Reflection on skills Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Reflection on skills - Essay Example Humans gain different types of skills and knowledge in their courses of life experiences and formal learning. What is most important is what remains and is retained for purposes of applying it in the workplace. This essay is an explanation of the skills and knowledge I have acquired before and currently as a human resource student in our university class and an application of all these in workplace. An important knowledge I have acquired in the university is an understanding of leadership dynamics in the context of an organisation. Many other things in an organisation undergo change over time and so are the organisation’s leadership expected to change. Â  The shift from being static to dynamic/changeable is motivated by the need to achieve better performance whereas the push for better performance in many organisations is driven by the existing competition. This calls for the delivery of very quality services or production of quality products. This objective is normally well achieved through continuous innovation and creativity in the organisation. Agbor (2008) explains that leaders in organisations are sources and catalysts to innovation and creativity. An organisation’s leadership can be able to drive creativity by encouraging and managing diversity. This means the leaders should initiate a change in the organisation’s culture. According to Zaccaro (2001), the leadership structure of an organisation should be one that can support and sustain innovation process in the organisation. This means that necessary changes should be made to this structure. According to Zaccaro (2001), the factor of time is very important for leaders and this means leaders of an organisation have to choose wisely their time-orientation. This decision is very important considering the limited resource in many organisations. For example, long-term leadership perspectives are aimed at long term prosperity. Short-term orientation is important when aiming at immediate results and pay-offs. This usually becomes a good option if the organisation operates under social systems that are complex and insecure. However, leadership dynamics requires that organisation’s leaders should be able to adapt to the two perspectives because one perspective exploits the resources of the organisation. As an assistant manager, I was able to use time orientation skill in making long-term and short term decisions in the shoe company in response to existing organisation’s needs. I had to make a consideration of the available resources. According to Dyer (1999) competencies refer to context-specific behaviours that define success in a particular setting. I have come to acquire knowledge on diverse professional and personal HR competencies through this course. These competencies are grouped into core, role-specific and role leadership and management competencies, and personal attributes. The core HR professional competencies include compliance, stewardship, coaching and consulting , customer focus, technology expertise, talent, vendor and knowledge management, virtual teamwork, employee advocacy and , assessment and measuring skills (Brockbank and Ulrich, 2003). Â   According to Ramlall, (2006), personal attributes/competencies include result orientation, continuous leadership, commitment, and honesty and integrity. Leadership and management competencies include vision alignment, strategic thinking, resource management, networking, process excellence, teamwork, goal setting and performance development (Brockbank and Ulrich, 2003). Â  As an administrator in a beer factory, I utilised the HR competencies I had acquired during my past learning and online research to respond to customer needs. I did this in a way that adds value to the organisation while developing significant customer satisfaction. I also made sure that I handled employee issues in a way that it kept or increased their motivation no matter the situation. I am also knowl edgeable on the importance of practical and creative thinking skills in relation to HR. HR require

Business Strategy Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 3

Business Strategy - Assignment Example These analyses have assisted the report to evaluate the critical success factors of the organisation. It has also assisted to design various strategic recommendations for the organisation such as STP strategy, Horizontal and Vertical integration and Ansoff’s Matrix. These strategies have been illustrated to suggest the future activities of the organisation to acquire a strong position in the different market segments of Singapore. Value based pricing and cost plus pricing strategies have been recommended for the new as well as existing product line of the organisation. These strategies will assist the organisation to attract new consumers towards their products and services to improve their global market growth. The report is focused on analysing the strategic position of Quirky Inc. to recommend a competitive positioning for the organisation in the Singapore market. In the first stage the analysis of the current strategic position of the organisation will emphasise the internal as well as external environmental analysis of the organisation. This analysis will allow the assessment of key driving forces and critical success factors of the organisation. In the next stage the report will evaluate various strategic options for expanding the business in the Singapore market. It will also provide valuable recommendations to assist the proper execution of the strategies. Quirky Inc. was founded by Ben Kaufman in 2009 and it’s currently situated only in New York. It is a crowd sourcing company specialized in formulating the innovative ideas of the population. The organisation not only encourages inventors to submit their innovative ideas they also assist them to develop new product as per those ideas. The website of the organisation also allows people to sell their innovative range of products. The organisation has strong partnership with various digital retail outlets for instances, Best Buy

