Employee Performance Case Study

Employee Performance Case Study Problems inside the Slough branch and options to improve employee performance There are several key issues that impact the Slough branch. These include poor management, a lack of motivation of employees and ineffective communication between the workforce. The manager is perhaps one of the major problems in this subsidiary because his lack of professional management skills impacts on the employees and their work. As a manager and team leader, one aspect of supporting staff in periods of high demand is to help them manage their time more effectively and thereby help to reduce their stress levels and work pressures. Mr. David Brent, the manager of this branch, fails to do this for his staff. One failure on Brents part is his inability to deal with the impending merger with the Swindon branch. His lack of acknowledgment of the change results in unease amongst the workforce. His attitude in general is poor and he fails to act professionally. It has been suggested that considering training as an investment decision could vastly improve motivation in the workforce[1] but that this should only be done after careful consideration. Looking at the theory of leadership by Burrhus Skinner, an American psychologist, we assume that leadership capabilities are rooted in characteristics possessed by individuals and these skills are not necessarily in every individual[2]. If we consider the theory as true, we can easily conclude that David Brent is not a good leader as he does not have relevant characteristics. Referring to Peter Druckers ideas[3], the leaders job is to prepare people to execute and operate effectively and then give them freedom to do so. David Brent is failing to do this which suggests that specific training would be useful. In this case, introducing training is essential to improve the skills and the attitude of David Brent. With this type of training, the aim should be to change some of David Brents behaviour, par ticularly to his employees. For example, he must change the way he talks to his employees, he does not know how to interact in a professional way with them to the detriment of the managerial relationship. He also does not enforce order; nor does he follow company procedures. If these issues were properly addressed, then there is the possibility that staff motivation may increase knowing that proper leadership is in place. Another issue in this branch is the ineffective communication between all levels and departments of the workforce. This does not allow for improvement in the employees work and it often leads to them being lazy and unproductive and even, on occasions, disrespectful towards their colleagues. The employees, even if they attend some work meetings, are not able to express themselves properly because the manager does not allow them to do so. Instead, he spends much of his time in meetings trying to be friendly and relatable at the expense of communicating issues and tasks with the team. In this case, to improve and increase the communication in this branch, it would be useful to introduce a discussion group once a week[4]. This type of meeting would be with all key employees and the manager to talk about any problems and all situations approaching that week. All staff could be involved in identifying the vital goals and develop procedures and strategies to reach those goals. This session should ideally last about 30 minutes and be on a fixed day each week so that the whole team has a joint focus. Perhaps the biggest factor damaging the employees performance is the impending merger with the Swindon branch; the insecurity of their positions makes them worried. However, due to the poor management, the staff do not feel motivated to work as they are not held accountable for their actions. As they rarely get disciplined for their absence of productivity, they do not feel that they need motivation to work. Also they do not receive any feedback on how they work, meaning they cannot improve their performance or find out if they have done well. All these factors put their jobs at greater risk. One of the ways we could improve motivation in the work force is to consider Lockes theories on motivation and set specific goals for the employees to achieve[5]. Locke set out that it is through working to specific aims set by both manager and employee that a persons work can improve. This could be made possible by introducing one-on-one meetings between the manager and all members of staff. By having regular appraisals employees could track their performance and be motivated to improve as targets