Motivation and Stress in the Workplace an Example of the Topic Career by

Motivation and Stress in the Workplace When one thinks of stress, there is an immediate negative connotation to the word. However, there are select times when stress is seen in another light. To put explain the point, Theodore Roosevelt once said, "Nothing in the world is worth having or worth doing unless it means effort, pain, difficulty" (Quote DB). Though not many realize it, stress may actually be a means of motivation. Need essay sample on "Motivation and Stress in the Workplace" topic? We will write a custom essay sample specifically for you Proceed Undergraduates Frequently Tell Us: Who wants to write assignment for me? Specialists advise: Professionals Are Creating Successful College Custom Essays! If one is not motivated to perform, it would be fair to assume that one would not produce as much output in either skill or goods, as compared to one who is motivated. There is a certain degree of pressure or stress that would motivate an employee. Three theories may explain motivation, the first being Traditional Theory X, which is mostly attributed to Sigmund Freud and is most commonly known as the "stick and carrot" concept. This concept mostly views people to be motivated by rewards or would like to avoid punishment. Another theory is Theory Y by Douglas McGregor which plays on his belief that a person works for self-improvement and does not rely so much on salary or benefits as one would think (Accel-Team). Last, is Theory Z by Maslow, in which his most well-known work, his hierarchy of needs, is in focus. Maslow's hierarchy of needs plays upon the idea that people are motivated to meet certain needs, and when one is stable for a certain level of needs, one would naturally work out the next level in search of fulfillment (Romando, 2007). With all theories, one thing stays the same - one is pressured to meet a goal, be it for a reward, self-development, or to meet a certain level of needs for fulfillment. When met with stress in work, personally, it is better to stop first, avoid further strain and to try another approach to the situation. In the future, an effective technique may be to consider what the rewards and consequences are in the situation, how the situation would aid in self-development, and consider what needs it would fulfill. References: Accel-Team (n.d.) Employee Motivation: Theory and practice. Retrieved May 23, 2010, from http://www.accel-team.com/motivation/index.html Quote DB (n.d.) Theodore Roosevelt. Retrieved May 23, 2010, from http://www.quotedb.com/quotes/1254 Romando, R. (2007, January 8). Motivation Theory. Retrieved May 23, 2010, from http://ezinearticles.com/?Motivation- Theory&id=410700

The eNotes Blog An Owls-Eye View of National PoetryMonth

An Owls-Eye View of National PoetryMonth National Poetry Month began in 1996 and has become the largest literary celebration in the world. It is an important reminder to engage with poetry through public and private readings, lectures, and support of local authors. Poetry challenges us to broaden our thinking about the physical and metaphysical by using beautiful imagery, various sonic tools, and myriad forms both classic and contemporary. To celebrate one of our oldest literary forms, we took a peek at what the folks over at Owl Eyes are doing with their poetry library. In honor of this past National Poetry Month, the staff at Owl Eyes compiled and annotated some of their favorite poetical works. At Owl Eyes, the process of celebration was more involved than simply reading the poems; it also encompassed round-table discussions which became a vehicle for categorizing the poems into a few specific, thematic groups based on their elements; namely, the romanticism of natural subjects, the transience of beauty, and criticism of patriarchal influences. The team read each poem, gathered together to collect and share ideas, and then annotated each poem based on core themes. Alongside their annotations, they have begun the process of creating beautiful and original cover art for each poem. Weve gathered our favorite covers and quotes from selected poems- and we invite you to read the rest of the poem and their annotations for free on Owl Eyes. Mending Wall by Robert Frost â€Å"He only says, Good fences make good neighbours. Spring is the mischief in me, and I wonder If I could put a notion in his head: Why do they make good neighbours? Isnt it Where there are cows? But here there are no cows.† There Will Come Soft Rains by  Sara Teasdale â€Å"There will come soft rains and the smell of the ground, And swallows circling with their shimmering sound;† Pied Beauty by  Gerard Manley Hopkins â€Å"Fresh-firecoal chestnut-falls; finches’ wings; Landscape plotted and pieced- fold, fallow, and plough;† The Fish by  Marianne Moore â€Å"sun, split like spun   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  glass, move themselves with spotlight swiftness   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  into the crevices-   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  in and out, illuminating† Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard by  Thomas Gray â€Å"Beneath those rugged elms, that yew-trees shade,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Where heaves the turf in many a mouldering   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  heap, Each in his narrow cell for ever laid,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The rude Forefathers of the hamlet sleep.†

