Monday, March 9, 2020

Master Management and Change Essay

Master Management and Change Essay Master: Management and Change Essay Creating Sustainable Change: A new paradigm in Project Management Ron Schipper Senior Consultant, Van Aetsveld Project and Change management, Amersfoort, the Netherlands Harry Rorije Principal Consultant, Van Aetsveld Project and Change management, Amersfoort, the Netherlands Gilbert Silvius 1 Professor of Business, ICT and Innovation, University of Applied Sciences, Utrecht, the Netherlands Principal Consultant, Van Aetsveld Project and Change management, Amersfoort, the Netherlands Abstract Projects can be seen as a system to realize change in organizations. This change can involve new work processes, new policies, new resources, new products or services, etc. Sustainable change in these policies, processes, products, etc, requires different behavior of the workers or employees of the organization. It is, however, this aspect of change that most projects seem to oversee. In this paper, we will argue that changing or influencing the behavior of an organization’s employees is a crucial element in realizing change. The contemporary insights in human behavior and behavioral change, however, seem to contradict the more mechanical approach to projects that most project management methodologies prescribe. Controlling behavioral change, if possible, may require a different paradigm to projects and organizational change. Our paper will shed some light on this contradictory topic and will provide practical suggestions for the integration of behavioral change aspec ts in project management. Keywords Project management, Sustainable Change, Management of Change Introduction Projects can be considered as temporary organizations (Turner and Mà ¼ller, 2003) that deliver (any kind of) change to organizations, products, services, policies or assets (Gareis, 2010). Successful change most often requires a change of human behavior and therefore is influenced by the motivation to overcome resistance to change (Kotter, 1996). Gareis (2010), however, concludes that this kind of change is not adequately recognized in project management and that â€Å"specific change methods are to be applied according to the specific change requirements†. This paper provides an overview and practical suggestions for the integration of behavioral change aspects in both portfolio and project management. The question asked is how to realize sustainable behavioral change (when that is intended with the project)? Many publications (e.g. Boonstra, 2004; Cummings and Worley, 1996) show a managerial perspective on change: behavioral change is something that can be plan ned and managed top-down. However, this perspective is increasingly being questioned. People are free individuals who decide for themselves to show certain behavior. All attempts made in the past to force members of the organization to behave differently and the rewarding or punishing act on it has never led to sustainable behavioral change. It led to short-term changes with fall-back (Anderson, 2002; Beer 1990; Homan, 2005). This perspective creates this paper’s main question: which circumstances need to be created by project in order to make sustainable behavioral change occur? In this paper we focus on how the ‘forgotten group’ in organizations, the employees, experience change in projects. In the next paragraph will elaborate on what is meant with this ‘forgotten group’. We will then look at change from the perspective of this group. How do employees experience changes? How do they handle changes? When are they effected by change? When do they ch ange their behavior permanently? By practicing this perspective we will gained interesting insights, for example that managing for shorter lead times for projects actually hinders sustainable behavioral change. The paper will be concluded with some recommendations on how to connect with employees and integrate behavioral change into projects and project portfolios. 1 Corresponding author: Utrecht University of Applied Sciences, Padualaan 101, 3584 CH Utrecht,

