Mintzberg and Management Essay Example for Free

Mintzberg and Management Essay Throughout the 20th century a strong focus was placed on the principles behind management with Henri Fayols 1916 publication Administration Industrielle et Gà ©nà ©rale being one of the first books aimed solely at deciphering and understanding the intricate concepts of management. In his book Fayol presents his classical model of management from the perspective on an executive. Fayol lists and discusses fourteen principles of management which, although non-exhaustive, provides a guide on the execution of what he proposed to be the five elemental processes of management. These five primary processes consisted of planning, organizing, commanding, coordinating and controlling which advocated Fayols support of a dynamic system of management. In response to changing contexts, other new theories have been placed forward by other distinguished academia such as Henry Mintzberg (1973), John Kotter (1982) and C.P. Hales (1986) which offer more concurrent perspectives on the concept of management. Born in 1841 Henri Fayol had, after a three decade career as a mining practitioner, committed himself to the promotion of his theories on administration in 1916 through the publication of his book Administration Industrielle et Gà ©nà ©rale up until his death in 1925. Contextually influenced by the bourgeois environment of a post revolutionized France, Fayol advocated the notion of a flexible system of management which could be applied to more than just one setting. In his book, Fayol devotes more time and focuses on the five processes of management in contrast to the fourteen management principles as claimed by (Fells, M.J., 2000, p. 358). The first element, planning, is defined â€Å"both to assess the future and make provision for it† (Fayol, 1949, p.43). He goes on to describe that this dynamic plan must take into account a list of factors such as resources, work-in-progress, and future trends. Organizing considers the functional components of organizations along with the personnel and discusses the ideal conditions required of them. Commanding considers the responsibility that falls on every manager. The goal of managers is to achieve maximum contribution from personnel towards the welfare of the company through a number of factors. An example of these factors would be elimination of the unproductive, having a thorough knowledge of personnel and their respective binding agreements and an aim to be a role model. The third element of  management is coordinating which is defined as the harmonisation of resources in their optimum proportions in order to achieve results (Fayol, 1949, p. 103). The indicators of a well coordinated organization include efficient departments which harmonize well with the rest, are well informed of their responsibilities and also work to constantly adjusted schedules based on circumstantial demands. The last element, control, focuses on the timely verification of plan implementations. This element is applicable to all the other processes and its sole purpose is to identify any complications, amend any issues and prevent future recurrences. Due to their flexibility in implementation, the correlation between the introduction of Fayols model and the sharp rise in US productivity levels as well as living standards supports his approach to management (Fells, M.J., 2000, p. 348). Fayols approach is supported by another academic source (Hales, 1989, p. 12) which claims that â€Å"Fayol grasped the essence of management† through his classical formulation of the management functions. In 1973, Henry Mintzberg provided a new conceptualization about the roles of managers through his book The Nature of Managerial Work. Through his composition Mintzberg proposed and argued that the previously accepted role of managers which adhered to a systematic approach of planning, organizing, coordinating, leading and controlling were in fact false as through his diary analysis, Mintzberg was able to demonstrate that â€Å"the manager is not a planner in a reflective sense, and no amount of admonition in the literature will make him so. His milieu is stimulus-response.