnership by seting the logo of Aluxtel and ICG together. The presentation would cover the accomplishments, the strengths, the services offered and relevant experience of ICG in the country of client demand. It would besides showcase the of import old and current partnerships of the company ; for this I would utilize Son of the spouse companies. The presentation should non give so much information that the client misses the indispensable points. ICG ab initio had 19 slides which were cut down to 14 during the RFI phase. Another facet I would make otherwise, was sing an question by the client about employee turnover ratio. ICG had divulged that information to Aluxtel but I subsequently found out that such inside informations are seldom let out by a company and about ne'er during RFI phase. Meeting with the client is besides a really important facet. Survey by Katz and Kahn suggest that appraisal of trust is likely to be based ab initio on the interpersonal interactions ( 1978 ) . It is hence of import to subscribe the â€Å"psychological contracts† with the client.The Request for Proposal ( RFP )This phase required us to showcase the program to turn to the client ‘s demand. The important facet to this was to pull out the right information from the client through the series of meetings we had. The process adopted consisted of three stairss – analysing the organisation & A ; understanding demands, explicating execution scheme and measuring the undertaking execution.Procedure and TechnologyMeasure 1: Analyzing organisation & A ; Understanding RequirementsThe key to acquiring information from the clients as pointed by the facult y leaders is to inquire an unfastened ended inquiry which leaves the client to speak more than you. The effectual direction of information has a important function to play in CRM. Information is critical for merchandise tailoring, service invention, amalgamate positions of clients, and ciphering client life-time value ( Peppard, 2000 ) . The initial negotiations were non really fruitful, due to inexperience and nervousnesss. The attendant meetings yielded more information ; the last meeting had been more focussed in footings of the inquiries and yielded specific concerns of the client sing cost decrease and organisational restructuring. This helped ICG modify the program to run into the client ‘s specific involvements. The information was used to transport out analysis utilizing techniques like SWOT analysis, stakeholder analysis and plague analysis. I would follow this as it greatly helped in analysing the consequence of the undertaking on assorted facets of the organisation. Measure 2: Execution SchemeThe scheme should provide to three chief facets viz. people, procedure and engineering. The thought is that a new procedure is to be designed by integrating engineering to give the company the competitory advantage. The focal point nevertheless needs to be on the demands of the company and non engineering. Technology should ever be the facilitator. This fact is confirmed by Rigby and Ledingham who say that directors should non be distracted by the CRM package but should concentrate on what demands it should provide to ( 2004 ) . I steadfastly adhere to this school of idea and believe that doing engineering the chief drive force behind determinations can do concerns to lose focal point on their nucleus competences, unless the nucleus competence is engineering itself. The chief facet to be considered in the instance of Aluxtel is the presence of silo systems. Migrating the information into a individual database would greatly cut down call clip and better client satisfaction. However this should non impact the normal concern operations. Bearing these factors in head a information migration program has to be devised. The information migration would besides function as an chance to transport out informations cleansing. In 2001, Gartner analysts Scott Nelson and Jennifer Kirkby reported that disregarding informations quality is the figure one ground for CRM undertaking failures ( Power, 2009:40 ) . The information of Aluxtel could be largely cleansed by automatic methods but required manual cleaning every bit good. The challenge with manual cleaning is the clip it consumes and the human resource required from an already overladen Aluxtel staff. From the interactions with the faculty leaders, it was concluded that cent per centum clean information is a rareness. Therefore I believe that automatic cleaning would do as an immediate demand. The information from silo systems could be integrated into a separate individual database and it can undergo the manual cleaning. This method has its pros and cons. Since the undertaking will be implemented in a phased mode, the above scheme would intend keeping bequest and new database till the undertaking goes unrecorded in all the offices. However it besides provides a autumn back mechanism to the bequest database in instance of any issue. The new system can take a few months to settle, where the staff and the clients become familiar with the system. The Information and Technology ( IT ) staff on which the burden is lesser than sales/marketing staff can transport out the manual cleaning. [ Refer appendix for informations migration diagram ] The client today takes certain