Saturday, February 22, 2020

What is the Tao (Way) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

What is the Tao (Way) - Essay Example The Confucian way of Tao and the East and West ways of Tao will be examined in the paper. The definition of Tao is "Tao represents the basic concept of Taoism. In general, this term belongs to the spiritual atmosphere of the ancient China and can be translated "way", "mean", "art", "skill"., 1 To answer the question, what is the Tao way, depends on which tenets of Tao you side with. Tao can be translated differently depending on the perspective of the doctrines of Tao and individuals understand. This means that individuals have different doctrines of Tao and it depends on which of these doctrines an individual understands and how they understand that the question can be answered. Tao can be though of a philosophical school of thought and one of these schools of thought is the one that concerns the thoughts of Confucius. According to Confucius and those that understand Tao with these doctrines Tao "refers , "Tao" refers to the art of ruling the state of the ancient emperors like King Wen and the Duke of Chou," 2 1 Mitchell, Stephen. "Tao Te Ching" (1998) New York. 1st Perenn similar concepts." 3 In this context, the polisemy of this term resembles the polisemy of the concept "prima materia" of the Greek-Egyptian classique alchemy or of the medieval European alchemy. The way of Tao is the way a person perceives these tenets and uses them in their life. They can be used in all aspects of an individual's life from work ethic to the way they understand the world. The Tao way can be thought of as the way a person understands. The way a person understands Tao depends on their beliefs about Tao. Tao is traditionally an Eastern religion and school of thought; however, it is now practiced in the Western cultures. The answer to the question might differ in the East than the West because the doctrines and interpretation have changed slightly in Western cultures. This is due to the fact that Tao is a part of life in the East for many and they been taught the philosophies and doctrines of Tao since birth. Tao in a sense has been adopted in the Western cultures so so me of the concepts have deviated in the process. Nagarjuna and the Limits of Thought Jay L. Garfield and Graham Priest Nagarjuna seems willing to embrace contradictions while at the same time making use of classic reductio arguments. He asserts that he rejects all philosophical views including his own-that he asserts nothing-and appears to mean it. It is argued here that he, like many philosophers in the West and, indeed, like many of his Buddhist colleagues, discovers and explores true contradictions arising at the limits of thought. For those who share a dialetheist's comfort with the possibility of true contradictions commanding rational assent, for Nagarjuna to endorse such contradictions would not undermine but instead confirm the impression that he is indeed a highly rational thinker. It is argued that the contradictions he discovers are structurally analogous to many discovered by Western philosophers and mathematicians. 3 Graham explains that "Taoism, the practice of the Tao concepts) started as a combination of psychology and philosophy but evolved into a religious faith in 440 CE when it was adopted as a state religion." 4 At that time, Lao-Tse became popularly venerated as a deity. Earlier in this discussion, the Confucius philosophy was explained to be one school of thought that individuals used to understand Tao. This is because they are closely related and the thoughts of Eastern religions have many of the same doctrines. Taoism, along with Buddhism and Confucianism, became one of the three great religions of China around the time of 440 CE. "With the

Thursday, February 6, 2020

Analyse the Hamidian era from the perspective of economic change, and Essay

Analyse the Hamidian era from the perspective of economic change, and explain the ways in which the agenda of the Hamidian state - Essay Example However, there always was a distinction between different dynasties and Sultan’s in the way of political agendas over the different historical eras. Thesis statement: When we talk about Hamidian Era, this makes specific reference to Sultan Abdul amid II's period of rule during the 2nd half of the 19th century and early 20th century; specifically 1876-1909. Nevertheless, the era was characterized with various aspects in terms of economic performance and political leadership. How was economic performance related to the political governance of the era? How did the economic challenges that were experienced in the era influence Sultan Abdul amid II's political agenda? Discussion This paper intends to present an analysis of the Hamidian state during the Hamidian era in economic change perspective. Despite the commendable organization of the state during the reign of Sultan Abdul amid II, economic forces shook the state greatly. Economic forces such as foreign creditor’s debts and losing some regions to other imperial powers characterized the state’s governance. It is these forces and effects that this paper intends to analyze in the perspective of altering the Sultan’s political agenda. The paper will outline in details the economic pressures faced. An analysis of the political agenda of the empire will follow. The influence of these economic forces to the political agenda of the Sultan will then follow. In the efforts to destroy or abolish past legitimating crises that had engulfed the empire, on ascension to power, Sultan Abdul amid II adopted centralization system of governance. As the sole way to reform and save the entire empire from the sub sequential topple by the imperial colonies, Abdul amid II chose to ignore the reform calls by the westerners to implement their proposal. He established and imposed pan Islam policy whose main aim was to safeguard the interests of the Muslim culture in the empire against the invasion and corruptio n by other cultures. He advanced the segregation of other people on the basis of religion through supporting the Muslim religion against the ‘others’. The otto9man identity was a creation of modernization. Through this creation, the sovereigns appeared superior to their counterpart non-sovereigns. Religion identity was a critical aspect of association in the era of Hamidian. His policies were thus seen to be far from modernity; well interpreted to represent nationalism which instead of acknowledging individual identity, it concentrates with group. This was evident in his advocacy for Muslim protection and support. The Kurd people became beneficially of the same as unlike the case with other tribes who were easily overlooked on the grounds of religion, the Kurds were well integrated in the empire by the virtue of Muslim brotherhood (Yokmac, 2012, para 1-15). Economic challenges: The nineteenth century marked a historic time to the Ottoman Empire through which so much of the future shaping of the empire would rely. Despite the strength that the empire exhibited in the previous era, the empire started by slowly weakening in terms of political power, her territorial region in North Africa and in Europe. The political influence of the empire had been shaken by the dependency that had resulted by the poor economic performance that the empire had sailed through. Many of the policies that the previous governments had adopted proved unworkable. This necessitated engaging

