7 Stress Management Techniques for Nurses

7 Stress Management Techniques for Nurses Stress is an ever-present buzzword in pretty much every industry, but it takes on especially sharp significance for those in the medical and nursing professions. Daryn Eller at Scrubs Mag has compiled some strategies for nurses to help them manage stress without feeling overwhelmed. The consequences for losing the ability to manage stress are severe: burning out and leaving the industry, substance abuse, chronic illness, neglecting self care, or even  making fatal errors. Be proactive about advocating for yourself, beginning with these basic approaches:1. Take ControlStart by observing your daily routine objectively. What gives you energy, and what saps it? Can you structure your day or your approach to tasks to emphasize the ones that build you up, or at least balance them more effectively with the draining moments? Talk to your supervisor and your colleagues and see if you have a counterpart you might be able to trade with- this step helps rebuild your  sense of agency, which a lleviates that helpless, scrambling feeling.  2. Keep PerspectiveStress in the field of nursing is unavoidable- even if you try to stay detached, there are people’s lives at stake! So don’t bottle up your emotions at work- breathe and talk and even write through them. This strategy may even be more useful for your life outside of work; when you remember what the stakes at work are, interpersonal conflict or household issues seem lighter by comparison.  3. Lighten UpWhether you burst into song like Julie Andrews or make inappropriate jokes to alleviate the tension, it’s important to let levity in when you can. Learn from your mistakes, and then let them roll off your shoulders. Carrying around guilt or shame will not make your job easier.  4. Don’t be a Hero (when it comes to overtime)While the opportunity to double your usual wages might be appealing, it’s crucial to remember that nursing is exhausting physically and emotionally. There are le gal maximums for a reason. Don’t feel like you always have to be the one stepping up for extra shifts, and remember to compartmentalize and sign off at the end of the day or night.  5. Take BreaksMany nurses don’t take breaks- unless they’re smokers, which seems totally counterintuitive. Whether you treat yourself to a 15 minute non-smoking smoke break or just pause to close your eyes for a long slow breath between patient rooms, make sure you find moments to refresh yourself during the day. If you can manage even short workouts before or after work, even better.  6. Live in the MomentAmbition can take us to exciting places, and nostalgia is always a bittersweet mental journey. But during your daily life, make sure you know right when and where you are. Don’t be racing to the next thing or brooding on the last one- let go of past and future stress and work with what’s facing you right there in that moment.  7. Be Ready to Make ChangesIf you g et to a point where you have to constantly reach for these coping strategies and more, it may be a sign you’re in the wrong specialty, the wrong hospital, or the wrong doctor’s office. Be strategic about planning a move. Think about the kinds of places you’d really want to work, and don’t just restrict yourself to reading job postings or want ads. For other nurses, involving their families in their work- or even just bringing them to the hospital to get a sense of what their daily experience is- can help build a more supportive family dynamic.  The consistent thread in these tips is to know yourself, know what you need, and be empowered to advocate for yourself in large and small moments  when you feel like you’re overstressed. It will only help your work to have a revitalized version of you at work every day.

Free will V.S. determism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Free will V.S. determism - Essay Example However, this can have repercussions as individuals following their own free will do not tend to listen to others around them and do as they please. This does not always work out cordially within a society full of different kinds of people because of varying needs that each person has from the other. Most people are under the impression that every individual has their own personal free will according to which they make choices and decisions. However, people often forget to understand that sometimes these choices come from the values and morals that have been imposed upon them as they grow up. In that case, these beliefs are not mapped by their own free will, but are determined in the manner that they are raised. My take on freewill is based upon an individual’s own disposition of which is derived from their possessions, such as possessions of social environment, religion and of family’s general views of life. We all come from families with views on religion or at least of life itself, through these possessions we develop subconscious bias opinions or tendencies, which are the foundation of an individual’s decision making. However, as we get older we become aware of other views or perspectives of life, and can choose to implement them in a way that is conducive to what we want to become. You cannot determine where or how you are born, as that is determined for you, nor can you determine who raises you and what bias views they pass on to you. Nonetheless, as a person gets older they can choose to retain all of the previous convictions passed down to them or can chose to see things in a different manner - though, it will still be from the same mind that has possession of influences that are particular to his or her life, even if they may be subtle. Every man is born under certain circumstances and conditions which remain constant at his birth. He does not have the power to change that certain thing about his life and he has to take whatever co mes his way with regard to that aspect of his life. However, once a person starts to grow up, things start to change for him. He sees different things and experiences different aspects of his life and starts to perceive them according to his will. The will