services for granted, chief being an online service. It enormously adds to the convenience factor of the client. Bearing this in head, a web portal is a necessity. Peppers and Rogers depict how web sites help in retaining clients by offering services in traditionally impossible ways [ 2000 ] . The presence of a amalgamate database would intend that investing required for this would be minimum. Besides, presenting an IVR system with an machine-controlled confirmation service would greatly cut down call clip and the incommodiousness caused to clients by perennial confirmation questions. The following facet of the scheme is to look at cost decrease and organisational restructuring. For a apparatus that involves client naming in for questions, it is instead unneeded to hold four different offices for call centres. Integrating them would greatly cut down disposal and care costs. I would lodge to the recommendation made to unify Milton Keynes office with Birmingham office. There have been instances of companies Virgin, Bata etc switching central offices without impacting their concern. The cost decrease it would convey greatly justifies this move. An facet I would wish to convey about if I do this undertaking once more is affecting clients in make up one's minding other alterations to be brought about since CRM is a client centric undertaking. Random calls could be made to the clients asking about the alterations they would wish to see in the procedure. Optimizing client relationships requires a complete apprehension of all clients ; profitable every bit good as non-profitable, and so to form concern procedures to handle clients separately based on their demands and their values ( Renner, 2000 ) . This reinforces the advantages to be gained by utilizing the client profiling. One point that was missed out, as pointed out by Mr. Gary was the hazard analysis. Possible hazards such as undertaking failure, unequal return on investing, unplanned undertaking budget alterations, unhappy clients, loss of employee assurance, and recreation of cardinal direction clip and resources must be good thought out ( Schweigert, 2000 ) . Identifying the hazards involved and accordingly mapping the ways to extenuate these hazards would be a great confidence to the client and will besides guarantee better opportunities of forestalling a undertaking failure.Measure 3: Appraisal and ControlArgyris and Schon describe the spread between ‘intent ‘ and realisation as the major challenge in strategic direction theory ( 1996 ) . It is of import that the undertaking is invariably reviewed and assessed to do certain its on the right class and it adheres to the program set out. The steps taken by ICG were really good in run intoing this demand. A steering commission and a fol low up commission would guarantee that undertaking stuck to its program. The undertaking had a stage â€Å"controlling† every bit good for the intent.PeoplesExecution of endeavor engineering, such as CRM and ERP, requires alterations to organisational civilization ( Al-Mashari & A ; Zairi, 2000 ) . It is hence of import to fix the people involved for the alteration and do certain they are motivated to encompass the alteration. Most jobs in CRM execution are non proficient. [ Schwartz et Al, 2002 ] identifies organisational alteration as a major challenge for CRM executions. Analyzing the execution scheme, it is clear that the alteration is huge and there is a really valid demand to look into the people aspect. The first thing to make would be to affect the senior direction in the procedure of fixing the staff for the alteration. Cap Gemini and IDC found that top direction and selling and gross revenues direction are by and large the instigators of a corporate CRM undertaking ( 1999 ) . Besides developing Sessionss will be conducted to do them recognize the benefits of the new system and to besides guarantee their credence. Their feedbacks at assorted phases can guarantee that the undertaking is on path and these stairss would besides guarantee their ownership in the undertaking. A major issue to be considered is the resettlement of people in Milton Keynes to Birmingham and besides from the different call centres to the integrated call Centre. There is likely to be opposition in this respect. This issue was non discussed decently in ICG ‘s proposal. I believe that a little hiking in wage is justified to actuate people for the alteration. This would n't be a load on the company sing the effectual outgo cut. Besides a publicity would be a large psychological motive for the staff even if the salary rise associated with the publicity is minimum.Personal LearningThe faculty helped in understanding the constructs of consultancy and how to be professional in the work that you do. It familiarized me with the assorted phases involved in a undertaking and how to undertake each of them. It is most of import to hold a holistic position sing all possible facets. Initially, the focal point had merely been on planing a CRM system. But as the class progressed, I learne d to look at the chances for organisational restructuring and investigation for ways to transfuse process optimisation and cost decrease. The experience of working with clip restraints in a really competitory environment has made me