The Early Book of Acts Essay -- Acts Five Bible Religion Christianity

The Early Book of Acts The early book of Acts delivers a message that blessings from the Lord are exceedingly abundant. We are shown that prosperity and blessings were bestowed upon believers that were eager to give unselfish sacrifice to God, but only when done so with an honest heart. When the offerings were tainted with deceit, the blessings turn to curses and the prosperity was vanquished by famine and death. An example of such a case is represented in the story of Ananias and Sapphira. And Joseph, a Levite of Cyprian birth, who was also called Barnabas by the apostles, translated means â€Å"Son of Encouragement†, sold a field which belonged to him, and brought the sum of money and laid it at the feet of the apostles, (Acts 4:36-37) was a man filled with the Holy Spirit. For he was a good man, and full of the Holy Spirit and of faith (Acts 11:24). Then there was Ananias, whose heart was filled with Satan. But Peter said, â€Å"Ananias, why has Satan filled you heart to lie to the Holy Spirit, and to keep back some of the price of the land† (Acts 5:3). Here we have two sides of a spectrum. One was utterly truthful, while the other a liar. There offerings show us the differences in counter pointed faith and unbelief, selflessness and selfishness, goodness and deceitfulness, sacrifice and sacrilege, trust in God and the worship of self, total commitment and supported hypocrisy. Even when grace was offered the selfishness of man prevailed and the conseque nces were severe. Discussion However, there are major problems and concerns that we can question concerning the nature of Ananias’ sin. Ask yourself what if Ananias had just said: â€Å"Here is where we would like to be, with Barnabas’ kind of trust and generosity, but we find that we are not there yet. All we can do for now is give part of the proceeds. May the Church of the Holy Spirit help us grow toward what we would like to Become?† Then there would have been healing, nurture, and grace mediated through other believers in the caring fellowship. But instead there was deceit and death. Ananias and Sapphira were ordinary people who wanted to flaunt a spiritual beauty they didn’t possess. Then again, what sins might have we committed if we were sure we’d never be found out? If people carried out some of the evils they plan or dream about, all of mankind would be in jail for life. But the sin of Ana... ...me out best in every comparison, but they seem to only come out best in there own eyes. On the other hand, the essence of grace is acceptance. It’s an acceptance by God, of others, and most importantly of us. Grace is love before worth and it creates a worth in another rather than responding to worth in others. We therefore can conclude that grace abounds were sin abounds. While the church is a society of people on the receiving end of God’s grace, it’s the communal balance of excellence were we accept others fully on the same basis as God has accepted us. Wherefore, accept one another, just as Christ also accepted us to the glory of God (Romans 15:7). While God’s grace is offered, anyone with honesty can accept this offer. Acceptance is solely on the basis of grace; not law, not doctrine, not sacramental observation, but God’s grace alone. Works Cited: The Holy Bible, New American Standard Version. La Habra, California: THE LOCKMAN FOUNDATION. 1984. Luke 10:17, Acts 4:32-35. , Acts 5:1-8, Acts 11:24, Romans 15:7 The Bible, New International Version. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Bible Publishers, 1984. Luke 10:17, Acts 4:32-35. , Acts 5:1-8, Acts 11:24, Romans 15:7