starts to develop at the age of 8-9 and continues till the death of human beings. The will of a human being is developed throughout his life. Once a man is able to see the world from his own eyes, he starts to analyse his life with respect to his personal beliefs rather than the beliefs of other people being imposed on him. Most people are raised believing that their religion is the best one and that they should be happy they do not belong to any other. When a child is born, he is made to undergo certain rituals and rites according to the religion that his family is in. Throughout the course of his life, he is told things and led to believe that his religion is the sole guiding principle that will help him achieve whatever he want s in life. However, very few parents and families provide leverage to the child by making him aware of all the different religions in the world and letting him choose his own faith. In some families, children turn rebellious and begin to adopt a new way of life, by accepting the rites and rituals of a different religion as per their own free will. Every time a person adopts something within him, according to his own beliefs and faith in things, he is taking to free will rather than having his life being determined by

The Externalities of Education Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 4

The Externalities of Education - Essay Example Educational organizations pose a highly educated workforce and it lies in both public institutions. This workforce produces a quality education which develops future workforce with much higher quality for both the organizations. Therefore, quality education helps the people to be equipped to handle multitasking job through being expert in multiple areas. Higher income level in the society is another important positive externality of public institutions. Public education basically helps students from lower income family to get educated by much less educational cost. If a student has eager to learn then he or she can be highly educated from public education and earn good amount of money in future. It helps the student from lower income family to financially support their family members in near future. Higher income means less people need government’s assistance in terms of monetary benefit and subsidies to the lower income level people in the society. Higher income especially in the families of lower income currently result overall development in an economy. Per capita income will grow easily, more job opportunities will come and people will easily get job and the organizations can easily access efficient expertise according their requirements. Socio cultural diversity in the society is the third positive externality of public education. In public educational places, there are people from different races, cultures and backgrounds etc. Kids and youths learn in the public education environment how to coexist with their classmates. This learning from the education environment will carry into the organizations where they have to work with people from different culture, different attitude and behavior also and even from people from different countries. Therefore, a person learn tolerant and understanding of different people around hem even in the education places or may be in the society and the workplaces

Dispersed Team Dynamics Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 5

Dispersed Team Dynamics - Assignment Example Conflicts generally occur when there is difference in opinions and interest between individuals. According to a study by Lambregts (2011), there are more chances of conflicts in collective activities in which regular communications and interpersonal relationships are less feasible as in virtual teams (pp.10-11). The conflicts may be of different nature. In a virtual team frame, usually there are many independent groups working on a linear relationship with the management at the headquarters. Therefore there can be conflicts among groups, individuals in the same group or individuals across different groups. Different scholars have varying opinions about the category of conflicts in a virtual team. According to Kankanhalli, Tan and Wei (n.d.), conflicts within a team can either be relationship conflicts or task conflicts. Personal conflicts occur as a result of increasing tensions and frictions between employees due to mutual disagreement on a particular issue or due to egos and emotio nal clashes during the routines. Task conflicts generally arise around the methods and processes associated with the given assignments and the responsibilities to accomplish them. According to Professor Lindred Greer (as cite in Petersen (2014), the physical distances and the cultural differences among the team members can affect the quality of communication, and the responses to disagreements can reflect in the negative productivity of the team. The basic reason for this aspect is the unavailability of individuals for personal interactions at the required times of response to proposals and complaints in the process. Conflicts are capable of self-replication when they are not resolved promptly. Hence it is important for the leaders to create a mechanism to forecast the possibility of issues within the team. A typical analysis of the nature of conflicts can work as a measure to predict the possibility of

Impact Of Smuggling In The Philippines Economics Essay