confident to take on the universe of confer withing. As for the soft accomplishments, I was a portion of all the meetings with the client and besides handled the RFI presentation and the concluding presentation. It made me confident to talk in forepart of honored persons. The meetings helped me understand the elusive niceties of constructing a resonance by conversation and gestures. I was besides introduced to the art of inquiring the right sort of inquiries to pull out inside informations from the client. The procedure of working in a group besides was a really fulfilling experience. The work was by and large divided among the members and each member came prepared with the subject. This was followed by treatments and encephalon storming about the assorted subjects. This ensured proper analysis of all the subjects and deep apprehension about the same. It besides made certain that everyone in the group was cognizant of all the facets of our proposal. This was highlighted by the fact that during the reappraisal session by the panel after our concluding presentation, all the members answered to the questions.BibliographyAl-Mashari, M. and Zairi, M. ( 2000 ) , â€Å" The effectual application of SAP R/3: a proposed theoretical account of best pattern † , Logistics Information Management, Vol. 13 No. 3, pp. 156-66. Argyris, C and Schon, D ( 1996 ) Organizational larning II: Theory, Method and Practise. Chen, J.I & A ; Popvich.K, 2003. â€Å"Understanding client relationship direction ( CRM ) : Peoples, procedure and technology† in Business Process Management Journal. Vol 9 Daellenbach, S. & A ; Davenport, J. 2004. â€Å"Establishing trust during the formation of engineering alliances† in Journal of Technology Transfer, Vol: 29 ( 2 ) Finnigan D.J & A ; Willcocks, L.P, ( 2007 ) , Implementing CRM: From engineering to Knowledge Peppard, J. ( 2000 ) , â€Å" Customer relationship direction ( CRM ) in fiscal services † , European Management diary, Vol. 18 No. 3, pp. 312-27. Peppers, D. and Rogers, four ( 2000 ) , â€Å" Successful Web sites † , DMReview.Com, 4 February. Power.D, 2009. â€Å"Data Quality and MDM ; A information quality mentality additions MDM plan success† in Information Management. Vol 19 ( 2 ) . Renner, D. ( 2000 ) , â€Å" Customer relationship direction: a new arm in your competitory armory † , Siebel Magazine, Vol. 1 No. 2. Rigby, D.K. and Ledingham, D ( 2004 ) CRM done right. Harvard Business Review, 82 ( 11 ) , 118-129 Shwartz, M. , Schliebs, O. and Wyssusek, B. ( 2002 ) Concentrating the Customer: A Critical Approach towards Design and Use of Data Warehousing in Corporate CRM. DMDW Workshop at CAISE, Toronto. Schweigert, D. ( 2000 ) , â€Å" Balancing idealistic V realistic procedures † , in Proceedings of DCI Customer Relationship Management Conference, Boston, MA, 27-29 June

Famous Quotes About Dance

Dancing is an expression of your soul. You dont need to know complicated steps to dance. You dont have to sashay across the  room  or spin your partner with finesse. If you enjoy dancing, you will be able to find your feet. Dance to the rhythm of your heart, and you will feel happy, guaranteed. It doesnt matter whether you like jazz or waltz, jive or salsa. What matters is that your (literally) heart loves to dance. Dancing is one of the best forms of cardiovascular exercise. But dancing also helps the release of endorphins, the so-called happiness hormone. As  Dave Barry  said, Nobody cares if you cant dance well. Just get up and dance.   Even if the only time you can dance is when no ones watching (possibly the best time of all), these quotes can inspire you to let yourself feel the freedom of dance whether in your living room or on the dance floor.   Alice Abrams In life as in dance: grace glides on blistered feet. Albert Einstein Dancers are athletes of God. Voltaire Let us read and let us dance, two amusements that will never do any harm to the world. Jerome Robbins Dance is like life, it exists as youre flitting through it, and when its over, its done. Martha Graham Dance is the hidden language of the soul. Maya Angelou Everything in the universe has rhythm. Everything dances. George Carlin Those who dance are considered insane by those who cant hear the music. Friedrich Nietzsche He who would learn to fly one day must first learn to stand and walk and run and climb and dance; one cannot fly into flying. Vince Lombardi The good Lord gave you a body that can stand most anything. Its your mind you have to convince. Ginger Rogers I do everything the man does, only backward and in high heels! Edward Lear And hand in hand, on the edge of the sand, they danced by the light of the moon. Oprah Winfrey Every day brings a chance for you to draw in a breath, kick off your shoes and dance. Merce Cunningham You have to love dancing to stick to it. It gives you nothing back, no manuscripts to store away, no paintings to show on walls and maybe hang in museums, no poems to be printed and sold, nothing but that single fleeting moment when you feel alive. Agnes de Mille To dance is to be out of yourself. Larger, more beautiful, more powerful. This is power, it is glory on Earth, and it is yours for the taking. Martha Graham Nobody cares if you cant dance well. Just get up and dance. Great dancers are great because of their passion.

