Business Law, Policy, and Ethics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Business Law, Policy, and Ethics - Essay Example It is important to set up the site properly so as to protect the business (for example, by ensuring that your terms are accepted before transactions proceed to contract formation), and to comply with the law. Betty was willing to buy BMWS from Andrew thus why she discussed prices and various options with Andrew. Betty said wanted 12 cars top of the range and the next day Andrew telephoned Betty leaving a message on Betty's telephone answer machine offering to sell the cars for $ 38,000 each .in order for an offer to be an enforceable contract, certain basic requirements must be present. There must be an agreement based upon genuine concert of the parties supported by consideration and made for a lawful object between competent parties. (Hussain pg 114, 2002). An offer may be byword of mouth in writing or by conduct. After the discussion between Betty and Andrew the Later agreed to sell the BMWS at $ 38,000 each which was communicated to Betty. The moment a person express his acceptance of an offer the very moment the contract is concluded and does not matter whether the acceptance is byword of mouth or in witting. A contract is complete only when acceptance is actually communicated to the offer. Betty accepted to buy the $ 38,000 through an email she sent to her personal assistance (Carol) who forwarded it to Andrew. For this case the contract of the sale became binding immediately the email of acceptance from Betty was forwarded to Andrew. Carol was Betty's personal assistance and she acted as an agent to her. Her agency was created through an agency by necessity. Law may confer an authority where an agent acted by reason and genuine emergency with a view to protecting his principal's goods, which are in danger of being perished. Her action must have been performed in good faith. She must not assume the role of an agent of necessity unless she is unable to communicate with Betty to obtain fresh instructions. Carol could not have gone ahead and accepted key for the 12 BMW'S without getting fresh instructions from Betty knowing very well she had changed her mind and wanted convertible BMWs at the same price. Hence she is liable for accepting keys to the vehicles without getting further instructions from Betty. Betty is liable to pay for the BMW'S since her personal assistance (carol) intimidated to the seller that he had accepted the good vehicles by accepting the keys. Andrew has rights against Betty and he can sue Betty for the price of the vehicle since the vehicle had been passed to Betty. He can also be entitled to maintain an action for damages if the buyer refuses to accept the delivery and pay for them. Damage is the estimated loss directly and naturally resulting from the buyer's breach of contract. The damages awarded will be different between the contract and the price at the time when the goods ought to have been accepted or if no time was fixed for acceptance, then at the time of the refusal to accept. When Betty asked Andrew to collect his vehicles because she was not going to buy them, Andrew reduced $ 1,000 on cash vehicle. Considered is necessary not for making the contracts, but also for their discharge for example, an agreement to accept the smaller sum in full satisfactory of a large debt is not binding because there is no consideration and the party agreeing to it way sue for the balance. It is however, possible to discharge an existing

Flat organization Group Essay Example for Free

Flat organization Group Essay Organizational structures developed from the ancient times of hunters and collectors in tribal organizations through highly royal and clerical power structures to industrial structures and todays post-industrial structures. The typical hierarchical arrangement for lines of authorities, communications, rights and duties of an organization. Organizational structure determines how the roles, power and responsibilities are assigned, controlled, and coordinated, and how information flows between the different levels of management. A structure depends on the organizations objectives and strategy. In a centralized structure, the top layer of management has most of the decision making power and has tight control over departments and divisions. In a decentralized structure, the decision making power is distributed and the departments and divisions may have different degrees of independence. A company such as Proctor Gamble that sells multiple products may organize their structure so that groups are divided according to each product and depending on geographical area as well. The Importance of Organization Structure A number of writers have pointed out the importance of an organization’s structure and the relationship between it and an organization’s size, strategy, technology, environment and culture. Mintzberg (1989) has written extensively and significantly on the importance of organizational structure. Miller (1989) has explored the importance of configurations of strategy and structure. Burns and Stalker (1961) concluded that if an organization is to achieve maximum performance then its structure must fit with or match the rate of change in its environments. Handy (1990, 1993) has discussed the importance of culture in relation to organizational design and structure and the need for new organizational forms. Pascale, Milleman and Gioja (2000, p.197) consider ‘design is the invisible hand that brings organizations to life and life to organizations.’ Further, organizational structure and design are closely entwined (Mabey, Salaman Storey, 2001) with many aspects of human resource management. Thus structure has a key role in the all important human dimension of an organization. Too often the importance of Organization structure is overlooked and Miller (1989) points to a gap in the literature whereby the content of corporate or business strategies has not been widely considered in relation to structure. One of the most important aspects of a manager’s role is the design of Organizational structures, yet this is often a neglected responsibility (Senge, 1994). McMaster (1996) argues that Organizational design is not well understood and traditional management education does not include the development of any understanding of the principles of corporate design. The impact of the floury of corporate restructures that took place in the 1980s and 1990s, discussed later in this paper, supports this view. I would suggest that this lack of genuine understanding is a serious shortcoming. Definition of Structure Mullins (1993) and Mabey, Salaman Storey (2001) describe the structure of an Organization as the pattern of relationships between roles in an Organization and its different parts. They see the purpose of this structure as serving to allocate work and responsibilities in order to direct activities and achieve the Organization’s goals. Structure enables managers to plan, direct, organize and control the activities of the organization (Mullins, 1993, Mabey, Salaman Storey, 2001). Here is a traditional view of Organizational design that uses principles derived from classical and scientific Management. A non traditional approach is taken by Pascale, Milleman and Gioja (2000, p.197). They consider the role of architects and the principles they use to create buildings that provide ‘(1) structural integrity (sound buildings), (2) functionality (space appropriate for its intended use), and (3) aesthetic appeal.’ Using these principles an architect is able to work with the client in order to create a structure that is an integral and facilitating aspect of the life of the people who move in and around it. Thus architectural approaches can offer us a good model with which to consider Organization design principles. I would define an Organization’s structure as the architecture both visible and invisible which connects and weaves together all aspects of an Organization’s activities so that it functions as a complete dynamic entity. One simple approach is to consider how an Organization’s structure is described when represented diagrammatically, which most is often shown in the Organization chart. This provides useful insights into the underlying design principles. It will not show informal structures, but this is not the focus of this paper, except where they are an integral part of the design, as in for example, design Principles derived from complexity. The 20th Century –Traditional way Henri Fayol is credited by many as being the founder of modern management theory and practice. Writing at the beginning of the 20th century he advocated an Organization structure that was centralized, functionally specialized and hierarchical, in which everything had its specific place. Management was viewed as being all about planning, organizing, forecasting, co-coordinating and controlling. Others built on Fayol’s work, which Morgan (1986) claims provided the foundation of management theory in the first half of the last century, and which is still much in use up to the present day. Also in the early 20th century Frederick Taylor drawing on his understanding of traditional science and scientific method devised a theory of management – scientific management. He advocated the use of ‘scientific’ methods of measurement and analysis and broke all tasks down into small repetitive components. This was considered the most effective way of operating a production process and his methods achieved their apogee in the Ford motor car production line process. Thus the basic structure of many large Organizations in the 20th century was founded on linear, segmented, hierarchical design principles as typified by Figure 1. The larger the Organization the larger the structure and the more sub divisions. It was an approach to Organization design that reflected the classical scientific worldview as did the early management theorists Figure 1. Traditional Organization Chart / Structure During the mid 20th century there was a trend for Organizations to create huge corporate structures, often composed of many varied and different businesses, for example, the Hanson Trust, Trafalgar House, Unilever, and GKN in the UK and General Electric in the USA (Mabey, Salaman Storey, 2001). In the public sector too, huge bureaucracies were created with the nationalization of the public utilities after World War II and the creation of the NHS in 1948. The management of these huge Organizations required a complex multilayered structure with many sub divisions. ‘Tall structures were created with as many as 20 plus levels between the chief Executive and the shopfloor operative. Managerial control of employees at all the Multiple levels was based on a mixture of direct command and budgetary Responsibility. Hierarchy, command and control were the governing principles of Employee management.’ But by the last decades of the 20th century, however, the trend for larger and larger structures was over. Almost every Organization experimented with some kind of structural change process (Ashkenas et al, 1995). Large conglomerates were broken up and large bureaucracies slimmed down as Organizations sought to become more effective and flexible (Mabey, Salaman Storey, 2001). Companies merged and demerged, made acquisitions or sold them off and experimented with a range of approaches designed to make them more effective and responsive to a rapidly changing world. During this period Organizations were awash with notions of delayering, right / downsizing and business process re-engineering and for a time returns to shareholders were at record levels (Willis,2001). Downsizing was used by many companies as a way of adjusting their structures in order to be fitter and more effective. Large Organizations with many bureaucratic aspects like Kodak, IBM and General Motors restructured in this way (Mabey, Salaman Storey, 2001). This and the often accompanying trend for outsourcing resulted in a wave of new problems particularly with employee insecurity and loss of expert knowledge. Coulson- Thomas and Coe (1991) report that in many of these slimmer Organizations there were issues of work overload, increased work stress, lack of vision, poor decision making, corporate in fighting and so on. Further, this approach proved to be an unsatisfactory one, not only because of the immediate social costs and the loss of experience and valuable skills, but because many Organizations failed to capitalize on the restructuring and implement new supportive systems (Mabey, Salaman Storey, 2001). They changed the structure of the Organization but not in such a way as to improve its overall long term effectiveness. This apparent lack of insight concerning the importance of the relationship between structure and internal and external systems and human behaviours displays a restricted understanding of the principles of Organization design. Business process re-engineering was another approach which many adopted during this period as an effective way of improving efficiency and removing bureaucratic structures. But, Mumford and Hendricks (1996) point out, many companies became obsessed with cost cutting and associated staffing reductions and did not consider how best to reorganize and restructure. Also some chief executives used the process to rid themselves of cumbersome bureaucratic chains of command but failed to cede control Mabey, Salaman Storey (2001, p.158) describe this period as one of ‘apparent chaos’ as Organizations also tried out approaches based on networking, outsourcing and notions of virtual forms of Organization. However, they provide an analytical framework which I shall use to describe the different types of structure that still redominate. It offers four main types of structure: bureaucracy, divisionalized structures, strategic business units and ‘de-structured’ forms. Organizational – 21st Century At the end of the 20th century some less traditional forms of organization structure beganto emerge as evidenced by the ‘de-structured’ forms described by Mabey, Salaman Storey (2001). Handy (1990) observes that the old mechanistic systems are everywhere breaking down. Mabey, Salaman Storey (2001) talk of the emergence of a new paradigm for organizational form which seeks to replace the rigidity and cumbersome nature of the traditional form. Ashkenas et al (1995) report on a change in design principles that amounts to a major shift.