Impact Of Smuggling In The Philippines Economics Essay Raymond Palatino (2008), reports The extent and impact of smuggling in the Philippines that Smuggling is a serious problem that hurts the country in many ways. It deprives government of revenues from uncollected taxes and customs duties. It affects local industries by distorting prices of commodities. Smuggling causes production slowdown, which leads to mass lay-offs, reduced consumer spending, bankruptcies, and lower tax collection. Smuggling has especially benefited from weak governance and chronic political instability. The author further added that when the government reduced the tariff rates on imported articles, many economists and merchants expected a decline in smuggling activities. They believed the tariff reduction would have discouraged illegal importation of goods since there will be fewer taxes to pay on the part of importers. But even with reduced tariff rates, smuggling persists up to this day. From used clothing to shoes, second-hand and luxury cars, agricultural products, garments, ceramic tiles and jewelries, cheap smuggled contraband are flooding the local market, which wipes out the earnings of small honest traders. The author compared the import-export data; Data show the disparity of import-export figures between the Philippines and its trading partners. In 2000, trading partners reported that they exported $45-billion worth of goods to the Philippines, but government figures registered only $34-billion worth of imports. This means that more than $10-billion worth of goods were unaccounted, undervalued or misdeclared. In 2002, China exported 3.9 million square meters of ceramic tiles to the Philippines, but only 600,000 square meters were recorded in the Bureau of Customs. The following year, 4 million square meters of ceramic tiles were exported to the Philippines, but only 300,000 square meters were recorded in the BOC. From January 2001 to June 2003, authorities confiscated a total of 1,517,387 bags of smuggled rice worth P1.18 billion. Since 2006, a total of 100,000 smuggled vehicles were shipped into Subic Bay Freeport. Last year (2007), 4 billion liters of oil were lost to smuggling. The author concluded that Smuggling clearly destroys the local economy and exacerbates poverty in the country as manifested by the closure of local industries, decline in agricultural production, uncompetitive agricultural products, loss of jobs, unfair competition, loss of government revenues, heightened corruption in the bureaucracy, and risks in consumer welfare. Milton Ayoki (2003), explained in his Paper The hidden costs of doing business in Uganda that the problem of smuggling has been particularly serious for goods like petroleum fuels, cigarettes, sugar and other highly taxed or potential revenue sectors such as steel, leather, wood, textiles, bicycles and chemicals as major deterrents. The author further added that apart from the huge revenue losses involved, smuggling is killing local businesses and causing great inequality and other effect is that illegally imported goods are steadily displacing some locally produced goods in the market place. This is adversely affecting both employment and profit margins in domestic industries. Luk Joossens (2003), written in his article Vietnam: smuggling adds value that Internal British American Tobacco (BAT) documents have been explicit about the knowledge of cigarette smuggling into Vietnam. 555 cigarettes is the major smuggled brand and there is no doubt it has a tremendous image and sales potential in the country. The author added that BAT documents describe in a detailed way the smuggling route for 555: cigarettes were produced in the UK, shipped to Singapore, sold to importers and traders in Cambodia, and then transported illegally across the border to Vietnam. Joossens argued that the industry has always claimed that smuggling is the result of taxes being too high. UNDP (1995) viewed the taxes on opium exports to the mainstay of Taliban income and their war economy. It revealed that Afghanistan-Pakistan drugs exports were earning some 50 billion rupees (US $ 1.35 billion) a year. Alongside the drug trade, the traditional Afghans smuggling trade through Pakistan and now the Gulf States, expanded under the Taliban, creating economic havoc for the neighboring states. This trade was estimated be the largest trade source of official revenue for the Taliban and generated an estimated US $ 3 billion annually for the afghan economy; UNDP disclosed that through the customs officials in Kandahar, Kabul and Herat refused to disclose their daily earnings, but with some 300 trucks a day passing through Jalalabad and Kabul to the north, daily earning were considerable. The illegal trade in consumer goods, food and fuel through Afghanistan crippled industries, reduced state revenues and created periodic food storages in all neighboring countries. The World Bank (1997) report on Afghanistan Pakistan Trade Relations as a part of its watching brief strategy for Afghanistan, accounts for the total trade between Afghanistan and Pakistan at $2.5 billion in which the unofficial re-export from Afghanistan to Pakistan has the loins share. The study assessed that the long and porous border between the two countries, the need for basic goods in Afghanistans warn-torn economy, weak border controls, high import tariffs in Pakistan on goods prone to smuggling and the low cost risks were important reasons behind the large and growing unofficial trade between the two countries. This report further added that there was an evidence of expansion of official and unofficial trade in locally produced goods between the two countries, which was likely to increase substantially if there was peace and post-war reconstruction in Afghanistan. In Pakistan, the imports competing industries have been harmed. The study also estimated that the government of Pakistan had been loosing substantial revenues due to tax evasion and fungibility of routes through which un-official imports enter the country. Rashid (1999) in his book Taliban, recorded that the smuggling trade to and from Afghanistan became the most devastating manifestation of the losses being sustained by the government of Pakistan during the Taliban regime. According to him, this trade, which now extends to central Asia, Iran and Persian Gulf, represented a crippling loss of revenues for all these countries, but particularly Pakistan, where local industry has been decimated by the smuggling of foreign goods. Rashid elaborates further, What is euphemistically called the afghan transit trade (ATT) has become the biggest smuggling racket in the world and has enmeshed the Taliban with Pakistani smugglers, transporters, drug barons, bureaucrats, politicians, police and army officers. This trade became the main source of official income for the Taliban even