Ethics vs. Profit - 857 Words

I. Background of the Case A large American company has chosen the decentralized form of organization and each manager is measured on the basis profit contribution, market penetration, and return on investment. If one fails to meet the objectives established, it is usually results in demotion or dismissal of center management. By means of anonymous survey, managers revealed that they felt pressured to compromise their personal ethical standards to achieve the objectives of the company. II. Point of View As a student, and with a subject of Business Ethics I can say that business without ethics, people will set their own moral standards, moral rules and moral principles and will result to a kind of subjective morality in which case,†¦show more content†¦In a strongly decentralized organization, it may be more difficult to effectively spread innovative ideas. Someone in one part of the organization may have a traffic idea that would benefit other parts of the organizations. Opportunities: Decentralization provides lower level managers with vital experiences in making decisions. With that experience, lower level managers would be prepared or trained to make decisions when they are promoted into higher positions. Threats: In a truly decentralized organization, there may be a lack of coordination among autonomous managers. VII. Alternative Courses of Action ACA 1 Conduct strategic planning. One of the major differences between new and experienced managers is the skill to see the broad perspective, to take the long view on what we want to do and how were going to do it. One of the best ways to develop this skill is through ongoing experience in strategic planning. ACA 2 Establish an ethics management program. Organizations can manage ethics in their workplaces by establishing an ethics management program. ACA 3 Develop codes of conduct. Develop an overall corporate code of ethics and then a separate code to guide each of your programs or departments. All staff must see the ethics program being driven by top management. VIII.Show MoreRelatedBusn 460 Entire Course Guide Week 1 – 81110 Words   |  5 PagesTeam Video Analysis Report Week 3-4 BUSN 460 Week 4 DQ 1 Group vs Team BUSN 460 Week 4 DQ 2 Matrixed Employee Environments BUSN 460 Week 5 DQ 1 Performance Review Session BUSN 460 Week 5 DQ 2 Status Reports BUSN 460 Week 6 Team Video Analysis Report Week 5-6 BUSN 460 Week 6 DQ 1 Corporate Decision Making BUSN 460 Week 6 DQ 2 Weighing Decision Criteria BUSN 460 Week 7 DQ 1 Corporate Ethics Tactics BUSN 460 Week 7 DQ 2 Profit vs. Responsibility BUSN 460 Week 8 Individual Assignment; Final PeerRead MoreEthical Ethics And Spiritual Dynamics1044 Words   |  5 PagesWe all are faced with ethical dilemmas in our everyday life, when it spills into our professional careers, we really must take stock in what values we hold dear. In you they have taken bribes to shed blood; you have taken interest and profits, and you have injured your neighbors for gain by oppression, and you have forgotten Me† (Ezekiel 22:12, New American Standard Bible). Ezekiel 22:12 reminds one that to succeeded off the backs of others in a dishonest fashion, stands against the teachings ofRead MoreQuestions On Health Insurance Coverage856 Words   |  4 Pagesindividual at risk. In order to avoid this, the organization plans to get more minutes by engaging individuals in therapy for minutes needed and to show individual compliance, despite of person’s physical capability that day. BUSINESS PROFITS VS CORE VALUES AND ETHICS: The current health care environment has created the potential for ethical issues regarding payment for occupational therapy services that may have appeared minimal or nonexistent to occupational therapy practitioners before. CentralRead MoreStarbucks Standards of Ethics and Compliance1647 Words   |  7 PagesEthics and Compliance Starbucks is a large organization that upholds many standards when it comes to their financial environment. Upholding ethical standards within a business is important if a business wants to become successful and maintains their credibility, Starbucks does not just operate on one ethical standard but eight different ones. They are all different sources that are used for different reason within the company. Starbucks has two specific organization standards they go by that dealRead MoreCase Analysis Ockham Technology932 Words   |  4 Pagescompany name from â€Å"SouthPaw† to â€Å"Ockham† Complete No investors The first big sale convinced investor with foreseeable profits Jim’s connections (Yates, Corgan, Brewer) introduced investors Complete No product Unreliable development team Look for another dev. Team – NIIT, Thoughtmill, or Hotshot Coders Build a self-owned development team – Anderson, Taylor, or others In-process Raise money vs Build a board Bobby Crews - $10mm, 50% equity Monarch/Cordova - $1.5mm, 33.33% equity Noro - $4mm, 18% annual returnRead MoreFi515 Homework 11685 Words   |  7 Pagespossible cost. Stock price maximization requires the development of products and services that consumers want and need, so the profit motive leads to new technology, to new products, and to new jobs 3. Yes. Most executives believe that there is a positive correlation between ethics and long-run profitability. Conflicts often arise between profits and ethics. Companies must deal with these conflicts on a regular basis, and a failure to handle the situation properly can lead to huge productRead MoreSks7000-8 Assignment 31572 Words   |  7 Pagesfarmers, food scarcity, and overall poor quality of Life (Khan Shah 2011). The most common unethical