A Family Supper

The cultural differences that exist between Eastern and Western families, as illustrated by Ishiguro in A Family Supper, involve the following: family relationships, defined roles and responsibilities as well as values and traditions.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on A Family Supper specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Reading Kazuo Ishiguro’s short story, A Family Supper gives an insight into the Japanese culture. The story describes the author coming back home to Tokyo two years after his mother’s death. Thus, the family dinner takes place on the occasion of his arrival. This piece of literature provides us with the opportunity to see Japanese family’s dynamics and shows us how the modern aspects of Japanese family relate with its traditional aspects. Comparing the culture illustrated in this story with cultures in the Western families brings out some key differences. One difference involves the family relationships. The relationship between the author and the parents is strained because of the author’s decision to move to California, as explained in the story where the author states, â€Å"My relationship with my parents had become somewhat strained around that period †¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Ishiguro 1). Moving out to another country disappointed his mother; the father even alludes that it might have been the reason she died saying, â€Å"It’s my belief that your mother’s death was no accident. She had many worries. And some disappointments.† (Ishiguro 3). The relationship between the father and the son is also strained as shown when the author remembers how the father used to beat him for ‘chattering like an old woman.’ (Ishiguro 1). In Western cultures, beating children is considered a cruel punishment to a child, while in the Eastern cultures, the same was, and sometimes still is, the common form of child’s upbringing. The fathe r and son relationship like in other families involves respect. The author offers his father the last piece of fish at the end of the story, thus showing respect to his father. Relationships in Japanese families are usually seen as emotionally distant. Communication is strained, and this is shown through long pauses between the author and his father. The daughter fears to communicate to the author as it may lead to awkward topics, when the father is around.Advertising Looking for essay on british literature? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More In Western countries, communication is encouraged between children and their parents to lessen tension between them. In Japan, parents demand respect and obedience as seen when the author’s sister returns picture of their mother to the wall. in such a strengthen atmosphere, a fear may develop. In Western countries, children mostly respect their parents but do not fear them to the exte nt the Eastern children do. Defined roles and responsibilities in the family also differ between Western and Eastern families. In the story, the father cooks for the family though he is not happy with his duty; he says he should not be burdened by such matters. He is also not happy when Kikuko suggests that he is a good cook. He dissociates himself with the statement saying it is not a skill he is proud of and orders Kikuko to help him with the food. Cooking and household chores in the traditional Japanese and most Eastern cultures are attributed to woman’s job, and women know this, as shown in the story. In the Western cultures, women empowerment movements have achieved equal rights with males where females are encouraged to get jobs and share responsibilities with men instead of doing them all by themselves. Lastly, there are major differences in the family values and traditions between the Eastern and Western cultures. In the story, the author’s father waits till Ki kuko arrives home before eating because eating together as a family is a Japanese tradition. In Western countries, eating together as a family is not as important as everyone has dinner when and where one feels comfortable. Family honour is very important in the Japanese and other Eastern cultures. This is shown when Wantabe commits suicide and takes his family with him because he does not wish to live with the shame of having lost his job, and he also does not want his family to have to live with his shame. Funnily, the author’s father labels Wantabe as ‘a man of principle and honour’ (Ishiguro 1) and says that he ‘respected him very much’ showing that suicide because of shame is regarded as an honourable death according to Japanese cultural tradition (Ishiguro 1) In the Western countries, suicide is seen as a cowardly act to escape from the problems a person has faced, and such a death will only deepen the family’s problems. In conclusion, K azuo Ishiguro’s A Family Supper has clearly presented Japanese family culture which includes similar traditions as those in the East. However, its comparison with the Western cultures shows how contrasting the two cultures are. The Japanese are more modernized nowadays, while trying to adopt some Western cultural values and traditions. Several aspects of the traditional Japanese culture are fading away, and whether it is for better or worse is up to the Japanese to decide.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on A Family Supper specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Works Cited Ishiguro, Kazuo. A Family Supper. 1990. RTF file. Web. This essay on A Family Supper was written and submitted by user Ryan S. to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Free Essays on Y2K Bugged

