The Kite Runner and a Thousand Splendid Suns Essay

Khaled Hosseini’s novels, The Kite Runner (year), and A Thousand Splendid Suns (2007) both explore the idea that a significant individual can inspire a course of action, which may result in a change of self. In the novel The Kite Runner, the protagonist, Amir, is a young boy growing up in a well off family in Kabul, Afghanistan. Amir’s closest friend is Hassan, the son of his family’s beloved servant. Amir’s self image at the beginning of the novel is one in which he views himself as a coward, worthless and selfish. â€Å"I had one last chance to make a decision. One final opportunity to decide who I was going to be. I could step into that alley, stand up for Hassan – the way he’d stood up for me all those times in the past – and accept†¦show more content†¦This change is a positive and uplifting change of self for the protagonist in this novel. In the novel A Thousand Splendid Suns, the protagonist, Mariam also undergoes a positive change of self. This change is also similarly a positive and uplifting change. Mariam personality shifts from being one that lacks self esteem, confidence and courage, similarly to Amir at a younger age; to one with courage, confidence, strength and heroism, similarly to Amir in his older age. This is change is due to a significant individual in Mariam’s life, Laila, who inspires and encourages her greatly to achieve this change. Her original personality is exemplified in the fact that Mariam lives in fear of Rasheed, â€Å"his shifting moods, his volatile temperament, his insistence on steering even mundane exchanges down a confrontational path that, on occasion, he would resolve with punches, slaps, kicks, and sometimes try to make amends for with polluted apologies and sometimes not.† The listing of Rasheed’s personality traits emphasises Mariam’s fear of him and th e constant abuse that she deals with. Rasheed’s power is shown in the words â€Å"sometimes not† emphasising that she means nothing to him, contributing to her low self esteem. Her change in self is evident towards the end of the novel were we see a final change of self in Mariam. She decided for the first time in her life to do something that no one has told her or forced her to do. â€Å"She turned it so the sharpShow MoreRelatedA Thousand Splendid Suns And The Kite Runner3258 Words   |  14 PagesAfghani descent, Khalad Hosseini the author of two heart touching and utterly amazing stories, has watched his people suffer, die and fight miserably for their freedom. He expresses his sorrow and love for his country in his writings A Thousand Splendid Suns and The Kite Runner. He explores the values of the Afghan society. Through his works, the readers have a sense of understanding of the exotic and rich culture that exists in Afghanistan. Hosseini expresses through hi s writing, the beautiful cultureRead MoreAnalysis Of The Kite Runner And A Thousand Splendid Suns1047 Words   |  5 Pagesfrom the Author: This story is based on the novels, The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns, by Khaled Hosseini. Set in Kabul, Afghanistan, both stories revolve around the country’s political struggles. In The Kite Runner, Sohrab, the child of Hassan and Farzana, is placed in an orphanage, run by Zaman, after his parents are killed. In the same orphanage that Aziza, daughter of Laila, one of the protagonists of A Thousand Splendid Suns, is left at. Aziza was placed in the orphanage because herRead MoreKhaled Hosseini is the Man Who Makes a Difference with His Novels808 Words   |  4 Pagesabout it. Usually people believe the media’s information that conveys about Afghanistan as a poverty place but does not specify why they live in this conditions and how those states affect their everyday life. In the two novels The Kite Runner and A Thousa nd Splendid Suns, the author Khaled Hosseini wrote the political events that happen in Afghanistan and show how those events affected Afghans’ lives in order to show his personal values of political events and humanitarianism. Khaled Hosseini usesRead MoreKhaled Hossieni s The Kite Runner1433 Words   |  6 Pagesmedicine in the private sector in 1996. (britannica.com) The Kite Runner was his first novel and he had the idea to write a novel while still practicing medicine in 2001 and then published The Kite Runner in 2003. Initially, he wrote a light twenty five page short story about boys in Kabul flying kites after being inspired from a news story about the Taliban and all the limitations they placed on people, it said that they even banned the sport of kite running. That struck a personal chord for Hossieni asRead MoreComparing A Thousand Splendid Sons and The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini1945 Words   |  8 Pageslifetime†¦Ã¢â‚¬  –Khaled Hosseini. The comp arison between the novel, A Thousand Splendid Sons, and movie, The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini is inevitable. In both cases, each character goes through changes, leaving what was once a part of their daily routines just a memory. The Kite Runner is a movie about friendship, betrayal, and the price of loyalty. It is about the bonds between fathers and sons, and the power of their lies. A Thousand Splendid Suns is an outstanding, heart-wrenching novel of an unforgivingRead MoreEssay on A Womans Place: The Kite Runner934 Words   |  4 PagesThroughout Khaled Hosseini’s novel, The Kite Runner, the reader observes many injustices committed due to the presence of the Taliban and cultural conflict in Afghanistan. One of the most concerning