Contemporary Issues In Human Resource Management Commerce Essay

Contemporary Issues In Human Resource Management Commerce Essay The impact of the recession upon human resource management activities of HM activities The paper provides an overview on Hennes Mauritz (HM), analyzing the industry environment and the position in the retail market. The paper also explores the impact of the recession upon the human resource management activities, based on publicly available details of HM, which has been analyzed and presented within the context of the perspective. Introduction The retail industry is usually a very dynamic, and a fast changing sector in the market. It represents one of the main sectors in the UK economy, in terms of employment, transactions and turnover, so that as a consequence, it is a highly competitive and a sophisticated industry. Thompson(2002) argues that economic conditions are an important element in the industry and he states that they may affect the way, weather easy or difficult, a business runs the activity successfully and profitable .Furthermore he claims that economic conditions may affect both capital availability, cost and demand. Companies in the fashion sector have to keep all the time the attention on monitoring the market, and should try to identify any new trends as soon as possible and, above all, they have to keep up with the customers increasing expectations, needs and changing tastes. As the paper shows above, the analysis will be on the HennesMauritz fashion business which is considered one of the worlds favourite and preferred designers of clothes and accessories for man, women, teenagers and babies. In addition, HM its also known not only for the fashion cosmetics and accessories but also because of the quality of the clothes ,using sustainable materials like organic cotton, wool and organic denim, all being environmental friendly ( HM website(1), viewed 20 October 2010). According to the Datamonitor (2010, p.4) HM is a large clothing retailer with its operations primarily set in Europe, North America, and Asia, owning in 2009 1,988 stores worldwide and reaching sales of 119 billion Sweden Kronor. (HM website (2), viewed 20 October 2010). The companys main office is based in Stockholm, Sweden and employs almost 76,000 workers out of which more than 53,476 are on full time employment as of November 2009. HMs strategic approach is to offer designer clothes to general population at affordable prices, the company working with such brand names as Stella McCartney, Karl Lagerfeld, Roberto Cavalli and Lanvin (Capell Beucke 2005, p. 16; Kroll 2004, p. 71; Zimmerman 2009, p. D1; WWD 2010, p. 2). RECESSION IN RETAIL SECTOR Nowadays almost all kinds of industries are willing to maintain their competitive position in the market during the recession period. Most of the challenges that the retail market faces are related to the economic and the financial aspects. The fashion industry faced unfavourable situation due to the reduction of the money spent on clothes, but also due to the change in consumers behaviour. According to Kambil (2009) recession should last less than 2 years, and managers should take full advantage of this in order to rethink and renew their strategies and their competitive positions in the UK retail market. The UK retail market was just one of the industries hit by the global economic downturn, as shoppers were forced to limit their spending and consumer confidence was shaken by the failure of important retail giants like Woolworth. With the retail market getting back on its feet in 2010 particularly the online sales segment, where UK web sales grew by 18% in August 2010 (BBC website, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-11034030 ), compared with the same month a year earlier one of the most pressing concerns is whether there will be long-term effects on consumer confidence or spending. The retail industry has been an excellent contributor to the UKs economy. According to the British Retail Consortium, the retail sector is one of the second largest employers in the UK, employing 11% of the UK workforce, some 2.9 million people as of March 2009. Historical evidences depict that the UKs economic development has been dominantly fuelled by the successes in the fashion industry especially because of the existence of 286,680 retail outlets in the UK (British Retail Consortium website). Over all these years, industrial success in textiles and fashion goods component have been significant and can be attributed to the continuous change and improvements in the lifestyle of the shoppers and the increasing value being placed to such products. Consumers constantly experimented different looks, styles, fabrics and ideas and their interest in fashion accessories has been stimulated by high media exposure, which have been growing over the last few years. This assiduous rise in the consumer spending on fashion products led to practically unchallenged growth in the industry. Despite the crisis in this sector of the economy, some of the organizations managed to grow their market share. According to Kambil (2008) companies need to focus their attention on the market share and in addition they had to launch new products and adjust the existing ones in order to improve their relations with the customers. Using HM as a company example, they tried to beat the effects of the downturn, by launching designer clothes in partnership with well-know designers like Jimmy Choo, Roberto Cavalli and Lanvin this November (HM website, viewed 21 October 2010). Moreover the economic recession has affected many HR Processes and they