Social Exchange Theory Essays

Social Exchange Theory Essays Social Exchange Theory Paper Social Exchange Theory Paper Similarity is rewarding, according to Rubin (1973), because: agreement is likely to provide the opportunity for partners to engage in joint activity; we assume those with similar views to ourselves will like us, so like them in return; communication is easier if we agree on things that matter to us; if our partner agrees with us, this boosts our self esteem about our own oppinions; we are vain enough to believe that those who share our views are sensitive and praise-worthy. Similarity exists between these two theories in that they both discuss rewards and investment. They both state that relationships require significant investment on the part of both partners for it to work and thus both say that a relationship is likely to fail if one person feels as though they are giving more to the relationship than they are receiving out of it. Thibaut and Kelley, 1978, criticise both theories for failing to account for the complexity of relationships. They say that not all social interactions reflect a mutual desire for equity and fair exchange and that partners motives may clash. This can produce effects such as altruism, competition, capitulation and aggression. This is discussed in their Interdependence Theory, which considers the intersubjective harmony or conflict between two people in their values, motives and attitudes. The main difference between the two theories is that Social Exchange Theory is concerned with the exchange of rewards between the two partners and the perceived difference between what one partner gives to the other and vice versa. Social exchange theory explains what we believe about a relationship with another person as depending on out observation of the poise of, what we put into the relationship as to what we get out of it and the chance of finding something better elsewhere.  It is said that we develop a comparison level, against which we compare the give/take ratio. The level will vary between relationships, with some being more giving and others where we get more from the relationship. Thus, for example, interactions at home may be very different, both in balance and content. Traditionally, the male member of the partnership went out to work, and the female partner stayed at home, looked after the running of the house and the family. They both brought different things to the relationship, which were of equal importance, without one or the other; the relationship wouldnt have functioned as effectively.  A research example in relation to this theory was the study carried out by Rusbult (1983), he found that during the early honeymoon period of a romantic relationship, the balance of exchange was largely ignored. Only later were costs related to satisfaction with the relationship. I think it is too early to know if the ways in which I helped others tied in with Social exchange theory; it would probably have to be considered in a few weeks or months time. For example, the next time I ask my uncle for a favour, he may remember the time I helped him tidy the garage and feel more inclined to grant me the favour, than he would have otherwise. So, if this is the case, then the rewards of helping will have outweighed the costs. My helping tended to focus more on family members than to strangers or friends; however, I dont think this was a conscious decision as I would have just as easily helped anyone else who needed it. Although, when thinking about it in more detail, had I not helped them; I feel that perhaps they would have thought I was too lazy, or selfish to do so. So with them being family, I didnt want them to think of me in a negative way, so perhaps it could be said that there is an emotional obligation to help relatives more than others. Evolutionary theory views many social behaviours are echoes of actions that contributed to the survival of our prehistoric ancestors. (Burnstein and Brannigan, 2001)  Research has shown that people are much more likely to donate organs to family members than to strangers. There appears to be a stronger sense of social obligation to relatives than to others.  Nevertheless, psychologists who take an evolutionary approach to helping suggest that when, for example, one family member donates an organ to save the life of another, the donor is helping to certify the survival of the genes he or she shares with the recipient. There is considerable evidence that kin selection occurs among birds, squirrels and other animals. The more closely the animals are related, the more likely they are to risk their lives for one another.  Studies in a wide variety of cultures show the same patterns of helping among humans. (Buss, 1999) Identical twins have been found to be more willing to help one another than fraternal twins or siblings. (Segal, 1999)  The reciprocity norm is an economic model of behaviour which takes the view of do unto others as you would have them do to you. It links in with Gouldners theory of social exchange. Kunz, a psychologists experimented by sending Christmas cards to complete strangers in order to see how many of them would reply, even if they had no idea who the card was from. Kunz was trying to show that people will respond in kind, when the same behaviour is shown to them. A large majority of them replied, even though they had no idea who the card was from. Evolutionary theory could be said to tie in with the people I helped to some extent, as I tended to focus more on family members than anyone else. On the other hand though, because the ways in which I helped were more everyday situations than life changing ones, my reasons were for helping were not directly related to the ideas of evolutionary theory, it was more a case of, protecting your own. Personal and cultural factors affecting helping behaviour-  I found it easier to help at home, because I was around family- the people who I am closest to, with this being the case I wasnt worried about other people watching me or being too embarrassed in front of friends or other onlookers. My feelings could be said to tie in with the study of the murder case of Kitty Genovese which intrigued two psychologists, John