Roles of the Synagogue Essay - 1349 Words

Roles of the Synagogue The synagogue is a place for the Jewish people to worship God, or more particularly, where Jewish people can hear the Torah being read and pray to God. As well as functioning as a House of Prayer, or Beit ha Tefilah, the synagogue is also known as House of Assembly, Beit ha Knesset and House of Study, Beit ha Midrash. On three things the world stands, says the Mishnah, On the study of the Torah, on worship and on deeds of kindness. This quote reflects the functions of the synagogue distinctly. The study of the Torah is the reason the name House of Study is given to the synagogue. The Torah is guidance to how Jews live; it is the fundamental basis of†¦show more content†¦These activities help young Jews meet each other at an early age. Many activities organised are religious as well as social, such as Childrens services, Sunday morning Minyanaires, Bar Mitzvahs, Cheder and Childrens parties. These activities teach the younger generation about Judaism as well as emphasising the importance of socialising with others. There are also groups for women in the Northwood Orthodox Synagogue such as The Ladies Guild, which is a social group that organises outings and holds many responsibilities within the synagogue. In the Northwood and Pinner Liberal Synagogue, there are many social events organised. The cultural activities include photography and embroidery. There are also sporting events organised as well as bereavement visitors, to help those in need of a sympathetic ear. There are not many social activities organised to teach Judaism, like the Orthodox synagogue, but many activities are organised to bring the community together. Being part of the Jewish community in a synagogue and taking part in the events organised reinforces a Jews sense of identity. The synagogue is also known as House of Study. Beit ha Midrash. In Judaism it is very important to learn about faith. This is also so that the religion can continue. Studying the Torah is a mitzvah. InShow MoreRelatedThe Ancient Synagogue : The First Thousand Years957 Words   |  4 Pagesstable sanctuary for prayer, community activities, and intellectual stimulation. This sanctuary is often named the Synagogue but takes on many other names such as the shul and the temple. Through the Synagogue the Jewish people have been able to continue to develop their culture, community affairs, and provide a safe intellectual home for all friends and followers of Judaism. Synagogues became predominant after the demise of the great Temple in Jerusalem around 70 AD They became prominent in manyRead MoreThe Destruction Of The Temple Essay1388 Words   |  6 PagesTestament. Torah reading was performed by the leaders and was viewed as a way to act in the image of God. As for those times they failed to act according to the Law, the Torah provided the means for atoning through animal sacrifice. As for the use of a synagogue, they were created after the destruction of the first Temple to counter the Missing Temple at that time (Fine; Marx) To understand the distinct points on the major Jewish practices, you must see that Judaism was outlined with constant change in worshippingRead MoreThe Biblical Story Of The Exodus Out Of Jews1261 Words   |  6 Pageslocated in New York City and he began the rigorous six year- long program during the fall of 1999. Henceforth when Rabbi C initially began rabbinical school he was not interested in becoming a rabbi of a synagogue or engaging in a pulpit position. Rabbi C was adamant about either engaging in a chaplain role at a medical facility, teaching in various academic settings or at a summer camp. Once he had completed the mandated requirements for the six-year program he would partake in a rabbinical ordinationRead MoreA Study on Shabbat Essay937 Words   |  4 Pagesdipped in salt. B) Give an account of the Havdalah ceremony. Havdalah literally means a separation or division. Havdalah is the ceremony that separates Shabbat from the rest of the week. The ceremony can be performed in the synagogue or at home. During the ceremony, a prayer is said which explains the distinctions God makes e.g. light and dark, Shabbat and the rest of the week. On the table there is a glass of red wine which is blessed, and then some of which Read MoreThe Anshe Chesed Fairmount Temple1328 Words   |  6 Pagesactions and become a bar mitzvah or bat mitzvah, respectively. The words bar mitzvah and bat mitzvah translate to â€Å"son of commandment† and â€Å"daughter of commandment† in English. The boy’s grandfather also suggested for me to sit in the back left of the synagogue as family and friends would sit elsewhere. The service started out with two chants led by the cantor, with the rabbi standing alongside the cantor. Both were standing behind the bimah, which is an altar-like podium in which the Torah and ProphetsRead MoreThe Destruction Of The Second Temple1558 Words   |  7 PagesMiddle East and was established with the biblical patriarch Abraham (Department of Local Government and Communities 2015). Abraham is seen to be the founder of Judaism and the ancestor of the Jews. Apart from Judaism, Abraham also has a significant role in other Abrahamic religions such as Christianity and Islam. X iefan (2000) describes Judaism as an ethical monotheism that is believed by Jewish people. The Torah - the first five books of the Hebrew Bible - is their foundational text and it incorporatesRead