issues in Afghanistan is the mistreatment and inequality that women face on a daily basis due to Taliban mandates. Women in Afghanistan are treated as inferior beings to men and are unable to stand up for themselves due the laws the Taliban e nforces. Hosseini uses the wives of Amir and Hassan, SorayaRead More1000 Splendid suns1913 Words   |  8 Pages A Thousand Splendid Suns Research Paper The People of Afghanistan have struggled with invaders in there country for many decades. The intrusion of the soviets in 1979 was the first intrusion on the Afghan people. Many people were affected by the manifestation of the soviets and either ran away or lived in fear and war. Luckily, famous author Khaled Hosseini and his family were moved out of Kabul a few years before the Soviets invaded. Khaled Hosseini and his novel, A Thousand Splendid Suns, showsRead MoreRoad to Redemption1823 Words   |  8 Pagesin Khaled Hosseini’s first novel, The Kite Runner, but also a reoccurring theme in his second novel, A Thousand Splendid Suns. Through the comparison of his two novels, the characters ultimately struggle to find their personal road to redemption. The protagonist of The Kite Runner, Amir returns to Afghanistan to redeem himself of a memory that has been haunting him for the past twenty-six years by saving his half-nephew, Sohrab. In A Thousand Splendid Suns, Mariams ende avors to be redeemed areRead MoreThe Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini977 Words   |  4 Pagesreleased his book called â€Å"The Kite Runner†. The book opened to widespread critical acclaim and strong commercial success worldwide. And for this kind of novel he received Alex Award, Boeke Prize, ALA Notable Book and a lot of other prestigious awards. He has then authored several other books in his career. There was no turning back for Khaled Hosseini after his first breakthrough because he yet again produced a masterpiece in 2007 with the book â€Å"A Thousand Splendid Suns†. The book has been his mostRead MoreAnalysis Of A Thousand Splendid Suns1570 Words   |  7 Pages A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini is a powerful and moving piece of fiction literature. Khaled Hosseini, born in the city of Kabul in 1965, is a successful author and is skilled â€Å"in pulling his readers’ heartstrings†. The title of this 367-page novel derived from the poem â€Å"Kabul† by the 17th-century Persian writer Saib-e-Tabrizi. It was published in 2007 by the Penguin Group (Monteiro). A Thousand Splendid Suns is a heart wrenching story, creating a picture of patriarchal despotism

Individual Reflection Free Essays

Introduction In this report, I am going to describe my own role in helping the team to achieve its goal in relation to the group report and the practical negotiation exercise’s. Also I will provide evidence of my contribution to the cohesiveness of the group and how I facilitated the completion of the group goals. I am going to use a theoretical diagram in order to evaluate every piece of knowledge in which I have gained, after searching the internet for different diagrams and theory I found the views of Gibb’s (Gibbs, 1988). We will write a custom essay sample on Individual Reflection or any similar topic only for you Order Now His reflective cycle is a process involving six steps shown below, it is a ‘cycle’ because the action you take in the final stage will feed back into the first stage, beginning the process again: * Description – What happened? * Feelings – What are you thinking and feeling? * Evaluation – What was good and bad about the experience? * Analysis – What sense can you make of the situation? * Conclusion – What else could you have done? * Action Plan – If it arose again what would you do? (Gibbs, 1988) Reflective Cycle (Gibbs G, 1988) Description Within this module we were provided a brief involving a real life client with a real strategic issue with which they would like assistance, The client was from a local charity organisation named, ‘The Lions Club Wallasey’, our task was to analyse and examine the different problems in which the club were facing and through a number of resource methods come up with new, modern and initiative ideas and recommendations to help aid them in improving their club. Our Client was the director of the Lions in Wallasey and he interacted with us as a group through a presentation with an open question format in which we gained an insight into the background and different areas of the club. Previous to this I had no knowledge of the Lions Club both internationally and in Wallasey, however after some further research on the company I gained a much better insight on the work they carry out within the communities in which they operate, we were the set the task of composing two power-point presentations in which we would present to our tutor and the client detailing our analysis and recommendations, we then had to document our findings in a group report and then conclude with this self-reflection report. Feelings During this module there was a great mix between both group work along with individual work, we were put into groups in order to produce and present a presentation to the class and then produce a group report along with this, From completing my group work I believe I have earned plenty of new communication skills, at the beginning of the semester I found myself a little bit more held back in order to express my opinion however working within the group, I found that I had to become more of a group leader in order to complete the tasks at hand, through the completion of this