Budget Requirements Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Budget Requirements - Coursework Example The selected families will be offered free training, education and mentorship programs until they qualify to leave the program. For us to finance all the activities of the organization, we require to have around $100,000. This will enable us to cater for all the services that we will be delivering to our beneficiaries. As indicated in our budget, the available resources will be properly spent. Meaning, all the planned items will be funded as planned. The total number of families will be 50. This is the appropriate number that we will mange to support at this time. Out of these families, each family will be allocated $1,837. This will be enough to cater for all their expenses throughout the year. However, it is from this allocation that we will get the money to provide for all the necessary services and materials that they will be requiring as we enroll them into this program. They will be used for licensing the program, buying the required materials, paying the personnel and catering for any other activity which might be undertaken during the program. For this reason, we will allocate a total of $30,000 for staff salaries. This will be used to remunerate the program coordinator, assistant coordinator, part and full-time instructors who will be directly handling the children. Besides, we will spend $20,000 on training services; $10,000 for technical assistance; $5,000 for acquiring licenses and registering with our national affiliates. At the same time, we will have to spare $10,000 for the development of the program and then use $10,000 to purchase learning materials such as text books. Last, but by no means the least, the remaining $850 will be left for any other expense which might arise, may be because of emergency or such like issues. By doing this, we are assured of a promising career in the NGO

Reflect on Challenges and Successes Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Reflect on Challenges and Successes - Assignment Example How they would overcome the challenges to boost the learning process as a whole. Modifying of the curriculum to fit the learners’ best interest was part of the research. This paper was prepared from materials and articles obtained in the library. Other data collected was direct to the field study at near local schools where I attended their full-time curriculum and interacted with the learners as well. I also used books on education to relate to my field study. Through the interaction with students, also had questionnaires that were both oral and others were in written form to those who wanted confidentiality. Most of the learners came out freely and told their mind of what they thought education was like (Hopkins 2008). According to, Philpott, a Masters student from the University of Edinburgh, she comes out clearly and explains the challenges that are facing the school system. Also from the researching policy, I found that despite the existence of the comprehensive structure of roles and responsibility, several policies do advocate for educational issues of health and HIV/AIDS and biased gender. Subsequently, there is seen to be the lack of effectiveness of the communication flows, monitoring of the learners, training of the teachers and overall evaluation of the education curriculum system (Radin, 2006). Lack of trained personnel and lack of essential learning equipment to both teachers and the students due to increased poverty level that has resonated the entire school environment. Most institutions lacked qualified trained personnel. Scarcity of reading and learning materials by the developing nations is seen to be a challenging factor as well (Radin, 2006). Socio-cultural practices are also witnessed to paralyzes the education system where in some ethnic groups do not offer education to the girl child terming it a misuse of finical resources. Cases of school dropout are amongst the most

My Paper on Interprenual School of Thought Essay Example for Free

My Paper on Interprenual School of Thought Essay Entrepreneurship is a concept which is defined in many ways. The word entrepreneur means a person who undertakes from the French term called eneteprendre. In terms of business, the term entrepreneur means starting a business. An entrepreneur is a person who manages, organizes, and takes over all the enterprise or business risks. Other definitions include a person who has high ambition and aptitude to initiate change is known as an entrepreneur. The entrepreneurial school of thought is based on vision: a mental representation of strategy created or at least expressed in the head of the leader as perspective, specifically a sense of long term direction of organizations future and a sound vision and visionary CEO can help organization in turbulent times or in very difficult years for the organization also it have shortfalls that hanging on the health and whim of single person, the death or health problem of that person result in crisis of organization. nd one of present day successful entrepreneur and its strategic moves in the direction of the school of thought is discussed. Historical background of the school Throughout the theoretical history of entrepreneurship, scholars from multiple disciplines in the social sciences have grappled with a diverse set of interpretations and definitions to conceptualize this abstract idea. Over time, some writers have identified entrepreneurship with the function of uncertainty-bearing, others with the coordination of productive resources, others with the introduction of innovation, and still others with the provision of capital (Hoselitz, 1952). Even though certain themes continually resurface throughout the history of entrepreneurship theory, presently there is no single definition of entrepreneurship that is accepted by all economists or that is applicable in every economy. Although there is only