MoreDifferent Branches Of Judaism And Conservative Judaism843 Words   |  4 Pagesdenominations over the years has been the differing roles of males and females. The two branches are the most vastly different and have undergone the most changes in the area of gender roles are Orthodox Judaism and Conservative Judaism. The changes in gender roles in these two branches will be discussed in this paper. In early Orthodox Judaism in the United States (1700-1850), the main issue concerning women was how they were going to fit them into the synagogue for services and rituals. Up to this pointRead MoreEssay on Jewish Women in Medieval Ashkenaz1547 Words   |  7 Pages They could not be members of community courts, they were not members in synagogue communities, nor were they charity collectors. In the thirteenth century, the attendance of women in the synagogue drastically dwindled. It was common at the time for women to avoid synagogue when menstruating. Soon, it became expected of all women to avoid the synagogue during menstruation, leaving those women to pray outside. The synagogue was the place for important and personal events in the community, which resultedRead MoreExegesis – Luke 4:14-301559 Words   |  7 Pageswilderness where the power of the Holy Spirit assisted him in fighting the temptations of the devil. In this story, Jesus goes to the synagogue on the Sabba th and is now said to be reading from the Torah as was customary. This means that Jesus regularly does this which shows that he is a devout Jew. It was important for him to rest on the Sabbath and go to the synagogue for scripture and teaching on this day. Luke has followed this account with miracle and healing stories depicting Jesus as a compassionateRead MoreThe Torah Is The Most Important Text Of The Jewish Faith1496 Words   |  6 PagesBefore we can compare the role of the Torah in Orthodox and Conservative Judaism, we need to know what the Torah is and what is contains. The Torah is the most important text of the Jewish faith. It contains the first five books of Moses in the Hebrew bible, or the Tanach. The first book, Genesis, talks about how the world was created by god then subsequently destroyed by him because of the wickedness within it. Exodus talks about how Moses, who was raised by the Egyptian Pharaoh, left Egypt, only

How the Fast Food Affects Our Lives - 1795 Words

Nhung Mai Professor Orozco English 301 B 10 December 2011 How the Fast Food Affects Our Lives Many American children like eating fast food even though it is unhealthy because it is tasty and fast services. They do not have to wait for foods when they are hungry. They can receive foods within 10 or 15 minutes. Fast foods actually are very convenient for everybody when they do not have time to cook and have to have foods for children. However, there are the many serious effects of fast food to children. The children have to face high risks to their health when fast food contributes to children’s obesity. Obesity is a big problem to children’s health because children can develop many serious diseases. There are â€Å"more than 30 medical†¦show more content†¦They will be separated with the communities when they feel so shy with big bodies. They do not want play sports because their bodies let them move harder and slower. They feel too tired to play again. They just want to sit down, watch the game and eat. Therefore, ob esity prevents children to join in many social activities. It is hard to bring them many opportunities to have a high social status in the future. They may get worse if they are too fat, even they are going to die. It will end up the new workforce to develop the US economy because children are the future of the country. One of the reasons that parents are being fooled by fast food companies do not make any specific claims about the healthfulness or calorie content of their menu items. Zinczenko notes that â€Å"advertisements don’t carry warning labels the way tobacco ads do†¦ Some fast-food purveyors will provide calorie information on request, but even that can be hard to understand.† (154)Some kind of fast food does not have the label about the nutrition on the menus or on the hamburger in the fast food restaurant. There are some tiny words to write how much calories that contains in a fast food meal but parents are hard to recognize when the picture of a big M ac is big, multicolored and attractive. The nutrition label will tell parents how many calories children have when they consume a hamburger at fast food restaurant. If children do not eat fast food and they have healthyShow MoreRelatedDisadvantages Of Fast Food1566 Words   |  7 PagesFast food is taking over many people’s lives living around the world. Many people all over the United States are overweight or obese due to eating so much fast food. Fast food affects peoples physical weight, emotional and mental health and media influence. There are no advantages to eating fast food, especially at a young age. Fast food is a scary road to turn down as a young kid growing up into an adult. Fast food is pretty much its own simple definition when you think about it, it is literallyRead MoreUnderstanding The Impact Of Junk Food Essay1510 Words   |  7 Pages: Understanding the Impact of Junk Food INTRODUCTION Junk Food is that type of food which doesn’t contain nutritional value. It do not contain high level of calories and has little protein, vitamins and minerals. Such foods