I have found the confidence to now express my issues/thoughts fully. Through the different pieces of research in which I carried out I have found that my knowledge has been broadened into the marketing and advertising side of business. I have also developed time management skills as we were set a eadline for each of our pieces of work and I was able to input my work in order to meet these deadlines, I believe that I managed my time well and completed all the tasks on time as well as making them professional, I had to be aware of my time management within this task as I had a lot of different assignments due in for the same sort of dates, and therefore I didn’t want to lag behind in one as spending too much time doing another. I believe that I did this effectively and completed all my tasks on time. Evaluation Within this section I am going to evaluate the good experiences I have had within this semester along with the not so good experiences, I believe by pointing out my bad experiences/ weaknesses within this topic I will be able to develop my knowledge further in the future. Below are a few of my different experiences. Good experiences Through the completion of this module my ability to work within a group has been developed and through dealing with the arising group problems I have learned more about time management. Skills developed within this subject will certainly aid me within my future presentations and individual work. * Presentation skills within Power-point were developed upon as members within my group had more knowledge of the presentation skills within it and were able to help me develop my knowledge of different icons etc. * Through the use of research and development techniques used to complete our documents I have developed more business strategic management skills. Bad Experiences * The bad experiences with this task were few and far between however, I feel that a few members of my group were not at the same learning level as me and found it hard to understand some of my recommendations. * As well as them not being able to understand my recommendations it was tough when reading some of the group members inputs to different things as there work was documented at a lower standard than I would have liked to be working at. As most of my group had part time jobs the different allocated times in which we had set aside to work on the report were sometimes compromised as of a member’s job getting in the way. * Also the work effort in which a few of our members put in was also a hindrance throughout the completion of this report, it was a tough task for two group members to complete all of these tasks with other deadlines having to be met too. Analysis I believe that through the completion of this module I have gained many valuable skills and talents in which I reckon will benefit me in the future, being an aspiring entrepreneur, I have gained different skills that will help me in the future through the exploration of this organisations problems, problems such as lack of awareness and profile within the operating communities will be areas in which I will need to look at when I am setting my business up in different communities. Along with the completion of the task I have gained abilities in which have helped me improve my group working skills and not let one member of the group drag the whole group down. As mentioned earlier I can also make use of the good experiences to enhance my ability when working in an organisation and I can also use the bad experiences to learn from my mistakes and make sure they do not occur when working on future projects. I also feel that I have built upon my effective time management and work load management skills as I have successfully completed this work in conjunction with a number of other pieces in which have similar deadlines. Conclusion of learning experience I believe that within our group I fitted in as an implementer in who took each piece of information and put it into practice, I believe I am an implementer as I am interested in finding practical solutions as well as the fact that I am a disciplined and efficient. I also believe that my group members seen me as an implementer as during numerous group meetings the group members would recommend suggestions to the business problems directly to me and I would either put them into words or explain why I didn’t think they were relevant to the subject. Action Plan If this problem arose again I think that I would implement what I have mentioned in the conclusion above. I like being provided with problems and asked to solve them as efficiently as possible, however in future I hope to work with a much more motivated group and a group in which all have a good grasp of the subject at hand. Kolb’s Learning Cycle (1976) This learning cycle devised by Kolb’s has 4 different stages, these include: * Concrete Experiences * Reflective observation * Abstract Conceptualisation * Active Experimentation (Kolb, 1999) Within my case, the concrete experiences would be exactly what I have been reflecting on during this whole semester. It would be how the group work has aided me individually and also how the individual work has benefited me as a person. Within the next stage of reflective observation this would be the feedback given from my group mates and lecturer about my individual performance, from this stage I will be able to gather information on how I have changed my methods of doing things, this stage is now the abstract conceptualization which is better known as the thinking stage, Finally I can then progress on to