Y2K Bugged - What Happened? Were Y2K remediation efforts a big waste of time and money for corporate America? The answer looks to be a resounding no. Network professionals have reported a host of benefits they will enjoy in 2000 and beyond because of IT inventories, business analysis and system testing completed under the umbrella of Y2K preparedness. Overall, the U.S. spent more than $100 billion fixing the Y2K problem since 1995, according to John Koskinen, the federal government's Y2K czar. He estimates that the rest of the world spent an additional $100 billion to repair and replace computer systems and networks in preparation for the millennium date change. The investments appear to have been wise. While many government agencies and companies experienced minor Y2K-related glitches, no significant system outages occurred over New Year's weekend. And although it is still early to declare absolute victory over Y2K, date-change problems expected during the next few weeks and months will likely be nuisances rather than business-crippling matters. The lesson we have learned. As IT executives close up their command centers, they are putting together the lessons they have learned from the Y2K drill. They say one of the biggest advantages is Y2K forced them to thoroughly inventory and document IT systems and networks. "We were able to conduct a very intensive inventory of all our systems," says Lyn McDermid, chief information officer of Virginia Power in Richmond, Va. "As a result of that, we have eliminated quite a few redundant applications, and we eliminated systems that were obsolete. That should reduce our support costs. "We were also able to introduce some new technology and jump-start our Web development. We feel that we really did get ancillary benefits from Y2K." Similarly, Prudential Insurance created strategic inventories of its software, hardware and business partners. Irene Dec, Prudential's Y2K program ma... Free Essays on Y2K Bugged Free Essays on Y2K Bugged Y2K Bugged - What Happened? Were Y2K remediation efforts a big waste of time and money for corporate America? The answer looks to be a resounding no. Network professionals have reported a host of benefits they will enjoy in 2000 and beyond because of IT inventories, business analysis and system testing completed under the umbrella of Y2K preparedness. Overall, the U.S. spent more than $100 billion fixing the Y2K problem since 1995, according to John Koskinen, the federal government's Y2K czar. He estimates that the rest of the world spent an additional $100 billion to repair and replace computer systems and networks in preparation for the millennium date change. The investments appear to have been wise. While many government agencies and companies experienced minor Y2K-related glitches, no significant system outages occurred over New Year's weekend. And although it is still early to declare absolute victory over Y2K, date-change problems expected during the next few weeks and months will likely be nuisances rather than business-crippling matters. The lesson we have learned. As IT executives close up their command centers, they are putting together the lessons they have learned from the Y2K drill. They say one of the biggest advantages is Y2K forced them to thoroughly inventory and document IT systems and networks. "We were able to conduct a very intensive inventory of all our systems," says Lyn McDermid, chief information officer of Virginia Power in Richmond, Va. "As a result of that, we have eliminated quite a few redundant applications, and we eliminated systems that were obsolete. That should reduce our support costs. "We were also able to introduce some new technology and jump-start our Web development. We feel that we really did get ancillary benefits from Y2K." Similarly, Prudential Insurance created strategic inventories of its software, hardware and business partners. Irene Dec, Prudential's Y2K program ma...

Ethical concepts management Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Ethical concepts management - Case Study Example To find out the important management concepts, I carried out an oral interview from a manager to develop an insight into the critical aspects of corporate managerial assignments. This is a report of the oral interview of Mr. Olivia Akani, the founder and chief executive officer of Customs mobile catering company. This interview was undertaken on 5th November 2013 in the office of this Iconic entrepreneur who opened a closed door on a new approach towards service to humanity. This interview was based on business ethical dilemmas which is an aspect of management and is an emerging serious issue in the society. This topic was obtained from the chapter three on the nature of ethics from the given text. Theoretical concepts in this chapter and the case of coming across a person being mugged and pondering over helping will act as the guiding tool in the interview and conclusions. Introduction Ethics is a generally acceptable unwritten way of doing things which is consistent with the social order of any organization. The code of conduct is always defined by that given organization’s cultural beliefs (Trevino, Linda and Katherine 36). This cuts across various communities, corporate world, governments and individual behavior. In this case, an interview was conducted with the chief executive officer as the interviewee and the focus was on how to inculcate the concept of ethics within employees and ways of solving a situation of ethical dilemma like in the case study referred to in the text chapter. Management requires requisite critical analysis ability and in-depth assessment of consequences of any action. Managers may always find themselves in ethical dilemma either directly or through their juniors (Ko?ster 65). Top manager like a Chief executive officer is always bound to make difficult decisions that demands win-win outcome with an ethical concern. In an effort to make profit, there is always the code of ethics practiced by any organization that need to be ad hered to every time in the course of production process (Garsten and Tor 125). This interview would serve as the basis of further analytical concepts of ethical dilemmas in management process. Summary of questions and corresponding responses from the interview Question Response The industry the company belong The company falls within the competitive food, beverages and events catering services industry Management levels in the company The company is headed by CEO, top brass managers, middle managers and supervisors in that order. The management position held Chief executive officer of the company Daily work and overall job description Being the CEO, the daily work entails overseeing the activities going on in the company through reports received from top management team and individual observation. The job description in this case can summarily be defined is act as the overall custodian of all management activities that are meant to propel the organization to greater heights. Persona l management approaches and skills Participatory decision making is the best as it incorporate the diverse ideas of various stakeholders to the company hence ensuring that the decision made serves the interest of the company and its stakeholders in equal measure. Sound interpersonal communication skills are the best tools to apply in success focused management. Personal values and traits that helps in managing the organization Being a strict adherent to the company’s laws, regulations and codes of ethics is one trait that can has brought the company to where it is today. These values can be transmitted to other managers and the non-managerial employees through being a role model which has worked in the company. Interest in details is also a critical tool that has helped in exhaustive resolution of a challenges