appear more achievable. These sessions should be done each week with all employees struggling with meeting their targets. Perhaps if the employees feel more motivated to achieve their targets they could begin to feel more secure in their positions at the company. Overall, I think that we should work very hard to change all the problematic and inappropriate situations because all the lies combined with unprofessional behaviour has deeply damaged the integrity of the Slough branch. Employee Appraisal for Gareth Keenan When deciding what appraisal system to use for Gareth Keenan I looked at many major models to find one which would best show his potential within the company. There are several jobs appraisal systems that could be used, however I have evaluated the strengths of these and concluded that the best system in Keenans case is Wether and Davis Ratings Scale[6]. I first looked at the Checklist method to try to evaluate Gareth Keenans work[7]. This system requires the user to work through a list of the employees capabilities and answer either yes or no. The problem I have found with this system is that it is not very motivational. By answering simply yes or no, the results are stark and it is difficult to motivate Keenan if his appraisal results mainly in no. It could be hard to see if he improved between meetings as this method may not show small improvements he has made. The second appraisal that I looked at is the Forced Choice Method[8]. This method is made in blocks of two or more, and the rater indicates which statement is most or least descriptive compared to the employee. Again, I find this procedure not useful for Gareth Keenan because the many aspects of his job may not be properly framed in this restrictive format. This employee has not got a big personality but he tries, often with bad results, to be a good supervisor and to be appreciated by the manager and the rest of the staff. He needs to see any improvements even if he does not yet do enough to be seen as a good employee and supervisor by them. This will allow him to gain confidence in what he does and set targets for improvement in all aspects of his job, not just ones set out in the Forced Choice Method. Overall I decided to use the Ratings method as it is the most simplistic and it allows for easy personalization relevant to the specific role and shows an easily understandable scale of competency. This table can show the various activities and performances required by the employee inside the workplace and crucially, it provides a scale of performance allowing for easy interpretation of key successes in Keenans work, as well as areas in need of improvement. This kind of appraisal can show every little improvement, or every worsening skill set, that the employee has therefore allowing for a clear sign of progression between ratings. This could be useful for Gareth Keenan because it should motivate him to improve and if the appraisals are held often enough, show his constant growth in areas for development. Also, as comments and suggestions can be attached to this appraisal system it can help him to change his approach to his work and suggest a change to his style of his communication for him to work on. Furthermore, I suggest a personality test[9] for Gareth Keenan, in order to understand which aspects of his personality he could work on more to improve his relationships with his coworkers. Bibliography Dwyer, J. R., Career Development and Advancement Patterns of Aboriginal Executives in the Canadian Federal Public Service, USA, 2000 Skinner, B. F., Science And Human Behavior, USA, 1965 Drucker, P., The Practice of Management, Oxford, 2007 Ledlow G., Coppola N., Leadership for Health Professionals, Burlington, 2011 Cole, G., A., Human Resource And Personnel Management, London, 2004 Aswathappa, K., Human Resource And Personnel Management, New Delhi, 2005 Manna, G., Introduzione alle tecniche per la valutazione della personalità  , Palermo, 2006 [1] Career Development and Advancement Patterns of Aboriginal Executives in the Canadian Federal Public Service, Rocky J. Dwyer, 2000. [2] Science And Human Behavior, B.F Skinner, 1965. [3] The Practice of Management, Peter Drucker, Classic Drucker Collection Edition 2007. [4] Leadership for Health Professionals, Gerald Ledlow and Nicholas Coppola, 2011. [5] Personnel and Human Resource Management, Cole G. A., 2004. [6] Human Resource And Personnel Management, K. Aswathappa, Fourth Edition 2005, p. 243. [7] Ibidem, p. 244. [8] Ibidem, p. 244/245. [9] Introduzione alle tecniche per la valutazione della personalità  , Giovanna Manna edito da Franco Angeli, 2006.

