Treatise for the Christian Soldier in John Milton’s Paradise Lost Essay

Milton's Treatise for the Christian Soldier in Paradise Lost  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚         While the War in Heaven, presented in Book VI of John Milton's Paradise Lost, operates as a refutation of the concept of glory associated with the epic tradition, the episode also serves a major theological purpose. It provides nothing less than a perfect example of how the Christian soldier should act obediently in combating evil, guarding against temptation, and remaining ever vigilant against the forces of darkness. It also offers the ultimate hope that Satan can be thwarted and comforts Christians in the knowledge that Satan cannot be victorious. At the same time, the example warns against the pretensions that Christians might have about being able to overcome Satan by themselves. Christians are reminded that the victory can only be won by the Son of God; at best, they can only confirm their allegiance and obedience to God through their service. Throughout the poem Milton has tried to show two definitions of glory. The first lies in the assumption that war can bring glory to those who perform heroic deeds in its service. This is the view Satan holds, and is evidenced in his words to Abdiel, "But well thou com'st / Before thy fellows, ambitious to win / From me some plume" (vi, 159-161). The second defines glory not as something won, but something given. The Son affirms this definition when he explains to the loyal angels why he alone must end the war: "against me is all their rage, / Because the Father, to whom in Heaven supreme / Kingdom and power and glory appertains, / Hath honored me, according to his will" (vi, 813-816). James Holly Hanford perhaps best describes the conflicted feelings Milton had for war: War, then constituted for Milt... ...on's example and by Milton's manipulation of the elements of the epic tradition. For Milton, putting down the epic tradition in favor of Christian doctrine exemplifies his thoughts on war. As a realistic pacifist, Milton saw war as the result of sin, but knew that because of the presence of sin in a post-lapsarian world, war on earth would only be ended by the Son, just as he ended it in Heaven. Works Cited Fish, Stanley Eugene. Surprised by Sin: The Reader in Paradise Lost. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1967. Hanford, James Holly. "Milton and the Art of War." John Milton, Poet and Humanist: essays by James Holly Hanford. Cleveland: Press of Western Reserve U, 1966. 185-223. Revard, Stella Purce. The War in Heaven. Ithaca and London: Cornell University Press, 1980. Rosenburg, D. M. "Epic Warfare in Cowley and Milton." CLIO 22.1 (1992): 67-80.   

Beowulf vs Hercules(Disney) Who is a better hero? Essay

What is the definition of a true hero? Many people have been considered heroes for many different reasons. Both Hercules and Beowulf have both been regarded as heroes. Beowulf was a great warrior who lived in the time of the Vikings. Beowulf traveled the face of the earth fighting monsters and beasts in search of money and fame. Hercules was also a great warrior but he lived during the time of the Greek gods. Hercules was born a god but he was stolen as an infant and turned into a mortal by his fathers nemesis, Hades. Hercules retained his godlike strength and now he must prove himself a hero. This is the only way he would be able to reunite with his family of gods. In the Disney animated film â€Å"Hercules† the character is a far greater hero than the character Beowulf from the epic poem â€Å"Beowulf† because he had more of a desire to be a hero, he fought his battles with better motives, and he had stronger friendships in his companions. Beowulf’s desire to b e a hero had mostly selfish reasons. In one of Beowulf’s speaches he states, â€Å"Let me live in greatness and courage, or here in this hall, welcome my death.† Although this might sound heroic, he shows how he wants to be a hero to gain fame. This shows that he is more worried about his personal image than the people he plans to protect. Beowulf also says, â€Å"My lord Higlac might think less of me if I let my sword go where my feet were afraid to.† Any warrior, no matter how noble, knows he must have advantages over their enemy to win and showing up to battle without proper equipment is a dumb thing to do. This shows how he is more worried about his personal image than the safety of the people. In Beowulf’s death speech he said, â€Å"I sold my life for this treasure, and sold it well.† He does not mention the people he saved, only the treasures he gained. This shows his goals in life are material. A persons desires to be a hero should have more meaning than a persons ego and material wealth. Hercules’ desire to be a hero has much more meaning than Beowulf’s. For example, when he finds out he must prove himself a hero to be able to reunite with his family, he sings, â€Å"I will beat the odds, I can go the distance. I will face the world, fearless, proud and strong†¦ til I find my heros welcome right where I belong.