are also not good for health and has negative effects after consuming them. Why there is a More Demand of Junk Food? There are following reasons which shows that why people are attracted towards junk food:- â ¦  Preparation of junk food doesn’t take so much time and it isRead MoreIn Praise Of Fast Food Summary877 Words   |  4 PagesEngland, Rachel Lauden grew up eating farm fresh foods. She later obtained an education and went on teaching at universities in many different places. Shortly after, she composed articles about the history behind cooking and culinary heritage (Faigley 269). Lauden is very passionate about gastronomy, the science of healthy eating (â€Å"Gastronomy†). Her passion for the intricate culinary history shows throughout her authored work, â€Å"In Praise of Fast Food†. The author catches the reader’s attention becauseRead MoreFast Food And The Dark Side Of All American Meals1027 Words   |  5 PagesThe obesity rate is twice the proportion in Taiwan compared to Korea. I think this number is an admonishment to let us to know that eating junk food not only affects people’s health, but also influences the country’s develo pment. There are many books and movies, coving fast food and the dark side of all American meals. According to Eric Schlosser, â€Å"Fast food is now so commonplace that it has acquired an air of inevitability, as though it were somehow unavoidable, a fact of modern life†(7). In factRead MoreObesity Of People : Obesity1004 Words   |  5 Pagesand more technology to make our lives easier (and lazier),fast food chains on every block (unhealthy foods are much less expensive than the healthy foods we should be eating) and are all factors to weight gain in our country.Obesity can be divided into three main causes – diet, lifestyle and education. One of the chief causes is diet. Young Emiratis eat more and more high-carbohydrate, high-fat burgers and pizza in fast-food restaurants. However, some traditional foods are also very oily, and becauseRead MoreThe Benefits Of Junk Food710 Words   |  3 PagesDo you know how Im going to make America better? As President, I will make su re provided food is healthier. Junk food is defined as food with little nutritional value. Also, it is very high on calories and fats. Fats from unhealthy food trigger the brain to want more. If you eat unhealthy food, it can lead to heart disease. For the past 30 years, the number of overweight teenagers has been tripled and also the number of overweight children has been doubled. Making food healthier will benefit allRead MoreThe Fast Food Industry Has a Harmful Effect on Society1211 Words   |  5 PagesThesis: The fast food industry has a harmful affect on society. Topic Sentence 1: Fast food causes Coronary Artery Disease. Topic Sentence 2: Fast food is popular among our nation. Topic Sentence 3: The environment is affected by the fast food industry. We provide food that customers love, day after day after day. People just want more of it†(Ray Kroc, Founder of McDonald’s). Coronary Artery Disease is a type of heart disease and the most common cause of heart attacks. Plaque from eating unhealthyRead MoreObesity Epidemic : A Growing Problem Within Our Population861 Words   |  4 Pagesproblem within our population. With serious health issues associated with obesity, it is a problem that needs to be addressed and changed. While fast foods have been around for a long time, many people claim that fast food places are to blame. Each day people turn to fast food for a quick meal, wether it is breakfast, lunch, dinner, or even snacks. As fast foods begin to expand and progress throughout the world, people especially in the United States, have started to blame fast foods for their healthRead MoreTeen Obesity Essay1378 Words   |  6 Pagescom. In the US the food proportions are a lot larger than the proportions in other parts of the world. Also, there are more variations of food and more types of food to indulge on. This is supported by greed. People feel the need to want anything and everything. Most teenagers do not know their limits. Once they have something they want more of it. If not then once they have something they want something else. Also, adolescents are lazy they eat fast food, and microwavable food instead of cookingRead MoreFast Food Is Bad For Our Health855 Words   |  4 Pagesgetting fast food for them and their family so they went have to cook. You can get fast food almost on every corner of a street and on any continent you go to. Fast food is now starting to invade non fast food eater’s lives by offering so called health items on the menu. Fast food is everywhere and people don’t consider what’s in the fast food they eat. What it could do to our health and why you feel sluggish, and when I go will I get a rude employee because her boss was angry at her, how people gain

In Todays World There Are Many Moral Issues That Take Place In Society Essay Example For Students