Darley and Bibb Latane. They both suspected that situational variables, not personality traits of the people in that society, led to the lack of help intervention which Genovese received. Emerging from that research was the concept of the bystander effect, the idea that the presence of others inhibits helping behaviour of individuals. Piliavin and his colleagues (1981) hypothesized an arousal-cost-reward model. They argued that a decision on whether to help or not is based on the arousal of the potential helper and on a calculation of the costs and rewards (to self and to victim). If the rewards are perceived as being higher than the costs, a person is more likely to intervene. There is said to be an exchange benefit and this behaviour therefore is not entirely altruistic. I related this study to the example of me offering my seat the elderly women on the bus; there definitely was an exchange value. I felt good about myself, and gave a positive impression as to what type of person I am to onlookers and the woman was able to sit down comfortably. Also, had I not gave up my seat and had something bad happened, for example the woman falling over; I would have felt guilty for a long time after, so the rewards were definitely higher than the cost- which was me having to stand until I got off the bus. Cialdini, Kenrick and Baumann, had a theory of there being a negative state relief model in relation to helping behaviours. They suggested that when we experience a negative emotional state, we welcome something which would distract us from this and increase our feelings of well-being. This model is thought to function in non-emergencies, i.e situations like giving to charity. Observers help others in order to increase their own moods. However, I disagree with this theory. In relation to myself, I have found out that if I feel in a bad mood in the slightest then I dont feel like helping anyone, whoever they may be. Being compassionate to others, for the entire day was much more hard work than I had expected. When it came to the late evening, I was getting quite negative about the whole thing; I was in a slightly bad mood and didnt feel like speaking to anyone, let alone helping them and being compassionate. In relation to this, my behaviour could be said to be the polar opposite to that of the negative state relief model. My behaviour was different to normal as in certain cases I was making a conscious decision to try and help when in normal circumstances I may not have been so quick to offer assistance. Now having analysed the different types of helping behaviour and theories, I think in future I will be more conscious as to who I help and when I do so; as I will be thinking about others thoughts as to why they think I am helping; am I being egoistic or altruistic etc?

An analysis of the Culture of an organisation Essay

An analysis of the Culture of an organisation - Essay Example Organisations are increasingly focusing on developing the ‘right culture’, or ‘culture with quality’ or a ‘culture of customer service’ with a view to inculcate certain values and norms in their organisational settings. It is widely assumed that better, stronger and more importantly the right culture can largely influence the effectiveness and success factors of the organisation (Schein, 2004, p. 7). Southwest Airlines is an outstanding example for best cultural practices within the organization as its dedicated employees do more than delivering the friendly and high-quality customer services for which the company is widely known and this is the way its people and culture bring result. This paper presents a brief description about organisational culture and describes the theoretical framework in relation to Schein model of organisational culture based on the empirical evidences from the application of organisational culture in Southwest Airlines. This paper mainly focuses on the unique culture of Southwest Airlines to deliver highest quality customer service and its impact on organisational performance. Southwest Airlines, the Dallas-based airline carrier, continues to differentiate itself from other carriers with exemplary customer service delivered by more than 45,000 employees to more than 100 million customers every year (Investor relations, 2013). The company was founded by Herb Kelleher and Rollin King in 1971 as a low cost airline service in busy markets of less than 500 miles. In 1980, the company adopted its mission as â€Å"dedication to the highest quality of Customer Service delivered with a sense of warmth, friendliness, individual pride and company spirit† (Smith, 2004, p. 27). Even after 32 years, Southwest Airlines perceives its people to be the highest valued assets and asks them to be highly dedicated to continually providing highest quality

Write a report to your Departmental Manager on the Implementation of Coursework

Write a report to your Departmental Manager on the Implementation of Effective Job Design within the Organisation - Coursework Example Inadequately designed jobs often bring about dullness and consequently increased turnover, demotivation, low levels of job contentment, diminished efficiency, and an escalation in organizational costs. Many of these undesirable concerns could be circumvented or reduced through effective job design or proper detection of major job constituents. Businessdictionary.com defines job design as â€Å"Work arrangement (or rearrangement) aimed at reducing or overcoming job dissatisfaction and employee alienation arising from repetitive and mechanistic tasks. Through job design, organizations try to raise productivity levels by offering non-monetary rewards such as greater satisfaction from a sense of personal achievement in meeting the increased challenge and responsibility of ones work. Job enlargement, job enrichment, job rotation, and job simplification are the various techniques used in a job design exercise.† There are broadly two approaches to job design which is based on two different schools of thoughts. The first method involves fitting individuals to jobs. It is founded upon the hypothesis that people can be modified to any work condition. Thus employee attitudes towards the job are overlooked and jobs are aimed at producing maximum economic and technological productivity. This methodology uses the doctrines of scientific management and work simplification. In contrast, the second method involves fitting jobs to individuals. It is centered upon the theory that individuals are underutilized at the task and long for more challenges and accountability. Practices such as job rotation, job enlargement, etc. are used while designing jobs under the second alternative. The scientific management approach was devised by F.W. Taylor. The approach is based on the application of scientific principles to job design. Work, according to this approach should be scientifically analyzed and fragmented into predetermined tasks. Taylor supports job specialization

