Franklin Puritan or Enlightenment Essay - 868 Words

Is Franklin a Puritan or Enlightenment Thinker About Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin came from a very simple Calvinist background. Ha dad little formal education, but he made it through his own efforts and became a rare genius in human history. Everything seems to meet in this one man, mind and will, talent and art, strength and ease, wit and grace and he became almost everything: a printer, essayist, scientist, statesman, philosopher, political economist, ambassador, etc.-#161;#176;Jack of all trades#161;#177;. Enlightenment in America Toward the latter part of the 17th century, a complete new view of the universe came into being. With the publication of Newton#161;#175;s #161;#176;Philosophiae Naturalis†¦show more content†¦They thought that religious truth also should be tested by reason. This was a great challenge to the former thoughts. Man#161;#175;s reason and the idea of order became the watchword of the day. Everything fell into some order, like Newton#161;#175;s #161;#176;clock#161;#177; and all had a place in the divine plan. 3. Pursuit of Happiness People with enlightenment thinking turned to pursue the happiness of the present world rather than the salvation in the after world. They showed more interest in the practical subjects in the real world. They thought that the ultimate objective of man#161;#175;s life is the life, liberty and pursuit of life. This kind of thought stimulated an activist individualism which advocated that one should be responsible of his own choice and attempt unalienable Rights. All these ideas were very much in the air in America and no one represented them better than Benjamin Franklin. With Benjamin Franklin as its spokesman, eighteen-century America experienced an age if enlightenment, of reason and order like England and Europe. Puritan Heritage Though Newton#161;#175;s idea was very influential over the minds of the people in the 18th century, the Calvinist beliefs and tenets that man was, since the Fall, basically evil and enslaved by his sense of sin, and that God was all, and would in His mercy and love work for man#161;#175;s salvation, but as for man. All he could do (if ever there was anything he could do)Show MoreRelatedThe Puritan And The Embodiment Of Enlightenment1228 Words   |  5 PagesThe Puritan and the Embodiment of Enlightenment The dichotomy between a Puritan and a Rationalist seems to be very apparent. Despite the differences, the very existence of these two writers showcases the need for dissent to influence, and to always question the status-quo. Anne Bradstreet and Benjamin Franklin give a glimpse of the time period during the creation of their works. 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Shrugging Off Positive Ayn Rand Essay - 1687 Words

When one imagines a positive person in society, many people may come to mind. Abraham Lincoln, Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King Jr., and many more are positive influences on the society of the world today. A positive influence in the society is someone who lets his or her beliefs be known in a respectful way, are non-violent, and do not force opinions on anyone else. Ayn Rand is a positive influence on society because she was an author who wrote philosophical novels that showed her views in a non-violent manner, she revolutionized thought processes, advanced views of society, and remained objective, practicing objectivism. Ayn Rand was born in Russia in a middle-class home in 1905. In 1917, the Communist party took over the government in†¦show more content†¦A positive influence on society has many traits. The lack of violence in expressing his or her opinion is crucial to being a positive influence. If someone were to use violence while expressing his or her opinion, this wou ld be negative influence because violence is negative. Non-violent expression of feelings and views is the way to show any group of people respect and it is substantially more likely to get the message across and it will be taken in as positive. Revolutionizing thought processes is also another important trait for a positive influence on society. In the case of Ayn Rand, she wrote novels, and she used such vivid language and real world applications that it made people think so deeply, thus causing a reaction in their brain that opened their eyes to a whole new line of thought. Advancing views of society is also a necessity for a positive influence on society to have. Imagine if nobody ever stood up for women’s rights or the telephone was never thought of. To bring positivity to a society, one must bring to the table what no one else has yet, and have a real plan for how it works. According to Luis De Jesus, a writer for the Ayn Rand Institute foundation website, as an objecti vist, one must accept the fact that existence exists. For someone to exist, they must acquire a specific identity. Remaining objective means to reject emotions, faith, or any form of

Organisational Context Medibank Travel Insurance

