Signs in The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne Essay

The Scarlet Letter shows Nathaniel Hawthorne’s way of using various signs to evolve the characters and help them atone for their sins and rid their fear of consequences. â€Å"A sign has tremendous power to communicate a message that transcends the sign itself.† (Gray 19) The Scarlet Letter involves an adulterous scandal between the two main characters, and how they live with the embarrassment and shame that comes with the sin. Hawthorne’s use of different signs such as the â€Å"A† and the scaffold help accompany the reader in understanding each character. Through Hawthorne’s writing, the reader gains a deeper meaning of the story, and that is achieved through signs. Signs in American literature are very important, as shown in The Scarlet Letter,†¦show more content†¦As shown on the cover of the book itself, the â€Å"A† is the most important and well known sign of The Scarlet Letter. This letter is the representation of her sin, letting the people around her know what she had done. As the book states, â€Å"It had the effect of a spell, taking her out of the ordinary relations with humanity, and enclosing her in a sphere by herself.† (Hawthorne) The townspeople already knew how much this â€Å"A† would affect Prynne and her future family as soon as she walked out of the prison, as written by Hawthorne. This letter depicted evil and her fellow citizens avoided her at all costs because of it. Prynne’s response to having to wear the sign on her clothes, at first, is not a good one. She is embarrassed and ashamed by it, knowing that people are to judge her every where she goes. All of the townspeople gave her looks and treated her as nothing more than a criminal. â€Å"Lonely as was Hesters situation, and without a friend on earth who dared to show himself†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Hawthorne) By the end of the book, Prynne realizes the good that has come out of wearing the â€Å"A† upon her chest. She no longer thinks of it as a bad thing, but something that has helped her in finding what she really is, able and almost angelic. Arthur Dimmesdale is on the other end of this adultery scandal, although no one knows it. His perspective on the situation changes, just as Hester Prynne. A scaffold is a large wooden platform that resembles wrong-doing and is often usedShow MoreRelatedNathaniel Hawthorne s The Scarlet Letter1230 Words   |  5 Pages Nathaniel Hawthorne is an American novelist, who writes and focuses on sin, punishment, and atonement. However, he mainly focuses on the Puritan legacy. Hawthorne was born on July 4, 1804 in Salem, Massachusetts. From 1825-1837, Hawthorne perfected his writing and spent this time to help generate ideas for his novels and poems. One of the most well known novels by Nathaniel Hawthorne is â€Å"The Scarlet Letter.† The Scarlet Letter helped Hawthorne’s career to become one of the most successful of hisRead MoreEssay on Nathaniel Hawthornes Life in His Works1556 Words   |  7 Pagesauthor Nathaniel Hawthorne, there are different elements that influence his writings. His life included many times of trials, many joys, and many ancestors that caused some turmoil within his mind. Two of his major works are influenced almost directly by his background (Werlock). Nathaniel Hawthorne threw his life into every single piece of his writing. His experiences, background, and the setting in which his life took place are prominent in everything he wrote. Nathaniel Hawthorne was bornRead MoreScarlet Letter Criticism704 Words   |  3 PagesIn The Scarlet letter, Nathaniel hawthorne uses his novel as social commentary by depicting the puritan society as a group of hypocritical people who believe in conformity, which ultimately, turns them into a mindless horde. Nathaniel Hawthorne had deep bonds with his Puritan ancestors and created a story that highlighted both their weaknesses and their strengths. His knowledge of their beliefs and his admiration for their strengths were balanced by his concerns for their rigid and cruel rules.TheRead MoreScarlet Letter And Symbolism1045 Words   |  5 PagesThe Scarlet Letter and Symbolism Nathaniel Hawthorne uses many forms of symbolism in his book The Scarlet Letter. Symbolism is, according to Merriam-Webster, â€Å"the art or practice of using symbols, especially by investing things with a symbolic meaning or by expressing the invisible or intangible by means of visual or sensuous representations.