Library Assignment - Case Scenario Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Library Assignment - Scenario - Case Study Example Usually the management of a majority of health care institutions does not allow the nursing staff to take part in the important decision or in almost all the decisions. These decisions usually have significant impact on the future of nursing staff as well as the health care institutions. Under such circumstances when the nursing staff does not have power for contributing to the decisions that are related to them and their future, they usually end up feeling powerless. There are various sources from which nurses may obtain their power. First one is the requisite structure of the workplace that helps in supporting empowerment. The second source through which power can be found is by believing in ourselves and in our ability to get empowered. The third one is when the management makes nurses realize about the power that this occupation holds and relationship through which they provide care and affection to their patients. The research present on nursing demonstrates the relationship between two of the discussed sources of power. Yet there is still the need for conducting more research which discusses the ways of empowering the nurses. Granting the nursing staff the responsibilities of a decision maker may also make them empowered and as a result they may effectively identify the course of action and then take measures accordingly (Heathfield, 2013). There are several ways through which Nancy can make the staff to become empowered. Nancy must make the nursing staff feel that they are valued. Her intentions for the staff must be demonstrated through her word as well as her actions. Nancy should appreciate the hard work of the staff and share her leadership vision with them. Another action that Nancy must take to empower the employees is that they she should encourage them to contribute new ideas for the development of the hospital. For example, she may discuss with the staff the area of weakness that she has been noticing lately and then ask them to contribute

Desire2learn (D2L) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 2

Desire2learn (D2L) - Essay Example Current data is converted according to the new system and transferred into the new database. This phase will further facilitate any additional feature is required by the user of the system (Anonymous, 2007). Even after intense analysis during system development and implementation there is a change of some feature might have been left out. The importance of these requests should be analyzed carefully to make any decisions to implement the changes instantly or to record them for future development. This activity will be performed occasionally to check the system in an operational environment. A representative from all the relevant departments will submit progress reports to discuss about the project status, problem reports (if required) and one technical specifications report after the end of the testing phase. The following reports must be submitted within the mentioned period: Staff in all of the departments are co-operating with the TUI team in order to transfer of data, information about data requirements, establishment of new policy procedures, application support, information about working procedures, etc. Steering Committee members should meet at the beginning of the project implementation and every quarter hereafter. This will assure that all stakeholders are agreed with the outcome of the project (Anonymous, 2007). As we all know that implementation is the key process of the analyzing phase of the software. Planners are assisted with planning software for the implementation of the projects. Project Desk planning software is an option to difficult planning tools. Project Desk reduces overfed unnecessary complications and entirely eliminates the requirements to install and manage hard to understand, implement and maintain project management tools.  Its benefits include cost effectiveness, team management, no specific hardware requirement, enhanced communication and free technical