Creative Deviance: Bucking the Hierarchy? Essay

1. I believe it is possible for an organization to deliberately create an â€Å"anti-hierarchy† to encourage employees to engage in more acts of creative deviance. All things being equal, the broad span of control leads to efficient organization while a narrow span of control results in hierarchical organization. However, span of control can be affected by some factors, such as abilities of the managers and employees, jobs complexity. Encouraging creative deviance is about executing on the innovation opportunities. There are five steps I think a company could take to encourage creative deviance. Firstly, encouraging innovation is the most important step to have creative deviance. Secondly, when you make mistakes while you are innovating, you are better admit the problems as soon as possible and keep going on with improving your other innovations. Thirdly, creating a wonderful environment for your employees that could fosters innovation. Fourthly, trying to give your employees enough time and space to think innovatively so that they might have creative deviance.Last but not least, company that are less centralized would have a greater amount of autonomy, which may motivate employees to attain creative deviance. 2. The dangers of an approach that encourage creative deviance are: problems would not be seen as signs of failure, or even as issues that should be resolved before moving on to the next stage of development; misplaced enthusiasm can lead to an unrealistically tight development timetable; and lenient review procedures. Furthermore, there are dangers in listening too closely to existing consumers, who might just ask for an improvement to an existing product or service rather than imagining a new way of doing something. In addition, if the companies cannot kill projects and products that are doomed to fail, the company will be in a danger. If creative deviance is the duel in your company’s growth engine, creative deviance gone badly can derail the whole train before it ever gets to the hill. Much less up it. 3. A company like Apple id able to be creative with strongly hierarchical structure is  because the key to Apple’s success is not as it appears its hierarchal structure. Instead of that, the key to Apple’s success is having strong cross-functional teams. Different from other companies with traditional â€Å"assembly line† type of development, Apple adopts parallel production in which are having all the groups including design, manufacturing, engineering and sales to meet continuously through the product-development cycle. Then, they hold brainstorming sessions, trading idea sessions and solutions sessions. Strategizing over the most pressing issues, and generally keeping the conversation open to a diverse group of perspectives. Although the process is noisy and involves far more open-ended and contentious meetings than traditional production cycles, the result is Apple’s success. However, the other companies find hierarchy limiting is because they keep doing the traditional â€Å"assembly line† type of development which is the designers start the process by designing the product and its basic features, and then the developers take a look at the design and shrink it down to what is possible. The manufacturers then figure out how to produce large quantities of this product taking out more parts and features along the way, and then the marketing and sales people figure out how to sell it. Bu the time the product goes to market, there is no creative deviance appear. 4. I believe that Apple’s success has been entirely dependent upon Steven Job’s role as a head of the hierarchy. Without the contribution from Jobs, Apple would not prosper as we can see today. Under this unique leadership style, employees are willing to work had and try their best to dedicate for their consistent goal. However, the potential liabilities of a company that is connected to the decision-making of a single individual is if the decision-maker is not visionary enough, the whole company will ruin by him or her. The fundamental errors in the leader’s perceptions can lead to a failed vision. Common problems include an inability to detect important changes in markets, for example, competitive. Technological, or consumer needs; a failure to accurately assess and obtain the necessary resources for the vision’s accomplishment; and a misreading or exaggerated sense of the needs of markets or constituents. Therefore, it is so important to select a wise l eader who always has a clear vision, experience, and all the possible problems and situations have to be taken into account before making the decision.