the final Active experimentation stage which is the implementation/testing stage in which I will test my way of learning by improving my methods using the feedback that I have been given. This model would keep repeating itself and as a result I would keep improving the way that I work in order to constantly increase efficiency and professionalism. Conclusion of Report I feel that the skills in which I have gained throughout completing this module will come in handy within future projects within university life along with the world of work. Skills such as leadership and implementation will come in handy in the future as I will need them to succeed along with the confidence to portray my own ideas and feelings to my group and also being able to present in front of a group of my class mates, I believe that I will need to use these skills again throughout life and therefore they were vital for me to get the confidence in using them now. I also feel that if I was to implement Kolb’s learning cycle throughout all of my life that I would be sure to succeed in being efficient and up to date with all the skills needed to succeed. How to cite Individual Reflection, Papers

Reflection Essay on Leading and Managing Change

Question: Write about the Reflection Essay on Leading and Managing Change. Answer: Current Leadership and Organization Behavior Practices in the Contemporary Business Context Change is a gradual process that goes through various steps to create the desired result. The contemporary business environment is very liquid to the extent that decisions undertaken today can become ineffective the following day. The most important aspect that has created the need for numerous organization changes is ever-changing external and internal business environment. Notably, the technological advancement is leading, followed by the stiff market competition, cultural changes and more. To add some gist on the stiff competition, the changing consumers needs, and preferences in favor of quality products and services is one of the imperatives that are determining operation management strategies (Bridges, 2009). Apparently, leadership has received a significant consideration as the only factor that coordinate the other factors of production to enhance success. It is a broad topic that encompasses the administrative measures and management practices. Under these subjects, one can narrow down to the administration of the people after the establishment of the need for change (Chozick, 2005). As earlier noted, change is not an activity that one can dream of and proceed with the implementation process. I vividly remember my organization that I currently work as an as assistant OD practitioner. One day, the director called the senior OD into the office and informed him of the need to change some operational processes. I remember the senior OD practitioner showing me the list of the changes the director had proposed. These changes included; adoption of a new accounting software that was supposed to take off the next week. Secondly, the company had to shift the operational hours where opening time u sed to be from 9.00 am to 7.00 am, the closing hours were to change from 4.00 pm to 6.00pm. Also, he suggested that workers were to be given more responsibilities. Among other things the directors suggested included the change of the companys mission, culture just to incline to the new goals and operational processes (Rowitz, 2010). To me, this seemed unusual. Although the director had suggested many changes that to an extent, I felt they were appropriate for our institution that dealt with the sale of supply of foodstuff, household goods, groceries, credit cards and construction. I pondered loudly until my close friend and colleague had to press me hard until I had to take him to my office to share with him about the information. In the entire discussion, my friend shared his contentment with the suggestion and asserted to work hard so that the newly communicated objectives could be realized and benefit from the bonus schemes that the management had promised to give those who hit targets. The worrying aspect was the time allocated to perform the changes. Because he was also a change expert but was working with the institution as a human resource manager, he just noted some key aspects that were being not followed to enhance effectiveness in the process. Just to mention, he said the preparation was not adequate. The employees were supposed to undergo some training before the time for change could be established. Secondly, he suggested that it could be communicated to the employees and be informed about the needs and benefits as to why the management was undertaking the initiative. The OD practitioner was supposed to be given the recommendations and be allocated sufficient time to ink an appropriate procedure t hrough which the change could be effected. I, therefore, had to conclude that the suggestion for a change to align the organization to its objectives was a perfect idea but questioned the process the director suggested should be utilized to lead and manage the change (Lipsky et al., 2003). After the discussion, I was challenged. Despite being fully satisfied with the suggesting I was given by my colleague concerning leading and managing change, I developed a feeling of doing more research on the subject. I now decided to go and seek clarification from an expert who had recently opened an OD consultant firm next to our premises. I was prepared to pay any cost just to ensure I have received a full explanation about the entire