† (Mintzberg, 1973, p. 182). By performing an unstructured observation and interview procedure over a two week period, Mintzberg concluded the activities of his study managers could be categorized into three sets of behaviors or roles. He conceptualized these clusters of roles as: interpersonal, informational and decisions (Pearson et al, 2003, p. 696). Mintzberg also recognizes that all managers at some time exercise each of these rules but also that different levels of managers will give different priorities to them (Mumford, 1988, p. 3). In terms of contemporary management, Fayol and Mintzberg have contributed greatly to the understanding regarding the concept of management. However  both authors are not exempt from criticisms regarding their approaches. Fayols approach is widely considered to be too theoretical whilst Mintzbergs approach has been criticized for not being theoretical enough. Despite their differences in approach, fundamentally the two theories not only share the same elements under the guise of differently labelled terms, they compliment each other in terms of validity due to the strong correlation between results regarding the behaviour of managerial positions. (Fells, M.J., 2000, p. 359) supports this judgement as the journalist goes on to state that not only are Fayols principles still relevant, they are interrelated at an elemental level with the model of Mintzberg. (Lamond, 2004, p. 350) reinforces this argument through study conducted on a large sample of male and female managers of different ages and at different managerial levels. Not only did the survey confirm that there were indeed a central set of manager functions, as placed forward by Fayol, there were also a generic set of managerial behaviours as proposed by Mintzberg. In concluding despite their contextual differences, Henri Fayols Administration Industrielle et Gà ©nà ©rale and Henry Mintzbergs The Nature of Managerial Work fundamentally share the same innate elements. This is supported by the results which derived from studies conducted by academic sources such as (Lamond, 2004) as well as the research by other academic sources (Fells, M.J. 2000), (Pearson et al, 2003), (Hales, 1989) and (Mumford, 1988). Subsequently both approaches are considered valid and have without a doubt contributed greatly to contemporary management theory. Bibliography Fells, M.J. 2000 â€Å"Fayol stands the test of time.† Journal of Management History, vol 6, no.8, 345-360 Lamond, D. 2004, â€Å"A matter of style: reconciling Henri and Henry.† Management Decision, vol. 42, no.2 p. 330-356 Pearson, C.A.L. And Chatterjee, S.R. 2003, â€Å"Managerial work roles in Asia. An empirical study of Mintzbergs role formulation in four Asian countries.† Journal of Management Development, vol. 22, no. 8 p. 694-707 Hales, C. 1989, â€Å"Management Processes, Management Divisions of Labour and Managerial Work: Towards a Synthesis.† International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, vol. 9, no. 5/6, p. 9-38 Mumford, A. 1988, â€Å"What Managers Really Do† Management Decision, vol. 26, no. 5, p. 28-30

Tin :: essays research papers

Tin Tin's discoverer is unknown but one thing is known. Tin has been used and discovered by the ancients. Tin was an accidental discovery. Tin has been around for many years. Proof is in the fact that tin is mentioned in the old testament of the bible. Tin had a great effect on the world because of its low price, high electric conductivity, and because tin protects against rust and weak acids in food if the can is made out of tin instead of aluminum. Some common compounds of tin are organtin a combination of carbon and tin. When tin is formed with carbon to make organtin it can make more than 500 organtin compounds. These compounds are used in everyday things. One is toothpaste containers and also are things such as wood, paper, textile, farm sprays, and Hospital disinfectants. To get pure tin you must first find ore cassiterite or tin stone, a dioxide of tin. The ore cassiterite before smelting and roasting must be crushed into a powder to remove the arsenic and sulfur from the ore cassiterite. When you smelter the tin you must heat it with carbon to remove the zinc, copper, bismuth, and iron from the tin. Tin had been used for many things but tins use is dropping rapidly although tin is still used a lot for plating. Plating such things as electical contacts. Tin is also used as a protective coating. This protective coating can be as small as 15/1,000,000 of an inch. This protective coating protects against rust on steel and other metals. A coating of tin also gives a great look to plain old steel. Tin cans for food prevents weak acids from damaging the inside of the can. Not many cans are made of tin since aluminum started to be used for cans tins use dropped sharply. Tin is also used to coat staples, pins, bronze bell, pewter pitchers and many others things. Another popular tin mixture is tin and lead. Tin and lead make solder for electric work. Battery contacts in the Black and Decker snake lights are also tin plated. A compound tin salt is used to spray onto glass windows to produce electrically conductive coating for panel lighting and frost free windshields for cars. One last use for tin is in the making of glass windows that are made by floating molten glass on molten tin. This produces a flat piece of glass to be used as a windows. Industries basically only use tin for plating for electricity or for protection on there metals such as tin. Tin is found in Molaya, Bolivia, Indonesia, Zaire, Thailand, Nigeria, but