limited consensus about the defining characteristics of entrepreneurship, the concept is almost as old as the formal discipline of economics itself. The term entrepreneur was first introduced by the early 18th century French economist Richard Cantillon. In his writings, he formally defines the entrepreneur as the agent who buys means of production at certain prices in order to combine them into a new product (Schumpeter, 1951). Shortly thereafter, the French economist J. B. Say added to Cantillons definition by including the idea that entrepreneurs had to be leaders. Say claims that an entrepreneur is one who brings other people together in order to build a single productive organism (Schumpeter, 1951). Over the next century, British economists such as Adam Smith, David Ricardo, and John Stuart Mill briefly touched on the concept of entrepreneurship, though they referred to it under the broad English term of business management. Whereas the writings of Smith and Ricardo suggest that they likely undervalued the importance of entrepreneurship, Mill goes out of his way to stress the significance of entrepreneurship for economic growth. In his writings, Mill claims that entrepreneurship requires no ordinary skill, and he laments the fact that there is no good English equivalent word to encompass the specific meaning of the French term entrepreneur (Schumpeter, 1951). The necessity of entrepreneurship for production was first formally recognized by Alfred Marshall in 1890. In his famous treatise Principles of Economics, Marshall asserts that there are four factors of production: land, labor, capital, and organization. Organization is the coordinating factor, which brings the other factors together, and Marshall believed that entrepreneurship is the driving element behind organization. By creatively organizing, entrepreneurs create new commodities or improve the plan of producing an old commodity (Marshall, 1994). In order to do this, Marshall believed that entrepreneurs must have a thorough understanding about their industries, and they must be natural leaders. Additionally, Marshalls entrepreneurs must have the ability to foresee changes in supply and demand and be willing to act on such risky forecasts in the absence of complete information (Marshall, 1994). Like Mill, Marshall suggests that the skills associated with entrepreneurship are rare and limited in supply. He claims that the abilities of the entrepreneur are so great and so numerous that very few people can exhibit them all in a very high degree (1994). Marshall, however, implies that people can be taught to acquire the abilities that are necessary to be an entrepreneur. Unfortunately, the opportunities for entrepreneurs are often limited by the economic environment which surrounds them. Additionally, although entrepreneurs share some common abilities, all entrepreneurs are different, and their successes depend on the economic situations in which they attempt their endeavors (Marshall, 1994). Since the time of Marshall, the concept of entrepreneurship has continued to undergo theoretical evolution. For example, whereas Marshall believed entrepreneurship was simply the driving force behind organization, many economists today, but certainly not all, believe that entrepreneurship is by itself the fourth factor of production that coordinates the other three (Arnold, 1996). Unfortunately, although many economists agree that entrepreneurship is necessary for economic growth, they continue to debate over the actual role that entrepreneurs play in generating economic growth. One school of thought on entrepreneurship suggests that the role of the entrepreneur is that of a risk-bearer in the face of uncertainty and imperfect information. Knight claims that an entrepreneur will be willing to bear the risk of a new venture if he believes that there is a significant chance for profit (Swoboda, 1983). Although many current theories on entrepreneurship agree that there is an inherent component of risk, the risk-bearer theory alone cannot explain why some individuals become entrepreneurs while others do not. For example, following from Knight, Mises claims any person who bears the risk of losses or any type of uncertainty could be called an entrepreneur under this narrow-definition of the entrepreneur as the risk-bearer (Swoboda, 1983). Thus, in order to build a development model of entrepreneurship it is necessary to look at some of the other characteristics that help explain why some people are entrepreneurs; risk may be a factor, but it is not the only one. Another modern school of thought claims that the role of the entrepreneur is that of an innovator; however, the definition of innovation is still widely debatable. Kirzner suggests that the process of innovation is actually that of spontaneous undeliberate learning (Kirzner, 1985, 10). Thus, the necessary characteristic of the entrepreneur is alertness, and no intrinsic skills-other than that of recognizing opportunities-are necessary. Other economists in the innovation school side more with Mill and Marshall than with Kirzner; they claim that entrepreneurs have special skills that enable them to participate in the process of innovation. Along this line, Leibenstein claims that the dominant, necessary characteristic of entrepreneurs is that they are gap-fillers: they have the ability to perceive where the market fails and to develop new goods or processes that the market demands but which are not currently being supplied. Thus, Leibenstein posits that entrepreneurs have the special ability to connect different markets and make up for market failures and deficiencies. Additionally, drawing from the early theories of Say and Cantillon, Leibenstein suggests that entrepreneurs