conduct evidenced by the contractors are cover pricing, bid cutting, poor documentation, late and short payments, subcontractors’ lack of safety ethics, unfair treatment of contractors in tender/final account negotiations, competitors’ overstatement of capacity and qualifications to secure work, competitors’ falsification of experience and qualifications and bureaucratic, government policy (HamimahRead MoreFinancial Ratio Analysis : Victoria s Secret1706 Words   |  7 PagesVictoria’s Secret’s gross profit margin, it is well above the industry averages, which demonstrates that Victoria’s Secret is generating resilient sales prices that relation to its COGS. Operating profit margin ratio shows that they are in control of operating costs, alternatively their sales could also be increasing at a rapid pace to their operating costs. Victoria’s Secret seem to have some cushion that can provide refuse in times of industry hardships, based on the net profit margin ratios. They areRead MoreEthics - Paper 2. Utilitarianism Vs Universal Ethics. Facts1052 Words   |  5 PagesEthics - Paper 2 Utilitarianism vs Universal Ethics Facts (150 words) The current issue involves Luke, an employee of company ABC (ABC), and his conflict between obligations to work and to family. Luke is responsible for developing land purchased by ABC to construct an adult entertainment retail store. The future building is located at the corner of the neighborhood near where Luke’s brother, Owen, lives. Being an insider, Luke knows that the presence of the business will diminish values of surrounding

Beliefs Beyond Doubt, What All Other Respond To Rene...

Rene Descartes Meditations on First Philosophy is considered to be one of the most important works in modern philosophy. John Locke, Immanuel Kant, and countless other philosophers wrote largely in response to Descartes. Yet there are serious doubts related to the treatises major argument. In the Objections and Replies, a collection of objections to the work along with Descartes personal and often very detailed replies to said objections, the philosopher Antoine Arnauld raises the question of whether or not Descartes was guilty of circular reasoning. In this essay, I will examine the arguments that Descartes used to reach the works major conclusion, the objection made by Arnauld, and the validity of the treatise in light of Descartes†¦show more content†¦In Descartes words, â€Å"How often, asleep at night, am I convinced... that I am here in my dressing gown, sitting by the fire—when in fact I am lying undressed in bed!† (Descartes, 12) This possibility grants us the ability to call into doubt everything that is brought to us by the senses. If we are simply dreaming, then everything that we think we hear, see, smell, feel, and taste is only an illusion of sorts. The implications of this argument are extremely far-reaching. Consider all of the things that we experience through the senses—all are now subject to doubt, and because of the methods that Descartes has outlined, he can no longer accept belief in them to be justified. As powerful as the Dream argument may be, especially considering Descartes methods, it still leaves possible belief in a great deal of things. Even if the things that we dream are illusion, they may still resemble things that are real. Further, we may still have knowledge of things even if we are only dreaming the experience of them. Mathematics, for example, is still possible. If one dreams that they have completed a mathematics problem on a piece of paper, the solution may still hold true regardless of the fact that the person only dreamed them. Descartes writes, â€Å"For whether I am awake or asleep, two and three added together are five...† (Descartes, 14) To add a greater degree of doubt about his beliefs, Descartes offers a secondShow MoreRelatedRene Descartes s Philosophy On The Mind3358 Words   |  14 Pages Introduction to Philosophy October 23, 2014 Renà © Descartes Descartes is one of the most influential and well-known philosophers of all time. The idea he is most famous for is his explanation on the mind. Renà © Descartes is often credited with being the â€Å"Father of Modern Philosophy.† This title is justified due both to his break with the traditional Scholastic-Aristotelian philosophy prevalent at his time and to his development and promotion of the new, mechanistic sciences. He wasRead MoreLanguage and the Destiny of Man12402 Words   |  50 PagesÅžtefan Afloroaei / Descartes and the â€Å"metaphysical dualism† Descartes and the â€Å"metaphysical dualism†: Excesses in interpreting a classic* Al.I. Cuza University of Iasi Abstract The article focuses on one of the most serious accusations brought against Descartes and modern philosophy, namely â€Å"the dualism of substance†. The accusers claim that the human body and soul were viewed as completely separate; consequently, their relationship as such and the united being of man become incomprehensible. AsRead MorePhilosophy of the Mind2347 Words   |  10 Pages    The   Philosophy   of   Mind       Introduction The philosophy of body and mind has been a highly debated topic since its launch in the 17th centaury by Rene Descartes. Since then, many philosophers have written on the subject matter and many theories have emerged as a product of this lively debate. In this essay, I will analyze and critique a selection of philosophers who ponder on the body-mind topic since the 17th century, and ultimately evaluate Paul M. Chruchland’sRead MoreStephen P. Robbins Timothy A. Judge (2011) Organizational Behaviour 15th Edition New Jersey: Prentice Hall393164 Words   |  1573 PagesPrinter/Binder: Courier/Kendallville Cover Printer: Courier/Kendalville Text Font: 10.5/12 ITC New Baskerville Std Credits and acknowledgments borrowed from other sources and reproduced, with permission, in this textbook appear on the appropriate page within text. Copyright  © 2013, 2011, 2009, 2007, 2005 by Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Prentice Hall. All rights reserved. Manufactured in the United States of America. This publication is protected by Copyright, and permission should be obtained from