Abortion: Pro-life! :: essays research papers

Every day, an overwhelming amount of human beings’ lives are terminated. The culprit: unwanted pregnancies. Many woman are (not by choice), becoming pregnant as a result of unsafe sex, rape, and other things. So what is one to do when they discover that they’re pregnant? They have some alternatives: (1) have the child and raise it (2) have the child, then give it up for adoption (3) get an abortion. Sadly, many women choose alternative three, unaware of what they’re getting themselves into. Abortion is very cruel to the baby and even harms the mother. It is murder!There are many different procedures for abortions, all gruesome and pain inflicting on the baby. Suction Aspiration (vacuum curettage) makes up for 98% of first trimester abortions. The cervix is first dilated. Then a suction tube with a sharp cutting edge is inserted which rips the baby to pieces. It then sucks out all the remains. If the mother waits until the third trimester (when the baby is more developed), then she must have Partial Birth Abortion. Using Ultra-sound, the doctor grabs the baby’s legs and forces out all but the head. Scissors are then jammed into the back of the skull and opened, creating a larger hole. A suction tube sucks the brains out, causing the skull to collapse. Then the dead baby is removed.Believe it or not, the mother is also harmed. In Suction Aspiration, if any tissue is left inside, it’ll become infected. For Methoxotrexate Injection, another type of abortion, Methoxotrexate can produce ill side effects such as anemia, nausea, cancer, lung disease, and heavy bleeding. Just think of the mental trauma the mother is also feeling. She has the forever-guilty conscience of being responsible for her own child’s death. Many mothers say, "I’ll regret it for the rest of my life.""I feel like crawling into a hole and dying," says another mother after the operation.A common argument is that abortion isn’t murder because the baby isn’t alive. But on the contrary: life begins at conception. After only 18 days, the heart is formed, and after 20 the brain, spinal cord, and nervous system are developing. A mere four days later, the heart starts beating. Is abortion murder though? According to the Webster Dictionary, abortion is to terminate a pregnancy because the baby is not capable of living.

Personal Skills for Business Management Students Essay

Effective academic and personal skills are not inborn; they are something one can work on and develop through practice and reflection. Taking the Personal Skills module significantly aided my personal and academic development in that it helped me identify key gaps in my skills portfolio and develop effective strategies and techniques to address key areas of weaknesses. This ability is crucial not only for academic performance, but is also highly valued in the workplace, as knowing how to turn weaknesses into strengths and further improve them is of utmost importance to the constant learning process. Calling upon personal experience and using insights from the emerging literature on skills development I will attempt to critically assess my academic performance so far, discuss strategies that will potentially improve my skills and set goals to work towards. First, I will draw attention to one of my key strengths – academic writing in relationship to constructive feedback; then, I will analyze my experience with teamwork and finally, I will discuss a framework for maximising individual performance capacity. From my perspective, reflecting on your own performance is the best way to identify learning strategies that will work best for you, develop effective work habits and become an independent learner. A good starting point in reflecting on my personal academic performance and skills development would be to outline one of my key strengths, which I have identified through feedback from markers and self-evaluation, namely critical analysis and its application to academic writing. When I entered university I was faced with the challenge to further develop my critical approach to working on assignments by utilising academic  writing conventions and developing an effective procedure for writing essays. University essays don’t require only originality of thought; what is highly valued is the ability to demonstrate a deeper understanding of the subject through making use of key texts, articles or studies in your subject area, drawing on academic works of current experts in the field an d challenging the ideas, concepts and theories you have learned. My acknowledgement of this fact is at the heart of the procedure and strategies I have developed for writing essays and assignments. Particularly relevant to my approach are Elbow’s two complementary ways of thinking which I use in different stages of structuring and revising my academic essays. Peter Elbow (1983) calls these ways of thinking first order and second order thinking and argues that a good thinker utilizes both and judging from my personal experience with academic writing I supports his viewpoint. According to Elbow, first order thinking does not strive for conscious control or direction; it is rather intuitive and creative and it is essential to recognise its key strength while working on assignments – in many cases it brings out people’s best and most creative writing. The second order thinking does not contradict with the first one; on the contrary, it complements it. It highlights the importance of reasoning, accuracy and control and is quite often perceived as â€Å"critical thinking†. My self-observation suggests that I usually utilise first order thinking for first draft exploratory writing in order to come up with a fresh point of view and form conceptual insights that are remarkably shrewd. Then I aim at developing my initial ideas through critical thinking, looking into relevant theories and concepts, evaluating their accuracy and then trying to challenge or support them, depending on the understanding I had gained and my personal opinion. Drawing on my personal experience with using both ways of thinking while working on an assignment I would argue that employing this kind of reasoned reflective thinking in combination with the intuitive one results in significant improvement of my academic performance. In particular, over my time spent at university so far, my goal in terms of academic writing has been to further develop my second order critical thinking and make better use of it. As a result of my efforts and the constructive feedback I got from my first university essay, the second piece of work I produced was better thought out and more reasonable, which was  evident from the score of 85% I received. In order to further support my academic development, I have identified a core strategy as to making