Business marketing Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Business marketing - Case Study Example Quality is AAA Office World’s surest way of establishing a good market standing (Kourdi, 2003). The fact that the company’s strategy involves both regional and local suppliers shows that it has vast presence. It is prudent that AAA prioritizes new-product development. Continuous product development helps diversify the company’s offerings. However, product development requires many resources and can easily overshadow promotion of existing products. Product promotion should also be allocated more resources because it will not only help inform many customers of the company’s products but also instigate hype for its new products. Hype would be assured for AAA because its existing and new products deliver on the things that consumers are promised. Promotion will make customers to look out, always, for AAA’s next product (Ireland et. al., 2012). Stasia Acosta should consider taking up Business Center’s offer. One of the reasons that underpin the feasibility of this move is the fact that AAA has excess capacity and could handle Business Center’s orders and still have enough to supply its other stationers and suppliers. Such a production capacity would have the advantage of expanding AAA’s distribution network because it would capitalize on both Business Centers many vast presence and that other supplies. It is fortunate that Business Center is seeking the line of file folders that brings Stasia 20 percent gross margin only. The performance of this line of file folders needs a move that will help raise its gross margin to be at par with those of other lines of file folders. Doing away with this line of file folders is the other option that Stasia can consider to deal with its minimal performance but this option would be tantamount to the â€Å"commodity end of the business† that Ramon works so hard to avoid (AAA Office World

Mercantilism Essay -- essays research papers

The year 1607 brought England into the "New World" with its first permanent settlement at Jamestown, and the following years would bring more American colonies to the British Empire. When sending people into the new land, the English planned to use a mercantilist policy and fully use the colonies for their resources. The colonist's creation of the proverb "Mother countries exist for the benefit of their colonies" is sufficient because England's original intentions of mercantilism soon disappeared after their entrance into this new world. The reason for the decline in their motives can be traced to many occurrences, most notably benign neglect of the colonies and internal English conflicts. In many cases, the mother country was doing more for the colonies than the colonies were for their homeland. Besides offering them protection and giving them more rights than the Englishmen, England also guaranteed the colonists a market to sell products. The English had one of the best naval forces in the world and as a result of being under British control; the colonies also had the privilege of having an excellent navy. The same policy went for ground troops, the colonists were given protection from the French and Indians without having to train a large army. British redcoats were trained in England and sent to protect colonists in America. As stated by Dean Tucker in â€Å"Dean Tucker Advises a Divorce†, colonial protection put severe burden on the English treasury. 300,000 to 400,000 pounds a year were spent on protecting colonies. Adam Smith also touches this subject in â€Å"Adam Smith Criticizes Empire†. Smith argues that as a result of sending British troops to America during wars, England lost a large quantity of money. This shows that in many cases the English were in fact working for the colonies, although the principal of mercantilism shows the opposite. Unlike those that actually lived in England and h ad to pay large sums of money to support the army, the colonists received protection for free. Although the Navigation Acts posed on the colonists hurt some, for many it would mean financial stability. Farmers in South Carolina and Virginia had the privilege of heavy tobacco growth. At the same time, middle colonies had fertile soil making it a good land for grain. Others such as Massachuset... ... benefit their motherland, and in Spain’s case that was definitely true. France had similar intentions, but to a lighter degree. France greatly used their colonies for raw materials such as fur. These fur hats’ extreme popularity in France resulted in large profits for the country. Mercantilism played a large role in colonial settlements, and its affects are still seen today. Many protective tariffs are placed to offer workers protection. Although strict policies are no longer enforced, cases of mercantilism are still apparent. Although both sides gained as well as lost in the relationship, the colonists benefited the most. Not only did they receive free protection, but also they had more rights than Englishmen and had a guaranteed market to sell products. So, it is possible for the colonists to reverse the maxim. By doing so, it’s just as true as the original statement. Mercantilism declined, but only in America. Other nations continued using the policy and in many cases it can still be seen today. Mercantilism played a large role in shaping America, and even though its ideals were not completely successful, America would not be the same without it.