Breach of Contract Example

Breach of Contract Example The purchase and sale agreement signed on August 1st 2014, between Insurance Depot Limited (Depot) and Mr. Sanford (Sanford), is a legally binding contract. As a result, Depot will be able to effectively enforce its contract with Sanford by taking legal action. Depots contract with Sanford satisfies the necessary elements of consideration, consensus, intention, legality, and capacity: Consensus There was a written agreement that was signed by both parties. This is proof of an offer and signed acceptance. Consideration Sanford sold his business for $1.4 million to Depot this is an exchange. Intent Intention is presumed in commercial transactions such as the sale or purchase of a business. Capacity and legality There is no evidence to suggest that either party lacked capacity, and both were represented by legal counsel. There were no signs of illegality in the contract. Because the contract satisfies all major elements outlined above, it is enforceable under the rules of contract law. What will be the likely result if they go to trial? If they go to trial, Depot must successfully demonstrate that Sanford breached at least one of the provisions of the contract. The contract outlines one major restrictive covenant: a non-competition clause. In this case, Depot can sue Sanford for breaching the non-competition provision of the purchase and sale agreement. The non-competition clause is legally enforceable as it is reasonable, and it does not contradict public policy. The clause is also clear and unambiguous. It is specific as it denotes the time frame of five years and geographical range of one hundred kilometres that prohibit Sanford from engaging in the business of insurance brokerage. In order for the clause to be enforceable, these constraints need to be considered reasonable. The geographic and time-based restrictions are assumed to be reasonable in this case. Sanford violated the non-competition clause by opening his new insurance brokerage only two blocks away from Depot. Sanfords breach of the non-competition clause effectively gives Depot the right to claim damages. In order to be entitled to a remedy, Depot must prove in a court of law that Sanfords breach of contract adversely affected Depots business profits. Depot could then be awarded financial compensation (pecuniary damages) for the lost potential business. In addition, Depot may also be entitled to the equitable remedy of an injunction on Sanfords new business. This would mean Sanford would have stop business operations until the five-year time span has elapsed, allowing Depot to establish itself as a major industry player in the area. In terms of solicitation, Sanford did not actively solicit customers these customers chose to switch to Sanfords new firm at their own will. If the contract did include a non-solicitation clause, Depot would likely be unsuccessful in taking legal action with regards to it.   Depot should focus its legal efforts solely on the breach of the non-competition clause. Should Depot sue with respect to the overstatement of accounts receivable? Although there was an overstatement of the accounts receivable on Sanfords financial statements, Depot should not sue for this misrepresentation. This is because Sanford innocently miscalculated the accounts receivable figures; it was not done in a fraudulent or negligent manner. While the statement was a misrepresentation given the fact that it was false, unambiguous, concerned with a fact, and material, it does not fully satisfy all of elements of actionable misrepresentation. As a result, Depot should not sue. In the case of innocent misrepresentation, the result is the remedy of rescission. This means that the contract would be cancelled, and both parties would return to their pre-contractual ownership positions. This is likely not in Depots best interest, as they have already owned the business for two years, and have thus invested a significant amount of time and money into the businesss development. Moreover, Depot has known about this error since approximately January 2015, and did not act upon it immediately. This reduces the likelihood of the remedy of rescission. Due to the innocent nature of the misrepresentation, and the fact that the only outcome is rescission, Depot should not pursue any legal remedy with regards to the misstated accounts receivable. What should Depot do? For the reasons outlined above, Depot should sue Sanford for breaching their contract, specifically the non-competition clause of it. The company is very likely to win a legal dispute against Sanford, and runs the risk of losing even more business to Sanford if they choose to remain passive. Going forward, Depot should hire a lawyer to represent them, and to examine precedent cases in order to evaluate the most appropriate course of legal action. Depot should also consider whether or not the financial compensation that may be awarded in a lawsuit will outweigh the direct and indirect costs involved in a lawsuit. Legal action is most likely worth Depots time and money in this case, as an injunction on Sanford would allow them to establish themselves in the insurance industry and create customer relationships without Sanfords competition for the remaining time frame of the covenant. In order to avoid losing more customers to Sanford, who has many connections and more experience in the local competitive landscape, Depot should pursue legal action immediately.

A Tale of Two Cities Essays: A Sad Tale Of Two Cities :: Tale Two Cities Essays

A Tale Of Two Cities The focus of A Tale Of Two Cities concerns the impetus and fervor of 18th century European socio-political turmoil, its consequences, and what Dickens presents as the appropriate response of an enlightened aristocracy and just citizenry. The tale opens with Dr. Manettte having spent the last 18 years of his life in the Bastille - innocent of all crimes save his disdain for the base actions of a French Marquis. The heinous nature of his confinement induced a madness remedied only by the devoted love of his Lucie. We next encounter these characters five years later attending the trial of Charles Darnay - a nobly born French immigrant who relinquished his station rather than partake in the barbarous class structure of 18th century France. The beautiful and virtuous Lucie Manette is admired by both Sydney Carton and his repugnant legal partner, C.J.Stryver. It is the inherently ethical Carton, not the aristocratic (and bellicose) Stryver who realizes that marriage to Charles Darnay would bring the greatest happiness to Lucie. Their bliss is short lived however,as the honor bound Darnay returns to Paris. His prosecution is propelled by a vengeful and newly empowered Madame Defarge a "patriot of the revolution" who utilizes the revolutionary "People's Tribunals" to redress grievances committed by the Evremonde clan. Aided by her cohort (aptly given the code name of "Vengeance") retribution, not justice, is her sole concern. "...I have this race a long time on my register, doomed to destruction and extermination."(370). This savage character - "Madame's resolute right hand was occupied with an axe,...and in her girdle were a pistol and a cruel knife"(244) - exhibits an anger so resolute and ferocious that its like may be comparable only to newly divorced female students here at N.Y.U. - but that is simply my experience. Dickens does not portray Madame Defarge and her compatriots as morally bankrupt but rather depicts their inevitable creation in the oppressive aristocratic class structure of 18th century Europe. A Tale Of Two Cities is written in a perfectly linear progression of this theme. It initially portrays the oppressive nature of the aristocracy (the imprisonment of Dr. Manette, the accidental death of a child and the trite response of the Marquis - among other graphic illustration) which leads to the fervor of revolutionary assassins seeking justice.