† This shows that he knows he will have to work hard to prove himself a hero but is willing to do whatever it takes. When Hercules is trying to persuade a great trainer to train him he asks, â€Å"Haven’t you ever had a dream, something you wanted so bad you would do anything.† This shows that he is willing to do anything to become a hero and reunite with his family. He also explains, â€Å"I am different from the other guys, I can go the distance.† This shows how he is confident that, under the right training, has what it takes to become a hero. He knows that other people have let the trainer down before, and knows that he is different from all of them. Hercules’ desire to be a hero comes from within himself like the desire to reunite with his family and to prove to everybody, especially himself, that he is a true hero. Beowulf’s motives for fighting were mostly extrinsic and self centered. For Example, Beowulf is told â€Å"Purge Herot and your ship will sail home with its treasure-holds full.† This shows that Beowulf’s motivation for battle comes from the material reward of treasure. A person in the poem named Unforth argued about the motives of one of Beowulf’s previous battles and explained how â€Å"all older and wiser heads warned you not to do so, but no one could check such (Beowulf’s) pride.† This shows how Beowulf’s pride is so strong that it can pull him into battle. He felt he needed to prove to everyone how great of a warrior he was by fighting a pointless battle. A true hero should be motivated intrinsically by the self satisfaction of helping others and achieving personal goals. Hercules’ motives for his battles are much more heroic than those of Beowulf’s. For instance, when he finds a damsel in distress, he put his life on the line to save her and ends up falling in love with her. This shows how he is not concerned with his own safety as long as he is out to protect another. Also, when the Titans are battling with the gods on Mt. Olympus, he goes to great lengths to save his father and fellow gods. He knows that if he does not fight this battle the world will be taken over by an evil god. This shows that he fights his battles for greater causes than material riches and to boost his ego. Friends are especially important in every bodies life, and especially one of a hero. In Beowulf’s quests he never saw the importance of friendship. This made him a weaker warrior and ultimately led to his death. For example, in one of his battles he watched as â€Å"Grendel snatched at the first Geat, he came to, ripped him apart†¦Drank the blood from his veins†¦Death and Grendel’s teeth came together.† This shows that Beowulf is willing to allow an enemy to slaughter one of his men just so he can make the battle easier for himself. He does not value the life of anyone but his own. The strength of the bonds he had with his comrades showed when â€Å"None of his comrades came to him, helped him. His brave and noble followers ran for their lives. This shows that he never proved himself as enough of a companion to his comrades and they felt that their life was more important to save than Beowulf’s. If he had cared more about others, they might have cared more about him. Hercules cared for many, which led to many strong friendships. Building strong relationships with others was very important in Hercules’ quest to become a hero. For example, Hercules became good friends with his trainer. At one point when Hercules was down and felt like giving up, his trainer told him, â€Å"I’m willing to go the distance. How ’bout you.† This shows that his trainer cared about him and would not let Hercules give up on his goal. His trainer could have also just gave up then, but their friendship h elped both of them achieve their goals. Another relationship Hercules had was with one of his enemies slaves named Meg. Meg gave her life to save Hercules and when asked why she did it, she responded, â€Å"People always do crazy things when they are in love.† Hercules’ friendship with Meg saved his life. This shows that Hercules’ friends cared about him so much they would give their own life for his. Hercules also was willing to give his life to get Meg back. He found Meg in the Sea of the Dead in the underworld. He knew that to save her, he must get her out, and in doing so would kill himself. When he went in to get her, it proved he was a true hero and he became an immortal god. When he was asked why he did it, he responded, â€Å"People always do crazy things when they are in love.† This showed that their love was mutual, and they would do anything for each other. Even though he tried so to be a god, he decided to spend his life on earth as a mortal with Meg. At the end of the movie â€Å"Hercules†, Hercules’ father explained, â€Å"A true hero is not measured by the size of his strength, but the strength of his heart.†Although Beowulf showed that he was a powerful warrior he never proved himself a true hero. Hercules’ proved himself a tru e friend, fought for the right reasons, and had great desire to be a hero, which were all needed to prove himself a true hero. Many people today are regarded as a hero for simple things like being admired by many or being a great ball player. Being a true hero takes much more than these things, once again, â€Å"A true hero is not measured by the size of his strength, but by the strength of his heart.†

