Why does Shilling describe the body as unfinished Essay

Why does Shilling describe the body as unfinished - Essay Example The self that we come to recognise is an embodied self, and we use the power that is in that body to interact with the world around us. We have to exercise control on that body, but and in so doing we build up an ordered view of our own identity which we then present for others to see and interact with. This explains how and why our view of the world is necessarily bodily centered. The work of Shilling (1999; Shilling and Mellor, 2007) builds on this groundwork and explores the tensions than can exist between the self and the body. Every human being exists in a physical form, that is to say a body, and yet also at the same time is able to conceive of this body as something separate from, but still related to, the actual self. This ability to distinguish mental and physical attributes creates a number of problems for sociologists, because it is not understood and applied in exactly the same way across different cultures and in different historical times. This paper discusses two paper s in which Shilling discusses the body in relation to society, and theorizes that the body is in a fundamental way unfinished. The main points of the two articles are summarized and the reasons which led to the formulation of the â€Å"unfinished body† hypothesis are explored. Finally this paper outlines some of the implications of this important way of understanding the relationship between body, identity and society. In the past the vocabulary of religion would have been used to portray this kind of issue as a contrast between the body and the spirit or even the soul. In modern times different sociologists such as Parsons (1988) and Lockwood (1964) have debated interrelationships between humans and society and there have been many different ways of theorising the body in a social sense. In Shilling’s view, too much attention has been paid to the mind, and not enough to the body, resulting in a view of the individual and of society which is flawed. Concepts such as ag ency and interaction have been too often defined as if they were somehow â€Å"disembodied.† (Shilling, 1999, p. 544) In 1999 and again in 2007, Shilling addresses these problems, and brings out a series of arguments to show that the individual human body is unfinished, because it requires interaction with others before it can achieve integrity and cohesion. This paper considers the arguments of each paper in turn in the light of other scholars who have examined similar issues and explores what Shillings means by the body being â€Å"unfinished† and why, along with implications of this insight for sociology in the twenty first century. In the earlier paper Shilling turns to the work of Goffman (1983) on the individual’s need for a social self, through which interactions with others are lived: â€Å"People are confronted with the necessity of establishing interpersonal relations with others, in order to construct a social self, and remain vulnerable within this domain: interaction occurs within arenas which expose people, physically and mentally, to others (Shilling, 1999, p. 546). According to Shilling, Goffman improves on earlier work on the self and society by taking more account of corporeal and emotional aspects, and this puts the mental, or cognitive, aspect back into its place alongside these other ones, rather above them in a position of pre-eminence. Goffman’s work on embarrassment (Goffman, 1983) clearly describes some of the physical signals that occur when people engage in particular activities, and this causes Shilling to reflect on the supposed interconnection between thoughts, emotions, and bodily experiences. He

Operations and Human Resource Management Assignment

Operations and Human Resource Management - Assignment Example Working effectively with agencies is, therefore, a key consideration for institutions that require their services. A comprehensive analysis of Proposals should, therefore, be done where the institution’s aim will be to identify the best agency to provide for its requirements. The incompetence of agencies will have consequential negative effects on the institutions that hire them and therefore scrutiny is crucial. The component aspects of a good agency range from their credibility to their ability and efficiency. An efficient agency begins with good management. Those in the positions of managers should be conscious of the fact that they are dealing with demanding employees as well as corporate organizations. It is therefore important for them to lay down clear objectives and goals that play the role of guiding the stakeholders as well as striking a balance among their interests. It then leads down to the ability of employees and their motivation to ensuring they give their all towards the attainment of the laid down foals and objectives (Caldwell, 2007). The other aspect is that of risk management. In the agency, an organization is faced with many risks and challenges. The best way to manage these risks is by insuring themselves against any feasible causes that may lead to losses. The other credible way is risk sharing. Agencies may spread their risks with other partners in the same industry such that in the occurrence of losses, they will not bear the whole burden. The other very important activity is budget development and management activity. Just like any other organization, an agency needs to properly plan for its finances. This is best done through the formulation of a budget. A budget stipulates ways in which finances are to be earned and also how they are to be spent (Grey, 1999). A deficit in  the budget may be translated as insolvency of the business which is quite a risky position to beat. A surplus, on the other hand, would mean that the organization is well placed financially and is actually making profits. The budget, therefore, is an important tool for agencies since it is able to evaluate just how much the agency should spend and in what activities.