as it undermined the economies of neighboring states. Rashid also points out that the border post between Chaman, in Balochistan province, and Spin Boldak, in Afghanistan, is a prime location for watching the rackets at work. His estimates accounts for 300 trucks crossing from Afghanistan to Pakistan on a good day. The goods which these trucks carry, have no invoice and cross up to six international frontiers without having route permits, driving license or passports. The consignments on these trucks range from Japanese camcorders to English under-wear and Earl gray tea, China silk to American computer parts, Afghan heroin to Pakistani wheat and sugar, East European Kalashnikovs to Iranian petroleum and nobody pays custom duties or sales tax. Inter press service, a news agency (2001), found Indian drugs to have found ways to Pakistani markets, adding yet another dimension to the cross border illegal trade to and from Afghanistan. The agency named aspirin, Amoxiline, Ampiciline, Corimaxazole, Laxotanill, Cyprafloxine, Renitidine, Fametidine and Cemedtidine to be selling in prominent medicines shops of the province. The agency further disclosed that unlike the settled areas, where the sale of Indian drugs was banned and those found guilty of conduct were liable to severe penalties, the tribal areas were quite immune to such repercussions. Like all other duty free smuggled goods, Indian drugs were evaluated by the agency to be 10 times cheaper than the drugs of the same brand and effect, produced by multinational companies (MNCs) in Pakistan. Citing reasons for this price disparity, the agency added that unlike India, where the MNCs were bound to use raw materials from India, the government of Pakistan allowed them to import raw materials from their parent countries which entailed heavy tariff duties. Similarly, quoting the findings of international regional office for Asia and pacific, the agency counted 26 commonly consumed drugs to have very high prices in Pakistan as compared to India. The agency while discussing the transportation of drugs, revealed that along with other goods, Indian drugs were smuggled into Afghanistan, to Pakistans tribal areas and then finally to Peshawar. The report also disclosed that Afghanistan received thousands of US dollars worth of medicines, each month, from Indian, under a bilateral agreement, but some unscrupulous agencies in Kabul were apparently making huge profits from selling them in tribal areas. The report further discovered that due to the mutual collusion of the MNCs, health department functionaries, and other government officials, the measure of the government to import drugs from china, Bangladesh, Bulgaria, Poland and Yugoslavia to counter the smuggled and low priced Indian drugs, has miserably failed. Awan (2001) put the Pakistan bound transit goods to Afghanistan at Rs 14.97 billion during 1998-99. Prominent among these goods were safety razors, worth Rs 120 million, cosmetics Rs 150 million, minerals water, Rs 200 million, electronics worth Rs 300 million and telephone sets worth 160 million. The report pointed out that this trade, which has been conducted for the last 50 years, fetched billions of rupees to the tribal traders, related to the afghan counterparts and as much to the Pakistani customs and other law enforcing agencies, who facilitated this black trade. Awan also disclosed that previously, for decades, these Afghanistan bound transit goods were leaked into Pakistani markets before reaching Afghanistan. Owing to strict regulations imposed on the transit trade, it was very recently that the Afghanistan bound goods, at least, started crossing the border and then re-exported illegally to Pakistan. Awan pointed out that due to the high financial stakes of various interest groups, law, customs and state machinery have lost their efficacy. Keeping the adverse fall out of the abuse of afghan transit trade agreement on the industrial sector of Pakistan, Awan suggested that other neighboring countries with sea-coast should also shoulder the responsibility of transit facilities to Afghanistan. The News, in its march 2, 2002 issue, reported that there has been an unprecedented increase in the smuggling of tea, spices and other utilities, through the afghan transit trade, during the last two years. This rise has been attributed to the massive under-valuation of these items at the countrys dry ports, especially Lahore, Gujranwala, Faisalabad, Quetta and in other cities, which were basically established for providing facilities to the local traders at their door steps. The report added that these smuggled items are now openly sold at the Jodia bazaar, the traders from various parts of the country have opened their offices, which deal exclusively in smuggled items, mostly tea and spices through Quetta dry port into the city the dry ports established in various parts of the country have become a major source of smuggling, mis-declaration, under-invoicing, tax evasion and theft, detrimental to the government treasury, it alleged. The repot revealed that since 1988, the smugglers switched to smuggling of eatable products as they found this proposition to be highly lucrative. The smuggling of items originates from Dubai, via port Bandar Abbas in Iran, to Afghanistan and ends up into Pakistan. Probing the matter, the report discovered five percent increase in the custom duty during the 2001 budget, plus the total tax increase of 70 percent, to be the main reasons for the rise in smuggling. Daily Aaj, on 16 July, 2009 reported that during the year 2008-09, eight hundred million kg of tea is smuggled into the country, only 4.9 million kg smuggled tea is less then from the total imported tea. This year government losses Rs 5 billion in shape of tax evasion due to smuggling of tea. Through reliable sources, Afghan Transit Trade (ATT) is the main source of tea smuggling in the country. The total import of tea was 10 million kg during the period of July 2007 to June 2008. This was imported in one year from Kenya about 53.9 % while in previous year that was 61% from the same country. Which was 7% dropped in tea imports.