Various Methods of Remunerating Employees - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 7 Words: 2202 Downloads: 4 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Management Essay Type Review Did you like this example? Introduction Rewards can be defined as the compensations and benefits received by an employee in exchange for their services (Torrington Et al, 2014). Remuneration forms an important subset of the total rewards and comprises of those elements that can be valued in monetary terms (Jiang Et al, 2009). Effective remuneration strategy often underpins the success of the business as it is considered as one of the key factors to attract and motivate human capital. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Various Methods of Remunerating Employees" essay for you Create order Herzberg (1993) asserts that inadequate remuneration is one of the key factors causing dissatisfaction amongst employees. The term remuneration is often associated with basic pay. However, remuneration is a much broader term and can encompass a wide range of techniques for rewarding employees in the form of salaries, bonuses, piece based remuneration, commission, employee stock options, fringe benefits, deferred considerations, performance related pay and profit sharing amongst many others (Torrington Et al, 2014). One of the major challenges for organisations in the contemporary business environment is that of employee motivation. Motivation can be defined as the degree to which individual wants and chooses to engage in certain specified behaviour (Mullins, 2002, p.418). The purpose of this essay is to critically examine various methods of employee remuneration and assess its role in strategic management of human resources for an organisation by shedding light on its key ad vantages and disadvantages. The essay will finally conclude by analysing if a particular method of remunerating employees fits all situations or is preferred over other means of remuneration. Different methods of remuneration Performance related pay scheme: As the name suggests, performance related pay schemes reward employees by linking the level of reward with the performance of the employees (Perry, Engbers, and Jun, 2009). Typical examples of performance related pay include bonuses, commissions and deferred considerations. One of the key advantages of performance related remuneration is that it provides an effective means of rewarding by distinguishing between good and poor performers (Torrington Et al, 2014). Other advantages of performance related pay are increased motivation amongst employees to improve performance, attract and retain high performers and talented individuals, and ultimately improve corporate performance (Torrington Et al, 2014). Nonetheless, empirical evidence highlights that the performance related pay has often been ineffective (Frey and Osterloh, 2012). Frey and Osterloh (2012) also highlight that the link between the increases in performance related pay and corporate performance has remained weak. Perfor mance related pay is also criticised for inciting employees to take dysfunctional decisions, as it acts as an inducement for employees to take greater risks which could put an organisations survival at stake (Frey and Osterloh, 2012). Performance related pay may also lead to conflict of interest for the employees by inducing them to focus exclusively on areas that impact their pay and ignore other important tasks that may be in the long term interest of the company. Performance related pay might often supress the intrinsic motivation of employees (Frey and Osterloh, 2012, p.2). Amabile (1998, p.79) asserts that intrinsic motivation reflects employees passion and interest in work, which has a stronger impact on the performance of an employee and the business. Lastly, Maslows theory of motivation elucidates that within every individual there are hierarchy of five needs basic physiological needs, safety needs, belongingness needs, esteem needs and self-actualisation needs (Maslow, 194 3). Maslow asserts (1943, p.363) that the needs lower than the self-esteem needs can be accomplished through remuneration, whereas the higher level needs of esteem and self-actualisation for the senior management are unlikely to be achieved through extrinsic rewards, such as performance related pay. Thus, it may not act as a motivational factor for the senior management. Profit Sharing In the contemporary times, increased numbers of business organisations have started linking the level of remuneration offered to the employees with the profits of the organisation (Torrington Et al, 2014). Stock options are a common example of this type of remuneration. One of the key advantages of this remuneration policy is deemed to be higher level of commitment by the employee towards the company because of increased level of mutual interest (Torrington Et al, 2014). Other common advantage of profit sharing schemes is deemed to be change in attitude of workers due to increased sense of belongingness with the company (Rappaport, 1999). Amabile (1998) asserts that