constructive use of feedback from tutors. Authors like S. Quinton(2010) recognise the value of the relationship between reflection and feedback:†Feedback on written work can be used as a vehicle for reflectionâ€Å". Therefore, the strategy that will potentially aid me in further improving my critical writing is to constructively go through the feedback I receive after each written assignment and list my tutor’s comments under â€Å"Major issues† and â€Å"Mino r issues†(Cottrell, 1999). Moreover, building the habit to compare my feedbacks from previous works will not only help he identify gaps in skills portfolio, but also keep track of my progress. Drawing from research on the effects of reflection combined with feedback on self-regulated learning (van den Boom, 2007) and my personal experience it is safe to conclude that the practical value of the combination of reflection and tutor feedback is a promising means to improve academic performance. Since I joined university I didn’t only have to respond to issues and challenges presented by the program in terms of my individual performance, but also had to engage in teamwork and gain first-hand experience of being a member of a group working towards a common goal. We had the opportunity to test out our group and teamwork skills, identify our individual shortcomings as well as our weaknesses as a group and work towards producing an outstanding piece of work. While working on the task, I took advantage of the opportunity to reflect upon my interpersonal and communication skills. M. Bambacas and M. Patrickson (2008, p.52) argue that â€Å"Interpersonal communication explains â€Å"the means† by which organisational activities, such as managing, controlling, planning, and leading are delivered†. This area of interpersonal communication has also been explored by Hunsaker and Alessandra (1986), who had identified four Interpersonal Styles underlain by the degree of responsiveness and assertiveness each one of them suggests. Having reflected on my involvement in the group work, I came to the conclusion that I use the Analytical Interpersonal Style, which is characterised by self-actualisation and security, cautious actions and decisions, low degree of responsiveness and assertiveness. One of its key weaknesses, however, is that it is associated with unwillingness of involvement with other group members and focus on autonomous work. From my  viewpoint, a practical strategy or technique for dealing with this problem is to start building up from a small base by getting to know other group members better to feel more at ease and to make a decision to speak at least once during the meeting (Cottrell, 1999, p.97). Furthermore, drawing on my experience with teamwork, one of the major risks for unsatisfactory performance I had identified in groups and teams is not realising that different individuals have different interpersonal styles with both their weaknesses and strengths. Therefore, it is essential to make an effort to get to know your team members individually, to appreciate their strengths and to show respect for other people’s ideas which leads to real teamwork. Finally, study skills are acquired through trial and error, they evolve through practice, feed back and reflection as one moves through different stages of one’s course. However, no matter the stage of the learning process, considerable attention should be paid to a straightforward but insightful framework for maximising individual performance capacity, namely the equation: Performance = Ability x Support x Effort (Shermerhorn, 2004, p.49). Even though this model is aimed at human capital at organisations, it can also be related to academic performance. According to Shermerhon, ability is the capacity to perform through job-relevant knowledge and skills. At university students acquire this ability through covering the relevant academic material and taking advantage of the educational opportunities the university gives them. The second variable in the equation – support- is associated with the opportunity to perform in an environment that stimulates and supports one’s application of job-relevant capabilities to one’s work. In terms of university education, making use of lecturers’ and tutors’ help and the university resources would provide one with this kind of â€Å"support†. Last, the willingness to perform, to do well, is displayed by effort. This means that university students should always try to reflect on their personal and academic skills, identify areas of strength and areas that should be improved and develop strategies and techniques to improve overall performance. From my perspective, a good strategy for a student to achieve high and persistent performance results and to manage his/her own skills development is to keep those factors in mind and try to maximise them. In conclusion, the recognition that university students are given a great deal more responsibility for their own success than they have  experienced before can be disturbing to some in that some might feel that their study lacks structure, which is generally considered a fault. However, it is of great importance to realise that this can also be an advantage because of the freedom to study in ways that suit the individual. Putting time aside to reflect on my study habits helped me recognise areas where I can improve, identify strategies that work for me or are worth a try, set goals to work towards and keep track of my progress. After being a university student for almost an year, I can safely conclude that through self-reflection and constructive feedback I significantly improved my academic and personal skills and am a step closer to becoming an autonomous learner. References: Bambacas, M., Patrickson, M., (2008), â€Å"Interpersonal communication skills that enhance organisational commitment†, Journal of Communication Management, Volume: 12, Issue: 1, Pages: 51-72 Cottrell, S., (1999), The Study Skills Handbook, Palgrave Macmillan, New York Elbow, Peter, (1983), â€Å"Teaching Thinking by Teaching Writing.†, Change, Vol.15(6), p.37-40 Hunsaker, P., Alessandra, A., (1986), The Art of Managing People, Simon and Schuster Quinton, S., (2010), â€Å"Feeding forward: using feedback to promote student reflection and learning – a teaching model†, Innovations in Education and Teaching International 47 (1): 125-135 Schermerhorn, J., McCarthy, A., (2004), â€Å"Enhancing Performance Capacity in the Workplace: A Reflection on the Significance of the Individual†, Irish Journal of Management25. 2: 45-60 van den Boom, Gerard, (2007), â€Å"Effects of elicited reflections combined with tutor or peer feedback on self-regulated learning and learning outcomes†, Learning and Instruction, Vol.17(5), p.532-548

What is the role and purpose of the inspector in Priestley’s ‘An inspector calls’?