Terrorism, Patriotism and the Farce of the Pledge of Allegiance Essay

Terrorism, Patriotism and the Farce of the Pledge of Allegiance It is unfortunate that the terrorists did not attack and destroy the Pledge of Allegiance instead of the World Trade Center. But politicians and zealots have perverted "patriotism" to include a blind veneration of the United States based on an oversimplified conception that disregards current laws and social customs, a perversion evident in the idolatry performed regularly by most American citizens during the Pledge of Allegiance. When he authored the pledge in 1892, Christian Socialist and Baptist minister Francis Bellamy wanted to capture the spirit of indivisible union that the Civil War had validated a generation earlier. Bellamy was a radical of his time, however, and intended to emphasize the socialist principle of equality and a utopian, nationalist sensibility. This point has accumulated fine layers of irony with time, and I intend to show the extent to which the pledge is among the most ironic and troubling of texts. There are some intrinsic problems with Bellamy's original draft, which reads: "I pledge allegiance to my Flag and the Republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all." But to do Bellamy justice, it should be noted that in 1923 and 1924, the National Flag Conference changed his "my Flag" to "the Flag of the United States of America," and Congress, influenced by the Knights of Columbus, more curiously added "under God." I will analyze the Pledge as it currently exists with the spirit of a vivisection. I want to show the dynamic affect of the Pledge on American consciousness and vice versa, and as usual I offer no anesthetic. "I pledge allegiance to the Fl... ... form a disgraceful lie, you need only eyes and the capacity for thought. Did Amadou Diallo receive justice? How do Native Americans feel about the pledge's insistence of universal liberty? What have homosexual faculty members and their partners, who have been told by the University that their unions, however legal, only constitute three-fifths of a marriage, to say about the pledge's notion of equality? We would love to believe that "liberty and justice for all" is a reality, but it unfortunately fails to constitute even a priority; our reciting makes it real only in the imagination, a daily narcotic liturgy that blunts our reaction to injustice and the violation of liberty. The greatest service that we can provide for our country and our people is to utilize our critical faculties and to resist appropriately, regardless of how "un-American" this use of reason seems.

Leader More Feared than Loved: Evaluating Chapter 17

A leader is someone who is followed by others. All managers are not leaders, but good leaders can be good managers. Those who are not trusted or respected by their employees may fail when attempting to institute something new. They can tell everyone to do something, and even show them how, but the employees do not embrace the new program and it may not succeed. Employees, on the other hand, will embrace a new program (even if they don't particularly like it) simply because they trust the manager's judgment and vision.We have heard about military leaders who led their troops into dangerous, near-certain death situations. On the other hand, we heard about soldiers in Vietnam who assassinated officers rather than obey them. Why would soldiers in the first example follow the officer into battle knowing they would probably be killed, while those in the second case not only refused to follow, but actually went so far as to kill the officer? Was it because of the cause or because of the off icer?Niccolà ² Machiavelli wrote The Prince during the Renaissance in sixteenth-century Florence, Italy. It was one of the first texts on leadership. Machiavelli was a government official during a period of warfare and political intrigue between city-states vying for hegemony, and he had a cynical view of human nature, believing that people were motivated by very narrow self-interest.Most highlighted in the book is Machiavelli’s dictum, found in Chapter 17, which advised the leader or prince that it was better to be feared than to be loved by the governed because love is a fickle emotion, whereas fear is constant. In other words, survival is a basic human instinct that dominates other emotions. Machiavelli also suggested that a leader should engage in lies or deceptions for the good of society, as long as he appears to be virtuous to the people.The leader should be fair yet tough, harshly punishing disloyal subjects to discourage others from engaging in treason. Machiavelli believed that the aristocrats close in stature to the prince posed the greatest threat to his welfare and that the prince had to use cunning and intrigue to keep them off balance. Thus, he warned the leader not to trust his peers. He believed that an effective leader forms alliances of convenience with some enemies to keep more powerful enemies off balance.Summarizing Chapter 17At the beginning of Chapter 17 of The Prince, Machiavelli purports that there is no doubt that the leader must have compassion.   