feeling of increased sense of belongingness leads to intrinsic motivation which has a more direct and stronger relationship with companys performance. However, Empirical evidence highlights a lack of evidence of relationship between this type of remuneration and performance of the company (Rappaport 1999). One of the key criticisms of this type of remuneration is that any improvement in companys performance will reward both good and bad performers, resulting in poor motivation for high performers as they may feel that part of the reward that they deserve is being enjoyed by the low performers (Rappaport 1999). Furthermore, sometimes profit based remuneration policies might fail to motivate the employees as they often feel share prices are undervalued despite of business outperforming the forecasts (Rappaport 1999). Lastly, Kohn (1993) argues that shareholders expect the board to reward employees when the company has outperformed the market. However, empirical evidence highlights that for executives to exercise the option profitably, the performance of the company need not be superior and executive can easily benefit in the times of rising market (Rappaport 1999). Thus, if employees feel that the movement in share prices are independent of their performance, there is a risk that profit based rem uneration scheme may not act as motivational factor. Piece Based Remuneration Piece based remuneration scheme is historically one of the most commonly used incentive schemes in practice for manual workers and is based on the number of items they produce or the number of hours worked by them (Torrington Et al, 2014). Typical examples of piece based remuneration schemes include individual time saving scheme, measured day work schemes, group incentives, plant wide bonus schemes and commissions (Torrington Et al, 2014). Advantages of such schemes typically include increased level of control by the management over the production process and it also acts as a cost control measure because the workers main goal is to do the task expediently and efficiently in order to achieve the goal (Kohn, 1993). Furthermore, Maslows theory of motivation (1943), as mentioned above, highlights that extrinsic rewards, such as piece based remuneration, might act as a motivational factor for manual workers because these workers are likely to have the lower level needs as per Maslows t heory. Like other types of remuneration, piece based remuneration has its own set of disadvantages. Remunerations such as group incentives and plant wide bonus schemes lead to additional pressure on employees and create interpersonal animosities because of high performers not being able to receive the incentives due to some low performers in the group (Torrington Et al, 2014). Furthermore, time saving schemes and measured day work schemes may act as a deterrent to creativity, as individual employees focus is on standardisation and predictability in order to complete the work in the minimum possible time (Kohn, 1993). Herzberg (2003) motivation hygiene theory suggests that job satisfactions and job dissatisfactions are two independent experiences. Whilst extrinsic rewards, such as piece based remuneration, can help the manual workers to avoid job dissatisfaction, it might not lead to job satisfaction as the employees are not intrinsically motivated by the work itself. Skill Based Pay This is a remuneration policy where employees are remunerated based on the skills and competencies they possess (Armstrong, 2002). One of the biggest advantages of skill based remuneration is that it promotes employees to acquire multiple skills, thereby, offering flexibility to the organisation in terms of using same employees for various purposes and responding to customer needs more efficiently (Torrington Et al, 2014). Such remuneration schemes also enable organisations to attract and retain skilled employees easily compared to their competitors as people are likely to be rewarded appropriately for the skills they possess under this scheme (Torrington Et al, 2014). Potential disadvantages with this scheme is that costs often outweighs the benefits if the increase in productivity is not enough to compensate the increased cost of hiring and training skilled employees (Armstrong, 2002). As business operates in a dynamic environment, there is a risk of skills obsolescence and as sociated high cost of training. Lastly, the business might also bear the risk of losing a skilled employee, on whom the business has invested a significant amount in training, to a competitor due to a highly competitive labour market (Torrington Et al 2014). Flexible and Fringe Remuneration Fringe benefits can be defined as the benefits in kind provided to the employees and have substantially growth in the recent years (Armstrong, 2002). The value of the fringe benefits paid to the employees reflect approximately twenty to fifty percent of the remuneration and typically includes benefits like pensions, company cars, sick pay, private health insurance, mobile phones, staff discounts, maternity or paternity pay, crÃÆ'Â ¨che facilities and relocation expense amongst many others (Torrington Et al, 2014). Flexible benefits