Children with Linguistic Differences Essay

In today’s classroom, it is common to have a student who speaks English as a second language. The teachers today should have knowledge of linguistic diversity and apply what they know to assist those children. According to our text, language is one of the aspects that define diversity and it is one of the fundamental tools of cultural acquisition and a part of a child’s cultural identity (Robles de Melendez & Beck, 2009). As educators, we must assure those children who speak English as a second language have the same education as English speaking children. In a child’s learning environment, no matter what language that child speaks, they should be comfortable and familiar with the things that surround them. It is important to label a child’s environment with the different languages that the children speak in the classroom. If a child’s native language is Spanish, French or German, there should be a corresponding labels in that language on shelves, tables, toys and doors. Other materials that is used in a classroom that assist with linguistic diversity is age appropriate books, printed materials such as newspapers, flyers and signs in different languages and music from diverse cultures (Robles de Melendez, 2009). When you have a classroom of different languages, it is necessary to understand what is going on in the children’s mind as you speak a language that they are not familiar or comfortable with. We need to understand, expect, and feel comfortable with the natural responses (e. g. laughter, first language use, silence and fatigue) that occur when our students participate in interactions in which they are not completely proficient in their language (Curran, 2003). Teachers should respect the fact that students that are English Language Learners or ELL may want to speak their native language. It could get frustrating at first trying to learn and understand what they are saying but it is the say when the tables are turned and the student get frustrated when they do not understand what the teacher is saying. Individual lesson plans can be used to connect with a child and build their language skills. Themed lesson plans also help children connect with their own language. In any classroom, educators must not assume what a child knows or what they need to know. Assessments must be done to know what steps are needed to teach the children in the class. This is especially important when you have children with linguistic diversity. Teachers of young children in today’s diverse classrooms need to confirm that their teaching strategies meet the needs of their students (Robles de Melendez & Beck, 2009). To make sure that the teachers are getting the right information, the classroom should be assessed for linguistic diversity. Some ways to do this is to talk to the parents and family members, doing observations of bilingual interactions and using questionnaires and surveys. Once you know what kind of diversity you have in the classroom, then the classroom should be analyzed to figure out how to teach the students. This is done by assessing the topics that are taught, how they are taught and what resources are used to teach. It is important to maintain open communication with the child’s parents and families. We as educators should not try to eliminate the child’s first language but preserve it and assist them with the second language. Through different activities geared towards a child’s first language will help keep the child culture meaningful. Parent can assist by singing songs in their native language or just playing games that are native to their country. Continue to invite the families into the program to allow them to share their experiences with the classroom and this would help the children and families feel welcomed. There are two typed of knowledge that is necessary to teach linguistic diversity and they are the knowledge of practices of second language acquisition and the knowledge of cultural ideas. Having the mere knowledge of how important it is to preserve the first language and acquire the second language and knowing a little something about the culture that is being taught. As early childhood educators, it must be understood that the role that language plays in the life of a child vital to their learning environment. It is important that children with linguistic differences be supported. Through the classroom environment, experiences, assessments, keeping an open communication with the parents and the information that the teacher knows, the children will be able to get the best education not matter whether English is their first or second language.