John Boynton Priestley was born within the city of Bradford on the 13th of September 1894. His childhood consisted of many major historical events, including the First World War in the period of 1914 – 1918, within this period he would have been 20, he served on the front line, and this life experience could have left Priestly with long-term mind like effects. Before the war his mother died, and collectively these two major events could have made him unstable or unsure of position within the world. You could describe his life as war, marriage and tragedy. Throughout his lifetime priestly wrote a number of novels, plays and other texts, mainly containing and expressing his own beliefs and experiences. As an individual he believed very much in capitalism and everybody living within there own success, benefiting from their own profits. Priestley was very left wing, whereas he disagrees with the right wing policies and prefers policies that are of a different extreme. This left wing attitude made up his main and general characteristic, which was that of someone expressing their views, his membership of the socialist party allowed him to do exactly this and share in other people's societal beliefs and views. This idea of Priestley's expression of beliefs, views, emotions and feelings of the world and society are shown clearly through the characters of Priestley's play â€Å"An inspector Calls†. Prior to the arrival of the inspector Mr. Birling appeared to be very confident in what he spoke, making his beliefs shown to his surrounding family. He made it clear that he was powerful and a strong believer of capitalism where oneself would benefit from all working efforts. From the opening scene Mr. Birling's characteristics started to be shown to the audience, he says, â€Å"I speak as a hard headed, practical man of business†, this shows that he considers himself of a high class and somewhat intelligent, however there is an understanding of his arrogance, self satisfaction and complacency. The idea of him being a man of business also suggests his obsession for money and power. Mr. Birling's confidence is shown in furtherance when he says, â€Å"the titanic-she sails next week forty-six thousand eight hundred tons- New York in five days and every luxury and unsinkable, absolutely unsinkable†. This to the audience shows irony as we know that the titanic went onto sink, however in context to the characteristic of Mr. Birling it becomes clear that he is a very confident and arrogant man. When the inspector arrives it is made clear that the family are tense, uneasy and uncomfortable with the arrival of an unexpected visitor. When the inspector asks any questions, very blunt and subdued responses are given. The family regard themselves as class which should receive no such suspicion of any crime or any police related incident. Mr. Birling believed that the inspector must be calling regarding his â€Å"Knighthood† or a warrant, however in actual fact there are questions to be answered, and this scenario shows the arrogance of Mr. Birling, alongside his self satisfaction and his complacency. The inspector at this time plays a vital role in the implementation of fear, worry and guilt. In furtherance Mr. Birling becomes victim to a thorough scrutiny by the visiting inspector. Before the inspector begins his questions Mr. Birling shares information which highlights his importance within the local community, His mellow minded approach to the scenario has no huge effect and instead suggests and expresses his personal characteristics to the audience. The way that Mr. Birling says, â€Å"I was an alderman for years and lord mayor two years ago and I'm still on the bench so I know the Brumley police officers pretty well†. This shows his eagerness to express his importance and destroy any of the inspector's suspicions or questions. As the questions carry on being delivered by the inspector, Mr. irling's level of impatience increases. He also shows an eagerness to complete the interview and carry on with the evening celebrations. At this stage of the play the inspector is staging a battle, where he has to bring Mr. Birling down to reality and try to extract information regarding the death of Eva Smith. As the inspector continues to reveal the horrific happenings, Mr. Birling continues to defend his position, expressing a query regarding the role in which he plays as a high class business man in connection to the death of an ‘unknown' person. Mr. Birling says, â€Å"Yes, yes. Horrible business but I don't understand why you should come here, inspector? † In relation to human nature in general it highlights people's arrogance, directly what is being shown through the character of Mr. Birling. It is made clear at this point that it was the idea of J. B. Priestley to express peoples characteristics and show them to the reading audience, probably intended to support the main theme of the play which is to extract information using certain techniques which are used in order to allow people to face their actions and relate it to guilt, making people realise the consequences of their actions. As more details become revealed by the inspector and as Mr. Birling realises that he has previously employed Eva Smith, tension starts to build, Mr. Birling begins to give very blunt, sharp and self centred, with the inspector interrupting with a very abrupt manner, suggesting that he wants answers and will not let Mr. Birling's attitudes and beliefs stand in the way. In relation to the real world, people often have to use appropriate manners and techniques to show that they are important and will not let anything slip away from the matter in hand, regardless of a person's attitudes and characteristics etc. Although Mr. Birling accepts that he has once employed Eva Smith, and in furtherance sacked her, due to a protest over the smallest increment of pay, which solely adds to and shows his arrogance, business man like ways and higher class ignorance. He stills shows denial, he says, â€Å"Oh – that's it, is it? Well we've got several hundred young women there, y'know, and they keep changing†. This clearly shows that Mr. Birling has no care for anybody other than himself and his family, this is also shown within the following quotation, he says, â€Å"A man has to make his own way – has to look after himself – and his family of course, when he has one†, Small details which are given off by Mr. Birling relate to a major or important and meaningful thing. Mr. Birling's actions and characteristics are very important towards the main theme of the play, as they separate truth from reality, just as many defensive people within today's society would also contemplate, it shows in general how people will withhold information for the sole purpose of preventing a leakage of information which could be potentially harmful lot themselves, there business or there social dealings. Within the context of ‘An Inspector Calls', Mr. Birling makes every possible attempt to prevent a scandal which would involve himself, he repeatedly says to the inspector, â€Å"I don't see where I come into this†. The use of the word ‘I' shows his belief in a society where oneself looks after themselves and there surrounding family only. Mr. Birling continues this self satisfied and self belief attitude as he continues to use words which refer to himself, this is recognised by the audience and the inspector who are now in realisation of his full characteristics. Mr. Birling is faced with the realisation of responsibility and how it is affected by small and simple actions which in context to the guilty party