Similar to being generous, compassion is usually admired by everyone. However, Machiavelli warned that a prince must be careful that he does not show compassion indiscriminately. If a prince is too compassionate, and does not adequately punish disloyal subjects, he creates an atmosphere of disorder, since his subjects take the liberty to do what they please—even to the extremes of murder and theft. With this, Machiavelli envisioned that these crimes might harm the entire c ommunity, whereas executions harm only the individuals who commit crimes.Thus, Machiavelli suggested that some degree of cruelty is necessary to maintain order in a particular community. However, the prince must heed the warning of being judicious in terms of his decisions with regards to cruelty; it should be coupled with critical judgement, humanity and prudence.At this point, Machiavelli reflected on whether is it better off being feared or being loved. Ideally, a prince should be both loved and feared, but this condition is nearly perfect and difficult to attain. So Machiavelli deemed, when forced to make a choice, it is much better to be feared than loved. This is because men, by nature, are â€Å"ungrateful, fickle, dissembling, anxious to flee danger, and covetous of gain.† This decision is most applicable during times of danger or emergencies, it is easier to break a bond of love when the situation arises, but the fear of punishment is always effective, regardless of the situation.Yet, Machiavelli reminded that when choosing to generate fear, a prince must be wary to avoid inducing hatred. This is for the reason that the leader must make sure that every move he makes are properly justified and agreeable to majority of his people. Most importantly, leaders should not abuse his authority by taking the property of his subjects or take their women, since these actions are most likely to breed hatred. If a prince must confiscate property, he must make sure he has a convincing reason. With one’s army, however, there is no such thing as too much cruelty. Keeping an army disciplined and united requires cruelty, even inhuman cruelty.In a nutshell, Chapter 17 of The Prince argues that it is better for a prince to be severe when punishing people rather than merciful because severity through death sentences affects only a few, but it discourages crimes which affects many people. Moreover, Machiavelli ultimately recommended that it is better to be fea red than to be loved. But Machiavelli warned of the prince should avoid being hated, which he can easily accomplish by not taking away the property of his subjects: â€Å"people more quickly forget the death of their father than the loss of their inheritance.†Man of No Virtueâ€Å"The man of virtà º has no virtue.†Ã‚   This statement does adequately describe one of Machiavelli’s position in The Prince.   Machiavelli can be seen as a supporter of Remigio and Dante, rather than Aristotle. Throughout his treatise, Machiavelli most definitely strives to achieve peace, but he feels that virtue is not necessary.   Rather, Machiavelli suggests that peace should be the sole legitimizing factor of a ruler.   A good ruler should simply rule by whatever means necessary to achieve peace.   A good ruler ignores virtue and must be practical, rather than impractical.   The practical ruler is tightfisted, justly cruel, feared and respected, dependent on subject loyal ty, and able to use advisers as tools.First and foremost, what is the difference between virtà º and virtue?   A person who is said to possess virtue is commonly seen as a person who is of high moral excellence and upright goodness.   Common virtues include prudence, courage, and practicality.   Virtues are most often found in people who are seen as good.   Virtà º, while extremely similar to virtue, is not quite the same thing in terms of Machiavelli’s usage of the word.   On pages 103 and 104 in Appendix B of The Prince, virtà º is defined.   It is defined as having various senses, which include, â€Å"ability, skill, energy, determination, strength, spiritedness, courage, or prowess.†Ã‚   The common reader might interpret all of these senses as differing aspects of virtue.   Also, a good ruler is commonly perceived as having virtue or even virtà º.   However, Machiavelli had something a little different in mind.Normally, the term virtà º is most ly frequently used synonymously with the term virtue.   Machiavelli uses the term a little differently.   On page 104, it states that, â€Å"Machiavelli’s use of the word has overtones of ‘ruthlessness,’ which is not a characteristic of a good man.†Ã‚   Of course, the word which is being described is virtà º.   On the same page of Appendix B, virtà º is properly defined in Machiavellian terms.   It states, â€Å"Virtà º, then, in this usual sense (or set of senses) denotes qualities that may have been combined with ‘villainy†¦Ã¢â‚¬ Ã‚   Therefore, Machiavelli is generally arguing that the man of villainy and ruthlessness has no moral excellence and upright goodness.   Since good leaders possess virtà º, good leaders must thereby be villainous and even nefarious.   This can be seen throughout the whole of The Prince.Throughout The Prince, Machiavelli argues that in order to be an excellent ruler, one must possess virtà º.   V irtue is definitely not necessary under a Machiavellian form of rule.   According to Machiavelli, a good ruler is one who is in control and will do whatever is necessary to be successful.   