Poetry as a Reflection of The Inner Being - 1969 Words

Alfred Tennyson gifted the Victorian Era, and the literary world with two iconic poems. The author explored the themes of personal development and culture clash in one of his most famous poems, â€Å"Ulysses†. Tennyson also discovered and analyzed the themes of love and death through his renowned and eminent poem, â€Å"Tears Idle, Tears†. The poet was born in Somersby, Lincolnshire in 1809 in the East Lindy district of England. Tennyson experienced numerous amounts of difficulties in his childhood and growing adolescent phases that spilled into his adult life. These trials and tribulations became a foundation and source of inspiration for Tennyson, who used them as a stimulus and catalyst to aide his literary progress and ideas. Two of the most†¦show more content†¦Thirdly, although Tennyson was â€Å"engaged to Emily Sell-wood†¦the condition of his health resulted in their separation† (Napierkowski and Rose 273). The poet is unable to maintain rel ationships even with his fiancà ©, which drives him to dissect the ideas of love and death in his poems. But the negative brought a sliver of positive, â€Å"without the anguish at the loss of a friend, Tennyson would have never written†¦his greatest poem† (Padgett 93). This validates that the author’s life experiences contributed to his writings, and were implanted into his tone, themes, words and stylistic decisions. His characters can also be seen as a mirror reflection of Tennyson’s deeper and underlying being. Overall Tennyson was a perfect mold to the ideals and thoughts of society in the Victorian Era. He opposed the new scientific knowledge that created a drift from traditionalism. He was rooted in the old-style, organic beliefs that the Victorian era was ferociously trying to preserve, as new technology and scientific inventions and theories were being developed. The Victorian era was characterized by many â€Å"qualities such as smugness, narrow mindedness, bourgeoisie, materialism, faith in social progress and priggish morality† (Galens 380). Society maintained a sense of pride and confidence in themselves. These ideals can be witnessed in Tennyson’s poems which are a â€Å"†¦typical example of Victorian smugness† (Bloom 20). A sense of smugness is also paralleledShow MoreRelatedThe Confessional Mode Of Poetry Essay1454 Words   |  6 Pages During the late 1950s and early 1960s, the confessional mode of poetry, coined by M.L. Rosenthal in 1959, emerg ed in the United States as a reaction to New criticism and Modernism, the dominant literary theories at that time. This mode of writing worked as â€Å"a model for poets who chose to reject modernist difficulty and new critical complexity in favor of a more relaxed or personal voice† and gave them the opportunity to â€Å"articulate feelings , thoughts and emotions that challenged the decorumRead MoreThroughout History, Poetry Has Evolved To Fit The Needs1515 Words   |  7 PagesThroughout history, poetry has evolved to fit the needs of the poet. Typically, scholars categorize writings in time periods that often reflect similar ideals between writers. The Age of the Romantics, can be viewed as a literary movement in which writers appear to have a similar driving force behind writing. Two important authors during this Age of the Romantics are William Wordsworth and William Blake. Although both Blake and Wordsworth are considered to be writers from the Romantic literary peri odRead MoreAmerican Romanticism : The Highest Expression Of Imagination1721 Words   |  7 Pagesfeeling and intuition over reason, placing faith in inner experience and the power of imagination, preferring youthful innocence over educated sophistication, finding beauty and reality in exotic locales. It encouraged people to enjoy the integrity of nature and freedom of imagination. It also encouraged one to have faith in imagination and inner experience. In addition, romanticists found inspiration in myth, legend, and folk culture and found poetry as the highest expression of imagination. RomanticistsRead MoreThe Poetry of Sylvia Plath734 Words   |  3 PagesSylvia Plaths poetry roots from her harsh life long battle with heart break, death, and depression. It is clear by her work, that life was a daily struggle for this poet. In the research of her poetry, i found one poem in particular that really interested me. My main focus was the poem Mirror. The narrator of this poem is a wa ll mirror. At first glance, the mirror appears to be human, based off of its qualities and descriptions. The mirror has the ability to recognize things, such as the smallRead MoreWordsworth And Shelley s On Powers And Illusions Of The Inner Imaginative Life1350 Words   |  6 Pagescentre of life and social importance. An important aspect of Romanticism: its emphasis upon the power and terrors of the inner imaginative life (Watson, 2012, p. 1). The Prelude celebrates Wordsworth s life retained through memories and with the act of remembering, depicting emotions and experiences. Whereas, Shelley and the Ode to the West Wind engaged his audience with inner and outer lives situations, ideas and elements of nature that represent his own position and ideas. 