may appear harmless. The inspector says, â€Å"What happened to her then may have determined what happened to her afterwards, and what happened to her may of driven her to suicide†, this makes Mr. Birling think and realise fully what his actions could have caused, however instead of simple straight confession he replies to the inspector with the following comment, â€Å"oh – well put it like that, there's something in what you say, still I cant accept any responsibility. If we were all responsible for everything that happened to everybody we'd had anything to do with, it would be very awkward†. At this moment in time Mr. Birling demonstrates once again his strong and clear attitudes, however the inspector makes his first challenge, questioning his use of vocabulary, he asks more questions, forcing more related detail. The inspector starts to be shown as a strong character who is unwilling to take blunt and meaningless responses, however the inspector needs to be shown as strong, otherwise Mr. Birling would express no relevant detailed information, and instead only the bare minimum. Priestly made this idea significant by showing that so called superior high class citizens are not entitled to withhold and ignore information which links and directs to a plea of guilt. The Inspector asks very probing and searching questions, which have great significance, his role becomes much more exposed, the inspector as a character becomes someone who is confid ent, wise and possibly someone who is an advisor like person who is warning of a future event. He is seen as someone who can adapt to an individual to extract the highest quality of information. He acts as a catalyst, wanting to change something in the case of the Birling family, this is to turn their attitudes away from uncaring to somewhat sympathetic. The inspector says, â€Å"But after all it is better to ask for the earth than to take it†. This quote is significant because it shows a man of wisdom, and knowledge, but it also shows Priestley's perspective of life, showing that it is better to ask for something rather than just taking it. In relation to the general world it shows how people will just take something or do something without thinking of the consequences, this is exactly the point that the inspector is making when he makes this comment to Mr. Birling. Mr. Birling continues to show his arrogance as he begins once again to relate to his superiority and importance he says, â€Å"How do you get on with our chief constable, Colonel Roberts? † The way that he gives names is supposed to impress the inspector, and release himself from any further suspicions, even though at this stage he does realise that he has played a part in the death of Eva Smith. However it makes the inspector more eager to move on and away from the situation, leaving Mr. Birling beginning to realise his wrong doings which had consequences eventually leading to a death. Sheila enters and her interview begins. When she enters she appears totally oblivious to the presence of the inspector, although all is about to be changed as her true doings and actions are about to be exposed changing her high class status into a guilty, responsible and conscious citizen. Although Sheila is totally oblivious to the scenario and situation, she is eager to find out exactly what is going on, the complete opposite to her father, showing a difference in character. Sheila appears much more subtle and sympathetic, personally asking questions to entice more information. It becomes clear that the inspector will play up to Sheila's nature and play a different game, using different techniques. It appears at the outset that Sheila has driven herself into the situation and dragged herself in purely because of the many questions which she is posing. It appears that priestly wanted to make the play more interesting to the audience by introducing from the outset a mix of characters, creating conflict, opposition and contrast, however it is soon to be made clear that only from the outset the family are different, and in fact very similar within their ‘unintentional' actions. Gerald and Mr. Birling soon realise potentially what Sheila could be doing to the family, too much information can be never to good! Gerald intervenes with the following comment to the inspector, he says, â€Å"And I don't see that this inquiry gets you anywhere, inspector†. This shows Gerald's desperation to release Sheila from the scenario, and save the families from a public scandal. Gerald and Mr. Birling at this stage seem to have at least one thing in common, and this is the matter of business. Sheila starts to turn against her father, precisely what the inspector is trying to do, she says, â€Å"I think it was a mean thing to do†, this conflict starts to draw tension, totally obliterating the happy followings from the earlier evenings, Priestley's idea of creating conflict is the basis for the revealing of the truth, in relation to the general world it often takes a simple disagreement or argument for people to confront there guilt. Shelia has won the gold award for drawing attention to herself, asking many questions has eventually led her to be faced with the truth, the inspector appears to know more than he is letting on, and instead of showing it he allows the family to expose there corrupt ways themselves. Priestly made this idea of self exploitation significant because it shows how uncaring, unsympathetic people in general will expose themselves is correctly probed, in the case of the Birling family they are turned against each other, which makes them face to an extreme guilt and true reality. The inspector keeps the photograph to himself and only one family member at a time, refusing access to no one other than the interviewee. Could the photograph be someone different each time he shows it to somebody, the way that priestly keeps the audience guessing and allowing for them to draw there own conclusions on the situation is very cleverly done. Slightly coincidental but the inspector keeps the photograph very secret, just like the Birling family with there secret's, kept hidden from anyone other than themselves. The inspector has taken a very different approach to the interview with Sheila, this approach to Sheila is to extract information, however with the rest of the family members it is seen to be inappropriate and somewhat intrusive. With the continuation of the Inspectors questions and Sheila's subtle approach, she realises that she has some responsibility for the happenings of Eva Smith. She realises that the inspector had his suspicions and admits her responsibility, a total contrast to her fathers approach. As is shown in the following comment, she says, â€Å"I've told my father, he didn't seem to think it amounted to much – but I feel rotten†. It just shows there contrasting attitudes to life. Priestly made this idea of contrast significant because it shows how people on the outside can be very different, but inside can be very similar. As Sheila continues to expose her conduct, the audience starts to understand her character from a different angle, her innocent early impressions change as she tells of a story of jealousy. It becomes clear that Sheila was jealous of the girl, her looks and her position within the world. She says, â€Å"She was a very pretty girl†, this shows her jealousy of other glamorous threats within her society, she went onto to misuse her power, by using a threat to the manager, she says, â€Å"If you don't get rid of that girl, I'll never go near the place again†. This is significant because it shows how people's actions