Practical Demonkeeping Chapter 3-4

3 TRAVIS Travis O'Hearn was driving a fifteen-year-old Chevy Impala he had bought in L.A. with money the demon had taken from a pimp. The demon was standing on the passenger seat with his head out the window, panting into the rushing coastal wind with the slobbering exuberance of an Irish setter. From time to time he pulled his head inside the car, looked at Travis, and sang, â€Å"Your mother sucks cocks in he-ell, Your mother sucks cocks in he-ell,† in a teasing, childlike way. Then he would spin his head around several times for effect. They had spent the night in a cheap motel north of San Junipero, and the demon had tuned the television to a cable channel that played an uncut version of The Exorcist. It was the demon's favorite movie. At least, Travis thought, it was better than the last time, when the demon had seen The Wizard of Oz and had spent an entire day pretending to be a flying monkey, or screaming, â€Å"And that goes for your little dog, too.† â€Å"Sit still, Catch,† Travis said. â€Å"I'm trying to drive.† The demon had been wired since he had eaten the hitchhiker the night before. The guy must have been on cocaine or speed. Why did drugs affect the demon when poisons did not phase him? It was a mystery. The demon tapped Travis on the shoulder with a long reptilian claw. â€Å"I want to ride on the hood,† he said. His voice was like rusty nails rattling in a can. â€Å"Enjoy,† Travis said, waving across the dashboard. The demon climbed out the window and across the front, where he perched like a hood ornament from hell, his forked tongue flying in the wind like a storm-swept pennon, spattering the windshield with saliva. Travis turned on the wipers and was grateful to find that the Chevy was equipped with an interval delay feature. It had taken him a full day in Los Angeles to find a pimp who looked as if he were carrying enough cash to get them a car, and another day for the demon to catch the guy in a place isolated enough to eat him. Travis insisted that the demon eat in private. When he was eating he became visible to other people. He also tripled in size. Travis had a recurring nightmare about being asked to explain the eating habits of his traveling companion. In the dream Travis is walking down the street when a policeman taps him on the shoulder. â€Å"Excuse me, sir,† the policeman says. Travis does a slow-mo Sam Peckenpah turn. â€Å"Yes,† he says. The policeman says, â€Å"I don't mean to bother you – but that large, scaly fellow over there munching on the mayor – do you know him?† The policeman points toward the demon, who is biting off the head of a man in a pinstriped polyester suit. â€Å"Why, yes, I do,† Travis says. â€Å"That's Catch, he's a demon. He has to eat someone every couple of days or he gets cranky. I've known him for seventy years. I'll vouch for his lack of character.† The policeman, who has heard it all before, says, â€Å"There's a city ordinance against eating an elected official without a permit. May I see your permit, please?† â€Å"I'm sorry,† Travis says, â€Å"I don't have a permit, but I'll be glad to get one if you'll tell me where to go.† The cop sighs and begins writing on a ticket pad. â€Å"You can only get a permit from the mayor, and your friend seems to be finishing him off now. We don't like strangers eating our mayor around here. I'm afraid I'll have to cite you.† Travis protests, â€Å"But if I get another ticket, they'll cancel my insurance.† He always wondered about this part of the dream; he'd never carried insurance. The cop ignores him and continues to write out the ticket. Even in a dream, he is only doing his job. Travis thought it terribly unfair that Catch even invaded his dreams. Sleep, at least, should provide some escape from the demon, who had been with him for seventy years, and would be with him forever unless he could find a way to send him back to hell. For a man of ninety, Travis was remarkably well preserved. In fact, he did not appear to be much over twenty, his age when he had called up the demon. Dark with dark eyes and lean, Travis had sharp features that would have seemed evil if not for the constant look of confusion he wore, as if there were one answer that would make everything in life clear to him if he could only remember the question. He had never bargained for the endless days on the road with the demon, trying to figure out how to stop the killing. Sometimes the demon ate daily, sometimes he would go for weeks without killing. Travis had never found a reason, a connection, or a pattern to it. Sometimes he could dissuade the demon from killing, sometimes he could only steer him toward certain victims. When he could, he had the demon eat pimps or pushers, those that humanity could do without. But other times he had to choose vagrants and vagabonds, those that would not be missed. There was a time when he had cried while sending Catch after a hobo or a bag-lady. He'd made friends among the homeless when he was riding the rails with the demon, back before there were so many automobiles. Often a bum who didn't know where