Tuesday, January 28, 2020

Global HIV Prevention Essay Example for Free

Global HIV Prevention Essay HIV has moved from being an ordinary disease to a pandemic that is affecting people world wide. Strategies have been developed and are still being formulated on the way forward to combat this menace and preventing further spread of the disease. Unfortunately Africa is the hardest hit producing the first twenty countries with the highest prevalence rates. More than 60% of the adult population is living positively with the virus. In the US the story is different with decline of prevalence rate going down drastically but the incidence rate is ever increasing. There are the traditional ways that so far have been used to combat HIV/AIDS which include: Abstaining from sexual acts until at least one is married, being faithful to one partner without switching partners now and then and if the two methods do not work, one can result to using prevention (condom) especially among the youth. The main goal of this paper (study) is to bring down the prevalence rate of HIV nationwide and worldwide by seeking to address some myths and beliefs that are associated with HIV stigmatization. Disparities in race are some of the main areas of address. The other goals that are in some ways encompassed in this main objective are to minimize the number of people at high risks of transmitting or being effected by the virus. The other aim of this report is to address the issue of getting people to know their HIV status especially those that do not know and are living positively with the virus. The third goal of this report is formation of a network of people living with HIV/AIDS which will be like a social group for getting moral and financial support. These networks will act as the connection between organizations that want to monitor HIV progress and people living positively (CDC, 2007). For achievement of these goals, a lot of inter agency cooperation and non governmental organizations (non profit organization) input would be required not withstanding some strategies that have to drafted and enforced for total success. Success of these strategies will depend on the area where they are being applied. For instance address of poverty is a strategy that can be applied in Africa but not in the developed countries like Europe and US. This will be trying to empower people economically so that they will not have to exploit their sexuality for upkeep which spreads the HIV disease even more. A second strategy that would be effective is monitoring the morbidity and mortality arising from HIV so that utilization of funds for HIV program may be planned and allocated accordingly. This goes a long way in preventing the embezzlement of funds intended for this program. Another strategy that can work well is putting in place preventive programs and counseling centers. This is best undertaken through campaigns and organizing for workshops that are aimed at educating the masses on the HIV pandemic. The best tool here to employ is the media both electronic (internet TV and radio) and printed. This is the best overall idea and would work best for Africa which has the highest prevalence rates and also the poorest continent (CDC 2007). Program assessment and policy formulation is a further tactic that can be effective in the fight against HIV/AIDS. This will entail a lot of research and data collection that will employ a lot of disciplines to be effective. The data to be collected will be from the affected people therefore the statistics collected will be based on real numbers and not estimates. This will necessitate the usage of questionnaires and testing of the population to come up with data. This strategy will closely work with another that aims at building a database that will be for coordinating the function of all the organizations that are involved in various aspects of monitoring HIV globally. This database will be in form of a link that will be a collection of the various programs that have been developed since the pandemic started. Many of the organization here will be divided into various groups like those that offer counseling services and education to the public, those that offer financial help to people affected in order to secure retro viral drugs or for general upkeep (CDC, 2007). On top of all these strategies, a lot of finance is required to support the various activities that are needed to keep the machines of preventive strategies working. The money can be allocated to different activities related to HIV researches like invention of the elusive vaccine. Counseling activities also require much financing and preventive counseling is preferred since when the public has been educated about the dangers and ways through which one gets HIV, it will prevent many unprecedented cases that happen by chance and ignorance. As we seek ways to deal with HIV, other related sexually transmitted diseases should not be forgotten because they occur concurrently and they can be used as indicators of places with high incidence of HIV especially when the actual statistics are unavailable (CDC 2007). In order for successful HIV prevention and drastic reduction of its prevalence rate, many non governmental organizations from countries across the globe and governmental cooperation is required. This will foster strengthening and innovation of the existing strategies and if need be new tactics be formulated. The strategies lined above will be implemented in different parts of the globe which therefore calls for many enforcing agents in those countries which will be guided by the social norms there. The pandemic is affecting everyone directly or indirectly therefore the effects in Africa will eventually be felt in Europe and America. Reference CDC. (2007) Interpretation and Discussion of Findings. Retrieved 24 April 2009 from http://www. cdc. gov/hiv/topics/testing/resource/reports/hivprevalence/interpretation. htm .