Inhibitor Improves Learning Essay

The article is entitled, Peripheral Delivery of a ROCK Inhibitor Improves Learning and Working Memory. Title of the journal the article was published in and date published: This article was published in the journal entitled Behavioral Neuroscience in February 2009. The journal is published by the American Psychological Association. Describe the topic and the experiment conducted. What did they do? The article noted that in related studies, the RhoA/ROCK/Rac pathway is involved in the cognitive processes. Thus, they postulated that if this pathway could be inhibited, learning and memory can be enhanced. The article explained that fasudil has been used in experiments for the treatment of vasospasm and angina but not for learning and memory. Hydroxyfasudil is an active metabolite of fasudil. The study subjects were 27 rats who were 17 months old and 18 months old at the time of actual behavioral testing. Specifically, the study used Fischer-344 male rats who were bred at the aging colony of the National Institute on Aging at Harlan Laboratories (Indianapolis, IN). All the rats were acclimatized before the actual experiment according to IACUC standards and all the procedure done were with the approval of the local IACUC committee. NIH standards were followed. The study was done in Arizona State University. The study grouped the rats into three experimental groups. The first group of rats received saline and was labeled as the â€Å"aged vehicle† group. The second group received 0. 1875 mg hydroxyfasudil and was labeled as the â€Å"aged low dose† group. The third group received 0. 3750 mg hydroxyfasudil and was labeled as the â€Å"aged high dose† group. Of the 27 rats, nine belonged to the â€Å"aged vehicle† group, another nine rats in the â€Å"aged low dose† group, and another nine rats in the â€Å"aged high dose† group. Since hydroxyfasudil has a half-life of around 5-7 hours in humans, the drugs were all administered in the morning before behavior testing was done. All injections were given by subcutaneous injection at the scruff of the neck of the rat. All experimenters who performed the behavioral testing and succeeding dissections of the rats’ brains were blind to the respective treatment groups of the rats. The behavioral testing used the Water Radial Arm Maze to test working and reference memory, and the Spatial Reference Memory Morris Maze to test for spatial learning and memory. The performance of the rats in these two mazes were compared and used as basis as to whether cognitive functions were enhanced or not with the administration of hydroxyfasudil. Summarize the most important results. What did they find and what does that mean? 4 pts The results of the behavioral testing done using the water radial-arm maze, the â€Å"aged high dose† group was superior in all measures evaluated: learning index scores for total errors, working memory correct errors, and working memory incorrect errors. Better learning was indicated by having a higher learning index. Aged high dose† group showed better learning on all three measures. The group’s learning index when compared to the â€Å"aged vehicle† group was significantly higher. As for the â€Å"aged low dose† group, it still had a higher learning index when compared to the â€Å"aged vehicle group† but only marginally for the working memory incorrect errors. For the other two m easures, the group still had a higher learning index but no longer marginally, but intermediate between the â€Å"aged high dose† and â€Å"aged vehicle† groups suggesting that the relationship may be dose-dependent. Another important result noted was that hydroxyfasudil did not significantly alter spatial reference memory performance in either maze. 5) What implications do these results have for future research? What should they look at next? The implications of study would mean that if hydroxyfasudil can inhibit events that influence cognition, the next step would be to confirm this in result in a larger number of mice or even in rabbits. They should also look into the side effects of hydroxyfasudil and a good start would be to look for the same side effects found in its parent compound which is also being currently studied. ) Does this study reveal anything that could be useful to society (the general population, not science), and if so, what is it? This study showed that if hydroxyfasudil does improve cognitive function by improving spatial learning and memory, then science has found another possible answer to age-related or neurodegenerative-related memory dysfunction. To put it simply, hydroxyfasudil, if safe and effective in improving spatial learning and memory, will help patients who suffer from age-related or neurodegenerative-related memory dysfunction. ) What are some possible confounds or errors that this study should have controlled for, but did not? Essentially, what would make this a better study? In my opinion, this study was a good one with very negligible confounders. One thing that might have made the study better though was the possible side effects of hydroxyfasudil on the short term and also long term. 8) What did you learn that you did not know before? What did you find most interesting? I found that fact that such a drug as hydroxyfasudil being a possible treatment for those suffering from age-related memory dysfunction, fascinating. I did not know this until I read this article. If it is indeed a possible cure, many people all over the world would live a better life in their advanced age since their memory will serve them better and they will depend less on their children and thus, have a less likely chance of being placed in homes just because families have difficulty caring for them.