needed to be adapted to the new economic environment and furthermore they had to be ready to face the new reality. The impact of the recession is not the same and many HR Processes can continue their regular operation without any adjustment. Even if recession has affected many fashion organisations, closing stores or slashing prices, one of the big retailers operating on the UK market, HM ,was keeping quite well, in addition they were opening stores, entering new markets, and adding new brands (Spiegel website, April 9 2008, ). Another major effect of the recession in the retail industry is the staff redundancies. According to The Telegraph website there is an important downsizing in this sector, which may affect retail organisations in many ways. The article shows that at the beginning of 2009 economists were announcing massive staff reductions between 100,000 and 135,000 jobs due to the severity of the slowdown. Moreover the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development predicted at that time more than 600,000 jobs will be lost and many companies will be forced to freeze their workforces pay. Sales have been also suffering by the economic downturn, reporting a volume of retail sales lower with 0.1% than October last year (National Statistics Online website, http://www.statistics.gov.uk/cci/nugget.asp?id=256). Among the factors that should be taken into consideration is the current economic growth rate in the nation. This directly refers to an economys rise in value of services or goods produced. According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS) in the case of United Kingdom, the economic growth rate in 2010 grew by 1.1% in the second quarter of the year (BBC website, National Statistics Online website, http://www.statistics.gov.uk/cci/nugget.asp?id=256 ). Another economic factor that may influence retail business in the fashion industry is the inflation. According to the BBC newspaper, the Consumer Price Index (CPI), inflation increased to 3.2% in October from 3.1% per cent in the previous month (BBC newspaper, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-11784775, Appendix A) . SWOT Analysis of HM According to Armstrong (2004) SWOT is defined as (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) and is a popular framework for developing a marketing strategy. SWOT analysis is basically done to find out if they have sufficient resources to cover their weakness and still achieve their objective. Strength Hennes Mauritz AB build its strengths by operating through complementary retail channels stores, Internet, and printed catalogues. According to Datamonitor (2010) one of the significant strength of HM Company is the request for its products which rise up the inventory turnover and enables low price cut. Customer express their preference for HM product especially clothes because of its quality at the best price but also because of the stores which are refreshed and reordered daily with new garments products. Moreover, collaboration with designer like Karl Lagerfeld, Stella McCartney, Roberto Cavalli and Lanvin this November, which are very well know worldwide, will improve the desire for their garments ,but also will accelerate sales growth ( Business week website, viewed 19 October 2010) . Another major strength of HM is the presence on different markets such as Europe, North America and Asia with almost 2000 stores (HM website (4), viewed 20 October 2010). This fact is a positive aspect for the company because they can diversify their risk, but also be sustainably- financially, socially and environmentally (CSR Report 2009). Weaknesses One of the most important and noticeable weakness that HM encounters is the segment that the fashion company targets. HM designs clothes for young customers offering them the HM Divided and HM L.O.G.G collections. Second fact that can be taken into consideration as a weaknesses is the shoppers base which is influenced by the macro economic environment in a negative way (Datamonitor 2010).The article claims that HM focus on the young segment of the market, which is one of the worst hit by the recession, with 21% rate of unemployment for teenagers under age of 25. Opportunities First of all, one of the most important opportunities that HM faces is the e-commerce. According to Datamonitor (2010) HM online sales grew by 22% with 4.7% of the total retail online sales in Europe. Moreover the online sales within more 17 European Countries (such as France, UK, Germany) are estimated to grow by 11% each year over the next five years. Even if the recession affected the retail industry, Hennes Mauritz opened in 2009 250 stores worldwide with 25 more than they planned. (HM website (3), viewed 21 October 2010) Second of all, the expansion plans 2010-1011 for HM intend to reach a 10-15 % each year. The Company tries to focus on markets like Asia where the sales double over, China Japan and South Korea. (Financial times website October 20, 2010). Another opportunity that HM takes full advantage of is the use of organic cotton which classified the company in the top twelve global brands and retailer using organic cotton. Threats Threats of the company are also related to the economic recession because shoppers spend less money on clothes. Over the year 2010 employment were expected to become worse, peaking towards the end of the year at approximately 10.3% and consumers were expected to apply for benefits. Second major threat for the organisation is the VAT which has been reduced in the UK in 2008 by 15% and in January 2010 has been changed again do 17.5%. Apart of this change the cost for cotton