his next roof or drink was coming from had shared a boxcar and a bottle with Travis. And Travis had learned that there was no evil in being poor; poverty merely opened one up to evil. But over the years he had learned to push aside the remorse, and time and again Catch dined on bums. He wondered what went through the minds of Catch's victims just before they died. He had seen them wave their hands before their eyes as if the monster looming before them was an illusion, a trick of the light. He wondered what would happen now, if oncoming drivers could see Catch perched on the front of the Chevy waving like a parade queen from the Black Lagoon. They would panic, swerve off the narrow road and over the ocean-side bank. Windshields would shatter, and gasoline would explode, and people would die. Death and the demon were never separated for long. Coming soon to a town near you, Travis thought. But perhaps this is the last one. As a seagull cry dopplered off to Travis's left, he turned to look out the window over the ocean. The morning sun was reflecting off the face of the waves, illuminating a sparkling halo of spray. For a moment he forgot about Catch and drank in the beauty of the scene, but when he turned to look at the road again, there was the demon, standing on the bumper, reminding him of his responsibility. Travis pushed the accelerator to the floor and the Impala's engine hesitated, then roared as the automatic transmission dropped into passing gear. When the speedometer hit sixty he locked up the brakes. Catch hit the roadway face first and skidded headlong, throwing up sparks where his scales scraped the asphalt. He bounced off a signpost and into a ditch, where he lay for a moment trying to gather his thoughts. The Impala fishtailed and came to a stop sideways in the road. Travis slammed the Chevy into reverse, righted the car, then threw it into drive and screeched toward the demon, keeping the wheels out of the ditch until the moment of impact. The Impala's headlights shattered against Catch's chest. The corner of the bumper caught him in the waist and drove him deep into the mud of the ditch. The engine sputtered to a stop and the damaged radiator hissed a rusty cloud of steam into Catch's face. The driver's side door was jammed against the ditch, so Travis crawled out the window and ran around the car to see what damage he had done. Catch was lying in the ditch with the bumper against his chest. â€Å"Nice driving, A.J.,† Catch said. â€Å"You going to try for Indy next year?† Travis was disappointed. He hadn't really expected to hurt Catch, he knew from experience that the demon was virtually indestructible, but he had hoped at least to piss him off. â€Å"Just trying to keep you on your toes,† he said. â€Å"A little test to see how you hold up under stress.† Catch lifted the car, crawled out, and stood next to Travis in the ditch. â€Å"What's the verdict? Did I pass?† â€Å"Are you dead?† â€Å"Nope, I feel great.† â€Å"Then you have failed miserably. I'm sorry but I'll have to run you over again.† â€Å"Not with this car,† the demon said, shaking his head. Travis surveyed the steam rising from the radiator and wondered whether he might not have been a little hasty in giving way to his anger. â€Å"Can you get it out of the ditch?† â€Å"Piece of cake.† The demon hoisted the front of the car and began to walk it up onto the berm. â€Å"But you're not going to get far without a new radiator.† â€Å"Oh, you're all of a sudden an expert mechanic. Mr. help-me-I-can't-change-the-channel-while-the-magic-fingers-is-on all of a sudden has a degree in automotive diagnostics?† â€Å"Well, what do you think?† â€Å"I think there's a town just ahead where we can get it fixed. Didn't you read that sign you bounced off of?† It was a dig. Travis knew the demon couldn't read; in fact, he often watched subtitled movies with the sound off just to irritate Catch. â€Å"What's it say?† â€Å"It says, ‘Pine Cove, five miles.' That's where we're going. I think we can limp the car five miles with a bad radiator. If not, you can push.† â€Å"You run over me and wreck the car and I get to push?† â€Å"Correct,† Travis said, crawling back through the car window. â€Å"At your command, master,† Catch said sarcastically. Travis tried the ignition. The car whined and died. â€Å"It won't start. Get behind and push.† â€Å"Okay,† Catch said. He went around to the back of the car, put his shoulder to the bumper, and began pushing it the rest of the way out of the ditch. â€Å"But pushing cars is very hungry work.