† This means that the author was using objects to represent an action or idea. The symbols used in his book is either all physical or visible objects. ManyRead MoreHester Prynne As A True Hero1292 Words   |  6 PagesMaeger English III Honors 16 October 2017 Hesters Heroism In The Scarlet Letter Hester Prynne is more than a literary figure in a classic novel, she is known by some people to be one of the earliest American Hero’s. In The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne Hester commits adultery and has a child that she must care for all alone. She is forced to wear a powerful, attention grabbing â€Å"Scarlet A† on her chest while she must try to make a living to support her and her child, PearlRead MoreLiterature Has Functioned Throughout History As A Means1266 Words   |  6 Pagesto the lay public. Classics like Brave New World by Aldous Huxley and Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe leverage their plots to reveal alarming realities and comment on social issues. The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne is one of the earliest examples of literary social criticism. Hawthorne uses the plight of the main character, Hester Prynne, a convicted adulterer in a society that severely punishes sinners, to take a st and against Puritanism and the religious conservatism that stainsRead MoreWho is Nathaniel Hawthorne?953 Words   |  4 Pagesthe utmost passion of her heart† is one of my favorite quotes that Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote from the Scarlet Letter. Nathaniel Hawthorne was an American writer, that wrote fictional stories. He was a gifted writer that was influenced to use his gift by a well known man, with the name of Ralph Waldo Emerson. I believe Nathaniel had an talent to make stories rhyme with detail, that sets the scene in your very, own mind. Hawthorne had a interesting life, he enjoyed writing short stories, like Twice-ToldRead More Symbols and Symbolism in Nathaniel Hawthornes The Scarlet Letter1178 Words   |  5 PagesSymbolism   in The Scarlet Letter Nathaniel Hawthorne isnt noted for perfecting any famous literary style, for writing multiple best sellers, or even for contributing largely to classic American literature.   His only real claim to fame is The Scarlet Letter: a novel that was originally only meant to be yet another Hawthorne short story.   Because of this, it actually possesses many short story characteristics.   It is simpler and more complete than his other novels. (James 285)   It also hasRead MorePearl In The Scarlet Letter1233 Words   |  5 PagesOne of the most significant writers of the romantic period in American literature was Nathaniel Hawthorne. Hawthorne wrote stories that opposed the ideas of Transcendentalism. Since he had ancestors of Puritan belief, Hawthorne wrote many stories about Puritan New England. His most famous story is the Scarlet Letter. This novel tells of the punishment of a woman, Hester Prynne, who committed adultery and gave birth to Pearl. A minister of Boston, Arthur Dimmesdale, had an affair with Hester whileRead MoreAn Individual s War : The American Voice1692 Words   |  7 Pagessociety, to be who we want to be. Hawthorne captures the American voice eloquently through his stories, expressing how the Americans as individuals, could conquer prejudice societies, through their actions. Hawthorne himself could truly capture the American voice because he, himself was an American man. He was the â€Å"sixth generation of his Salem family[,] his ancestors included Puritan magnates, judges [who sought out the Witch Trials], and seamen† (Nathaniel Hawthorne) His bloodline was enriched with

A Failure to Identify A Look at United States Cyber Policy - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 3 Words: 946 Downloads: 6 Date added: 2019/03/18 Category Analytics Essay Level High school Topics: Failure Essay Did you like this example? The old adage that history repeats itself is ever so present in Fred Kaplans Dark Territory: The Secret History of Cyber War. There is a recurring theme in the United States (US) government of implementation lag, policy lag, and a lack of proper oversight in this rapidly changing technology age. The problem is 3-fold: (1) the lack of an implementation plan makes the policy just a piece of paper with ink, (2) the absence of policy hinders the ability for entities to protect critical cyber infrastructure in a systematic manner, (3) the lack of proper oversight allows entities the opportunity to utilize technology with little to no accountability, on the fringe of ethical use in some instances. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "A Failure to Identify: A Look at United States Cyber Policy" essay for you Create order The reader finds these exact cases when you strip away the minutia of Kaplans book. Kaplan does well at setting the tone for the book. He paints a picture of science fiction becoming science fact with the introduction of a 1983 movie, WarGames, about a tech-whiz teenager who unwittingly hacks into the main computer at NORAD, the North American Aerospace Defense Command (Kaplan 8). What followed 15-months later, after President Ronald Reagan inquired his staff on the validity of the movie, was National Security Decision Directive Number 145: National Policy on Telecommunications and Automated Information Systems Security (NSDD-145), signed on 17 September 1984, which marked the first of many national policies involving the emerging cyber landscape. This, however, was short-lived as the issue vanished, at least in the realm of high-level politics, and [w]hen it reemerged a dozen years later, after a spate of actual cyber intrusions during Bill Clintons presidency [1993 2001], enough time had passed that the senior officials of the day were shocked by the nations seem ingly sudden vulnerability to this brand-new threat. The technology climate, at the time of signing, was nowhere near as robust as today. Kaplan notes that, the first public Internet providers wouldnt come online for another few