Monday, January 20, 2020

Every Child Deserves a Blissful Life. Essay -- child abuse, parents, ab

Most parents and other caregivers do not intend to hurt their children, but the effect on the child defines abuse, not the motivation of the parents or caregiver. Abuse comes in many forms and the statistics prove how alarming the issue is, â€Å"Every year there are 3.3 million reports of child abuse involving nearly 6 million children†.(Source F) It is immensely difficult to imagine what would make adult use violence against a child. Parents have the responsibility to nurture, raise, and discipline an offspring. However, the definition of the term discipline is differently interpreted by parents. Children will misbehave and teaching the difference between right and wrong and not resulting to forms of abuse .Some go to extreme measures to discipline a child, thus creating deep physiological problems. Child abuse needs to be prevented and the government should intrude to insure the safety of the children and of future generations. Caused by different things, abuse comes in many forms and can be preventable. Verbal and emotion abuse often coincide with physical abuse and neglect. â€Å"Child abuse usually starts with a desire for the abuser to have control†. (Source E) In order to gain control with the child the abuser results to violent and abusive tactics. Different people might have different ideas of what a child should experience, do, and become therefore â€Å"Unrealistic expectations of a child†. (Source E) often coincides with forms of abuse. Parents and caregivers take out anger on a child and create an unhealthy environment to live in. Instead of bringing up a child with love and happiness â€Å"This family member, who most likely is supposed to take the role of protector and provider, is instead hurting his or her children physically and... ...ren for the real world parents should bring up their children to respect others, take on responsibilities and treat others kindly. No parent should ever hurt their child and to better protect children at the risk of severe harm, the federal government should stricken child protection laws and work for change. Every child deserves a worry-free life. Children are the future and child abuse prevents kids from growing up in a safe and healthy environment. Discipline is necessary in parenting however a line needs to be drawn where the discipline stops and the abuse begins. Any form of abuse is horrifyingly wrong and needs to cease to a stop. Children need to be protected from the monsters that hurt them. â€Å"1,545 children died as a result of abuse and neglect†. (Source F) There is no need for that many deaths. A child is a child, and that child deserves a happy life.