provide options to the employees to decide how their remuneration should be structured (Torrington Et al, 2014). Under such schemes, the gross value of the remuneration package is determined by the employer; however, the employees have the flexibility to choose the mix of cash and other benefits as a part of remuneration package (Dychtwald, Erickson, and Morison, 2006). Examples of flexible benefits include the option to choose between additional ho lidays, access to company crÃÆ'Â ¨che, childcare vouchers or cash, amongst many others. The advantages of flexible benefits include the potential of increased employee motivation as they end up getting the rewards they desire. Savings in social security taxes could also be made through comprising the salary for the desired benefits that might attract a lower level of tax (Thomsons, 2015). Furthermore, research has highlighted that flexible remuneration programs contribute to attracting new employees, improve retention of existing employees and improve employee engagement (Thomsons, 2015). The primary disadvantage of flexible benefits remuneration schemes is increased cost burden for the employer due to rise in the amount of administrative work related to managing the individual choices of employees (Armstrong, 2002). Another criticism of flexible remuneration policy is that the expensive company cars and glamorous lifestyle provided to employees have contributed little towards developing long term commitment towards the business organisation and retention of employees (Thrope and Homan, 2000). Empirical evidence highlights that the employees do not completely understand the value of the flexible benefits and there is little evidence of the positive motivational impact of these remuneration policies on the employees (Torrington Et al, 2014). Nonetheless, it does not indicate that employees do not value the presence of these benefits and are likely to resist their removal (Torrington Et al, 2014). Conclusion Based on the discussions in the sections above, it is evident that each method of remunerating employees has certain advantages associated with it. However, Maslows theory of motivation and Herzberg hygiene factors, as discussed above, have highlighted a common issue across all forms of remuneration, i.e. the extent to which extrinsic rewards can contribute to motivating an individual employee, thereby, improving the companys performance. Kohn (1993, p.1) asserts that whether remuneration is performance based, profit based or piece based, it might motivate employees in the short run, but would not contribute to long term commitment towards the company. Nonetheless, it is not deniable that remuneration plays an important role in influencing employees decision regarding the long term commitment towards the company. However, no one method of remuneration is deemed to be recommended over another method and a business might use a combination of methods to remunerate the employees acc ording to the needs and motivations of the employees. Employees at lower level might be motivated by the prospects of better remuneration through different tools; however, for senior management self-esteem and self-actualisation needs would need to be satisfied in order to motivate them. Thus, rewards needs to be carefully crafted to support one another and incorporate both financial and non-financial remuneration. References Armstrong, M., 2002, Employee Reward: People and Organisation, Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, pp. 410 420 Dychtwald, K., Erickson, T., and Morison, R., 2006, Flexible Compensation and Benefits: Why Variety Will Rule and How to Leverage it, Harvard Business Review, pp. 1 9. Frey, B. and Osterloh, M., 2012, Stop Tying Pay to Performance. The Evidence is Overwhelming: It doesnt work, Harvard Business Review, pp.1 -7. Herzberg, F., 2003, One More Time How Do You Motivate Employees?, Harvard Business Review on Motivating People, Harvard Business School Press, pp. 45-71 Jiang, Z., Xiao, Q., Qi, H., and Xiao, L., 2009, Total Reward Strategy: A Human Resources Management Strategy Going with the Trends of the Times, International Journal of Business and Management, vol. 4 (no. 11), pp. 177 183. Kohn, A., 1993, Why Incentive Plans Cannot Work, Harvard Business Review, pp. 1 19. Maslow, A., 1943, A Theory of Human Motivation, Psychological Review, vol. 50 (no. 4), pp. 370 396. Mullins, L.,2002, Management and Organisational Behaviour, Edinburgh Gate: Pearson Education Limited, pp. 410 420. Perry, J., Enbergs, T. and Jun, S., 2009, Back to the Future? Performance-Related Pay, Empirical Research, and the Perils of Persistence, Public Administration Review, vol. 69 (no. 1), pp.39-51 Rappaport, A., 1999, New Thinking on How to Link Executive Pay with Performance, Harvard Business Review, pp. 1 -23. Thomsons, 2015, Introduction to Flexible Benefits. Accessed on 25th May 2015 at : https://www.thomsons.com/resources/guides/intro-flexible-benefits Thrope, R. and Homan, G., 2000, Strategic Reward Management, Prentice Hall, pp.378 390. Torrington, D., Hall, L., Taylor, S. and Atkinson, C., 2014, Human Resource Management Ninth Edition, Pearson Education Limited, pp. 412 460.