In Todays World There Are Many Moral Issues That Take Place In Society Essay In todays world there are many moral issues that take place in society as well as in the business world. On Friday, February 4, 2000, the Washington Post printed an article titled Underage Smoking Fine Sought for Big Tobacco. Currently and in the past, the tobacco industry has fought many moral issues with the Federal Government and the general public. This particular article written by Charles Babington has two problems, which are, the federal governments threat to increase taxes and fines on the tobacco industry and the industries practice in their advertising which is targeting underage smokers. The first problem the article states is that the Federal Government is threatening to raise taxes on cigarettes and issue fines for any underage smoking. Fining underage smoking could be a possible ploy for the government to raise taxes on all tobacco products. By issuing a $3,000 fine for every underage smoker, the government would generate as much as 6 billion dollars a year. In addition to the fines, President Clinton may also propose to put a 25-cent-per-pack increase in the Federal tax on cigarettes. The moral aspect of this problem is that the federal government is receiving billions off of raising taxes on tobacco products and fines for underage smoking. This money is absorbed into the government and redistributed into society towards other social issues. The excess money the government collects on higher tobacco taxes and fines issued to for underage smoking should be used to educate the general public on how the tobacco companies are providing a dangerous product and can be extremely harmful to the human body. The government also needs to provide a program to help prevent underage smoking in the future. Another problem that was stated in the article was that the tobacco industry was targeting new underage smokers. The underage smokers were targeted through the advertisements on radio programs, television commercials, and social events that young people attend. The advertisements of cigarettes on TV and radio commercials stopped over 20 years ago and at that time the underage smoking did not stop. It is stated that in November 1998, the tobacco industry agreed once again to set restrictions on how cigarettes may be sold and marketed, barring companies from targeting youth in advertising and using cartoons in promotions (Babington, A07). The cigarettes companies were also prohibited from sponsoring sports teams, stadiums, or events such as NASCAR in which participants are underage. Accompanying this problem is the moral issue that banning advertisements on the radio and TV is not enough to prevent underage smoking. The industry needs to reveal in their advertisements the negative aspe ct of tobacco products. As stated in Moral Issues in Business, When advertisers conceal facts, they suppress information that is unflattering to their products. That is, they neglect to mention or distract consumers attention away from information, knowledge of which would probably make their products less desirable. (Shaw, Barry 474). Every advertiser wants their advertisement to be very attractive to the consumer. Until underage smoking is controlled, the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) needs to continue to regulate the sales of cigarettes more carefully because 90 percent of all smokers get hooked before the age of 21. The FDAs main focus is to discourage young people from taking up cigarettes in the first place (Shaw, Barry 460). After analyzing this particular article, I found moral issues that need to be addressed and resolved. My moral values are from a solid foundation involving religion and social customs. It is against the Catholic religion to subject a human body to any harm, especially harm that would result in death. It is proven by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), smoking remains the leading cause of preventable deaths in the United States and is responsible for 16% of all deaths nationwide (Shaw, Barry 460). Social customs are that the youth should not be using an adult product. Since there is an age limit on the purchase of cigarettes, any minor violating this rule is committing a crime. If adults dont enforce the law for underage smoking, they are also guilty of committing a crime. .u8f327cb41039e192200a067daeb2f7e1 , .u8f327cb41039e192200a067daeb2f7e1 .postImageUrl , .u8f327cb41039e192200a067daeb2f7e1 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u8f327cb41039e192200a067daeb2f7e1 , .u8f327cb41039e192200a067daeb2f7e1:hover , .u8f327cb41039e192200a067daeb2f7e1:visited , .u8f327cb41039e192200a067daeb2f7e1:active { border:0!important; } .u8f327cb41039e192200a067daeb2f7e1 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u8f327cb41039e192200a067daeb2f7e1 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u8f327cb41039e192200a067daeb2f7e1:active , .u8f327cb41039e192200a067daeb2f7e1:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u8f327cb41039e192200a067daeb2f7e1 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u8f327cb41039e192200a067daeb2f7e1 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u8f327cb41039e192200a067daeb2f7e1 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u8f327cb41039e192200a067daeb2f7e1 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u8f327cb41039e192200a067daeb2f7e1:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u8f327cb41039e192200a067daeb2f7e1 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u8f327cb41039e192200a067daeb2f7e1 .u8f327cb41039e192200a067daeb2f7e1-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u8f327cb41039e192200a067daeb2f7e1:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Enric Miralles - Time Architecture EssayMy moral view of raising taxes and issuing fines on tobacco products is that the money should have an immediate impact on society and used towards the prevention of youth