leadership and change management. He was very categorical and approached the subject in various ways. He defined change as the process of incorporating new changes in the organization. The change involves both culture, ways of doing things, and the structure of administration. Change is the process that leads to quality enhancement and hence growth. Notably, change has to involve the entire organization. First and foremost, planning is the first activity that takes place. It is a process of setting out the complete change objectives, strategies and ways of executing the process. At this level, it is the management, most particular the OD practitioner who usually have the full information about the process. Communication should be done in a certain way. For instance, the management should timely communicate to the employees about the upcoming changes. In the message, the employees should be informed about the importance of the change, due processes established to ensure everyone plays the roles expected accordingly. He further explained that some employees develop a fear that the new skills required could render them jobless (Manning, 2003). To overcome such challenges, training and mentorship programs are the only initiatives that should be established to impart the current expertise and knowledge to the individuals. In fact, th e change should be treated as the avenue through which workers can further develop their current skills. As a result, the level of resistance will decrease. He defined leadership as the process of heading others in fulfilling organization objectives. He noted the importance of efficient administration through leadership. As a change manager, one has to employ leadership skills as well as adopting a management system that sometimes rhymes with employees need as well as compromise some characters that are not constructive. For a planned change, various leadership styles should be used to bring balance. Among the leadership styles should include transformational, democratic and sometimes dictatorship. However, dictatorship should only be used in occasions when coercion has failed to work. In some cases, the employees should be given the option to choose from and make suggestions about how they feel things should be conducted (Lee Nathan, 2010). In a discussed, he talked about motivation. He stressed on this factor because it is critical in altering the attitudes of the employees during the change. Apart from the salaries and other bonuses, employees work well if most of the factors under Maslows Hierarchy of needs and Herzberg's two-factor theory are considered an organization. The realization of the provisions in these motivations methods can considerably foster support from the staff. The elements of resistance are reduced because the individuals will like the work environment and entirely support the management (Luecke, 2003). After, this discussion, I never saw any new information regarding what I understand about change. Alas! I could be right if offered the opportunity to advise the change manager on the key steps to establish before officially launching the change. In fact, I could offer and to approach the director and suggest appropriate measures in coming up with a solid plan based on my experience as well as lessons learned from the practitioner. I thought my experience was not enough for managing and leading change. And because of lack of confidence in my capabilities, I thought the consultant would give a different and better approach to leading and managing strategic change. However, from the reflections, I have noticed the following elements regarding the topic. First, change should be effected using specific models. For instance, the Lawins positive model of change can work well in the contemporary society (Lewin, 2011). This model advocates for the action research model instead of focusing on methods that are not working. Besides the education provided to the staff, they should also be allowed to make decisions regarding what they consider relevant for the change. And further, motivation should not be assumed to be optional. Employees require adequate motivation that should be additional on the usual salary and benefits accorded to employees. The OD practitioner has to design a change program that aligns organization mission and objective. The design should be appropriate to the management style and structure used by the organization. Some of the styles one should adopt in leading the change should involve collaborative, consultative, directive and coercive (Keegan and Den, 2004). For instance, some employees may just disagree with the suggestions and instead, they may choose to withdraw support and just antagonize the efforts exerted to ensure success. Such conflicts can, however, be suppressed by coercion. In the change, the OD practitioner should clearly; set the mission of the team, set the goal, define role, design operational procedure, among other implementation strategies (Mind Tools, 2011). However, as change expert, I have understood that conflicts are inevitable. But one should remain firm, consult and further involve others in the planning and implementation of the modification. Moreover, I have realized the f undamentality of applying various approaches in the administration of change. Among these essential methods that should be jointly used includes; behavioral approach, cognitive approach, psychodynamic approach and humanistic psychology. Also, the autocratic system of governance should be accompanied by a flexible structure, open culture that