years. This climate clearly shapes the apathy by senior officials. While the prescient nature of the policy showed that the US government understood the impending threat, this meant nothing without proper implementation. The recurring theme of lag, this time policy, continues in a 1990 study by the U.S. Office of Technology Assessment, a congressional advisory group, called [the] Physical Vulnerability of Electric Systems to Natural Disasters and Sabotage. The study details a concerning picture of which power stations and switches, if disabled, would take down huge chunks of the national grid. Kaplan walks the reader through a timeline of subsequent events, culminating with Presidential Decision Directive â€Å" 63 (PDD-63), titled Critical Infrastructure Protection, signed 22 May 1998. Kaplan does not explicitly note any protective actions occurring in the 8-years between the publishing of the 1990 study and the directive in 1998. The issue only compounded when the directive called for an additional 5-years to achieve and maintain the protection of these critical infrastructures. This inaction would soon change with the leak of classified documents from the infamous NSA analyst, Edward Snowden. Snowdens 2013 leak of a treasure trove of amounting to tens of thousands of highly classified documents. Of those documents, the most damaging concerned a program known as PRISM in which the NSA and FBI tapped into the central servers of nine leading American Internet companies†Microsoft, Yahoo, Google, Facebook, AOL, Skype, YouTube, Apple, and Paltalk†extracting email, documents, photos, audio and video files, and connection logs (131). The NSA released a statement shortly after the leak made headlines, stating that PRISM was the most significant tool in the NSAs arsenal for the detection, identification, and distribution of terrorist threats to the US and around the world. Kaplan goes on to show how NSA lawyers even altered plain definitions [with the FISA Court (a.k.a. Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court), so that doing this [type of surveillance] didnt constitute collecting data from American citizens [which is illegal]. Under the new definition the NSA was just s toring data; the collecting wouldnt happen until an analyst went to retrieve it from the files. Here is a depiction of gross manipulation in order to put the agencies goals over rights granted by the 4th amendment. Kaplan makes it clear that the restraints had been put up from the inside, and they could be taken down from the inside as well. There were no external auditors for checks and balances. Furthermore, what would have happened if a rogue NSA director or a different president, like Richard Nixon, were in power? The potential for abuse would be staggering. From the first national level policy on cyber warfare, NSDD-145, to the political aftermath of the Edward Snowden leaks, the author presents a coherently weaved pieces of work, while providing the reader with first-hand accounts of the significant events throughout the US growth in the computer age. He sprinkles well-known characters (e.g. Edward Snowden, President Barack Obama) and federal agencies (e.g. FBI, CIA, NSA), while breaking down the US governments struggle of proper utilization of policy driven use of technology, . This is a recommended read for those with established cyber roles in the government to those who are wanting to understand how the failure of governmental cyber policy allowed for the overreaching of boundaries. What it comes down to is whether you want to At its core, Kaplan depicts a history of the United States (US) Government failing to create policy (i.e. the boundaries) for the use of emerging technological advances in the cyber domain. Works Cited Kaplan, Fred M., Dark Territory: The Secret History of Cyber War. Simon Schuster Paperbacks, 2017. Underwood, Kimberly, The U.S. Government Urgently Needs to Address Cyber security Challenges, Signal, September 24, 2018, https://www.afcea.org/content/us-government-urgently-needs-address-cybersecurity-challenges. PDD-63 Critical Infrastructure Protection, 5/20/1998https://clinton.presidentiallibraries.us/items/show/12762

China s Influence On The United States - 1168 Words

The products of China played a role in the way the United States came about and how their identity was created and solidified. China was seen as influential and beneficial for the Americans through trade and customs that they brought along with them. Some individuals have traveled over to the United States for the Gold Rush and others just wanted a better life for their future and for their families’ future. There were other convincing reasons that pushed the Chinese to migrate away from their hometown into a new environment as well. Chinese people were the first to migrate to the United States. Majority of the young men chose to come over to experience a better life in the States. However, the only Chinese women that would be able to†¦show more content†¦Groups that would agree and come over to work as a coolie were from Hong Kong, Canton, Macao, Amoy, and Swatow. Social challenges the Chinese experienced ranged from how they were treated in their jobs to how they wo uld marry. Along with the occurrence of the coolie