has been modified as well with almost 60-75 % by the end of 2009 and with 20-30% during 2010 (Datamonitor 2010 , http://web.ebscohost.com/bsi/pdf?vid=20hid=7sid=4b01c02d-b8cf-414f-b787-7f93a0b69865%40sessionmgr113 ). Human Resource Management in a recession The retail sector is one of the most hit by the global economic recession, so that managers should handle the effects of recession as professionally as possible in a downturn. But since when human resource management is dealing with the implementation of the strategies and policies relating to the management of individuals, the department become one of the most responsible to bring the organisation on the right track during recession time. According to Kambil (2008) there are some important steps that a business should follow in order to maintain their competitive position on the market. Some of these vital steps are the improvement of prices in order to grow margins, the increase of the financial and operational efficiency, but also the concentration on the market share. According to Armstrong (2009, p.5) the purpose of the human resource management is to make sure that an organisation is able to perform well through its staff, but also to increase the efficiency and the capability of the business. Furthermore, it also helps the business to reach it goals by using the resources available to their best use. One of the first processes affected by a recession is the recruitment selection policies which have been massively affected by the recession. Newell and Shackleton (2000) argues that recruitment and selection process involves making anticipation about what will happen, so that decisions are made about who is the most suitable person for a certain job that can increase the performance of an organisation. Now managers and recruitment agencies are being extra careful who they bring in, and they prefer to rethink and implement new strategies in order to improve their relations with the customers. In addition, companies are even more demanding than before, making sure that they recruit the best candidate that can bring real value to the company. Another significant effect on human resource management which impact an organization in recession time is the cost cutting. Retailers are conscious about the situation of the business and try to do everything to maintain their competitive position on the market. They started to cut working hours, holidays, labour costs, and travel expenses and they dont offer long-term benefits anymore. According to Retail Week website (http://www.retail-week.com/cost-cutting-the-lean-machine/1923604.article ) organizations needed to reduce its cost not only to their store level, but also to their head offices. The career and development process have been also affected by the recession, so that managers offer limited trainings to their staff. Selecting and training employees with great potential, contribute to the increase of the sales and organisations performance. It also leads to a more structured career path which ensures that staff has the necessary skills to improve the quality of services and products of a company. Introducing flexible working arrangements and part-paid sabbaticals is another effect of the recession that has a significant impact on an organisation impact on an organization. Managers prefer to make these changes, rather than implementing redundancy programmes, because it allows them to manage every cost. This measure eliminates the need of hiring extra staff for busy periods such as Christmas or Easter holidays. The operations are also suffering due to the recession, because managers develop different channels which imply lower labour costs, such as online sales. A number of retailers found more innovative ways to deal with cost cutting by introducing 9 day fortnights, reducing daily hours and offering unpaid sabbaticals, so we also saw an uplift in the request for interim specialists to renegotiate these new practices. Conclusion The middle of 2008 saw huge changes for the UK retail industry, with the sector suffering a very intense downturn and several well-known brands were disappearing from the high streets. But on the other hand there have been retailers that improved their performance during the recession. As seen above, HM is one of them, reaching a SEK 118,697 million turnover, and about 76,000 employments. The human resource management is one of the sectors that have been also affected by the economic downturn. According to Armstrong (2000) Human resource management is a construct largely invented by academics and popularised by consultants. So that many retailers took decisive actions, like concentrating and simplifying their operations by reducing staff numbers and costs, both through natural wastage and implementing redundancy programmes and flexible working hours. Furthermore, there is now evidence of significant change in the retail sector. In line with the drop-off in demand for goods not being as bad as had initially been feared, retailers are now re-evaluating and rethinking their HR strategies. In conclusion, the paper demonstrates that the current economic conditions have provided the opportunity for the UK retail industry to learn and deal better with HRM structures and recession, adding to what had already been in progress before the economic downturn, which in turn shows an opportunity to make the business stronger, successfully and profitable. Moreover, there is a lack of standard qualifications across retail sector which is also unfavourable.   Government policy in this area is ineffectual and needs to be improved as soon as possible.