smoking. The resolution to the moral dilemma in this article is if the government is going to rise taxes on tobacco products, the money received from the taxes should be redistributed to an well-organized anti-tobacco program. This program should include regulatory enforcement form the FDA on the addictive substance, nicotine. The tobacco companies should be responsible for providing a product that does not cause physical addiction. The fines issued for underage smoking should be directly redistributed into educating the general public and prevention of accessibility to tobacco products. This would include additional law enforcement and administrative costs. Fifty percent of the fines collected should be used towards researching a cure for nicotine addiction. Resolving the moral issue with advertising tobacco products, tobacco companies should be banned from all public advertisement including all sporting events unless they agree to provide more resources to prevent underage smoking. The current TV commercial advertising today, portrays the tobacco companies as being law abiding and self-regulating companies. These same commercials contain actual teenagers desiring to purchase tobacco products. The purchase of tobacco products is portrayed as an acceptable social behavior to young people. These solutions are truly moral solutions because it forces the Tobacco Company to redirect funds to address social issue of underage smoking and it also helps reduce the risk of tobacco addiction. In conclusion, if the tobacco industries refuse to voluntarily address the issues with advertisement of tobacco products and does not support the campaign to reduce underage smoking, the government needs to intervene. Prior to this intervention, the government needs to have a well-developed plan to assure the taxes and fines will be distributed directly to the issues of underage smoking. Work CitedBabington, Charles. Underage Smoking Fine Sought for Big Tobacco.Washington Post. 4 Feb. 2000. Sec A: Page A06,07Shaw, William H. and Vincent Barry. Moral Issues in Business. Belmont,CA: Wadsworth, 1998.

Goran Kapicic at Actavis China free essay sample

Question 1 : Identify the factors that contributed to Kapicic’s successful turn-around of the company It can probably be seen that there are many factors that contributed to the successful turnover of Kapicic. However, from my point of view, there are three main factors that brought about the success of Kapicic which are his education background, understanding of Chinese culture and the way he influenced his employees. Firstly, Kapicic was privileged to be born in an well – educated family. His characteristics were mostly influenced by his father’s philosophy which made him to work first, if he wants to enjoy a wealthy life afterwards and his father had always been strict to him. Such rigid disciplines had built up important characteristics and working ethic for his future career. Furthermore, after graduated from the University of Zagreb, Kapicic had started working as marketing and sales manager before he was moved to Beijing. It might be true to say that he had a careful preparation for his life long career in China. We will write a custom essay sample on Goran Kapicic at Actavis China or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Secondly, living in China for more than 19 years had built Kapicic a substantial knowledge of the Chinese market , culture and people. In an interview, Kapicic once stated :â€Å"I strongly believe that leaders need to know their business inside out. They need to understand their people and operations.† (Pg 4, Goran Kapicic at Actavis China). Additionally, Kapicic also understood the concept of face which is very important for doing business in China. For example, he gave Li the largest office of the company even bigger than his own office and he never treated his employees at a lower level. He called them his partner, instead. Finally , the most crucial factor is the way that he influenced people. Actavis was initially a lost-making firm with a lot of negativity. When taking over Actavis, Kapicic had brought a brand new refreshing leadership style. It is understandable that Kapicic spent most of his effort on improving staff quality because he understood clearly that people are the fundamental unit of an organization. One of his successful strategies is to never treat his subordinate as second-in-command and he left the autonomy to his employees, which means they had their own decision and solution to the issue. However, he always offered a listening ear and useful advises to anyone who was in need. Delegating the right things to the right people as well as thoroughly praising them also had a remarkable result in influencing people, too. Song  Chenya – his sales manager were strongly motivated by Kapicic. He felt trustworthy and more responsible working with Kapicic. However, painful decisions are unavoidable in doing business and he had made some difficult decision to fire some employees who stood in the way of this company moving ahead. Facing the loss of the whole sales team due to conflict with the sales manager, Kapicic didn’t compromise and make the uncompromising decision. As a result, the sales departure then could recruit an excellent salesperson from other company, the tough decision of Kapicic had finally paid off. Question 2 : Critically discuss Kapicic’s leadership style. According to Don and John (2011), transformational leadership involves anticipating future trends, inspiring followers to understand and embrace a new vision of possibilities , developing others to be leaders or better leaders and building the organization or group into a community of challenged and rewarded learners. In brief, a transformational leader can be described as visionary, inspiring, daring and ethical. Considering thoroughly Kapicic’s personalities and characteristics, we can conclude that Kapicic obtains the transformational leadership style. His leadership style was shown clearly through the three crucial priorities that he embraced. First of all , Kapicic believes that he had the ultimate responsible for providing strategies to achieve the European standards as well as to make profit for the firm. He had carried out some main changes to in the firm by changing its working culture and ethics, replacing key personnel such as Song and Li. In his belief, people are the determinant of the success of a firm, therefore, he put most of his efforts in developing his staffs and employees Second of all, Kapicic is quite a challenge lover. He has never been afraid to take on difficult tasks. For him, rescuing a failing company makes him excited and successfully achieving something that is described as â€Å"mission impossible† is an ultimate challenge to him . When he first came to China in 2005, Actavis was well-known for its negativity and bad image in many business forums. However, after 6 years with attempts to recover the company, it has changed from a loss-making company to a profitable one. Furthermore, the responsibility and enthusiasm of workers have also been improved. Previously, when there came troubles, there were only finger-pointing blaming at each other. Now, everyone takes part for the mistake they made and start working altogether to solve the problem. Third of all, Kapicic has been ultimately inspirational to his employees. Kapicic believed that inspiration and motivation doesn’t come only from speeches and talks. Leaders need to understand their people and operations, talk to their people, listen to them and also share information with them. Not only Kapicic has successfully motivated his employees, he also developed other people to become leader, too. Let’s take Song Chenya – Manager of Sales Department as an obvious example, Kapicic trusted Song’s strategies and talents and gave Song opportunity to take control over his work which made Song feel very content. Within 16 months working at Actavis with the eager of learning and hard-working, Song became the manager of both sales department, leading the team of 90 people. It’s quite true to say that under Kapicic’s leadership style, Song has strongly developed his characteristics to be a leader, too. Furthermore, Kapicic believed that developing more leaders for the company is his mission, too , since the company cannot rely on Li and him solely. However, there are some drawbacks in Kapicic’s leadership style. For instance, leaving the autonomy to the employees without supervising closely might lead to the result that the vision of the leader and the understanding of his employee are wrongly aligned. Furthermore, lazy and unmotivated staffs will easily exploit the given empowerment, becoming lazy and not focusing on the job. Nevertheless, this could be overcome by a close supervision to each assigned task and a well – established compensation system. Question 3. Kapicic obviously places much emphasis on staff development. How should he manage this effort when the company operates in a highly competitive environment with low margins? It is quite true to say that Kapicic placed most of his effort in developing employees since he strongly believed that people are the determinant of an organization and it requires a high-quality developmental program for a good outcome. However, Actavis has just moved from making loss to earning its very first profit and generic drug industry is a highly competitive market with thin margins. Therefore, to take on the decision whether to invest strongly in developing staffs and employees, there are few things that need  to be thoroughly considered. First of all, was it the right time for the investment in developing employees. If so, how should employees be classified and ranked for the development process. Second of all, what kind of developmental programs should be selected, or should Actavis employees be developed through on-the-job experience ? Furthermore, who shoul d be in charge as company’s training providers ? Firstly, I strongly believe that it is the exact time to invest on developing staffs. Employees need not only to be enhanced in specialized skills but also intrapersonal ones, how to interact with or to motivate other people in order to work smoothly with each other for a better outcome. Additionally, choosing the right employees for the development process is important, too. It will help to save not only the explicit cost ( money spent on establishing the course ) but also the implicit cost (time that employees spent on studying instead of manufacturing). For example, employees from departments such as manufacturing, RD should be classified as theoretical-oriented. On the other hand, those from sales , marketing, HR departments would need intrapersonal skills more. Thus, classifying employees plays a very important role in saving cost for the company. Additionally, ranking employees is