can create a questioning attitude among employees (Jokinen, 2005). I, have therefore, realized the essentiality of all the stated aspects. And becuse a human is social beings who are not satisfied with salary alone, will thus require adequate consideration, involvement in various issues, clear communication and different forms of motivation to catalyze their commitment to organizational activities (Kotter, 2011). Change is successful when all resources are put in place, and adequate time accorded to the process to win workers support. However, currently, organization change is a common process I have realized most institutions undergo to survive the harsh business environment. The speed of change is very high, and strategies are revised now and then to fit the current organization needs. The position I held before I was promoted to a senior position has taught me many lessons about change and the discussion with the change expert. More so, this discipline has further sharpened my knowledge and imparted in me more and current leading a change in the institution. I remember before attending this class; I was not that perfect, and I suspect the directors could have realized that. Perhaps not! I could not be promoted, I guess. It was an average but not perfect score. My rigidness on the established plans cannot appropriately work today. After my friend talked about the elements of flexibility is when I realized, ooh! I sometimes went wrong, but unfortunately, I was not corrected. The contemporary business environment requires someone more knowledgeable about leadership matters starting all the way from the management style, administrative structure, organization culture, conflicts, organization groups and politics (Lorenzi Riley, 2000). . These are cultures that may develop, and if poorly handled, they might endanger smooth operation of business. Any change that the management can suggest could be received with resistance just for individuals to fulfill their personal interests (Allio, 2005). As a leader, resistance and conflicts should not be aspects to fear. I have learned that a leader is somebody who should develop others and inculcate into them good qualities that can make them feel the happiness of being associated with the organization. For instance, the communication skills, professionalism, conceptual skills are essential elements that I should possess to enhance dealings with the employees (Thompson, 2010). As much as some changes and projects may be successful, I should also consider employees comments and feelings about the management of the project. Negative feedback is a clear indication of a problem somewhere. Leading and managing change is, therefore, a process that needs more sacrifice and preparation to keep everyone set with the requisites to minimize the instances of resistances (Ogbonna Harris, 2000). References Allio, R. J. (2005). Leadership development: teaching versus learning. Management Decision, Vol. 43, No. 7/8, pp. 1071-1077. Bridges, W., Bridges, S. (2009). Managing Transitions: Philadelphia, PA: DeCapo PressChozick, A. (2005). Leadership (a special report): Beyond the numbers: One expert says the real challenge for employers isnt in hiring; its in making the most of a varied work force. Interview with R. Roosevelt Thomas, Jr. (Eastern Ed.) Wall Street Journal, p. 4. Jokinen, T. (2005). Global leadership competencies: a review and discussion. Journal ofEuropean Industrial Training, Vol. 29, No. 3, pp. 199-216. Keegan, A.E. and Den, D.N. (2004). Transformational leadership in a project-based environment: a comparative study of the leadership styles of project managers and line managers.International journal of project management,22(8), pp. 609-617. Kotter, J. (2011). Leading change: Why transformation efforts fail. In On change management. Boston, MA: Harvard Business Review Press. Lee, N. Nathan, M. (2010). Knowledge workers, cultural diversity and innovation: Evidencefrom London. International Journal of Knowledge-Based Development, 1(1/2), 53-78. Lewin, K. (2011). Lewins change management model.London: Mind Tools, Ltd. RetrievedJanuary 15, 2017, from https://www.mindtools.com/community/pages/article/new. Lorenzi, N. M., Riley, R. T. (2000). Managing Change: An Overview. Journal or theAmerican Medical Informatics Association, Vol. 7, No. 2, pp. 116-124. Lipsky, D.B., Seeber, R.L. and Fincher, R.D. (2003).Emerging systems for managing workplace conflict: Lessons from American corporations for managers and dispute resolution professionals. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. Luecke, R. (2003). Managing Change and Transition: 7 Practical strategies to help you leadduring turbulent times. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press. Manning, T. T. (2003). Leadership Across Cultures: Attachment Style Influences. Journal ofLeadership Organizational Studies, Vol. 9, No. 3, pp. 20-30. Mind Tools, Ltd. (2011). Change management: Making organization change happen effectively. Retrieved January15, 2017 from https://www.mindtools.com/community/pages/article/newPPM_87.php Ogbonna, E. and Harris, L.C. (2000). Leadership style, organizational culture and performance: empirical evidence from UK companies.International Journal of Human Resource Management,11(4), pp.766-788. Rowitz, L. (2010). Management and Leadership: Journal of Public Health Management andPractice, 16(2), 174176. Thompson, J. (2010). Understanding and managing organizational change: Implications forpublic health management. Journal of Public Health Management and Practice, 16(2), 167173.