Sunday, January 12, 2020

Ge Case Study

Date: April 27, 2009 Course 5130: Strategic Thinking Session 3 Assignment: GE Case Study The culture at General Electric, before Jack Welch assumed his role as CEO in 1981, was highly decentralized, where significant emphasis on strategic planning was levied on 43 Strategic Business Units. However, Jack’s vision of changing the culture of the company was a priority to him. As a result, Jack began the culture change by replacing 12 of his 14 business heads. He replaced them with new managers who had a strong commitment to the new management values, with a willingness to break from the old culture, and had the ability to take charge and bring about change. Welch wanted to reflect a management style of openness, candor, and one of facing reality. In addition to the culture change, he wanted the culture to be characterized by speed, simplicity, and self-confidence. Instead of continuing with the old style bureaucracy characterized by large corporation, Welch wanted to create a culture of small companies where everyone had a voice and felt engaged in their business. One of the initiatives Welch implemented in the late 80’s, which was instrumental to changing the culture at GE, was called â€Å"Work-Out†. This process was designed to get unnecessary bureaucratic work out of the system while creating a forum in which management and employees could work out new ways of dealing with each other, and cut out the bureaucracy. This open style forum would bring 40 to 100 employees together to share their views about their business and how it might be improved. The â€Å"work-out† consisted of three-day sessions where employees would get the opportunity to lists all of their problems, debate solutions to these problems, and prepare presentations. On the 3rd day of the session, the employees would make their recommendations and the process would require the bosses to make decisions on the spot in front of every employee and their peers. Welch also focused of realigning skills sets and changing the mindset of his employees with GE’s new strategy and organizational imperatives. Because of this new demanding environment, some employees felt overworked and there was some residual distrust from the layoffs that took place during the 80’s; hence, he recognize this challenge and felt the need to redefining his commitment to his employees. As a result, a new psychological contract developed which gave a sense to the employees at GE that their jobs were the best jobs in the world. They had the best training and development resources, and they provided an environment committed to providing opportunities for personal and professional growth. Another initiative Welch took on, as a way to shock the culture at GE, was by introducing the notion of â€Å"stretch† to set performance targets. In addition to setting their basic targets, managers were asked to set stretch goals for their businesses as a way to reach for a higher mark knowing that they would be rewarded handsomely if they hit these goals. Within a year of introducing stretch goals into the organization, GE was reporting significant progress in areas such as inventory turns and operating margins. Finally, one of the last cultural changes Welch was able to integrate at GE was having a boundaryless company. This vision is characterized by an â€Å"open, anti-parochial environment, friendly toward the sharing and seeking of new ideas, regardless of its origin. He envisioned removing all barriers amongst disciplines and operations, and one that removed labels in titles and hierarchy chain. Equally important to having a boundaryless company was changing the internal mindset of selling products to helping their customer to win. In order to make all of these cultural changes, Jack Welch needed to make human resource changes which will allow him to execute on his vision to be the best company in the world. He introduced the 360degree feedback process where employees were graded by his or her manager, peers, and all subordinates on a 1 to 5 scale in areas such as team building, quality focus, and vision. Management went through rigorous appraisals, development, and succession planning reviews named Session C’s. Welch also wanted to make certain that they maintained their best employees. He asked top executives to identify future leaders, outline planned training and development plans, and detailed succession plans on all key jobs. He didn’t like the reward system of insignificant salary increases year after year. Instead, stock options became the primary component of management’s compensation. In their Crotonville facility, priority became to develop a generation of future leaders aligned with GE’s new vision and cultural norms. The place evolved from a training center to a place where teams of managers worked together on real priority issues and decided on results-oriented action. One of Welch’s concerns regarding some of his managers was their unwillingness to embrace the open and participative values he espoused. As a result, he categorized his leaders into 4 different types: ? First type delivers on commitments and shares the values of the organization. This type of leader certainly had a great future at GE. ? Second type was the complete opposite to the previous type. This type of leader did not deliver on commitments nor did he or she share the values of the organization. This individual did not last long at GE. ? Third type of leader misses his or her commitments but shared the company’s values. This individual would be given a second opportunity, most likely in a different environment. The fourth type of leader was one whom Welch, and most top managers, had more difficulty dealing with. This is the type of leader who delivers on his commitments, but does not share the values of the organization. These types of managers are typically characterized by being autocratic, and who forces performance out of their employees as opposed to inspiring his people. These types of leaders were e xposed during the 360 degree feedback process, and were subsequently let go. Finally, Welch envisioned only having â€Å"A† players across his organization. Individuals who displayed a vision, had leadership qualities, were energetic, and displayed courage. These individuals were characterized with the 4 E’s: had energy, could energize others, had an edge about them, and were able to execute their job. As a result, GE ranked their employees into the following 5 categories based on long term performance, also known as the â€Å"Vitality Cure†: 1) Top 10%, 2) Strong 15%, 3) Highly Valued 50%, 4) Borderline 15%, and 5) Least Effective 10% In order to mobilize the organization to develop and execute business strategies, Welch did the following: 1. Reduced bureaucracy by being lean and agile, which resulted in 50% reduction of strategic planning staff. 