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All these observations are made as metaphors as opposed to similes, forcing the reader to consider each point as being the same thing as that which it is being compared to. In doing so, the reader is actually is involved in surmising the meaning of the passage through the metaphor, in collaboration with the author (Hirsch). This allows the reader to have a deeper connection with theRead MoreAmerican Authors Research Project: Emily Dickinson644 Words   |  3 Pagesreturned to the family homestead to live a reclusive life (Emily np). Because of this she was able to compile over 40 hand bound books with roughly 1800 poems in them, reflecting much of her inner feelings and somewhat dark side. Emily Dickinson changed the literary world in bringing about a new style, and being one of the first to be considered a realist, even though she wrote towards the end of the Romantic Movement (Poets np). She took some elements from one era to shape a completely new one. UnfortunatelyRead MoreUnde rstanding Poetry By Robert Penn Warren And Cleanth Brooks1400 Words   |  6 PagesAs defined by Robert Penn Warren and Cleanth Brooks in his book ‘Understanding Poetry’ published in 1978, â€Å"poetry is a kind of saying. It is a kind that many people, until they become well acquainted with it, feel is rather peculiar and even useless. They feel this way for two reasons: the â€Å"way of saying† and the â€Å"nature of the said.† As for the way of saying, the strongly marked rhythms, the frequent appearance of rhyme, and the figurative language may seem odd and distracting; and as for the â€Å"natureRead MoreMetaphysical Poetry of John Donne1441 Words   |  6 PagesNovember 1, 2012 Literary Analysis of John Donne This examination of John Donne’s metaphysical poetry includes analysis of Donne’s use of topic, structure, scansion, style and theme. 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Betrayal Exposed in Vietnam Perkasie, By Ehrhart Essay

The Vietnam War was a controversial conflict that plagued the United States for many years. The loss of life caused by the war was devastating. For those who came back alive, their lives were profoundly changed. The impact the war had on servicemen would affect them for the rest of their lives; each soldier may have only played one small part in the war, but the war played a huge part in their lives. They went in feeling one way, and came home feeling completely different. In the book Vietnam Perkasie, W.D. Ehrhart describes his change from a proud young American Marine to a man filled with immense confusion, anger, and guilt over the atrocities he witnessed and participated in during the war. Growing up, Ehrhart lived in a small town†¦show more content†¦Ehrhart thought â€Å"what more noble a cause can a man die for, than to die in defense of freedom† (Ehrhart, 9). He wanted to help his country and help the rid Vietnam of the growing communist regime. When he first arrived in Vietnam, Ehrhart was solicitous to see combat. He would prefer combat over the monotonous routine he was restricted to on the Marine compound. Life in war was completely unlike anything he experienced before, but he became accustomed to it. Even after being there, he felt he was fighting for a good cause. He detested the hippies back home who abhorrently demonstrated against the war. He would angrily exclaim, â€Å"We’re over here getting our asses shot off defending them, and what do we get for it? Goddamn traitors† (Ehrhart, 54). He felt the Americans were truly helping the Vietnamese people and could not understand why anyone would be opposed to such a cause. Though he was proud to be a Marine, he soon began witnessing morally heinous acts by his peers. His first introduction to the brutality that was occurring in Vietnam were small instances of civilians being beaten or kicked around. He regularly saw civilians brutally tied up and tossed around as if they were mere possessions and not human beings. His fellow Marines would kick and beat these people, and he saw no good reason for these actions. He quickly learned he was supposed to remain reticent about these

Essay about Business Research Task Coca-Cola Amatil