have the ability to combine various inputs into new innovations in order to satisfy unfulfilled market demand (Leibenstein, 1995). Although many economists accept the idea that entrepreneurs are innovators, it can be difficult to apply this theory of entrepreneurship to less developed countries (LDCs). Often in LDCs, entrepreneurs are not truly innovators in the traditional sense of the word. For example, entrepreneurs in LDCs rarely produce brand new products; rather, they imitate the products and production processes that have been invented elsewhere in the world (typically in developed countries). This process, which occurs in developed countries as well, is called creative imitation (Drucker, 1985) The term appears initially paradoxical; however, it is quite descriptive of the process of innovation that actually occurs in LDCs. Creative imitation takes place when the imitators better understand how an innovation can be applied, used, or sold in their particular market niche (namely their own countries) than do the people who actually created or discovered the original innovation. Thus, the innovation process in LDCs is often that of imitating and adapting, instead of the traditional notion of new product or process discovery and development. As the above discussion demonstrates, throughout the evolution of entrepreneurship theory, different scholars have posited different characteristics that they believe are common among most entrepreneurs. By combining the above disparate theories, a generalized set of entrepreneurship qualities can be developed. In general, entrepreneurs are risk-bearers, coordinators and organizers, gap-fillers, leaders, and innovators or creative imitators. Although this list of characteristics is by no means fully comprehensive, it can help explain why some people become entrepreneurs while others do not. Thus, by encouraging these qualities and abilities, governments can theoretically alter their countrys supply of domestic entrepreneurship. (David Burnett, thechnoprenurial. com September 2000) Main content of the school The most central concept of this school is vision: a mental representation of strategy created or at least expressed in the head of the leader as perspective, specifically a sense of long term direction of organizations future. That vision serves as both an inspiration and a sense of what needs to be done a guiding idea, if you like. True to its label, vision often tends to be a kind of image more than a fully articulated plan (in words and numbers). That leaves it flexible, so that the leader can adapt it to his or her intuition and experiences. The strategic vision is malleable this suggests that entrepreneurial strategy is both deliberate and emergent: deliberate in its broad lines and sense of direction, emergent in its details so that these can be adapted en route. The school of thought focuses on creating new ideas at the right time to suit the market niche. This leads to the success of the entrepreneurial activity. The tendency of the strategy to take the form of niche allows it to protect market position from the forces of outright competition (Blue ocean strategy). Market awareness and creativity are the most essential aspects according to this school of thought. In strategy making it’s dominated by active search of new opportunities in dramatic leaps forward in the face of uncertainty and growth is the the dominant goal of the organization. The process of strategy formation is semiconscious at best, rooted in the experience and intuition of the leader, whether he or she actually conceives the strategy or adopts it from others and then internalizes it in his or her own behavior the power is centralized in the hands of Chief executives. Contribution discussion A sound vision and visionary CEO can help organization to sail cohesively through muddy waters especially in early or very difficult years for the organization. Deliberate in broad line but flexible and emergent in the details. The malleable and emergent nature of vision and cognition of a manager can enable to explore the opportunities that exist focusing on the actions that lead to creation of value in the present day shifting landscape of business environment. Limitation discussion It presents strategy formation as all wrapped up in the behavior of single individual. It didn’t say about the process. Cruising in predefined image or vision can blind someone for potential unexpected danger or developments. Vague vision; strategies are designed manly based on the leaders intuition. How and when to find the right charismatic visionary leader with the qualities is hard and could be subjective. It requires full knowledge of all the processes and operation. It’s risky that hanging on the health and whim of single person, the escape or death of that person result in crisis of organization. Back ground of Liu Yongxing (East Hope Group) After resigned their jobs and sold their bicycles and watches to raise money, Chairman Chen Yuxin and his three brothers Liu Yongyan, Liu Yongxing, and Liu Yonghao returned to their hometown county of Xinjin in Sichuan province end of 1982. With the initial ? 