trade, the workers are upset at the employers’ abuse and how they cannot regulate the laws within their job. When the Chinese came over, the Americans were discriminating against them and their manner. The way Americans described Chinese revolved about how China’s culture is not â€Å"normal† because it is being compared to their American culture and racialized comments. When you move into a new town or city, it is harder to get comfortable when the ones that already resides in area are judgmental and puts down the newer people. The Americans called the Chinese hurtful and unkind words like: â€Å"cowardly†, â€Å"submissive†, â€Å"silly grunts†, and â€Å"menaces†. Interracial marriages were shunned and disapproved by many, it created problems in racial and family order. An example of how a Chinese man with a White woman relationship was ruined when Elise Sigel was murdered and Leon Ling was called out for the murder because there was a rumor that they were in an affiliation with one another. From this incident and others, there were laws that were created to separate whites and Asian individuals from getting into any sort of relationship or contact. The Chinese did not have much to say about

Education Is An Essential Element Of Early Life - 1445 Words

Education is an essential element of early life and is considered to be the bridge between classes and social structures. It is a worldwide equalizer and instructor, but academic systems have only been standardized and mandatory for roughly two-hundred years and consistently vary across the globe. These systems vary from year-round and 180-day academic years, to college-like structures and elementary organizations. In the United States, the academic calendar was created around a nineteenth-century agrarian society where there was need for a prolonged summer break that allowed for all members to aid in harvest. This system, to this day, is still in place in most schools across the country, but is failing in efficient education standards.†¦show more content†¦For teenage brains, this teaching style is practically trivial. Without ample time and resources, students are unable to learn material before being assigned nightly homework, creating a time of complete stress and inabil ity. With studies shown, personal stories told and a centuries-old structure in place, why hasn’t it become apparent to American’s that this system is futile and idle? Education standards have been created through top-ranking countries. To meet these standards, education systems, including the United States’, need to evolve from their outdated states and adapt new techniques compatible with 21st-century ideals and demands. The United States, though a role model across the globe because of its economic and political systems, is not an exemplary example of education standards. Countries across the world, including Germany, have created education systems suited to 21st-century society, where the United States is cemented behind its outdated techniques, thus falling behind academically. German education consists of a 220-day academic year, forty days longer than the average American year (â€Å"The German School System†). Their updated academic calendar provides more days and time within a school year to teach and learn information. With their realization that there was no need for a harvest period, Germans began to follow a

Is Global Peace an Illusion Free Essays

Q. 6 Over several centuries, the collaborative goal of the world has been to attain the harmony, understanding and interdependent relationships between nations that brings peace, security and stability to the world. However, although global peace is attainable, much collaborative effort is needed to turn global peace into a reality, instead of living in a world of deception where global peace is merely a false belief. We will write a custom essay sample on Is Global Peace an Illusion or any similar topic only for you Order Now Therefore, the world aims to attain global peace via international efforts and individual contributions, to counter the problems that prevents global peace of being attained, such as due to the lack of understanding and collaboration between nations, as well as due to selfish demands and the lack of initiative from individuals to make it work. Some people may think that global peace is simply too good to be true due to the lack of collaboration and understanding between nations. As the people of different nations have their own set of ideologies and beliefs, this leads to conflicting ideologies between nations which could spark an international dispute such as in the case of the cold war which occurred between the United States of America which practiced capitalism, as well as the Soviet Union which practiced communism. This vast difference in belief thus led to conflicts between the nations, which sparked feelings of hatred and resentment between the people of the two nations. This prevented the success of efforts to call for further global peace. Additionally, differing interests of the nation could lead to violence, as well as terrorism, such as in the case of the Bali Bombings in 2005 which involved a terrorist group, Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) of Al Qaeda. They bombed specific