can be solely driven by jealousy and power, without thinking of the consequences, this is exactly the case of Sheila, the audiences perceptions of Sheila have suddenly changed, and as an audience we begin to understand that people shouldn't judge on first appearances as there is usually more to be told. The inspector says, â€Å"Well, we'll try to understand why it had to happen? And that's why I'm here, and why I'm not going until I know all that happened†, this quote is significant because it shows the inspectors determination to change the family, to extract and make them face reality and guilt, making them confess to all of there wrong doings, making them realise that actions have consequences. Sheila's interview takes less time than Mr. Birling's, possibly because of co-operative manner, showing a willingness to become involved and share all that she knows, accepting reasonability. Now that Sheila accepts what she has done, she casts her suspicions to Gerald, who is next for the hot seat. Gerald is confronted on his own honesty, Sheila realises that the inspector knows about each person, this is imprinted on her mind and she confronts Gerald about his own doings with Eva Smith, he admits a relationship only to Sheila expressing no real details, however not with an Eva Smith but instead with a Daisy Renton, the change in name suggests confusion and deliberate separation to attract no links between the very secretive family members. As Gerald's interview begins he again starts the routine where he tries to excuse his rather fragile Sheila. He protests that she must leave, escaping the following disturbing details which are to be revealed by Gerald. This is significant because it continues to show the families rather secretive motives, relating and sharing to nothing with the possibilities of exploitation leading to a public scandal. Gerald says, â€Å"I think Miss Birling ought to be excused any more of this questioning. She's nothing more to tell you†. From this comment he shows to the audience that he is hiding something, which appears to be his affair with the dead girl. The inspector makes a very interesting comment when he says to Gerald, â€Å"And you think young women ought to be protected against unpleasant and disturbing things†, which is closely followed by, â€Å"we know one woman who wasn't†, this comment is an attempt to hit Gerald with guilt in the face, it is yet another revelation from the part of the inspector. The inspector wants Sheila to stay with Gerald throughout his interview, he says, â€Å"She feels responsible. And if she leaves us now, and doesn't hear any more then she'll feel she's entirely to blame†, this quote is significant because it relates to an idea of sharing guilt and not just accepting as a sole being, however in relation to the general world, people are prepared to burden guilt onto a sole being to save themselves from any shame of guilt. As the interview of Gerald continued there were numerous interruptions, possibly planned, possibly coincidental, Mrs Birling made her first appearance who also tries to expel Sheila from the ‘damaging' scenario. Sheila continues to defend her case and manages to stay for the remaining of Gerald's story. There is an element of surprise when the inspector directly asks Gerald when he started seeing Daisy Renton, Gerald plays down the claim by saying, â€Å"where did you get the idea that I know her? † However the inspector continues to say, â€Å"I knew already! â€Å", this tactic used by the inspector is interesting as it shows the ignorance and arrogance of Gerald and Mr. Birling, who are unwilling to take and accept responsibility. The inspector is getting Gerald to reveal and expose his secret life, which prior to this interview no other person was aware of. Gerald reveals that he felt sorry for the girl and he was acting to save her from an atrocious womaniser, surely this shows a caring side to Gerald, yes, this other side to people is significant because it shows that people are made up of a mixture of personalities and characteristics, what would the world be like if we only had one mode? Gerald says, â€Å"We went along to the country hotel, which I knew would be quiet at that time of night† this suggests that he has been there before and possibly has a habit of taking in women for short petty affairs, this in relation to the real world shows how people have secret lives behind the backs of there supposed family. Gerald is exposed almost to be as bad a Muggerty, although he had saved someone from an extreme sexual relationship from an intense womaniser, he himself took advantage of the situation, turning a simple refuge campaign into a secret affair, although he did implement thoughtful and caring measures to make sure that she was well looked after, and free of trouble, you could say he was only helping a weak, vulnerable and deprived person. He said, â€Å"It was inevitable. She was pretty and warm hearted†, Priestly made this idea significant because it shows in relation to the world how people will take advantage of a weak and vulnerable person to benefit themselves in some way, In the era of priestly it was common for high profile men to take advantage of weak lonely women for the sole purpose of making there reiterating lives into something more exciting with a bit more entertainment. Gerald eventually puts into context what he has done and realises that elements were unscrupulous and inappropriate, Gerald explains that the relationship ended a few months after it begun, it was clear to the audience that the affair wouldn't of continued for a long period of time, because back then within the days of Priestly it was totally expelled that only people of the same class could have a relationship, and not a mixture in the case of Gerald and Daisy. In furtherance Gerald offered Daisy money to keep her sustainable and out of trouble, however she refused as she wanted the relationship to be meaningful and representative, she also wanted to take away the idea that Gerald was paying her for her services, this idea is significant because it shows that a proud person does not have to be of a social high class, and instead should be respected whatever there actions or beliefs. Gerald appears to have moved by the story in which he has told, he asks politely to be excused, the inspector allows for this to happen, the upset of Gerald is significant because it shows even a high class man of business with unsympathetic feelings for others in the world can and does feel emotion for tragedy's that occur within the world, I believe that it was the idea of priestly that characteristics must be shown and covered from every angle, in accordance with the main theme of the play which is the expressing of emotions, feeling guilt for the of consequences caused by an unintentional action. Gerald leaves and Mrs Birling now becomes accustom to settling routine of interview. Mrs Birling is very assertive showing that there should be no such suspicion hanging over her. She answers very sharply being very inconsiderate, when the inspector poses a question she immediately without thought gives such an answer which releases no such relevant information. The inspector says, â€Å"You're not telling me the truth! â€Å", which is followed abruptly with the following comment from Mrs Birling, she says, â€Å"I beg your pardon! already just seconds into the interview Mrs Birling and the inspector are having major clashes of personalities, Mrs Birling's attitudes are shown very strongly and she repeatedly makes the point that she has no point to play in this charade. As tension