1000 raised collectively, they established their own business, the Yuxin Fine Breed Farm, to raise quails and chickens. The company had great profit and had established their strong footing in the industry of breading farm. They also have helped to transform the county of Xinjin to the largest quail farm in the world In 1987, Liu Yongxing and his brother Chen Yuxin developed new high-end pig feeds in order to compete with then dominating foreign high-end big feeds products and at the same time with substantial cost advantages. The Liu brothers therefore soon expanded their company into the animal feeds industry and had achieved their second biggest milestone in the making of the company history. By 1995, the Hope Group had won awards of No. 1 of China 100 Feeds Companies and No. of China 500 Private Enterprises. The Hope Group had grown so rapidly that the four brothers decided to split it into four entities: Continental Hope, East Hope, West Hope, and New Hope led respectively by Liu Yongyan, Liu Yongxing, Chen Yuxin, and Liu Yonghao. After separating with other brothers he established the head quarter of east hope group in Chengdu High -Tech Development zone which was moved to shanghai Pudong in April 1999. The east hope group still focuses on feed production, mainly on expanding to the upstream and the downstream along the feed industry chain. Apart from the two feed companies in Vietnam the East hope Group led by him had 68 subsidiary companies in 16 province, cities and autonomous region in china whose main business area was feed production, together with some other related industries such as flour, food, bio engineering , fertilizer ,electrolytic aluminum and investment. During the 20 year development in feed and investment areas, the group had been made rolling development by relying on its own capital its investors include Mingsheng bank , Guang Ming diary industry, Sino Korea BBQ Western Fast food, Beijing Nanshan skiing field ,etc. n order to build world competitive industry chain incorporating aluminum and electricity the group had been engaging in series of projects: electrolytic aluminum plant with the annual yield of 160,000 tons and a power generator set with an annual yield of 310,000 kilowatts in Liaocheng; two phases of construction of 500,000-ton electrolytic aluminum plant and auxiliary generator set and bio-engineering project in Baotou of Inner Mongolia; alumina project in sanmenxia , Henan province. East Hope Group had over 70 subsidiary companies across 16 Provinces, Cities and autonomous regions in China with a total asset of Billions of yuan, and nearly 10,000 employees. The board chairman Liu yongxing had thus won a Variety of Social Honors. The honorsare ? In 2001, Liu Yongxing and his brothers were rated as the top of China’s Most Successful Businessmen byâ€Å"Forbes†, awell-known U. S. financial magazine. ? In 2002, Liu Yongxing was rated as one of â€Å"2001CCTV Top 10 China’s Economic Leaders† and â€Å"Sohu 2001 Top10 Financial Leaders† ? And after that strategically the brothers owned Entereprnual Company diversified in to four different entities. Mr. Liu Yongxing as East hope group keep on focusing the feeding industry and and strategically by rolling development by relying on its own capital it included other companies to build world competitive industry incorporating aluminum and electricity and bio engineering projects and in present day one of Chinas largest privately held industrial materials manufacturers. The company is investing more than $1 billion in an aluminum and power complex and also putting money into commercial real estate in Sichuans capital, Chengdu. Starting with 250 ? on proportion and Sound Vision, Excellence and Charisma Today with 5. 8 Billon $ Mr. Liu Yongxing is 5th and173rd richest person in china and world respectively. throughout his progress he is avisionary person creating new ideas at the right time to suit the market with the pusue of growth semiconsciously that enabled him to be one of influential and great Business manager in the World.

Impact of World War 2 on Canada :: essays research papers

The result of the Second World War fundamentally changed Canada and its economy started booming. There are many reasons for this change and if you remember, World War I also made a big impact on the development of Canada. However, in the next few paragraphs I will talk about how Canada gained much more respect and autonomy from the Second World War than ever before and also the change from a country into an industrialized nation. After greatly contributing to the war, especially in the Battle of the Atlantic, Canada ended up having the 3rd largest navy and 4th largest air force. Now, for such a small nation of only around 11 to 12 million, this was a large military force. Since Canada had done so well in the war (already their second world war as a country) Canada started to grow further and further apart from Mother Britain. There was a feeling a greater sense of pride and a more nationalistic notion. Canadians everywhere no longer saw themselves as British, Scottish, or American, they were Canadian. Canada was now a respected country, and I might add, a pretty powerful one too. Canada also became a leader internationally as well. With such an enormous military contribution during the war, other countries began to recognize the success of Canada. People wanted to know more about Canada. Consequently, the war advanced Canada’s sense of identity. Before the war, Canada’s most important sector in its economy was agriculture. However, this was changing drastically after and during the war as industry began to take over as being more important. Canadian production of war material, food supplies, and raw materials had been crucial during the war. After the war, it was only natural that big investments were being made in mining, production, transportation, and services industries. Canadian cities were becoming very important contributors to the economy. This was also bringing in waves of post-war immigration, the backbone of Canada’s multicultural society we know today. Because of Canada’s boost in the industrial economy and its status in World War II, job options were abundant. By 1942 there was a full employment as hundreds and thousands of Canadian men and women found work in war industries.