tourist sites in Bali to display their displeasure towards people of another nation, as well as to rebel against the newly adopted democratic practice. This led to great instability within the country, as well as many people from around the world to feel dubious about the Indonesians in general. This led to an even greater segregation as well as isolation of the Malay race and Muslim religion as they were thought to be terrorists, deterring the progress of the world to achieve global peace and harmony. Secondly, the lack of individual initiative to push for greater global peace leads to the inefficiency of the world to achieve global peace. As individuals make up the largest percentage of the country, they have arguably the most influence to ensure that efforts to achieve global peace are successful. Hence, individuals are the key driving force for the achievement of global peace, and not relying solely on governmental efforts. However, as many individuals are simply pushing the responsibility to the government, global peace cannot be achieved However, commendable efforts have been made by international organizations (IGOs) and governments to make global peace a reality, which includes international governmental organizations such as the United Nations (UN) and Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Such organizations aim to promote regional and international peace and stability, and to promote active collaboration and mutual assistance between countries which would foster stronger bonds, thus promoting harmony between nations. An example is when the UN started the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) to alleviate income inequality between nations to prevent conflict between nations due to growing income disparity between the rich and the poor. On 1 December 2000, the United Nations General Assembly also adopted a resolution on the role of diamonds in fuelling conflict, breaking the link between the illicit transaction of rough diamonds and armed conflict, as a contribution to prevention and settlement of conflicts. The ASEAN-Korea Summit in 2009 also contributed to greater understanding between the countries involved, and thus helped to bridge differences. Hence, international efforts by IGOs, along with the cooperation from respective governments, are able to pave the way towards attaining global peace and harmony by promoting mutual understanding between nations which would promote the forging of strong bonds between the nations, instead of conflicts due to differences in beliefs. In conclusion, although global peace is able to be attained, it is not able to be sustained for a long period of time. Global peace is also not able to be achieved universally as efforts to call for peace are inadequate as lack sufficient support from the people in the world. Thus, the ephemeral nature of peace inevitably causes global peace to be nothing but a false belief, seemingly attainable yet out of reach. How to cite Is Global Peace an Illusion, Essay examples

Why Do Some Leaders Abuse Their Power Essay Example For Students

Why Do Some Leaders Abuse Their Power Essay Introduction: There are many definitions of power. In social science it can be thought as the capacity to control or influence others by providing rewarding or administering punishment. When leaders in organizations abuse power, power will become evil or unjust. In the last decades ,the pervasiveness of ethical lapses of corporate villains has been astounding such as Unethical CEO behaviour, white-collar crime, property deviance, employee grievances and lawsuits. In this essay I will mainly focus on analysing the causes of the toxic leaders deviant behaviour, the consequences it will trigger and how should followers survive in the dilemma. It is often heard that there is a series of organizational formula or principle in the corporation,or some other institutions. For instance,managers manage subordinates and serve owners, shareholders elect their representatives to the board of directors. Winners and losers are decided by free market. All the processes are trying to show that the corporation has its reasonable principles and make us believe that the corporation is accountable and efficient. Ironically,the truth of the matter will make us disappointed with the surface of the scandals related to the prestigiouscorporations. Indeed, managers have run the show. Shareholder meetings have been well prepared ceremonies. People who have served as directors on boards have usually been friends of the boss. Proxy votes have become rituals as the result has already been foreordained. (Ralph Estes ,1995,P32)What roles are these leaders playing in the organization on earth? 1. Why do some leaders abuse their power? There are many factors interactively cause some leaders to abuse their power at risk of being guilty. There is a paradigm proposed by Stephen K. Henn in his bookBusiness Ethics which is called The fraud triangle that can briefly explain the reason why people behave badly. Opportunity Pressure Rationalization Opportunity simply means the environment element, Pressure is the trigger that causes bad behaviour, Rationalization is the core of the decision-making process when it is time for a go or no go. (Stephen K. Henn , 2009,P61) It is a good paradigm. However, I will analyse the causes in details from internal and external dimensions respectively. 