Developing Career By The Quality

Question: Discuss about the Theories of Leadership. Answer: Introduction This essay is about one of personal quality that is beneficial for the future career development. For the discussion, the quality of leadership is chosen. For the discussion, theories related to the leadership will also be used in this easy. Along with this, the essay will also focus on the importance of leadership as it is the strength for future development. There is the quality of leadership and it is the inner quality. Leadership can be described as the relationship between the leader and followers while achieving some purpose or objective in the organizations (Yukl, 2010). This relationship of leader and follower is symbiotic because the influence of the leader may take the organization towards the success. Leadership is important for bringing the change in the business for the desired future. Basically I have leadership quality which is the process by which a leader can influence the group of people to achieve the common goals. By the various definitions it can be defined as th e process which includes influences for the followers. I have the quality of leadership based on some basic characteristics (Zhang Bartol, 2010). The characteristics of the leadership based on Myers Briggs Type Indicator are given below. Myers Briggs Type Indicator According to Myers Briggs Type Indicator, there are eight characteristics of leadership in a leader. In the all eight characteristics, I have four main characteristics of leadership and those are as follows: Participative: The effective leader should be trustworthy and truthful to his followers. The leader should also maintain its character in front of the employees. I have honesty in my characteristics and that can be measured by degree of consistency which is present in my actions. Leaders have to coordinate with the people to manage the change in the organization. If the people and the employees of the organization are in the influence by me then I can be able to make them agree to implement the changes in the business operations if I am in the organization (Williams Foti, 2011). Goal-Oriented: The leader should be inspiring, cheerful, motivating and energetic about the future. I have the clear vision or dream about the future. I have the ability inspire the employees in the organization and to communicate to them about the vision and mission to achieve the set goals for the organization. I have the ability to allow various opportunities to the employees under me to convey their point of views. By giving the freedom of expressing the standpoints, I am able to easily understand the reason of conflicts among two parties (Wang Rode, 2010). Change-Oriented: The effective leader should be capable, efficient, and productive. It is related to the feeling of belief of the followers for their leaders that he would be able to achieve the goals and objectives of the organization. It does not relate to having the technical ability of the leader. I have the ability to provide them the information about the required resources to improve the performance in the business (Samad, 2012). Visionary: The leader must have the characteristics of looking forward for the future benefits of the organization. Leader should be visionary and concerned about the future. He must have the knowledge of right directions. Employees should follow the leader by knowing that leader is doing right for them. For this, I will build effective work environment for everyone in which employees enjoy to do their work (Hurwitz Hurwitz, 2015). Along with the work relation, I have the ability to establish the personal relationships with others that is very important for the growth of career I have the ability to recognize the needs of people and I always try to complete the needs so that they work with the devotion and excitement (Roe, 2014). Personal Values Inventory Personal values inventory provides the idea of values having in the inner quality. Based on the personal values inventory, I have the values which match with the leadership quality. I have the values of self expression, moving forward, influencing power, honesty, empowerment, confidence, and loyalty. Theories Of Leadership There is the assumption that leadership is the skill and ability to manage and lead the people. There are many different views related to the leadership that leadership is the guidance for the followers and some thinks that leadership is to motivating to the members to getting the goals and objectives. Basically leadership is the process by which a person can lead to the group of individuals or a party to achieve some goals and objectives (Puccio, Mance Murdock, 2011). There are many theories related to the leaderships are those are as follows: Trait Theory It is the study of different qualities such as motivation, honesty, self-confidence, knowledge of business, ability to perform any task which drives that leader to the path to success. According to this theory, I should have the capability operate the organization. I have this