Religion and Ecology Essay

Every thread of the problems faced by the present human society can be traced back to first industrial revolution of late 18th century and early 19th century that took place in Britain and from where it was embraced by the entire world. The industrial revolution set in motion the process of changes that have since then subsequently transformed the character of not only human society but of entire earth (Gatta, 7). Air, water, land and sky, all bear the effects of the changes inflicted by human march through industrial revolution and the effects have not been pleasant by any order. The modern society is the product of new-classical theory of economics and the anthropocentric view of environment, both of which advocates completely human centered progress and development utilizing all the resources and potentials of the nature and the environment around them (Nassar, 40-46). This view has been at the core of all the human activities and development planning taking place since more than 200 years now and it has encouraged massive rate of consumption and utilization of all the natural resources at an ever increasing scale. As almost a direct evidence of the expanding human footprint on earth, our population has increased from 1 billion to around 7 billion in past 150 years (Gatta, 20). This growth is based on the foundation of an efficient but brutal system that mastered the art of misusing the full spectrum of available natural resources, causing their widespread destruction, contamination, and debilitation. Examples of this destruction can be seen in extensive deforestation around the world, rapid destruction of rainforests in Brazil and Africa, fertile soil erosion, severe contamination of several important rivers of world due to continuous effluence of industrial and municipal sewage, air pollution, ozone layer destruction, depletion of non renewable energy resources especially oil and natural gas, global warming and climatic change. The extensive damage to the natural resources and ecology has deeply imbalanced the natural system, creating a disharmony and conflict with human development and its environment. The destruction of ecology and nature have caused unprecedented rise in extinction rates of animals and plants, who have found their ecological niches disappearing due to human activities. The emergence of massive urban centers around the world where millions of people live within few square kilometers of area exert tremendous pressure on the environmental sources which has put earth’s biodiversity and consequently humanity’s own survival chances at risk (Gatta, 62). The threat that human development is causing to the entire living world, including its own self, has not remained unnoticed and there many global social and political movements have started during past 30 years, with sincere intentions and efforts to create and implement an alternative system of social and economic model where human interests and development share a symbiotic relationship with nature, environment and ecology; where advancement and development have mutual linkage across the entire natural continuum (Nassar, 68). These efforts have been so far varyingly successful, where some countries and regions have adopted one set of selective steps for ecological integration, while others have adopted different set of steps, all determined by their economic convenience and financial constructs (Gatta, 65-69). This has led to an inward analysis and evaluation process in ecology and environmental thinking, which looks at the very basics of our social development and structure and try to re-align them with many old and yet existing religious and community view of social development, which is embedded in ecology and environment. But the question of human pressure and influence on its ecology has several parallel sides, each of which poses its own crucial question. The first question that comes up is that, is human species is constrained by any limiting factor- does its growth and expansion has a maximum attainable size, or can it continue to swell indefinitely, maximizing the resources for itself, for its need for infinite consumption and consequently infinite growth? If this is not possible , then is it possible for human beings to exist and thrive in exact optimum conditions, where population growth, consumption requirements, and growth needs are exactly balanced with the ecosystem, and stay in this balance forever? If the attainment of this balance is not possible then does it mean that for its own survival humanity is causing destruction of other species, destabilizing the ecosystem, and tripping the biosphere? (Gatta, 141-147) Religion and Ecology While all the religions of world have a strong foundation in ethical learning and teachings, with distinct emphasis on concepts of good and bad, divine presence, and determinism, the ancient cultures and indigenous traditions have taken this concept much further to include divinity and God as a part of their local environment and daily living system. The essential principle is same in all the religions, which states that God has created the entire world, including all the nature features, plants and animals, and human beings. However, as it is seen, some of the earlier interpretations of modern religions, such as Christianity, took a rather human centric religious approach (Gatta, 208). In essence, they popularized the notion that man is designed to be the ultimate consumer of all the natural resources, or in other words, the whole natural world exists in order to serve and meet human needs and requirements. This view in considered as one of the acting principle behind neo classical theory of economics as well as anthropocentric world view as discussed earlier. The view of ancient and traditional cultures and religions does not take such an exclusive