1. 1 External factors 1. Environmental factors Things will not happen without external elements which are related to the environment and situation. There is an environment where there seems to be safe when you do something wrong or even illegal. It s exactly the one of the most important reasons why some leaders can abuse their power recklessly. Ethical lapses in corporate and society occur frequently. Numerous examples of ethical lapses in business and politics can be found these y ears. Martha Stewart, a US domestic style guru, was under suspicion in an inner trading scandal. Six former executives of Australian Wheat Board (AWB) were charged with a bribery of $300 million to Sandam Hussein’s Iraqi government and were likely to be fined $14. 4 million by the Australian Securities and Investments Commissions in civil proceeding as well. It seems that nobody has taken an effective action to prevent these wrongdoings. What are the factors that impede people to reveal the truth and reality? How could it be possible that the nation’s regulatory and supervision departments fail to figure out these severe problems for such a long time? What are the loopholes and inadequacies of regulatory bodies that indirectly â€Å"help† these ethical lapses? There is no simple answer to these questions,but there are several factors that creat situations in which individuals really do not know enough to take action. 1. 1. 1. 1 The diffusion of responsibility for seeing and acting. Social psychologist Bibb Latane and John Darley launched a series of experiments in which participants heard the sounds of people in distress under different conditions. The studies showed that as the number of by-standers increased,the likelihood that anyone would help decreased. i. e. eople were more likely to help when they were alone. When others are present ,people assume someone else will act. (Robert Gandossy ,Jeffrey Sonnenfeld,2004,P. 7) Moreover, projects are frequently divided to several tasks and distributed to different departments or organizations. Specific divisions only possess the information relevant to specific tasks. As a resu lt, the asymmetrical information shared by different divisions restricts people’s control and understanding of the whole picture, which makes it difficult for specialists to figure out a fraud or misconduct early or to find out enough evidence to verify the illegal activities. . 1. 1. 2 The social and organizational culture that is not supportive of whistleblowers. The courage of individuals who know about improper behaviors in organizations is challenged by the threat of harassment, rumors, slanders, relegation and even dismiss. People often find they are put in a dilemma, wandering between right and wrong. One senior executive who revealed a colleagues million-dollar fraud scheme reflects:The path I chose was brutal on my family and lost me tens thousands in income. It also meant that I’d never again work in a corporate environment. You can negotiate a golden handshake, but it doesn’t guarantee a reference. You will always see the raised eyebrow, the inflection that means well, if you want to know ( Robert Gandossy ,Jeffrey Sonnenfeld,2004,P12)Under such unfriendly environment which is full of intrigue and prejudice, with a lack of accountability and financial considerations, more and more people choose to ignore a crime. 1. 1. 1. 3 The problems of financial institutions In some cases,auditors often suspected earlier, but no investigation followed due to complexity of the accounting system and poor responsibility of auditors. Accounting system really has its weakness and those evils will exploit the loopholes to realize their personal greedy. Moreover, sometimes the financial institutions changed their position from supervising to colluding. Take an example with Enron again, you may not believe but unfortunately it is true that before Enrons collapse, senior executives at the American most prestigious financial institutions has conspired with Enrons top leaders to help them hide debt and exaggerate revenues through fictional oversea special-purpose entities. These financial institutions help create an easy way for those who want to have a good performance on book. Based on these factors,it is difficult for individuals to become a whistle blower which encourages these villains to go further. 1. 1. 2 High pressure from scorecard As we all know, corporate organization form separates ownership and control of the company, which distances shareholders from operation. Managers are charged with the responsibility for managing the business of the corporation by shareholders and should try their best to maximize the interest of shareholders. However, due to the unfair and ineffective performance judging system, managers in many organizations are clear that the only dimension on which they are being evaluated is their scorecards no matter how good the other subjective criteria are. Under the high pressure of unemployment, it can be argued that managers can pursue their own aims with impunity. The possibility arises that managers become entrenched and pursue improper goals that serve their own interest rather than the interest of shareholders as long as the numbers on their scorecards can be more â€Å"charming†. A convicted division vice president once claimed:I think we understood it was against the law, but the moral issue did not seem to be important at the time. As a(Robert Gandossy ,Jeffrey Sonnenfeld,2004,P12) result, it is more likely for managers to get caught in various misconducts and unethical lapses when the fringe benefits and promotion opportunities are directly related to these objective performance measures on the scorecards. 