quality of leadership because I have the courage to ask questions which are important for the growth and future. I have the quality of bravery, talent, self-belief, and strong emotional intelligence. So, I can be a strategic thinker for the organization. Behavioral Theory According to the behavioral theory, I should have the combination of heart and mind in the leadership style. I have the ability to build up the relationship with the associates and clients of the organization. By the behavioral theory, I have the styles of leadership to motivate the people and I behave like leaders on any particular situation (Gill, 2011). Contingency Theory The leadership depends on the situational factors and it is based on how leader reacts. According to this theory, there is no any proper way to lead the organization effectively. I have the quality to take care of the people and motivate them time to time. I have the ability to give innovative ideas based on the situation for the growth and success of the organization. Transformational Theory This quality of leadership is very helpful for the leader to influence employees in the organization. I can manage the people in such way that company gets good results in the market. There can be satisfaction among people because of the leadership style in me. These all qualities are the strengths for me because they are helping me to influence the people around me. Work based Competencies Skills Assessment Exercise During the workshop, I need to develop the management skills and competencies which are required for managing the organization. The skills were developed by the management training, organizational working culture and self learning or perception in the organization. The main competencies which I have developed are leadership skills, interpersonal skills, managing change, decision making, listening skills, negotiation skills, and problem solving skills. Second Commercial During my workshop, I got the training of 30 second commercial which has built my communication skills. The commercial is helpful to make the listeners aware about myself. It is also very helpful for me to express the impressive attributes. During the workshop, senior managers daily ask me to speak clearly with the confidence about myself in the 30 second commercial. This has increased the strength to face everyone in me. Leadership as Strength Leadership is the strength for me because it is helpful in influencing the people everywhere. I like to motivate others. Along with this, leadership is also strength for me because I can motivate the people and group by my visions, opinions and actions. Leaders motivate the employees by some innovative ideas and strategies to achieve the common goals and objectives. Leadership quality in me gives strength to accept all the responsibilities. Leadership also gives the strength to take right decisions for the welfare of the people. Leader builds me abilities to be prepared for the upcoming situations. Because of its strength, I can be able to improve the work conditions (Pan, Sun Chow, 2012). A proper leadership management is the reason of development in the business operations of any organization and it strengthen the situation of the organization in the market. It gives the strengths to me in dealing with instability, complication and the speed to get growth and success in the market. Because of the strength of leadership, I have the ability to take decisions in tough situations by my inspired thinking so I use the mixture of heart and mind while making the judgments (Parris Peachey, 2013). Challenges in Workshop There are some challenges related to the leadership that I can face in an workshop. Although the leadership quality is working as the strength but there are some challenges with his quality. Those challenges or problems are as follows: The one main challenge in leadership for me is that I cannot put pressure on the people to follow. I can motivate the people in the organization but I cannot say them to do any work forcefully. The part of me in the leadership is to develop the cultural values and ethics among the people but I cannot create the values forcefully. They will do what they like to do (Gibson Mumford, 2013). I can build the knowledge and skills in the people but I cannot make the people continual learner (Van Wart, 2014). So, leadership is the quality that can be seen as strength in someone but leader cannot force anyone to follow his or her guidance. Leadership is helpful to me getting the trust among the employees because leadership gives ideas to me in developing effective strategies to grow. But to achieve the goals, I should deal with the patients otherwise it will show the wrong impact on the others (Northouse, 2013). Contradiction in Leadership There can be contradictions because of the leadership. Although leadership is an effective way to gain some goal or objective, but there might be different thinking in the mind of different leaders. It can be understand by an example. The example is that there is an organization which needs change and it is the responsibility of the senior management as the leaders to implement the change in the organization. But there can be conflicts among the people for implanting the change. Every person is different and the perception of every person is also different (Antes Schuelke, 2011). During the implementation of change in the organization, there can be different decisions for the change process (Reiss, 2012). Along with this, there can be resistance among the people during the implementation of change. The reason of the resistance is