The most notable examples can be found in chapters fifteen through twenty-three.In chapter 15 of The Prince, Machiavelli gives his first argument as to why rulers should be ruthless.   On page 55, Machiavelli states, â€Å"Yet one should not be troubled about becoming notorious for those vices without which it is difficult to preserve one’s power†¦Ã¢â‚¬ Ã‚   On the same page, Machiavelli goes on to write, â€Å"†¦doing some things that seem virtuous may result in one’s ruin, whereas doing other things that seem vicious may strengthen one’s position and cause one to flourish.†Ã‚   Essentially, Machiavelli is saying that a superb ruler should not worry about possessing virtue.   A proper ruler should have no problem with making friends with vice, so l ong as in doing so the ruler is being practical and successful.   After all, there is no reason to be ruthless without practicality.   The only reason for a lack of practicality would be sheer and blatant ignorance.In chapter sixteen of The Prince, Machiavelli goes on to write that a good ruler should not be overly generous.   On page 57, Machiavelli states that the charitable ruler will rule while, â€Å"†¦being despised and hated; and generosity will lead to both.†Ã‚   This emphasizes the fact that a tight-fisted ruler will be more popular, and thereby, the better ruler.   A ruler who is parsimonious will have money when it is necessary.   Machiavelli stresses this on page 56.   Rulers who do not waste their money on building projects, artistic patronage, or friendly gifts, will have plenty of money when it is needed, say when a rival state rises up to attack.   A ruler who is tight-fisted also would not need to tax his subjects as much as a generous rule r.   A generous ruler would need constant high taxes due to his lavish expenditure or open-handedness.   Of course, generosity is a virtue; and in order to posses virtà º, and hence, a good rule, generosity must be left in the dirt.   Therefore, the man who is tight-fisted has no virtue.Machiavelli’s next argument as to why the ruler of virtà º can have no virtue comes in the next chapter, that is, chapter seventeen.   When comparing the cruel and feared ruler to the merciful and loved ruler, the cruel and feared ruler is the exceedingly better ruler.   After all, Machiavelli states on page 59, â€Å"†¦it is much safer to be feared than loved.†Ã‚   Cruelty is needed to maintain order. If a ruler is cruel to simply those who disobey the law, the lawbreakers alone will suffer.   Hence, the people under the ruler will learn not to break the law, due to fear of punishment.   Therefore, peaceful order will surely ensue.   However, if he is excessively kind and lets public order break down, everyone suffers from the increase in the excess of subsequent robbery, murder, rape, etc.   Cruelty is most definitely not a virtue; so therefore, Machiavelli agrees again that the man of virtà º lacks any virtue.  Next, on page 64 of chapter nineteen, Machiavelli argues that a ruler becomes despised when he acquires the reputation of being, â€Å"†¦inconstant, frivolous, effeminate, pusillanimous and irresolute: a ruler must avoid contempt as if it were a reef.†Ã‚   In order for a ruler to stay in the people’s favor, he must become none of these.   Rather, a good ruler would constantly try to be the opposite of these.   Thus, a good ruler must be usual and accepted, determined and motivated, masculine and rugged, dauntless and courageous, and resolute and unequivocal.If these qualities are necessary for the best possible ruler, that ruler should have no problem in trying to attain and maintain these qualities.   Again, the ruler should not bother with virtue.   Rather, he or she should attempt whatever in their power is necessary to achieve and preserve these qualities.   Also, although some people may view these qualities as virtuous, they are still to be attained through whatever means necessary.   This is a quality of a man of virtà º.   Virtue must be placed aside while attempting to gain these qualities.Following this argument comes one which involves the importance of a fortress.   On page 76, Machiavelli states, â€Å"†¦I criticize anyone who relies upon fortresses, and does not worry about incurring the hatred of the people.†Ã‚   Despite the great importance of military power, a ruler who bases his rule on building fortresses to intimidate and threaten his subjects cannot rule securely. The subjects would simply not tolerate it.   More than likely, they would look for assistance elsewhere, such as a foreign power, and overthrow the ruler.   Therefore, the single best fortress that a ruler can have is the loyalty of his or her subjects.Without subject loyalty a ruler is useless.   In order to maintain subject loyalty, a ruler must be good.   In order to be a good ruler he or she must be feared by the subjects, as well as be cruel and tight-fisted.   Again, this emphasizes the fact that the best possible ruler can posses no virtue.A final argument is brought forth in chapters twenty-two and twenty-three.   On page 80, Machiavelli states, â€Å"The choosing of ministers is a very important matter for a ruler: whether or not they are good depends on whether he is shrewd or not.†Ã‚   A prince needs able advisers.   