Question: Write a report on Medibank Travel Insurance. Answer: Background summary Insurance is a process by which one party agrees to compensate the other party in case of certain events happening. This cover is provided by the first party in return of payment of a certain amount called premium by the second party. There are different types of insurances like life insurance, health insurance, general insurance, etc. people have become more aware of the need to insure themselves against different types of risks which can cause financial and physical losses to the individuals. As the demand for insurance products grew over a period, the number of companies providing insurance services has also grown. In Australia also there are several companies providing insurance. The general insurance companies in Australia have existed for a long period of time. The insurance industry in Australia is regulated by a prudential regulator called Australian Prudential Regulation Authority. This authority is concerned with the implementation of Insurance Act. Further there is a corporate regulator called Australian Securities and Investment Commission which follows Insurance Contracts Act. There is also an organization of the general insurance industry of Australia called Insurance Council of Australia. This organization also creates awareness about general insurance issues among the people (Insurance Council Of Australia, 2016). The general insurance industry in Australia is characterized by high degree of competition among insurance firms. There are also many fluctuations in the earnings of the insurers. The Global Financial Crisis of 2008 affected the general insurance industry in Australia adversely (Accenture, 2016). Further, floods and other natural disasters in 2010-2011 also led to increased claims by people who had taken insurance policies. This created financial problems for the insurance industry in Australia. A large amount of reserves with the insurance companies were used for settling claims of customers. But the insurance industry has recovered from such setbacks. It has to face more challenges as customers have become more price sensitive. They have become more aware of the insurance products and compare insurance policies offered by different companies before making a purchase decision. Medibank Private Limited is one of the leading insurance companies of Australia (Medibank Private Limited, 2016). The company has been doing well in selling different types of insurance products, but its market share in the travel insurance business is lesser than that of many other companies. Medibank has planned to launch again its travel insurance business. There is the need for the company to follow a new marketing strategy to increase its travel insurance business. Products and service There are a variety of reasons that make people buy a travel insurance policy. There are individuals who have apprehensions that their luggage might get lost while they are travelling. They want insurance so that they get compensated if such a thing happens. Some of them feel that they would suffer if their important documents get lost during a journey. Further there are many who are worried about the medical expenses in a foreign country. Medibank should look thoroughly into the purposes for which people buy insurance while designing its travel insurance products. The company should offer a comprehensive travel insurance plan that compensates for lost luggage, medical expenses, flight accidents, etc. Further the consumer should be provided the option to cover for expenses arising out of cancellation of trip. The idea is to cover all the important objectives for which the consumers buy travel insurance. There is need for proper market research by the company (Zimmerman and Blythe, 2013). In this case premium to be paid by the customer would vary according to the number of options the customer has selected. The company should focus primarily on the proper development and promotion of this insurance plan also because it would cover the needs of different types of people like those going on a vacation, educational tours, visiting relatives, etc (Ettlie and Rosenthal, 2011). the company should set up the goal of earning maximum revenues by selling this insurance plan. Instead of having too many insurance policies the firm should focus a large proportion of its energy in making this insurance plan a success. Apart from the above discussed insurance plan, the company should also have insurance policies tailored to meet the needs of business people and those travelling for medical purposes. The company should aim to provide professional services relating to issues like claim settlement, medical services in hospitals abroad and any other required documentation. The enterprise should make use of latest technology in offering its services. The company should have processes which are transparent and fair for the customers. Pricing Medibank wants to beat the competition in the travel insurance sector. One of the most important tools to achieve this objective is to fix the prices of its insurance policies, that is, premiums, at a lower level than its competitors (Zielke, 2010). The company needs to bring down the cost of operating its business. This can be achieved by having innovative processes and better training of its employees. The company needs to be agile and respond to the needs of its customers with speed. The decision making in the company should be quick. The claims of customers should not be kept pending for too long. When the customer contacts the company, then the executives of the enterprise should be prompt and show empathy. As the company lowers its premiums, the volume of its business is expected to rise as the consumers in the insurance sector of Australia are very particular and sensitive about the price of an insurance policy. The customers are looking for value for their money. As Medibank provides good quality services for a reasonable price, its customers in the travel insurance space would increase (Steenkamp, Heerde and Geyskens, 2010). Medibank has been doing well in other types of insurance like health and life insurance. People in Australia know about the company. The company can convey to its customers that lower premiums do not mean lower quality of service. The enterprise should have the objective of reducing or cutting costs without compromising on quality. Further while fixing premiums for travel insurance policies, the company should