1. 1. 3 Organizational value system Organizational value system might be factor for the widespread of these unethical and illegal activities. Leaders of organizations have a great influence on employees’ understanding of success and attitude towards illicit behaviors. How leaders judge their subordinates’ performance will directly determine employees’ behaviors and value of worth. Leaders should clarify that profits or rate of return is not the only judgment of success. One of the largest shareholders and board members of a fortune 100 company once said:we did not do anything wrong, but it was not right either. It was wrong, but it was not purposefully wrong. (Robert Gandossy,Jeffrey Sonnenfeld. 004, P12)In this sense, benefits achieved through injustice and indecency should be strictly banned and avoided by leaders; otherwise, employees will only pursue interest by fair means or fouls, leading to various frauds, scandals, stock market manipulations, and so on. 1. 2 Internal factors 1. 2. 1 Moral sense Leaders with poor moral sense are often unethical and having poor or no social responsibility. I tota lly agree with Henry Ford’s century-old comment which is still meaningful and applicable to today’s poor moral climate:For a long time people believed that the only purpose of industry was to make a profit. Ideology and Historicism in Contemporary Literary EssayThe lack of integrity and credibility will not only cost them the trust from their partners, but also bring great damage to an organization’s reputation and benefits. To make matters worse, when they lose credibility from others because of their misconducts, they have no choice but continue to deceive for further interest, such as manipulating financial reporting by taking advantage of accounting loopholes. Self-centered leaders give priority to their own interest while ignoring the rights of shareholders, employees and customers. Their conscience has been eroded by money and power, their eyes have been blinded by greed and lust and their unethical pursuit of self-enrichment cost various companies and families incalculable loss. There were many examples to exemplify this phenomena which has been mentioned before such as Australian Wheat Board(AWB),Arthur Anderson,child labour abuse,and the disaster of 2003 crash of the space shuttle Columbia. With this kind of vicious circle,the organization will be destined to walking into the hell. 3. Followers response to leaders who abuse their power As followers , when we are controlled by leaders who abuse their power, we will find it really difficult for us to survive in the dilemma. People is not easily or even impossible to be changed, furthermore we are facing our leaders. When we have to challenge our leaders , we should identify the situation first and then decide what to do. 3. 1 Change yourself or tolerate continually If your boss is not so bad but hard to get along with due to the personality like introvert, a bit tyranny, or a little narcissism, you should adjust your mind to accustom yourself to his/her attitude since everybody has his/her own characters. But to make life easy,you should do some homework to know the boss deeper and do things in a way that he/she likes, hence you maybe get his/her trust. If it does not work, but you are comfortable with other things, you can choose to tolerate because you can not choose the leader. Albeit you can change a job, who can guarantee you a leader you like? Don t be impulsive, measure the gain and loss, then decide what to do next. 3. 2 Think about to leave It is more miserable if you serve a leader who is jealous. He/she will envy your ability, furthermore he/she will inhibit your individual development. Under the control of such kind of leader, you can not get more training and development in the organization which is not good for your future career. You should think about to find another job unless you just want this job and do not want to have further development. 3. 3 Communication is a two way process If your leader is poor at communication, there will be obstacles for you to continue your work. Maybe you can not change your leaders communication skill, however you can change your way of communication. People usually have the same reaction to what others say. Learn to think from the position of your leader, and change your way of reaction which is different from what he is imagining, it is possible for you to break the unpleasant situation and improve the communication between you two. 3. 