Business Research Task: Coca-Cola Amatil Employees are the most beneficial assets that a business can have. Without staff a business, essentially, would be unable to operate. Therefore it is of vital importance to maintain a highly efficient relationship between employers and employees. This is carried out through Employment Relations. Effective and efficient employment relations in a specific organisation should be shown through; good work performance, job satisfaction amongst employees, low levels of absenteeism and low levels of staff turnover. As these goals are met so will the level of effectiveness of a business’ employment relations be determined. Coca-Cola Amatil independently manufactures own soft drinks, it is the†¦show more content†¦There are two types of rewards; monetary and non-monetary. Monetary rewards consist of things like pay, bonuses, profit sharing, share bonus schemes and fringe benefits. Whereas non-monetary rewards include positive feedback, employee of the month awards, certificates of appreciation and promotion. Rewards systems should include the following to insure fairness to all parties; show respect for individuals, operate with procedures that are fair to everyone and to be plain and blunt about the basis of decision making. Rewards aim to motivate staff and draw high-quality employees. Wages and salaries tend to be the main monetary reward offered at CCA. But they also include offers of retirement benefits and superannuation that are over the legal minimum, this is seen as an attractive quality in potential staff. As an addition, managers are known to receive yearly bonuses, share options and fringe benefits as rewards for good performance. Non-monetary rewards given at CCA comprise of company cars, promotion, flexible work hours, holiday leave [again, above and beyond that of the minimum legal requirement, and implements that aim to keep high levels of productivity an morale in the workplace. [Business Studies HSC Course Second Edition, 2004] At CCAShow MoreRelatedCross Cultural Practices And Internationalization1586 Words   |  7 Pages CROSS-CULTURAL PRACTICES AND INTERNATIONALIZATION The Case of Coca Cola Amatil â€Æ' Table of Contents Introduction 2 Overview of the Company 3 Results of the Survey 4 â€Å"14 Principles† at the Company 4 Internationalization and Sustainability 7 Cross-Cultural Awareness Policies of the Company 9 Impact of Policies on Management Processes 11 Strengths and Weaknesses of the Company 12 Discussion and Analysis of the Company 13 Roles and Responsibilities of Top, Middle and First-Line Managers 13 Process andRead MoreBusiness Premises Of The Company1335 Words   |  6 PagesBusiness Premises Calypso Pty Ltd – a manufacturing and distributing company based in Perth Western Australia- has created a new energy drink titled ‘Alive’. 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Claudius Hamlet (2681 words) Essay Example For Students

Claudius Hamlet (2681 words) Essay Claudius HamletClaudius Hamlet,would the inhumane and sick character please step forth. Upon reading the sampling of Hamlet criticismsin John Jumps Hamlet (Selections) I disagreed with a few of the critics,but my analysis was the most different from Wilson Knights interpretation. He labels Hamlet as a sick, cynical, and inhumane prince (Jump, 124)who vitiated a Denmark which was one of healthy and robust life, good-nature,humor, romantic strength, and welfare. In his book, The Wheel of Fire,he continues this line of thought to conclude that Claudius is a goodand gentle king, enmeshed by the chain of causality linking him with hiscrime. And this chain he might, perhaps, have broken except for Hamlet(Jump, 125). Although Knights views of Hamlet and Claudiusare almost the extreme opposite of my interpretation, I understand howhe developed this interpretation. Hamlet becomes sick and cynical afterthe death of his father, whom he greatly admired, and the hasty remarriageof his mother to his uncle. Hamlet thinks his father was an excellentking, who loved his mother so much that he may might not beteem the windsof heaven/ Visit her face to roughly (I, ii, 140-141). However, his mothermourned for a little month and then she married a man who was no morelike father/ Than to Hercules (I, ii, 153-152). These extraordinaryevents cause him to launch into a state of melancholy and depression inwhich he desires that this too too solid flesh would melt (I, ii, 129). In this melancholy, Hamlet loses becomes disenchanted with life, and tohim the world seems weary, stale, flat, and unprofitable (I, ii, 133). Later in the most famous of his soliloquys, Hamlet contemplates committingsuicide because he is troubled by the slings and arrows of outrageousfortune (III, i, 58). His disinterest for life, and his wishes for deathare a definite indications of Hamlets sickness. Hamlets sickness is also shown throughhis strong relationship, bordering on obsession, with his mother. Throughoutthe play he constantly worries about her, and becomes angry when thinkingof her relationship with Claudius. In his first soliloquy, Hamlet becomesenraged when he thinks about her incestuous sheet, and in frustrationhe makes the irrational generalization that, Frailty, thy name is woman!