† 4 ROBERT Robert Masterson had drunk a gallon of red wine, most of a five-liter Coors minikeg, and a half-pint of tequila, and still the dream came. A desert. A big, bright, sandy bastard. The Sahara. He is naked, tied to a chair with barbed wire. Before him is a great canopied bed covered in black satin. Under the cool shade of the canopy his wife, Jennifer, is making love to a stranger – a young, muscular, dark-haired man. Tears run down Robert's cheeks and crystallize into salt. He cannot close his eyes or turn away. He tries to scream, but every time he opens his mouth a squat, lizardlike monster, the size of a chimpanzee, shoves a saltine cracker into his mouth. The heat and the pain in his chest are agonizing. The lovers are oblivious to his pain. The little reptile man tightens the barbed wire around his chest by twisting a stick. Every time he sobs, the wire cuts deeper. The lovers turn to him in slow motion, maintaining their embrace. They wave to him, a big home-movie wave, postcard smiles. Greetings from the heart of anguish. Awake, the dream-pain in his chest replaced by a real pain in his head. Light is the enemy. It's out there waiting for you to open your eyes. No. No way. Thirst – brave the light to slake the thirst – it must be done. He opened his eyes to a dim, forgiving light. Must be cloudy out. He looked around. Pillows, full ashtrays, empty wine bottles, a chair, a calendar from the wrong year with a picture of a surfer riding a huge swell, pizza boxes. This wasn't home. He didn't live like this. Humans don't live like this. He was on someone's couch. Where? He sat up and waited in vertigo until his brain snapped back into his head, which it did with a vengeful impact. Ah, yes, he knew where he was. This was Hangover – Hangover, California. Pine Cove, where he was thrown out of the house by his wife. Heartbreak, California. Jenny, call Jenny. Tell her that humans don't live this way. No one lives this way. Except The Breeze. He was in The Breeze's trailer. He looked around for water. There was the kitchen, fourteen miles away, over there at the end of the couch. Water was in the kitchen. He crawled naked off the couch, across the floor of the kitchen to the sink, and pulled himself up. The faucet was gone, or at least buried under a stack of dirty dishes. He reached into an opening, cautiously searching for the faucet like a diver reaching into an underwater crevice for a moray eel. Plates skidded down the pile and crashed on the floor. He looked at the china shards scattered around his knees and spotted the mirage of a Coors minikeg. He managed a controlled fall toward the mirage and his hand struck the nozzle. It was real. Salvation: hair of the dog in a handy, five-liter disposable package. He started to drink from the nozzle and instantly filled his mouth, throat, sinuses, aural cavity, and chest hair with foam. â€Å"Use a glass,† Jenny would say. â€Å"What are you, an animal?† He must call Jenny and apologize as soon as the thirst was gone. First, a glass. Dirty dishes were strewn across every horizontal surface in the kitchen: the counter, stove, table, breakfast bar, and the top of the refrigerator. The oven was filled with dirty dishes. Nobody lives like this. He spotted a glass among the miasma. The Holy Grail. He grabbed it and filled it with beer. Mold floated on the settling foam. He threw the glass into the oven and slammed the door before an avalanche could gain momentum. A clean glass, perhaps. He checked the cupboard where the dishes had once been kept. A single cereal bowl stared out at him. From the bottom of the bowl Fred Flintstone congratulated him, â€Å"Good kid! You're a clean-plater!† Robert filled the bowl and sat cross-legged on the floor amid the broken dishes while he drank. Fred Flintstone congratulated him three times before his thirst abated. Good old Fred. The man's a saint. Saint Fred of Bedrock. â€Å"Fred, how could she do this to me? Nobody can live like this.† â€Å"Good kid! You're a clean-plater!† Fred said. â€Å"Call Jenny,† Robert said, reminding himself. He stood and staggered through the offal toward the phone. Nausea swept over him and he bounced back through the trailer's narrow hallway and fell into the bathroom, where he retched into the toilet until he passed out. The Breeze called it â€Å"talking to Ralph on the Big White Phone.† This one was a toll call. Five minutes later he came to and found the phone. It seemed a superhuman effort to hit the right buttons. Why did they have to keep moving? At last he connected and someone answered on the first ring. â€Å"Jenny, honey, I'm sorry. Can I-â€Å" â€Å"Thank you for calling Pizza on Wheels. We will open at eleven A.M. and deliveries begin at four P.M. Why cook when-â€Å" Robert hung up. He'd dialed the number written on the phone's emergency numbers sticker instead of his home. Again he chased down the buttons and pegged them one by one. It was like shooting skeet, you had to lead them a little. â€Å"Hello.† Jenny sounded sleepy. â€Å"Honey, I'm sorry. I'll never do it again. Can I come home?† â€Å"Robert? What time is it?† He thought for a moment then guessed, â€Å"Noon?† â€Å"It's five in the morning, Robert. I've been asleep about an hour, Robert. There were dogs barking in the neighborhood all night long, Robert. I'm not ready for this. Good-bye, Robert.† â€Å"But Jenny, how could you do it? You don't even like the desert. And you know how I hate saltines.† â€Å"You're drunk, Robert.† â€Å"Who is this guy, Jenny? What does he have that I don't have?† â€Å"There is no other guy. I told you yesterday, I just can't live with you anymore. I don't think I love you anymore.† â€Å"Who do you love? Who is he?