4 Topple or leave The most serious grief is that your leader is a toxic leader who not only do things in improper or illegal way but entice you to join them as well. You will be trapped in real dilemma. These toxic leaders often promise followers the grand illusions to tempt the followers to do things which are immoral and even illegal. While we human being sometimes are vulnerable to resist the lure. As a result,the conspiracy between leaders and followers make the organization step forward to the destruction including all people involved. The real tragedy of the human condition is not that we all must die, but, rather, that we choose to live by grand illusions,rather than to face our fears. Hence, we fall into the clutches of toxic leaders who promise us the moon, knowing full well they cannot deliver. (Jean Lipman-Blumen,2005,P. 5) In reality, the moon is too far to achieve and it is not suitable for human to live on. We should identify the wrongdoing from right doing and keep ourselves cool that there is no free lunch in the world. We should say no to deviant command, otherwise we will finally culminate in tragedy. There are two basic options you can choose to escape the clutches of toxic leader, one is to capsize the leader, another is to leave. Before you decide to topple the leader you must know it is a very tough task. You need an elaborate plan and accurate documentation with supplementary and supportable data to persuade others. And you also should know the relationship between the toxic leader that you want to topple and the board members who you want to reveal the fraud to. When you find all your effort ends with nothing,you should consider the only left way that is to leave. Leaving is sometimes an rational strategy,particularly when you feel that the physical or psychological impact grows too great to bear and there is no opportunity for you to blow the whistle successfully and defeat the evil. At that time,leaving becomes the only way to preserve your integrity and protect your family, its probably the time to go. It is really a hard way for followers to go forward when their leaders indulge themselves in abusing their power. Conclusion: The organizational objective can not be achieved without power. However, organizations with leaders abusing their power are doomed to collapse . There are many challengers and temptations in the world. Whatever circumstances we are facing,we should always keep the moral code and basic values in our mindsets Once you cross the line,things are destined to be ended with tragedy. There is no fluke in the world,the truth will come up to surface sooner or later. The most safety way is that we must play all the games in principles and always remember not to cross the line. Albert Schweitzer said:You don t live in a world all your own. Your brothers are here, too. It tells us that everybody should burden the social responsibility to reward the world without which we can not live. Social organization should make an effort to stop the dysfunctional consequences of toxic leadership. It is valuable that some options are advocated by Jean Lipman-Blumenin such as term limit of leadership, Periodic 360 degree reviews of individual leaders, Respectable departure options, Open and democratic leadership selection processes, Constituencies educated to deal with their anxieties, protective mechanisms for whistle blowers. (Jean Lipman-Blumenin,2005) As followers we should have the courage to say no to those leaders who are unethical,irresponsible and abuse their powers. We should insist on principles and believe that integrity plus hard-working can conquer all dilemmas. Jon M. Huntsman ,the chairman and founder of Huntsman Corporation which is the worlds largest privately held chemical company wrote a book winners never cheat. This simple sentence tells us the unique way to achieve the perpetual success. Book References: 1. Richard L. Daft,Andrew Pirola-Merlo(2009). The leadership experience. Cengage Learning Australia 2. Robert Gandossy ,Jeffrey Sonnenfeld(Eds). (2004) Leadership and Governance from the inside out. John Wiley,Inc. 3. Jon M. Huntsamn(2009). Winners never cheat even in difficult times. Wharton School Publishing 4. Ana Maria ,David Crowther(2008). Ethics,Psyche and Responsibility. Ashgate. 5. Stephen K. Henn(2009). Business Ethics. John Wiley,Inc. 6. Robert Wearing(2005). Case in Corporate Governance. Sage publications. 7. Terry L. (2006) . Understanding Ethical Failures in Leadership. Cambridge university press 8. Vanket R Krishnan(2003). Power and moral leadership: role of self-other agreement. MCB UP Ltd. 9. Ralph Estes(1995) ,TYRANNY OF THE BOTTOM LINE why Corporations Make Good People Do bad Things,Berrett-Koehler Publishers. 10. Bob Johansen,2009,Leaders make the future . Berrett-Koehler Publishers Electronic References: . Kellerman, B. (2004). Bad Leadership: What It Is, How It Happens, Why it Matters. Retrieved March31 2010 from Harvard Business School www. hbsp. harvard. edu/ 2. Kimberly Alyn(2005). Top 10 signs of a bad supervisor. Retrieved April 2,2010,from www. Kimberly Alyn. com 3. Jean Lipman-Blumen(2005). The Allure of Toxic Leaders: Why Followers Rarely Escape Their Clutches. Retrieved April 2 2010, from www. iveybusinessjournal. com Website references: 1. http://www. enron. com 2. http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Narcissism 3. http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Power_(philosophy)