2. Scrapped GE’s laborious strategic planning system, and replaced it with real time planning. 3. Eliminated â€Å"sector† level managers, previously the powerful level of strategic control. Hierarchy levels went from 9 to 4, and they all reported directly into Jack. 4. Instituted the process of â€Å"Best Practices† or â€Å"Benchmarking†. This process was intended to increase productivity by sharing best practices employed by each business amongst each business. In addition, the implementation of â€Å"Best Practice† resulted in development of effective processes rather than controlling activities; customer service was their main gauge of performance; treating suppliers like partners; and an emphasis in providing a constant stream of high quality new products designed for efficient manufacturing. At the end of the day, Welch was regarded as the greatest CEO during his days at GE because he was able to envision, communicate and execute on what he wanted GE to look like. He began by delivering the message that all GE businesses had to be either #1 or #2 in their category, otherwise they needed to disengage. GE took a serious approach to become a global company. During the early to mid-80’s, they made several major acquisitions, and these businesses were responsible for implementing their own plan appropriate to their particular needs. Welch, however, remained very involved with these companies, and he also applied the standard of excellence where they needed to be either #1 or #2 in their business. Welch also wanted to reduce the amount of dependence on the traditional industrial products, which resulted in a new business strategy initiative of pushing for product services. By the supplement the traditional industrial products with added-value services, Welch believed that services would present the biggest growth opportunity for GE. This new initiative led to a number of acquisitions. Benchmarking with companies such as Motorola and Allied Signal, Welch understood how the Six Sigma quality initiative these companies had been utilizing could significantly impact GE. Six Sigma was a discipline, statistic-based system aimed at producing not more than 3. 4 defects per million iterations for any business process†¦from manufacturing to customer transactions. One of GE’s early successes in utilizing the Six Sigma process was in its Lighting division, where the use of Six Sigma was credited for cutting invoice defects and disputes by 98 percent. On his final days at GE, Welch introduced his last business initiative targeted at GE’s e-business. The program called â€Å"destroyyourbusiness. com†, or â€Å"dyb. com†, provided focus and challenged each business to look for opportunities via the internet within their own business. Welch felt the opportunities through this medium loomed large, and Welch was very pleased with the early results. Without a question, Jack Welch made a significant mark during his time at GE both professionally and in society. He changed the way businesses are managed and operated, and he left a legacy of future managers whom have moved on to lead large corporations. Unfortunately, some of them have not enjoyed the same success Welch experienced. Nonetheless, it is impossible to deny Jack Welch’s impact on the global business during his time at General Electric. Porter’s Five Forces We, at Thomas & Betts, are constantly battling against all 5 of Porter’s forces. Following are examples on how our business is impacted by these forces: 1. RIVALRY – We certainly view companies such as Cooper Industries and Hubbell as our primary rivals. For the most, one of us controls a big a portion of the business at the electrical distributors. Because of the legacy products our companies were built on are so similar, our customers tend to use price as a way to get what they want. As a way to combat pricing pressures, our focus is to bring new products to market providing financial benefits, such as labor savings, to the end-user. . THREAT OF SUBSTITUTES – Unfortunately, there are a significant number of competitors that we compete with in every product line we manufacture. Many of these competitors do not have the capacity or product breadth Thomas & Betts has, and that’s the value proposition we offer to our customers. The ability to purchase multiple electrical lines, and placing it in one order, having one shipment, and paying one in voice. However, it has being difficult to quantify what this means to our customers from a financial perspective. As a result, our customers continue to pin each supplier against each other by using pricing, rebates, and/or promotions as a stick to get a better deal. 3. BUYER POWER – Fortunately for us, we have a high level of brand recognition and demand at the end-user level. We work with Specifiers and Engineers to get our products specified on jobs, which gives us leverage when dealing with a distributor on how much business they should award us. 4. BARRIER TO ENTRY – As previously mentioned, one of the barriers of entry in our industry is controlled by what type of brand or product the specs calls for on specific jobs. For the most part, specs list a primary supplier and a substitute brand that allows us to compete in most situations. Another barrier to entry could be at an account where the relationship of the existing supplier is so strong that we’re better off spending our time developing other distributors. 5. SUPPLIER POWER – Once again, the supplier has the power in situations where the end user specifies which supplier they would want to use in a specific job. At that point, the distributor has to work with the specified supplier and the leverage swings in the supplier’s side. Pricing and competitive threats are removed off the table.