† â€Å"Myself, Robert. I'm doing it for myself. Now I'm hanging up for myself. Say good-bye so I don't feel like I'm hanging up on you.† â€Å"But, Jenny-â€Å" â€Å"It's over. Get on with your life, Robert. I'm hanging up now. Good-bye.† â€Å"But-† She hung up. â€Å"Nobody lives like this,† Robert said to the dial tone. Get on with your life. Okay, that's a plan. He would clean up this place and clean up his life. Never drink again. Things were going to change. Soon she would remember what a great guy he was. But first he had to go to the bathroom to answer an emergency call from Ralph. The smoke alarm was screaming like a tortured lamb. Robert, now back on the couch, pulled a cushion over his head and wondered why the Breeze didn't have a sleeper button on his smoke alarm. Then the pounding started. It was a door buzzer, not the smoke alarm. â€Å"Breeze, answer the door!† Robert shouted into the cushion. The pounding continued. He crawled off the couch and waded through the litter to the door. â€Å"Hold on a minute, man. I'm coming.† He threw the door open and caught the man outside with his fist poised for another pounding. He was a sharp-faced Hispanic in a raw silk suit. His hair was slicked back and tied in a ponytail with a black silk ribbon. Robert could see a flagship model BMW parked in the driveway. â€Å"Shit. Jehovah's Witnesses must make a lot of money,† Robert said. The Hispanic was not amused. â€Å"I need to talk to The Breeze.† At that point Robert realized that he was naked and picked an empty, gallon wine bottle from the floor to cover his privates. â€Å"Come in,† Robert said, backing away from the door. â€Å"I'll see if he's awake.† The Hispanic stepped in. Robert stumbled down the narrow hall to The Breeze's room. He knocked on the door. â€Å"Breeze, there's some big money here to see you.† No answer. He opened the door and went in and searched through the piles of blankets, sheets, pillows, beer cans, and wine bottles, but found no Breeze. On the way back to the living room Robert grabbed a mildewed towel from the bathroom and wrapped it around his hips. The Hispanic was standing in the middle of a small clearing, peering around the trailer with concentrated disgust. It looked to Robert as if he were trying to levitate to avoid having his Italian shoes contact the filth on the floor. â€Å"He's not here,† Robert said. â€Å"How do you live like this?† the Hispanic said. He had no discernible accent. â€Å"This is subhuman, man.† â€Å"Did my mother send you?† The Hispanic ignored the question. â€Å"Where is The Breeze? We had a meeting this morning.† He put an extra emphasis on the word meeting. Robert got the message. The Breeze had been hinting that he had some big deal going down. The guy must be the buyer. Silk suits and BMWs were not the usual accouterments of The Breeze's clientele. â€Å"He left last night. I don't know where he went. You could check down at the Slug.† â€Å"The Slug?† â€Å"Head of the Slug Saloon, on Cypress. He hangs out there sometimes.† The Hispanic tiptoed through the garbage to the door, then paused on the step. â€Å"Tell him I'm looking for him. He should call me. Tell him I do not do business this way.† Robert didn't like the commanding tone in the Hispanic's voice. He affected the obsequious tone of an English butler, â€Å"And whom shall I say has called, sir?† â€Å"Don't fuck with me, cabron. This is business.† Robert took a deep breath, then sighed. â€Å"Look, Pancho. I'm hung over, my wife just threw me out, and my life is not worth shit. So if you want me to take messages, you can damn well tell me who the fuck you are. Or should I tell The Breeze to look for a Mexican with a Gucci loafer shoved up his ass? Comprende, Pachuco?† The Hispanic turned on the step and started to reach into his suit coat. Robert felt adrenaline shoot through his body, and he tightened his grip on the towel. Oh, yeah, he thought, pull a gun and I'll snap your eyes out with this towel. He suddenly felt extremely helpless. The Hispanic kept his hand in his coat. â€Å"Who are you?† â€Å"I'm The Breeze's decorator. We're redoing the whole place in an abstract expressionist motif.† Robert wondered if he wasn't really trying to get shot. â€Å"Well, smart ass, when The Breeze shows up, you tell him to call Rivera. And you tell him that when the business is done, his decorator is mine. You understand?† Robert nodded weakly. â€Å"Adios, dogmeat.† Rivera turned and walked toward the BMW. Robert closed the door and leaned against it, trying to catch his breath. The Breeze was going to be pissed when he heard about this. Robert's fear was replaced by self-loathing. Maybe Jenny was right. Maybe he had no idea how to maintain a relationship with anybody. He was worthless and weak – and dehydrated. He looked around for something to drink and vaguely remembered having done this before. Dj vu? â€Å"Nobody lives like this.† It was going to change, goddammit. As soon as he found his clothes, he was going to change it. RIVERA Detective Sergeant Alphonso Rivera of the San Junipero County Sheriff's Department sat in the rented BMW and cursed. â€Å"Fuck, fuck, and double fuck.