(I, ii, 146). In the closet scene, Hamlet treats his mother cruelly, andhe accuses her of being involved in the plot to kill his father. Once again,he dwells on her enseamd bed/ Stewd in corruption (III, iv, 92-93). In his parting words to Gertrude, Hamlet instructs her to not let thebloat king tempt you again to his bed. (III, iv, 182). He is overly concernedwith his mothers relationship with Claudius, and this is just a part ofhis complex sickness. Wilson Knight also claims that Hamlet isinhumane. This is clearly demonstrated through his relationship withthe fair Ophelia. Hamlet originally professes his love for Ophelia duringhis visitations to her closet, and through the love letter which he writesto her. However, during the nunnery scene, when Ophelia tries to returnHamlets gifts, he retorts I never gave you aught, (III, i, 97) and hegoes on to tell her, I loved you not (III, i, 119). Later in this scenehe tells Ophelia that she should go to a nunnery. He viciously insultsthe women whom he said he loved, and this greatly disturbs her. DuringThe Mousetrap, Hamlet once again has no regard for Ophelias feelings,and he mocks her by putting his head in her lap and bantering with her. Hamlet is also responsible for the death of Ophelias father, Polonius. In the closet scene, Hamlet mistook her father for the king, and he fatallystabbed him. Gertrude called this a rash and bloody deed (III, iii, 27). He later shows that he has no remorse for this inhumane actions when hetells Claudius that Polonius is at suppernot where he eats, but wherehe is eaten (IV, ii, 18-20).Hamlets harsh and cruel treatment of Opheliaand his murder of her father lead to the madness which eventually overtookher. She became distraught by Hamlets rejection and the death of her father. This madness caused her to commit suicide by jumping from the bridge. Therefore,Hamlet can be held responsible for her death. If he hadnt treated herin such a cruel manner, her life would not have ended so soon. Hamlet also reveals an inhumane and cynicalside at the grave scene. When Laertes proclaims his love for Ophelia andhis sorrow for her death, Hamlet rushes from his concealment and jumpsinto the grave after Laertes. Hamlet insults Laertes when he states, Fortythousand brothers/ Could not, with all their quantity of love,/ Make upmy sum (V, i, 234-236). He is so cynical that he doubts that Laertes issincere, even though there is no proof that Laertes is not being perfectlyhonest. His concern for his sister was shown when he gives her brotherlyadvice before he goes away. At the funeral when the priest implies thatOphelia should be buried in ground unsanctified have logd, (V, i, 239)Laertes protests, and he claims that Ophelia shall become a ministeringangel (V, i, 251). Hamlet had no right to doubt Laertes and to challengehim at this time of great grief, but Hamlet has become so cynical thathe has no regards for Laertes, and he intervenes and causes a fight. Wilson Knight also states that Denmarkwas place of healthy and robust life, good-nature, humour, romantic strength,and welfare (Jump, 125). The two clowns of act five, scene one displaythe general welfare of the state. The clowns, as in most Shakespeareanplays, are symbols of the common people of the land. When we first encounterthe clowns they are discussing the circumstances of Ophelias death, butthey soon begin to joke with each other in a merry fashion, and the FirstClown tells the Second Clown a joke. Later in the scene, the First Clownengages into his work and he sings an amusing song. This indicates thatthe common people are relatively satisfied, and they are in the positionwhere they can appreciate humor and find some enjoyment from their lives. The Koch Snowflake Sample EssayHamlet is not being inhumane. He is cruel to Ophelia because he believesthat she is collaborating with Polonius to spy on him, and is trying todeceive Polonius into thinking that he is mad. Knight also claims thathe treats Getrude cruelly, but he must be cruel only to be kind (III,iv, 178). He is concerned that his mother will die in sin, and be stuckin purgatory along with his true father. In order to prevent this, Hamlettries