view of human influence. For example it does not recognize human beings as isolated and separated from their surrounding environment and ecology, neither it sees humans as controller of the natural resources and final arbitrator of their destiny (Nassar, 71). The learning that we receive from these traditional cultures and religions is that we must recognize ourselves as parts of a widely distributed and ranging biotic communities and ecosystems, each of which has its own important role to play in design and creation of God and nature. Human beings occupy a very important niche in nature, but yet its only one of the numerous niches, while the complete scope of the ecology goes much beyond the human considerations and interests (Gatta, 219). Then, there are many internal and subtle relations present between man’s interaction with nature and vice versa. Ecology is not only a biological function of our existence but it also regulates the cultural gradient, the behavioral landscape and the social outlook of people. Therefore, when we deeply disturb the ecosystem through persistent and determined set of harmful activities- acidification of natural resources, toxifying land and water bodies, resource depletion, modification and destruction of habitats and unintended or deliberate elimination of native species, then we destroy our cultural tie from the ecosystem. Howe we act and when we act should always remain attuned to our environmental and ecological perspective. The lessons from the past, and the ecological wisdom of ancient religions should form our guiding principles at every stage of intervention or interference in the ecosystem. Taking a step ahead, it should create a pro-active approach to look into the possible avenues of meaningful interference and interaction to search for, identify and implement the ways in which our impact on our own ecosystem is as free of protuberance as possible (Gatta, 223-232). Our actions should be well reasoned out and their consequences considered in all the possible ranges. The ecosystem balance is dependent upon a vast number of factors, many of them yet unknown or improperly understood, and therefore even an unintended disturbance on our part produce enormous and unexpected ecological backlash. These backlashes symbolize the failure of man’s relation with nature, failure of the understanding and appreciation of ecosystem’s intrinsic value in defining the human niche, and a failure to secure corrective steps to improve the interaction. The ancient and indigenous cultures, such as Inca, red Indians, Buddhism and Chinese culture, took a very different view of the role of humanity in the nature’s order. They did not see nature and its bountiful gifts as resources that require taming, mastering and exploitation. Quite contrary, they viewed man in a wholesome, nurturing and co-dependent relation with the nature, where every aspect of nature, whether it’s a tree or an animal, shares a relationship with the man. Explaining the meaning and depth of this relationship, the older religions and cultures state that as the entire nature is a creation of the God, therefore it’s every part is a close a representation of God, and hence their destruction or violation is a direct violation of God’s own creation (Gatta, 237-241). This idea is further developed in eastern religions where man is viewed as just one part of the infinite range of nature’s creations, with no superiority or ascendency accorded to him over other forms of life or natural features. Human being hold a place in the continuum of natural order, but apart from their wisdom, there is nothing to distinguish them, or accord them the status of master of other resources. The implications of this view cut deep and profound, even for the standard of modern environmentalism and ecological movements. A majority of these movements still see the issue from the point of saving earth and nature from human desire and want of growth-insinuating a weak and fragile nature and a powerful human civilization which is threatening the vulnerable nature (Nassar, 91-96)! This is Older traditions, cultures and religions, take quite an opposite view on this issue, where they see human beings as fragile, vulnerable and dependent upon the nature for their own survival. Nature, on the other hand is all powerful, protean, strong, and controlling lives and deaths-in fact nature is deemed so powerful that it is worshipped in many ancient civilizations and we can see why- the human survival is impossible if the nature dies around (Nassar, 107-111). We have always considered the nature and ecology as taken for granted in our environment; however, if we once stop to consider the situation when all the standing forests have been cut down, all the rivers polluted and turned into industrial sewage, all the natural diversity in animal and vegetation life lost on account of human exploits then it is not difficult to see that the this situation signifies the end of humanity as well-with no resources left, no natural cover to fall back, and left in a barren and dry world, human beings would run out of their capacity to struggle and survive (Gatta, 151-156). Thus the teachings of the indigenous cultures and older religions is towards ingraining humanity into a natural system that is based on mutual benefit, organic growth and interdependent development. This is a holistic, broad, and profound approach, which makes man a factor in the nature’s grand design of world, brining understanding, compassion, humbleness and realization of the coherence and integrity that is pre-requisite for our existence. Reference Gatta, John. Making Nature Sacred: Literature, Religion, and Environment in America from the Puritans to the Present. Oxford University Press, 2004. 291 p. Nasar, Sayyed Hossein. Religion & the Order of Nature. Oxford University Press, 1996 . 312 p