Macbeths Images and Imagery Essay -- Free Essay Writer

Macbeth's Imagery      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  William Shakespeare in the tragedy Macbeth very skillfully uses imagery to support other aspects of the drama, especially the theme. In this essay let us examine the imagery, including literary critical comment.    Roger Warren comments in Shakespeare Survey 30 , regarding Trervor Nunn's direction of Macbeth at Stratford-upon-Avon in 1974-75, on opposing imagery used to support the opposing notions of purity and black magic:    Much of the approach and detail was carried over, particularly the clash between religious purity and black magic. Purity was embodied by Duncan, very infirm (in 1974 he was blind), dressed in white and accompanied by church organ music, set against the black magic of the witches, who even chanted 'Double, double to the Dies Irae. (283)    L.C. Knights in the essay "Macbeth" explains the supporting role which imagery plays in Macbeth's descent into darkness:    To listen to the witches, it is suggested, is like eating "the insane root, That takes the reason prisoner" (I.iii.84-5); for Macbeth, in the moment of temptation, "function," or intellectual activity, is "smother'd in surmise"; and everywhere the imagery of darkness suggests not only the absence or withdrawal of light but - "light thickens" - the presence of something positively oppressive and impeding.   (101)    In Fools of Time: Studies in Shakespearean Tragedy, Northrop Frye shows how the playwright uses imagery to reinforce the theme:    This theme is at its clearest where we are most in sympathy with the nemesis. Thus at the end of Macbeth, after the proclamation "the time is free," and of promises to make reparations of Macbeth's tyranny "Which would be planted newly with... ...es and Noble, 1970.    Frye, Northrop. Fools of Time: Studies in Shakespearean Tragedy. Toronto, Canada: University of Toronto Press, 1967.    Kermode, Frank. "Macbeth." The Riverside Shakespeare. Ed. G. Blakemore Evans. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1972.    Knights, L.C. "Macbeth." Shakespeare: The Tragedies. A Collectiion of Critical Essays. Alfred Harbage, ed. Englewwod Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1964.    Shakespeare, William. The Tragedy of Macbeth. http://chemicool.com/Shakespeare/macbeth/full.html, no lin.    Warren, Roger. Shakespeare Survey 30.   N.p.: n.p., 1977. Pp. 177-78. Rpt. in Shakespeare in the Theatre: An Anthology of Criticism. Stanley Wells, ed. England: Oxford University Press, 2000.    Wilson, H. S. On the Design of Shakespearean Tragedy. Toronto, Canada: University of Toronto Press, 1957.   

Kant: Human, Animals, and Empathy Essay

Immanuel Kant remains one of the most influential thinkers in history. Part of Kant’s appeal is his ability to provide incredibly unique insights into the human condition. One of the more interesting works by Kant was his writing that looked into human interrelations with animals. From his examinations, Kant essentially shows that how humans treat animals is indicative of how they will treat other people. This ties very heavily into the notion that the human-animal relationship is linked heavily with empathy. Kant makes a very sobering point in his analysis of human relationships with animals. Much of Kant’s analysis is realistic and this realistic insight notes the darker side of human nature. Kant understands that not all human/animal relationships are harmonious. The sad fact remains that there are those who are cruel to animals. Many sociopathic individuals display enormous cruelty to animals. Granted, the number of those individuals is limited in comparison to those who have harmonious relationships. But, these individuals do exists. There numbers – while low – are still significant enough that there are laws on the books designed to punish their cruel behavior. Kant understands this because he looks at the relationship from a common sense perspective. After all, how could a person who tortures animals show empathy towards humans? A lack of empathy against any living this is indicative that the person possesses NO empathy. Kant also points out that a child who possesses such cruel behavior will likely develop into a cruel adult. That is the path such a malformed development of relationships will lead the child when he/she blossoms into adulthood. Of course, not all of Kant’s writing deals with the negative aspects that can come to light when examining the relationship between humans and animals. The inverse is also presented as well. That is, the good qualities of a person become visible when examining how a person treats their loving animals. A person who cares for a dog when it is sick, gives it food when it is hungry, and provides shelter when the animal needs protection is clearly a person who understand the concept of giving to those in need. Such actions will eventually re-emerge in their relationships with other humans. Now, does that mean that simply because a dog owner is angelic with his pet that the owner will be devoid of cruelty towards others? No, of course not; such an assessment would be absurd. However, if a person does treat an animal with kindness and respect then empathy is present. Simply put, all good treatment of animals is synonymous with empathy. You can not have one without the other. Granted, the actual volume of empathy may vary. That is, a person may show empathy towards family and friends but may possess aberrant or destructive traits as well. A person who loves his family selflessly may also possess racial animosity. However, if one were to look at reducing or eliminating racial animosity (or any other personality aberrancy), a person with a capacity for empathy will be more than likely to repent as opposed to a sociopath who lacks empathy. Keep in mind, empathy is not a minimal â€Å"touchy-feely† emotion. Empathy goes to the core of who we are and what we are capable of. That is why it is critical to understand how beings react to others since this gives an insight into their empathic nature. A clear examination of human-animal relationships provides this insight. Or, at least, this is the hope.