† Then he remembered the transmitter taped to his chest. â€Å"Okay, cowboys, he's not here. I should have known. The van's been gone for a week. Call it off.† In the distance he could hear cars starting. Two beige Plymouths drove by a few seconds later, the drivers conspicuously not looking at the BMW as they passed. What could have gone wrong? Three months setting it all up. He'd gone out on a limb with the captain to convince him that Charles L. Belew, a.k.a. The Breeze, was their ticket into the Big Sur growers' business. â€Å"He's gone down twice for cocaine. If we pop him for dealing, he'll give us everything but his favorite recipe to stay out of Soledad.† â€Å"He's small time,† the captain had said. â€Å"Yeah, but he knows everybody, and he's hungry. Best of all, he knows he's small time, so he thinks we wouldn't bother with him.† Finally the captain had relented and it had been set up. Rivera could hear him now. â€Å"Rivera, if you got made by a drugged-out loser like Belew, maybe we should put you back in uniform, where your high visibility will be an asset. Maybe we can put you in P.R. or recruitment.† Rivera's ass was hanging out worse than that drunken jerk in the trailer. Who was he, anyway? As far as anyone knew, The Breeze lived alone. But this guy seemed to know something. Why else would he give Rivera such a hard time? Maybe he could pull this off with the drunk. Desperate thinking. A long shot. Rivera memorized the license number of the old Ford truck parked outside The Breeze's trailer. He would run it through the computer when he got back to the station. Maybe he could convince the captain that he still had something. Maybe he did. And then again, maybe he could just climb a stream of angel piss to heaven. Rivera sat in the file room of the sheriff's office drinking coffee and watching a videotape. After running the license number through the computer, Rivera found that the pickup belonged to a Robert Masterson, age twenty-nine. Born in Ohio, married to Jennifer Masterson, also twenty-nine. His only prior was a drunk-driving conviction two years ago. The video was a record of Masterson's breathalyzer test. Several years ago the department had begun taping all breathalyzer tests to avoid legal-defense strategies based on procedural mistakes made by arresting officers during testing. On the television screen a very drunk Robert W. Masterson (6 ft., 180 lbs., eyes green, hair brown) was spouting nonsense to two uniformed deputies. â€Å"We work for a common purpose. You serve the state with your minds and bodies. I serve the state by opposing it. Drinking is an act of civil disobedience. I drink to end world hunger. I drink to protest the United States' involvement in Central America. I drink to protest nuclear power. I drink†¦Ã¢â‚¬  A sense of doom descended on Rivera as he watched. Unless The Breeze reappeared, his career was in the hands of this tightly wound, loosely wrapped, drunken idiot. He wondered what life might be like as a bank security guard. On the screen the two officers looked away from their prisoner to the door of the testing room. The camera was mounted in the corner and fitted with a wide-angle lens to cover anything that happened without having to be adjusted. A little Arab man in a red stocking cap had come through the door, and the deputies were telling him that he had the wrong room and to please leave. â€Å"Could I trouble you for a small quantity of salt?† the little man asked. Then he blinked off the screen as if the tape had been stopped and he had been edited out. Rivera rewound the tape and ran it again. The second time, Masterson performed the test without interruption. The door did not open and there was no little man. Rivera ran it back again: no little man. He must have dozed off while the tape was running. His subconscious had continued the tape while he slept, inserting the little man's entrance. That was the only viable explanation. â€Å"I don't need this shit,† he said. Then he ejected the tape and drained his coffee, his tenth cup of the day.

Economics A Deeper Understanding Of The World - 916 Words

The study of economics is a vas field including many formulas and eqagions that help us better understand the worlds markets. Economics is not only used in the life of thoses who study it but by everyone shopping or selling goods wheater they are aware of it or not. The study of economics has advanced throughout the years by economist such as karl marx, adam smith, david ricardo, john maynard Keynes and many other individuals that has dedicated their life to not only the advancement of science but the world in general and because of there dedication they we have a greate understanding of how economics works. Understanding concepts such as scarcity, supply and semand, and the profit maximization rule. Economics has also allowed us to identify serting behaviors such as the total variable cost, total fixed cost, average variable cost, average fixed cost and marginal cost and many more. 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