take into consideration factors like the total cost of the tour, its length, age of people being insured and the number of insurance covers that the customer wants. Place and distribution Medibank makes use of modern technology to sell its travel insurance policies. Any individual can buy an insurance policy of the company by applying online at the enterprises website. The company has kept the procedure for buying the insurance policies online simple (Lunt and Carrera, 2011). There is some information that the customers have to provide and they get a quotation. But Medibank should provide more information to a consumer when the individual uses the online process for buying travel insurance policy of the company. There are many online customers who buy an insurance policy only after comparing the insurance policies of different companies. Medibank should provide a comparison of the features of insurance products of the company with that of the insurance policies of the other companies in a concise way to the online consumers. The information should be provided in an attractive way. The company should aim to sell a large proportion of its insurance policies online. This method is also less costly and less time consuming. The company should strengthen its information technology section to help the marketing department in making sales online. The company needs to properly organize its online operations. The company should develop more advanced application (software) that can be downloaded by consumers on their mobile phones. This software would help the consumers buy insurance products of the company online. The effort of the company should be to make the process of buying insurance from the company more convenient for the consumers. Medibank also sells its insurance policies through intermediaries like brokers and travel agents (Manzano and Valpuesta, 2010). The company should organize workshops and training events for the agents and brokers. The company should provide them with more detailed information regarding its insurance products. Further there can be sessions to teach communication and marketing skills to these people. Medibank should also provide competitive commission and benefits to these people (Eckardt and Doppner, 2010). Promotional mix The market for insurance products in Australia is very competitive. Medibank Private Limited is one of the leading sellers of life insurance and health insurance in Australia. The company has an identity in the market. The enterprise should make use of this goodwill created over a period while selling its travel insurance products also. The company should convey in its promotional messages in the media that the same company with excellent management skills, knowledge and products has now come with better travel insurance products. The firm should do some introspection regarding how the company has been able to do so well in selling the other kinds of insurance products (Zimmerman and Blythe, 2013). Medibank should try to associate with travel and tourism programs on television and radio. The company can also sponsor sports events especially adventure sports like skiing and rowing held in tourist destinations to target the people who visit such places. The firm can make its website provide more information and if possible make it interactive (Lunt and Carrera, 2011). The idea is to create an inclination in the consumer to travel by showing how enjoying and safe the experience can be if the consumer has brought travel insurance from the company. Conclusion Insurance industry is a very important part of any country as it helps people face numerous types of risks. In case of any tragic incident happening, the insurance firm bears the cost out of the premiums collected by it from a large number of people. But in case of losses being very large, even the insurance companies find their resources too stretched. There is element of risk for the companies also. In Australia such a situation arises when there are natural problems like floods. The insurance companies therefore need to decide with utmost care what premiums to charge from their customers. There is lot of competition in the insurance industry in Australia. The companies cannot charge too high premiums but they have to charge a sufficient amount so that they do not find themselves facing liquidation in case of natural disaster happening. The insurance business needs to be carried out in a professional way. Some companies find it difficult to survive in insurance industry. Medibank, as a company, should realize that competition is part of business. Further the enterprise needs to understand what its competitors are doing to be more successful. The firm should see whether it is not getting repeat customers due to its poor service. The company should train its employees better. After a customer buys the insurance from the company, the person should get the service promised by the firm. It is sometimes easier to build expectations but difficult to live up to them. References Accenture (2016) How Australian Insurers Can Achieve Profitable Growth In A Challenging Market Overview. A Eckardt, M. and Doppner, S. (2010) The Quality Of Insurance Intermediary Services: Empirical Evidence For Germany, Journal of Risk And Insurance, 77(3), pp. Ettlie, J. and Rosenthal, S. (2011) Service Versus Manufacturing Innovation, Journal of Product Innovation Management, 28(2), pp. 285-299, Insurance Council Of Australia (2016) Issues And Submissions. Lunt, N. and Carrera, P. (2011) Systematic Review Of Web Sites For Prospective Medical Tourists, Tourism Review, 66(1/2), pp. 57-67, Manzano, J. and Valpuesta, L. (2010) The Decline Of The Traditional Travel Agent Model, Transportation Research Part E: Logistics And Transportation Review.