If the ruler chooses wise advisors, the subjects of the ruler will take him or her to be wise as well.   Also, just like the subjects of the rulers, advisers should also be loyal and fearful of the ruler.   The ruler must act the same way towards his advisors as he or she does to the subjects.   This wil l show the people that they are no different from the advisors.   No jealously would ensue and no rights would be violated.   Although, there was no specific rule regarding rights at the time, the subjects would no doubt at least feel inferior.   Thus, rule would be maintained by virtà º and not by virtue, as was previously stated, because cruelty is needed to maintain peace.Machiavelli goes on in chapter twenty-tree to describe more specifically how a ruler is to properly use his or her advisors.   After a ruler has taken advice from the advisor, he must make up his own mind about policy decisions. A good ruler should not accept unsolicited advice, and he or she should not let the advisers talk the ruler into constantly changing his mind.   This would show everyone that the ruler possesses poor qualities of a ruler.   The ruler must rule, not the advisors.   Again, the ruler must do this by whatever means necessary.   Thus, virtà º is again favored above virtue.Ul timately, in Machiavellian terms, the man of virtà º most definitely does not possess virtue.   The man of virtà º, or the good ruler, must be cruel, feared, tightfisted, reliant on subject allegiance, and able to use advisors as tools.   The man of virtue would never be any of these.   Therefore, the man of virtue would not make a good ruler.   Therefore, Machiavelli definitely does not agree with Aristotle in his opinion that virtue can legitimize a ruler.   Rather, Machiavelli agrees with Remigio and Dante, in that peace can be substituted for virtue.   So long as peace is achieved, a ruler is successful and good.   Peace, through whatever means necessary, is solely legitimizing.ConclusionSome leaders nowadays are still taking their cues from Machiavelli's proposition in Chapter 17 of The Prince, believe that fear is more reliable than love as a means of influencing people. It is true that if someone hates and fears you, his or her behavior may be quite predictabl e. If you have the allies to back up your threats, it may not be necessary for you to get along with the people you work with. But power in public bureaucracy is often a temporary thing, like powerlessness. Yesterday's powerless subordinate may be tomorrow's powerful boss.Machiavelli proposed that it is better to be more feared than loved. You can lead by the force of high moral example. History and experience have proven that it could be done. But it's risky, because people are fickle, and they will abandon you at the first sign of failure. Fear is much more reliable, and lasts longer. Once you show that you are capable of dealing out terrible punishment to your enemies, your power will be far greater.In closer analysis, Machiavelli’s proposition is somewhat more troublesome to apply in today’s hierarchy. At present, it is unusual for any leader to have authority over every aspect of his or her job or status. For example, a supervisor might need the help of the person nel office, if he wants to hire someone. You need the help of the budget staff if you must obtain certain resources and need to move money from one cost center to another. Organizations operate informally, as well as through a formal hierarchy. In order to get things done, you must sometimes exchange favors and information.Thus, the effectiveness of a leader in any organization will be a direct reflection of his or her ability to get along with people. You will find it easier to get your work done if people want to help you because they like you or even because they feel sorry for you. If you are feared or hated, you may get cooperation when people have no choice, but the minute you turn your back, your colleagues will find a thousand ways to undermine your attitude.Working in organizations or leading a community involves a series of exchanges rather than power relationships. Like the rest of society, organizations are more complex in the twenty-first century.   As organizations c hange, downsize, and modernize, complexity does not decrease because organizations increase their use of advanced technology and knowledge. Machiavelli’s proposal that leaders should better be â€Å"feared than loved† would be definitely inappropriate and dangerous, if applied in our time. Just think about the people you step on as you climb up the career ladder might very well see you again on your way down the ladder. Effective leaders should take the long term perspective in considering their strategies.Aggressive leadership does not require you to disregard the feelings of subordinates or co-workers. Leaders who are committed to the long term perspective usually become quite skilled at influencing people and at stroking key individuals within the organization. Thus, as Machiavelli’s proposition might have some good points, it could not be well applicable, if we consider the fast-changing times that, more often than not, frown upon leaders who lash out fear o n their people.Works CitedMachiavelli, N. The Prince. (Anthony Grafton, Introduction; George Bull, trans.). London: Penguin Classics, 1999.