continues to grow, and as the inspector continues to fire questions which antagonise Mrs Birling, Sheila makes a point which brings the family back down to mother earth, she says, â€Å"We've no excuse now for putting on airs and that if we've any sense we won't try†. This allows Mrs Birling to realise that there is no escape as the inspector has already uncovered information from three characters, finally the inspector can resume his questioning to a more subtle level. Priestly made this point significant because it shows how people will act without full information to save themselves from suspicion or scrutinising. Still a little hesitant but more cooperative, Mrs Birling responds to the inspectors questions, it is revealed that she is a volunteer working for women's charity, she says, â€Å"We've done a great deal of useful work in helping deserving cases†. From this the audience starts to understand that she must be very caring, but indeed we are very wrong, our perception of a volunteer would be a caring person, but in the case of Mrs Birling it is non existent, it appears that she only carries out the volunteer work to gain status within her community, showing that she is prepared to be caring and work for free, to serve and aid the needy. Priestly gave the audience this idea because it is very true throughout the world, Mrs Birling represents the snobs of the world who participate in such events which gain them credentials within the community's perceptions. The inspector reveals that Mrs Birling was in fact one of the last people to see the girl before she died, she had appealed for help to the women's organization, however due to Mrs Birling's bitterness and prejudice she influenced the decision that no help would be given, Mrs Birling says, â€Å"I didn't like her manner†, jealousy and prejudice are shown. Priestly made this significant as he showed that a snobbish like person will feel no such remorse for somebody else's misery or wrong doing. In my own personal opinion Mrs Birling is the worst character out of them all, she had the opportunity to help this harmless, vulnerable, friendless, penniless, desperate victim but instead because she was dissatisfied with her initial case she dismissed her and made sure that the other members gave a unanimous vote to refuse help, it should be Mrs Birling who feels the most sympathy, but instead she probably feels the least amount of compassion from the overall spectrum of the Birling family. Tensions continue to rise as Mrs Birling's attitudes towards the inspector change, as she begins again to give responses which suit herself and not that of the inspector. More details are revealed which will eventually link back into the remaining character, Eric. The inspector Wants Mrs Birling to release more information to make her face the consequences of her actions, repeating and exploring the avenues more of the incidents will hopefully help Mrs Birling realise what she has done. The family begin to realise that Eric plays a role in the death of the girl, and his scrutinising will begin shortly, just as Mrs Birling's interview comes to a firm conclusion. The family sit and wait in anticipation for the return of Eric. Priestly made this idea of time significant, because it changes the way that we as the audience interpret the play, somebody who read the play twenty years ago will have different interpretations of the meanings than somebody who reads the play today. Eric enters and is sharply questioned, he enters with a realisation that the inspector knows about his traits, and actions, His realisation that his family are also aware of what he has done creates a rather subdued atmosphere, arguments arise and there is an overall feeling that Eric has committed such an act that jeopardises the family's status. With the family firing questions wanting to know why and what possessed him to do such a thing, the inspector becomes increasingly angry and frustrated. Eric says, â€Å"Could I have a drink first? â€Å", this is answered with a ‘No' from Mr. Birling and a ‘Yes' from the inspector, this conflict of interests between the two is increasingly apparent with a case of rivalry implemented. Is alcohol the answer to all problems? Priestly wanted to show how different people deal with their own problems in there own ways, this varies videly throughout the world. Suspicion and guilt hits Eric straight in the face, He tells of the secret meetings with the girl, and he explained how he made love to her on more than one occasion, it is suggested that himself and Gerald both took advantage of the girl, for her good looks, and her vulnerable position within life. Eric says, â€Å"She told me she was going to have a baby†, Eric then replies with, â€Å"I was in a hell state about it†, this shows that only consequences hit certain people in the face when they are confronted with reality, a baby for Eric created by accident with somebody he didn't love would have catastrophic and disastrous. Priestly wanted to show exactly how some high class families were humiliated back then within his era, when such events occurred it was common that the families would banish the perpetrator, and escape any disgrace from the local community, for the Birling family it would have been cataclysmic if any such news escaped of there corrupt wrong doings, this would have been followed by a public scandal. Eric's integrity is severely questioned by his fathers somewhat raging temper and annoyance. It is revealed that that he stole money from his own family business, as the truth is revealed, it becomes clear that Mr. Birling is more concerned about the money, than the pregnancy of the girl. He says, â€Å"He's admitted he was responsible for the girls condition†, Mr. Birling burdens total blame onto the Eric, as his secret life unfolds, for the position that the girl was left in. Priestly made this idea significant because it shows how people will prioritise things to there own aptitudes and attitudes of life, in the case of a business man (Mr. B) he is putting money and theft before family and pregnancy. This is shown by Mr. Birling when he says, â€Å"I've got to cover this up as soon as I can†. A childhood revolt begins to occur as Sheila continues to blame her mother and father for all of the endeavours committed by the younger generation. Eric blames his mother for the final death of the girl, saying, â€Å"You killed her – she came to you to protect me – and you turned her away†. This idea of a childhood revolt is significant because it shows how disrespect on the child's part occurs within a family, in the time of priestly it was unheard of a child questioning there parents, in the case of the play it was the inspectors job to remove such disrespect. The inspector continues to assert his authority, interrupting and taking charge, He gives a summary of events, hitting each perpetrator directly in the face with guilt and realisation of there true given consequences, he burdens the main blame onto Mr. Birling, who is left with a moment of thinking to reiterate what has just been said, this idea of repeating what has been done is allowing for the family members to understand the extent of there actions, coming to terms with the consequences, realising what they did then was unacceptable and a feeling of guilt should be felt. The interviewing of the family draws to a conclusion, he leaves the family divided, with opinions against each other, they are allowed to reserve judgement and come to terms within there own hemisphere just exactly what they have done. The inspector leaves giving a rather meaningful speech