Saturday, January 4, 2020

The Origins And Central Beliefs Of Islam - 1735 Words

Three Theologies for Thee The origins and central beliefs of Islam, Buddhism, and Christianity should be common knowledge to understand our world today and its history. Islam is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion that professes that there is only one god. Muhammad is the last messenger of the god Allah. It’s the world’s fastest growing religion and the second largest in the world. Muslims make up 23% of the world’s population. Islam teaches that Allah is peaceful, all-minded, and unique, and he has guided mankind through the Quran and and natural signs, along with a line of prophets sealed by Muhammad. The Quran, viewed by Muslims as the verberation of Allah, and the teachings of Muhammad. The origins of Islam can be traced back to 7th†¦show more content†¦They were afraid that trade which they believed was protected by the pagan gods, would deteriorate. From that point forward, Muhammad was shunned in Mecca. For a time, the influence and status of his wife and his uncle, Abu Talib, the chief of the clan, protected Muhammad from persecution. After they died, however, Muhammad s situation in Mecca became dire. (The Prophet Muhammad And The Origins Of Islam) After facing many trials of persecution, abuse, and torture from the Quraish, Muhammad and his followers decided to flee Mecca, and migrate to Medina, where the Medians graciously welcomed them. This major beginning of the Islamic era is called the Hijrah which roughly translated as â€Å"Flight.† In Medina, Muhammad continued to receive revelations and an ever-expanding community around the new faith. The conflict with the Quraish continued but after several violent years of battle, Mecca surrendered. Muhammad and his followers soon returned and took over the city, destroying all its pagan idols and spreading their belief in one God. When Muhammad died in 632, he had not named a successor. One faction, the Shi’a, believed that only individuals with direct lineage to the Prophet could guide the Muslim community righteously, They thought that ‘Ali, Muhammad’s closest surviving blood male relative, should be their next leader. 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Atheism is the belief that there is no God and Agnosticism is the belief that the fact that there is a God or no God cannot be proven. Christianity is a universalizing religion. It is the dominant religion in North America, SouthRead MoreHinduism : What Is The Point Of Origin Or Polytheistic?1544 Words   |  7 PagesHinduism 1. What is the point of origin Hinduism is a collective term applied to the many philosophical and religious traditions native to India. Hinduism doesn’t have a specific point of origin or a specific founder. 2. How did religion/philosophy spread? An advanced, city-based community of people came out and became visible from the related to land and crops village culture of the Indus River Valley and lowered in number, for unknown reasons, within a thousand years. The remains of the twoRead MoreReflection Paper for Inside Islam638 Words   |  3 PagesReflection Paper Two On the film Inside Islam Submitted to: Prof. Elma M. Lumantas Submitted by: Cresinte Gumilao Subject: History 3 Day and Time: T-Fr 4:00-5:30 School: MSU-GSC Date: March 10, 2011 Part 1. Summary Inside Islam’s background comes from this often misunderstood faith back to its tradition origins before and within the Hebrew Bible, also providing information about on how the religions central constituents helps spread Islam religious belief throughout the world. This videoRead MoreSimilarities Between Islam And Christianity997 Words   |  4 PagesIslam and Christianity are two largely wide spread religions in the world that have a great impact on their followers, especially in a spiritual manner. Because of originality, values, and unique believes in each religion, their believers respect and try to comprehend each other’s faith. With Christianity’s record 2.2 billion population and Islam’s impressive 1.6 billion population, they both form the bases of their countries laws and are recognized by governments all around the world. Even thoughRead MoreThe Origins Of Judaism, Christianity And Islam Essay1345 Words   |  6 PagesThe origins of Judaism, Christianity and Islam happened within an area of the world that was the center of all nations; the Middle East. These faiths have a core religious belief system that includes religious writings, holy sites and figures. The religion of the Jewish people is referred to as Judaism and is considered one of the oldest religions, beginning over 4,000 years ago in an area of land called Mesopotamia. Abraham, known to the Jews as the father of their faith, entered the land ofRead MoreJudaism, Christianity, and Islam1538 Words   |  6 PagesJudaism, Christianity and Islam Christianity and Islam are the most influential religions in the world. Judaism has only fourteen million followers across the continents which makes Judaism the 12th largest religion. Although Judaism is not as large as Christianity and Islam, It still has an impact on the world. Prophet Abraham is the called in Islam the father of all prophets and because of that, sometimes Christianity, Islam and Judaism are called Abrahamic Religions. There are many known differences