The Courage To Stand Alone Essays - Fiction, Literature, Film

The Courage To Stand Alone The Courage to Stand Alone In the 1950's, Reginald Rose penned his masterpiece, 12 Angry Men. This play introduces us to twelve men of various statures. All of these men are part of the jury who will decide the fate of a young man, who has been accused of murdering his father. At first glance of the testimonies of the witnesses in the trial, the reader, or audience, would probably agree with the norm of the jury on the guilt of the young man. If it weren't for one character in this play, juror No. 8, the deliberations of this trial would have been non-existent. At the end of this story, another juror, No. 3, states his nearly impenetrable opinion, nearly causing a hung jury. After reading or watching this play, the audience has some insight into the fact that despite how unfavourable a persons opinion may be, it is the courage to hold ones ground - sometimes with no other support but from him/herself - that must be recognized as a virtue. This story starts off in the courtroom with the jurors making their way to the deliberation room to talk about and vote on the fate of the accused. A vote is cast to see where they stand with one another on their opinions. The men have various reasons for voting the ways they do. Take, for example, who No. 7 says, ?This better be fast. I've got tickets to The Seven Year Itch tonight? , or No. 2 who is ?a meek, hesitant man who finds it difficult to maintain any opinions of his own. Easily swayed and usually adopts the opinion of the last person to whom he has spoken?, and No. 3 whose son won't talk to him anymore because of his father's bitterness against young people. Some of the other men on the jury believe that ?you can't believe a word [people from the slums] say?, and since the boy is from the slums, they don't believe his testimony. It is only juror No. 8 who came into the jurors room with a non-bias attitude and who left his personal baggage at the door. He believes that ?may be we owe him a few words?, but the others believe that they ?don't owe him a thing?. The evidence against the accused convinces all the jurors of the boys guilt, except for juror No. 8. The evidence that has convinced the rest of the jurors soon gets analyzed by juror No. 8, which causes the others think twice about their verdict. The reason why juror No. 8 went into such detail about all of the evidence is because ?[He] had a peculiar feeling about this trial. Somehow [he] felt that the defense never really conducted a thorough cross-examination. [He] mean[s], [the defense lawyer] was appointed by the court to defend the boy. He hardly seemed interested. Too many questions were left unasked.? There were three pieces of evidence that the prosecution brought up, which each on its own, could have probably convinced a jury of the boy's guilt: the obscure knife, and the two witnesses: the old man , the neighbour downstairs, and the woman, the neighbour from across the street. All of these key pieces of evidence were looked over in the jurors room. Nobody but juror No. 8 saw the flaws with each. Take, for example, the rare switch-knife - which we find out to be not-so-rare - that the boy had bought from a local corner store. ?The storekeeper identified it and said it was the only one of its kind he had in stock.? This testimony had convinced eleven of the jurors until juror No. 8 ?swiftly flicks open the blade of a switch-knife and jams it into the table next to the first one (knife). They are exactly alike.? After this incident, another juror sided with juror No. 8. Next, the old man's and the woman from across the street's testimonies gets put to their tests. Like juror No. 3 said, ?[T]he old man heard the kill yell, ?I'm gonna kill you.' A second later he heard the father's body falling, and he saw the boy running out of the house