The Annual Inflation Rate essays

The Annual Inflation Rate essays Just about everything we do as a nation lends to the annual inflation rate. In this article, though, I have chosen four of the most important variables that influence inflation the most. Inflation is the sustained increase in prices, or in other words, a steady decline in the buying power of the dollar. I have come up with an equation that includes the following variables: the unemployment rate, the federal funds interest rate, per capita income, and new home sales. These variables consistently have shown a relationship to the inflation rate and aggregately may help to explain the cause of inflation. The first variable I chose was the unemployment rate. This is the annual average of persons 15 years of age or older, actively seeking and available for work, but unemployed. (BLS). The relationship between unemployment and inflation provides evidence of a short-run trade-off between the two variables known as the short-run Phillips curve (BLS). The relationship suggests that by accepting higher inflation levels, the Fed can use monetary policy to stimulate the economy and temporarily reduce unemployment. When prices go up, the wages are affected also. This occurs because if no adjustments are made, then the same wages will buy less goods and services, which affects consumer spending. Less spending means less profits, which ends in layoffs and higher unemployment. The flip side reveals the effect of unemployment on inflation. The hypothesis for this variable is that as the unemployment rate decreases, the annual inflation rate will increase. The reasoning here is that if more people are employed and have money, there is more spending, more demand, and therefore prices will rise. The second variable I chose was the federal funds interest rate. Federal funds are the Feds channel of affecting the economy through the banks. The Fed aims to maintain a steady economy with steady growth and stabl ...

Hunger Scandanavian Essay

Hunger Scandanavian Essay Hunger Scandanavian Essay Koosha Samani 1126241 Scand 150 Jan Sjavik 6/5/13 I have qualified for W-Credit. Hunger For my final paper, I chose to write about one of my favorite assigned books in the course; Hunger by Knut Hamsun. This novel was fascinating to me because of the way Hamsun charts the ups, downs, frustrations, and struggles of an unstable, yet intelligent mind. The narrator of the story (nameless) is an intellectual man living in Norway; he is poor and constantly starving. In order to make the miniscule amount of money that he does, he sells articles to pedestrians. Although he has rare moments of optimism, most of the time he is without hope. The story or purpose of the novel is the experience the narrator endures through his high and low moments, and his struggle to keep moving forward in life. I believe that the author’s purpose is to portray the beauty and hope in a struggle. Throughout the novel, the same scenario keeps repeating itself over and over again. The narrator is starving, the conditions of his life worsen, however; he always ends up getting enough money and food to remain alive. It is an on-going cycle where things seem to be okay for a brief moment, and then his condition goes back to worsening and so on and so forth. The depressive mind is an internal struggle, where hope forms, adopts an idea, latches on to that idea, builds encouragement, and then get brought back down to an unforgiving reality. As a reader, it’s like come on things need to start getting better already, and it becomes tiresome to see the narrator fall back down, however, we still keep that hope inside of use that he will rise. As moments of optimism appear, viewing the situation seems a little bit brighter. Then something else is triggered, more obstacles arise, and then the struggle continues again. One of the major themes in the novel is the narrator’s attitude towards his everyday life. The narrator has a lot of time on his hands each day, and the only necessity to keep him self alive is to give each of his days a sense of purpose. Besides his writing, the narrator’s main goal is to persevere and get by. Due to the fact that he barely has any money, the narrator goes through each day trying to write, moving from bench to bench, and scheming for ways to obtain food to help to his hunger. Because he has so much free time, the narrator has a lot of time to think, which in turn makes the novel predominantly about what goes on inside of his head; his mental state. Throughout the story, the narrator’s experiences come down to the little things he comes across. At a point in the novel, the narrator uses the noises and lights from cars in traffic to uplift his spirits, only to be devastated by seeing a limping man. To rid himself of the old man, the narrator app roaches him and discovers that he is a beggar. Without any money to offer, he quickly runs to the store, sells his waistcoat, and then offers the beggar some of the money from the sale. This example is just one of many instances where the narrator gives away money even though he is starving. This ties back in to the narrator’s mental state in which he receives bits of hope, and then his optimism instantly gets crushed by an event that hurts his heart. An expression such as this shown by the narrator portrays his intellectual mind and kind heart combined with his chemically imbalanced brain that disallows him to strive in the world that he is living in. To my estimation, the narrator operates under a deep sense of pride and kindness mixed in with twisted logic and a sense of uncertainty about his living situation. Many examples show that the narrator quickly gets irritated, and puts the situation into his own hands and gives when he really has nothing to give (example: old man). In his mind, his actions are rationalized that it is his responsibility to fix a situation because he owes it to everybody else. His proud attitude puts him in situations where he becomes