that sometimes people are not ready to adopt the change. I have the skills same as leader such as visionary for future, awareness, information, ability to listen and decision making skills. With the theories of leadership such as traditional theory, contemporary theory, traditional theory, I can relate myself with the leader (Peterson, 2013). So, because of the different viewpoints of the people, there can be contradictions in the leadership quality of a person. The contradictions that can be happen are as follows: Due to various leadership, decision making process can be decentralized in the organization, and Organization can face lots of competition due to ineffective leadership; organization will face competition in the market. Learning from Leadership Leadership is an important part of the organization because there is the need to manage everything. Leadership is very helpful for me in the growth of the career. Along with this, it is also very important for me to achieve the particular goals and objectives of the career. The quality of leadership in me is very helpful in future of career (Stein Nelson, 2003). With the leadership quality, I am able to gain trust of the people around me. I will also be able to motivate the people in such way that they will try with their best in their work. In the work relations, I always try to identify the needs of people and also try to fulfill them. For the future growth and career, leadership is also very important (Mullins, 2010). There are many benefits of leadership and those are as follows: Leadership enables the business to create and develop more trusted relationship with others, Leadership Help to convince the business and organization and investors also for funding any project, In the challenging time and tough time, proper leadership encourage the employees to attain the goals, Leadership provides the ability to do negotiation in the complex situation, Leadership improves the corporate culture with the loyalty and retention, Leadership encourages team members and family members to overcome in tough times (Gumusluoglu Ilsev, 2009). Conclusion This essay was described on the one inner quality that is present in own character. For the discussion, the leadership has been taken. During the module, I found that I have the leadership quality. From the above analysis, it has been analyzed that Leadership can be described as the relationship between the leader and followers while achieving some purpose or objective in the organizations. This essay has been focusing on the importance of leadership as it is the strength for future development. Leadership is important for bringing the change in the business for the desired future. Basically leadership is the process by which a leader can influence the group of people to achieve the common goals. I have the quality of leadership based on some basic characteristics. There should be honesty in the characteristics of the leader and that can be measured by degree of consistency which is presents in the actions of the leader. Leader should be visionary and concerned about the future. He m ust have the knowledge of right directions. There are the theories that are supporting the importance of leadership. Leadership is the process by which a person can lead to the group of individuals or a party to achieve some goals and objectives. The leadership theories are behavioral, contingency, transformational, and trait theories that support the leadership in an organization. Further, leadership can be seen as the strength of an individual because a leader motivates the people and group by the ideas, beliefs and actions. Leadership gives strength to accept all the responsibilities. Leadership also gives the strength to take right decisions for the welfare of the people. Leader always allows me to give the chance to the people to express their thoughts and visions. By providing the liberty to the people, I am able to understand the viewpoints of others. Thus, from the above considerations, it has been analyzed that the leadership has the significant role for the success in the career and it is also important for the future relations with others in the workplace. References: Antes, A. L., Schuelke, M. J., (2011), Leveraging technology to develop creative leadership capacity: Advances in Developing Human Resources, 13, 318-365 Gibson, C., Mumford, M. D., (2013), Evaluation, criticism, and creativity: Criticism content and effects on creative problem solving. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, 7, 314331 Gill, R. (2011), Theory and Practice of Leadership, London: Sage Gumusluoglu, L., Ilsev, A., (2009), Transformational leadership, creativity, and organizational innovation: Journal of Business Research, 62, 461-473 Hurwitz, M., Hurwitz, S., (2015), Leadership is a half story, (1st), UK: UTP Publishing Mullins, L.J. (2010), Management and Organizational Behavior, (9th), Pearson Higher Education Northouse, P.G.,(2013), Leadership: Theory and Practices, (7th), USA: Sage Publication Pan, W., Sun, L., Chow, I. H. S., (2012), Leader-member exchange and employee creativity: Test of a multilevel moderated mediation model: Human Performance, 25, 432-451 Parris, D. L., Peachey, J. W., (2013), A systematic literature review of servant leadership theory in organizational contexts: Journal of business ethics, 113(3), 377-393 Peterson, G.,(2013). Leadership 310: The Four Principles of 'Followership', Accessed on 17th December 2016 from https://www.forbes.com Puccio, G. J., Mance, M., Murdock, M. C., (2011), Creative leadership: Skills that drive change, Thousand Oaks: SAGE Reiss.M., (2012), Change Management (1st), Noderstedt: Books on demand GmbH Roe, K., (2014), Leadership Practice and Perspectives, London: Oxford Samad, S., (2012), The influence of innovation and transformational leadership on organizational performance: Procedia Social and behavioral science, 57, 486-493 Stein, M. K., Nelson, B. S., (2003), Leadership content knowledge: Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 25, 423-448. Van Wart, M., (2014), Dynamics of leadership in public service: Theory and practice, Routledge Wang, P., Rode, J. C., (2010), Transformational leadership and follower creativity: The moderating effects of identification with leader and organizational climate: Human Relations, 63, 1105-1128 Williams, F., Foti, R. J., (2011), Formally developing creative leadership as a driver of organizational innovation: Advances in Developing Human Resources, 13, 279-296 Yukl, G., (2010), Leadership in Organizations, (7th), Pearson Higher Education: Global Edition Zhang, X., Bartol, K. M., (2010), Linking empowering leadership and employee creativity: The influence of psychological empowerment, intrinsic motivation, and creative process engagement: Academy of Management Journal, 53, 107-128

Religions Spread Through Conquest Essays - Monotheistic Religions

Religions Spread Through Conquest When studying history, both in a professional and academic sense, we try to make connections between civilizations and time periods. Historians have attempted to discover universal constants of human nature, a bond that forms from continent to continent and human being to human being. Are there constant qualities that people posses and reflect in all civilizations? It is extremely difficult to make generalizations about centuries of modern history. To say that something is true of all of history is virtually impossible, as a counter-example exists for just about anything that can be said of any group of civilizations. To say that all religions are spread by violence is equally unfair and untrue because contrasted religions have been spread in exceedingly diverse regions of the world, by vastly different cultures. Islam, as a prime example, has been characterized inequitably by historians and the media as a religion of violence. Islam was mainly spread through Arab territorial con quests (Flint, 1995). Upon examination, it is not fair to make the generalization that Islam is a religion of violence. One can see when looking at world religion on a whole that Islam was no more violent than any other religion. In fact, not only is Islam not a fundamentally violent philosophy, but we can also see that many other religions normally considered "non-violent," such as Christianity or Hinduism, have been spread through bloody conquest. Thus, in searching for a universal constant of history, we should not fall into the "fallacy of abstractions," as Betts (1997) keenly puts it, and assume that because of isolated incidents and conflicts of territorial ambitions, that all religions have violent tendencies. Throughout the centuries Islam has been a victim of circumstance. It has been perceived by many as oppressive and cruel. This belief originated over a thousand years ago, when Islamic people first threatened the western world. As they slowly undermined Byzantine authority, Christians became terrified of their presence, resulting in widespread animosity and aversion. Hindus and Buddhists from the South Asian subcontinent lived under Islamic law for hundreds of years. Eventually, in the twentieth century, split the region into angry factions (Johnson, 1997). Mohammed, the prophet of Islam, was a great warrior. This invariably lead defeated people to believe that he begot a cult of war and violence. Over the centuries, it has developed the ability to instill a sense of holy purpose onto its believers and soldiers, where they go into a battle of certain death for their faith in the jihad, or holy war. The jihad is still a potent source of conflict and aversion, as many of the problems in the Middle East center around the issue of Islamic Fundamentalism and the jihads. Originally, Islam was perceived by western historians as a religion of violence and conquest, "by preying on the caravans of the Quraish, Mohammed weakened them to the point of submission? (Anonymous, 1996). In fact, Mohammed was a warrior, aristocrat, and brilliant strategist, a stark contrast to many other holy men of history. He was forced to both defend his cities and force submission. Because of the strong military powers of his religious predecessors and oppressors, the pagans of the Middle East. One might assume that the submission was attained through military and forceful means. While Mohammed preached peace from 610 to 622 AD, he attracted few converts and was persecuted by the current ruling paganistic regime. After the visions of 622 AD, he realized that his cause was even more urgent than before, and only at that point did he begin to utilize his military skills (Beichler, 1998). Despite the more violent nature that his quest took, even after the revelations by Gabriel in 622 AD, "by reciting his revelations aloud, Mohammed made many converts? (Thomas, 1988). Mohammed was not a purely violent man, but also a great speaker and demagogue (Beichler, 1998). He did not solely attack the pagans of the Middle East, he also attracted a great deal of converts by the truths he spoke. "If he could be ruthless, he was more often gentle, kind, generous, magnanimous. He could be Christ-like in his sympathy for the poor? (Thomas, 1998). Another non-violent way of spreading Islamic culture