What Is a Religious Sect

A sect is a religious group that is a subset of a religion or denomination. Sects typically share the same beliefs as the religion that is their foundation but will have marked differences in some areas. Sects Versus Cults The terms sects and cults are often used interchangeably, but this is incorrect. Cults are small, extreme groups, and are often marked by corrupt leaders, and intense, manipulative, or unethical practices. Sects are not cults, in most circumstances. They are just religious offshoots of other groups. But because of how often the two terms are confused, many people who belong to sects describe themselves as being part of a small denomination, to avoid negative stigma. Examples of Religious Sects In history, religious sects have been the cause of new movements and radical changes. For example, one early sect of Judaism was the Nazarenes. This group was reportedly made up of Jesus apostles after his death. While they were a Jewish sect, the Nazarenes were the foundation of Christianity. Today, sects are still prominent. One of the most well-known is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, more commonly referred to as Mormons. The Mormon sect eventually evolved into its own denomination of Christianity and continues to increase in followers. Sects are often subsets of religions due to their perceived need for reform. As the sect grows, it becomes more established, builds a congregation, and becomes more accepted into the mainstream. At that point, it becomes a denomination. Modern Christian Sects Christianity has the largest number of sects. In the past, Christians associated sects with heresy and blasphemous beliefs, but in recent years, sects have become more respected for their beliefs. A Christian sect is recognized as separate from the core religion over certain beliefs and practices. Within the Catholic Church, there are many sects that operate separately but still consider themselves Catholic: Community of the Lady of All Nations: Founded in 1971, this sect believes that its founder, Marie Paule Giguere, is the reincarnation of the Virgin Mary. This differs from the Catholic belief that reincarnation is not possible and that Mary was assumed into heaven.  Palmarian Catholic Church: The Palmarian Catholic Church does not recognize the current papacy as valid and infallible, splitting with the Roman Catholic Church. They have not recognized the authority of the Pope since the death of Pope Paul VI in 1978. Modern Islamic Sects Islam also has a number of religious sects that deviate from Islams traditional teachings. There are two core groups, but each one has several sub-sects as well: Sunni Islam: Sunni Islam is the largest Muslim sect, and differs from other groups in the matter of the prophet Muhammads successor.Shia Islam: Shia Islam believes that Muhammad did appoint a successor, in stark contrast to the Sunnis.   While sects are often used to describe extreme religious views, many sects are peaceful and simply differ with a denomination over some particular issues. As time passes, many become accepted as mainstream denominations.

Impact of Religion on Youth - 4279 Words

Introduction The impact that religion has exerted on mankind’s history is phenomenal, even in the twenty first century, perceptions are beguiled more by religion than any other factor. Too many policies, political associations, economic stances and military actions are dictated to a large extent by religion for anyone to take it lightly. This holds much greater significance for the people of the subcontinent than other places, save a few exceptions. Whether this was due to the success of the â€Å"Divide and Rule† policy of the British Raj, or the prevalent conflicting nature of the different tenets of the respective sects, the subcontinent was divided on the basis of ideological differences. The vehicle of transformation is the†¦show more content†¦This is too low a percentage of the muslims taking into account the possibility of distortion as they claim The Holy Quran to be the one true source of their religion. Considering the fact that the proportion of muslims in our vast population is almost 90% (89.7% according to the Bangladesh Census 2001), this is bad news as Islamic tenets can be portrayed as commands for intolerance and interpreted wrongly this manifests as extremism.61% of the respondents said that the depth of their learning is limited to what is taught in the school curriculum and portrayed in the media. This is a good way to learn but not as effective as one pursuing the religion on his or her own and from the authentic base of the religion. Considering something as mind numbingly powerful as religion, it should be pursued from its original source and left to one’s own faculties for deciphering, otherwise the true meaning is never grasped. Second hand information based religion leads to an extrinsic state of belief as opposed to the very beneficial intrinsic sense of belief, which is when one builds a personal relation with God. According to Hills and Francis (2002), eminent psychologists from Oxford Brookes University, the difference between these two forms of religious practice have implications for future research and for the interpretation of all research on religious practice. There is a substantial difference betweenShow MoreRelatedThe Impact Of Religion On Youth And Youth1518 Words   |  7 PagesReligiously Organized Groups in Universities from a Youth Perspective Although how youth associate religion has been discussed in literature to a varying degree, this literature review will mainly focus on four major themes found in the relevant peer reviewed articles of recent studies. Those themes are, impact of religion on youth, youth and organized religious groups, religious groups and social capital and religious involvement of youth in university context. 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