Emerging Adulthood Defining the Developmental Stage

Emerging adulthood is a new developmental stage, taking place between adolescence and young adulthood, proposed by psychologist Jeffrey Jensen Arnett. It is defined as a period of identity exploration that takes place before individuals make long-term adult commitments. Arnett has argued that emerging adulthood should be added to the eight life stages in Eriksons stage theory. Critics contend that the concept of emerging adulthood is simply the product of contemporary socioeconomic conditions and is non-universal, and thus should not be considered a true life stage. Key Takeaways: Emerging Adulthood Emerging adulthood is a developmental stage proposed by psychologist Jeffrey Jensen Arnett. The stage takes place between ages 18-25, after adolescence and before young adulthood. It is marked by a period of identity exploration. Scholars disagree about whether or not emerging adulthood is a true developmental stage. Some argue that it is simply a label for young adults in specific socioeconomic conditions in industrialized countries. Origins In the middle of the 20th century, Erik Erikson proposed a stage theory of psychosocial development. The theory outlines eight stages that take place throughout the human life span. The fifth stage, which takes place during adolescence, is a period of identity exploration and development. During this stage, adolescents attempt to determine who they are in the present while also imagining possible futures for themselves. It is at this stage when individuals begin to pursue specific options for their lives, forgoing other options. In 2000, psychologist Jeffrey Jensen Arnett upended Eriksons theory by suggesting that adolescence is no longer the primary period of identity exploration. Instead, he proposed that emerging adulthood is a ninth stage of human development. According to Arnett, emerging adulthood takes place between the ages of 18 and 25—after adolescence but before young adulthood. Arnett based his argument on demographic changes that had taken place in the decades since Eriksons work. Since the mid-1900s, social and economic shifts in the United States and other Western countries have led to increased college attendance. Meanwhile, entry into the workforce, marriage, and parenthood has been delayed from the early 20s to the mid-to-late 20s. As a result of these changes, Arnett claimed, the process of identity development largely takes place after adolescence, during the emerging adulthood stage. What Emerging Adulthood Means According to Arnett, emerging adulthood occurs during the transition period from adolescence to adulthood. Emerging adulthood takes places during the late teens and early-to-mid 20s, when individuals typically have relatively few externally-enforced expectations or obligations. They use this period as an opportunity for identity exploration, trying out different roles and engaging in different experiences, particularly in the domains of work, love, and worldview. Emerging adulthood ends gradually as individuals make more permanent adult commitments throughout their 20s. Emerging adulthood is distinct from adolescence and young adulthood. Unlike adolescents, emerging adults have finished high school, are legally considered adults, have already gone through puberty, and often don’t live with their parents. Unlike young adults, emerging adults have not assumed adult roles in marriage, parenthood, or careers. Risk-taking behavior, such as unprotected sex, substance abuse, and drunk or reckless driving, peaks in emerging adulthood—not adolescence, as is often assumed. Such risk-taking behavior is part of the identity exploration process. Part of the explanation for its peak in emerging adulthood is the fact that emerging adults have more freedom than adolescents and fewer responsibilities than young adults. Emerging adults often report feeling not-quite-adult but not-quite-adolescent. As such, emerging adulthood and the associated feeling of being in-between adolescence and adulthood is a construct of Western cultures, and consequently, not universal. Adult status is reached as emerging adults learn to accept responsibility for themselves, make their own decisions, and become financially independent. Controversy and Criticism Since Arnett first introduced the concept of emerging adulthood almost two decades ago, the term and the ideas behind it have spread quickly through a number of academic disciplines. The term is now often used in research to describe a specific age cohort. Yet, in his stage theory of the human life span, Erikson noted that cases of prolonged adolescence, which would approximately coincide with the emerging adult years, were possible. Consequently, some researchers argue emerging adulthood is not a new phenomenon—it’s simply late adolescence. There is still controversy amongst scholars over whether emerging adulthood really represents a distinct life stage. Some of the most common criticisms of the idea of emerging adulthood are as follows: Financial Privilege Some scholars have claimed that emerging adulthood is not a developmental phenomenon but a result of financial privilege that enables young people to attend college or delay the transition to full adulthood in other ways. These researchers argue that emerging adulthood is a luxury that those who must take on adult responsibilities, such as entering the workforce immediately after high school, must forego. Awaiting Opportunity Scholar James Cà ´tà © takes this point a step further by arguing that emerging adults may not be involved in active, deliberate identity exploration at all. He suggests that, for social or economic reasons, these individuals are waiting for opportunities to become available that will enable them to make the transition into adulthood. From this perspective, active identity exploration may not take place beyond adolescence. This idea is supported by research, which found that a majority of emerging adults were engaged less in identity experimentation and more in working toward adult responsibilities and commitments. False Limit on Identity Exploration Other researchers argue that emerging adulthood unnecessarily limits the period of identity exploration. They argue that phenomenons like the rate of divorce and frequent job and career changes force people to re-evaluate their identities throughout the life span. Thus, identity exploration is now a life-long pursuit, and emerging adulthood is not unique for engaging in it. Incongruity with Erikson's Theory In his original stage theory, Erikson asserted that each stage was dependent on the previous stage. He said that if an individual doesn’t successfully develop specific skills during each stage, their development will be impacted at later stages. So, when Arnett concedes that emerging adulthood is culturally specific, non-universal, and may not exist in the future, he undermines his own argument that emerging adulthood is a distinct developmental period. Furthermore, emerging adulthood is limited to industrialized societies, and doesn’t generalize to all ethnic minorities in those societies. Given all of these criticisms, scholars Leo Hendry and Marion Kloep contend that emerging adulthood is merely a useful label. It may well be that emerging adulthood accurately describes young adults in specific socioeconomic conditions in industrialized countries, but is not a true life stage. Sources Arnett, Jeffrey Jensen. â€Å"Emerging Adulthood: A Theory of Development From the Late Teens Through the Twenties.† American Psychologist, vol. 55, no. 5, 2000, pp. 469-480. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.55.5.469Arnett, Jeffrey Jensen. â€Å"Emerging Adulthood, A 21st Century Theory: A rejoinder to Hendry and Kloep.† Child Development Perspectives, vol. 1, no. 2, 2007, pp. 80-82. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1750-8606.2007.00018.xArnett, Jeffrey Jensen. â€Å"Emerging Adulthood: What Is It, and What Is It Good For?† Child Development Perspectives, vol. 1, no. 2, 2007, pp. 68-73. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1750-8606.2007.00016.xCà ´tà ©, James E. â€Å"Identity Formation and Self-Development in Adolescence.† Handbook of Adolescent Psychology, edited by Richard M. Lerner and Laurence Steinberg, John Wiley Sons, Inc., 2009. https://doi.org/10.1002/9780470479193.adlpsy001010Cà ´tà ©, James and John M. Bynner. â€Å"Changes in the Transition to Adultho od in the UK and Canada: The Role of Structure and Agency in Emerging Adulthood.† Journal of Youth Studies, vol. 11, no. 3, 251-268, 2008. https://doi.org/10.1080/13676260801946464Erikson, Erik H. Identity: Youth and Crisis. W.W. Norton Company, 1968.Hendry, Leo B., and Marion Kloep. â€Å"Conceptualizing emerging adulthood: Inspecting the emperor’s new clothes?† Child Development Perspectives, vol. 1, no. 2, 2007, pp. 74-79. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1750-8606.2007.00017.xSettersten, Richard A., Jr. â€Å"Becoming Adult: Meanings and Markers for Young Americans.† The Network on Transitions to Adulthood Working Paper, 2006. youthnys.org/InfoDocs/BecomingAnAdult-3-06.pdf