to make her see her wrong doings, and the only way to go about thiswas to act harshly. Another point to counter Knights claimthat Hamlet is inhumane is the Princes relationship with the scholar Horatio. Horatio is Hamlets friend from Wittenberg who comes to Elsinore to seeOld Hamlets funeral. He is a noble stoic who is by far the most pure characterin the play. Horatio is one of the few characters who never tries to deceiveanyone, and who doesnt get involved in any crooked plots. Before the Mousetrap,Hamlet calls Horatio as just a man/ As eer conversation copd withal(III, ii, 55-56). This connection between Hamlet and Horatio is so strongthat at the end of the play when Hamlet is dying, Horatio is moved to attemptsuicide because he is more an antique Roman than a Dane (V, ii, 345). The strong connection between Horatio and Hamlet is important because thepure and wise Horatio would not associate himself with a a sick, cynical,and inhumane prince. This is further evidence which casts doubt upon Knightsanalysis of Hamlet. Wilson Knight also suggests that the stateof Denmark is one of healthy and robust life, good-nature, humor, romanticstrength, and welfare. (Jump, 125). However, there are a great deal oftextual evidence which indicates that this is an incorrect conclusion. When Bernardo and Francisco are keeping guard, Francisco notes that tisbitter cold,/ And I am sick at heart (I, i, 7-8). The guards are representativeof the common people of Denmark, and his comment can be interpreted thatthe entire state of Denmark is sick at heart due to the recent death ofOld Hamlet and Claudius ascension to the thrown. Upon seeing the ghostof Old Hamlet, Horatio comments, This bodes some strange eruption to ourstate (I, i, 69). Even the scholar who was hesitant to believe in ghostsis now convinced that Denmark is headed for trouble. After the ghost makeshis second appearance, Marcellus notes, Something is rotten in the stateof Denmark (I, iv, 90). Theses observations in the first act are clearindications that Denmark has transformed into a state of chaos. The most glaring weakness of Wilson Knightsinterpretation of Hamlet is his conclusion that Claudius is a good andgentle king, enmeshed by the chain of causality linking him with his crime(Jump, 125). Knight dismisses the murder of Old Hamlet too easily. As JohnJump states, Claudius was no impulsive offender, suddenly acting our ofcharacter. He deliberately and treacherously poisoned his mistresss husband,a man who was his brother and his king (Jump, 125). Claudius is saddledwith the responsibility for the murder of Old Hamlet, but he does not evenconsider repenting until the he realizes that Hamlet is planning to seekrevenge. However, when he thinks about repent, he wonders May one be pardondand retain the offence? (III, iii, 67). Claudius sees the benefits ofrepenting, yet he does not want to give up the prizes of his sin. Ultimately,Claudius rises and his thoughts remain below even though his words flyup (III, iii, 98-99). The King is unable to repent because his prayersare insince re. Is this a good and gentle king?Not only is Claudius unable to repent,but throughout the play he is extremely manipulative of many of the othercharacters. When Laertes challenges that Claudius is responsible for themadness of his sister and the death of his father, Claudius deftly avoidsthe situation, and he forms an alliance with Laertes. Claudius suggeststhat Laertes uses, A sword unbated, and, in a pass of practice/ Requite for your father (IV, vii, 137-138). Cladius further thickensthe plot by adding that he will prepare a chalice for the nonce, whereon but sipping/ If he by chance escapes venomd stuck,/ purpose may hold there (IV, vii, 159-161). Claudius engineers this viciousplot, and it results in the death of Laertes, Hamlet, and Gertrude. Duringhis reign the kind and gentle King concocted a plot which resulted inthe death of three members of the Danish royalty, he murdered his brother,the former King of Denmark, and entered into an incestuous relationshipwith his brothe rs wife. While constructing Wilson Knights argument,I gained a full understanding of how he derived his interpretation of theplay, and I began to support his interpretation. However, as I began todeconstruct his argument, I realized that there are many weaknesses tohis interpretation, and I realized the strengths of my interpretation. This is the challenge of literature. It can be interpreted in so many differentmanners, and at times the vastly different interpretations can greatlyconfuse students. It is the students responsibility to take criticismsinto consideration, but to derive their own unique interpretation basedupon their studies.