important, too. There are many ways that a manager can rank his/her employees, however, I believe that employees should be ranked base on their performance, and for each level of performance there will be a different developmental program. People whose performance are the best should deserve a high-level training program , and those who have the lowest outcome should be fired. Secondly, It is my belief that Actavis China should chose an on-the-job training program for several reasons. First of all, it does not require the development of potentially expensive training facilities . Company does not have to pay a training company/college. Furthermore, it is the senior highly skilled and experience staffs who will teach the new staff the exact skills they need for a particular job. Second of all, since on-the-job training is performed right at the work area, training tends to be focused on practical learning. Furthermore, restructuring the compensation and benefit system is also a solution that a manger could come up with. A well designed system will not only save money for the company but also increase the job satisfaction for  the employees. Remember that benefits that the employees receive extra are not necessarily money. For example, health and life insurance could be offered for workers to relieve them from certain fears ( injury, death ). We all have different kinds of needs. Some of us want money so they work for the company which gives them higher pay. Some value achievement more than money, they would associate themselves with firms which offer greater chances of promotion, learning and development. A compensation plan that hits workers’ needs is more likely to motivate them to act in the desired way. Question 4: How will news of the acquisition by Watson affect the employees of Actavis China? Is there anything Kapicic can do in advance so his people will be better prepared? On the 25th of April 2012, the event that Watson had acquired Actavis Group for approximately EUR4.25 billion to become the third largest worldwide generics company was publicly announced. This event obviously would cause some dramatic changes in the structure of Actavis company as well as negative effects on the employees morale. First of all, this event would initially result in a stressful and nervous workplace. Changing has never been easy to both employees and managers, especially when they cannot involve in making decision that has great impacts on their job – the fear of being under control of somebody else who doesn’t have the same experience and expertise. Consequently, this would affect the performance of the company negatively. Second of all is the fear of losing job. Hardly ever do two organizations have the same culture and characteristics, therefore when they come together as one, conflicts are unavoidable. According to Linda Pophal – a communication consultant with Strategic Communications, LLC, â€Å"as these groups get to know each other there will inevitably be conflict and perceived or real losses on both sides†. The loss could be their jobs, their opportunities or even the formal power that they previously had. This fear thus has negative effects on the productivity as well as the spirit of employees, some might even quit the job to look for somewhere else better. Third of all, competition and attempt to keep the jobs or to protect the position in the company will result in hatred and conflict between the old employees and the new comers in the company. Such competitiveness will obviously result in lower performance , cold tension and stress at workplace or sometimes even violence. Acquisition and merger happens frequently in business nowadays, however changing and adapting to new things has hardly ever been easy. Some may refuse to change, some may even quit the job for another opportunity. During the acquisitions and mergers, I strongly believe that the manager plays a crucial role in helping his employees to overcome these difficulties. The below are several recommended strategies that a Kapicic could do to help his employees. Firstly, being empathetic and supportive is very important. Understanding how difficult it is for the employee to change is necessary. Kapicic should put himself in his employees’ shoes to identify those who are in trouble of the changes and help them to overcome it. When employees can feel the empathy and the concerning attitudes of the manager, they will willingly start to provide information. Such openness also help to build up collaborative problems solving, which may overcome barriers to change. Secondly, providing a clearly upcoming plan for the acquisition is also a very effective strategy. It might be better to have your employees carefully prepared and know certainly what they need to do. Finally, staff communication is crucial. People are more likely to resist change when there are uncertain and vague information. Communicating effectively can reduce gossip, rumors and fears among the employees. The less information management shares with employees, the more employees will engage in speculation about the upcoming transaction. Minimal communication from management leads to drops in employee morale, productivity and job satisfaction. Effective company management can hold meetings and provide frequent communications with employees to explain the acquisition reasons and provide an integration plan and timeline so employees feel they are part of the process.