Heart of Darkness-the Earth Seemed Unearthly. - 1991 Words

Heart of Darkness Joseph Conrad â€Å"The earth seemed unearthly. We are accustomed to look upon the shackled form of a conquered monster, but there – there you could look at a thing monstrous and free. It was unearthly, and the men were†¦No, they were not inhuman. Well, you know, that was the worst of it – this suspicion of their not being inhuman†¦but what thrilled you was just the thought of your remote kinship with this wild and passionate uproar†. Extract from â€Å"Heart of Darkness†, Joseph Conrad (Chapter 2, page 32). In the above extract from Conrad’s book, Marlow states that the Africans are indeed human. This is an interesting statement coming from a man employed by the Company, who are doing everything possible to exploit and even†¦show more content†¦Fine sentiments you say? Fine sentiments be hanged! I had no time.† (Chapter 2, page 32) He has a gang of Africans on board to help with the chopping of the wood for the boiler. These people are cannibals and Marlow seems to accept this quite easily. The cannibals bring a lump of rotten hippo meat with them on the voyage and when the pilgrims throw it overboard because of the stench, â€Å"Phoo! I can smell it now† (Chapter 2, page 31), the cannibals are left with nothing to eat. Nothing but â€Å"a few lumps of some stuff like half-cooked dough, of a dirty lavender color, they kept wrapped in leaves† (Chapter 2, page 37). Marlow is respectful of the obvious restraint the cannibals show, but he is not concerned enough about their welfare to make a stop for them to get meat. The Company pays the cannibals in wire and beads and they are meant to buy food for themselves from the villagers on the river bank. Yet the boat never stops for them. Everyone else on board has plenty of tinned food of course. As the party draws nearer to Kurtz’s station, they are attacked by a tribe of wild looking Africans, who are using bows, arrows and spears. The pilgrims on board the vessel open fire with guns and are very proud of each other afterwards because they think they have killed a vast number of their attackers. One of the pilgrims says â€Å"Say! We must have made a glorious slaughter of them in the bush. Eh?† (Chapter 2, page 47). Marlow remarks on their poor marksmanship though,Show MoreRelatedBehind the Name Heart of Darkness Essay978 Words   |  4 Pagesreader only gradually. Using Heart of Darkness, show how the significance of its title is developed through the author’s use of devices such as contrast, repetition, allusion, and point of view. Behind The Name Heart of Darkness The heart of darkness in the title Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad is the heart of Africa, the heart of everything that is the rejection of established social principles and beliefs, corrupt, and barbaric, and perhaps the heart of man. Conrad, ending the bookRead MoreEssay on Heart of Darkness as a Racist Novel1466 Words   |  6 PagesHeart of Darkness as a Racist Novel Because of Conrads constant use of light and dark imagery in this novel, it can be difficult at times to ascertain whether his use of this imagery is meant in a racist manner, or whether he is using it simply to show how the Europeans actions are bigoted because of their naivety, or their seeming overwhelmed ness due to the new and strange landscape they have conquered, and their actions are a result of over eagerness on their behalfRead MoreMarlows Lack Of Restraint Essay1849 Words   |  8 PagesIn Joseph Conrad’s infamous novella, Heart of Darkness, the narrator listens as Marlow tells his tale of his journey in the Congo, where he comes across many different types of people, all of which he can have hugely varying opinions on. It may seem at first that he simply views the Congolese as less than himself, but his ideas of humanity are far more complex than that, and is not directly tied to race. It is not the people that he despises, but the area they inhabit. He blames their environmentRead MoreJoseph Conrad s Heart Of Darkness1198 Words   |  5 Pages Joseph Conrad, in his novel Heart of Darkness, comments on the nature of imperialism, the individual psyche, and the evil inherent in the human condition. Chinua Achebe, a contemporary literary critic, argues that as the protagonist, Marlow, travels through the Congo, Conrad maintains a Western imperialist attitude towards the African natives. According to the novel, the natives are a sort of animalistic backdrop, a part of a landscape to merely house Kurtz and Marlow’s metaphysical battle. TheRead MoreBelgian Congo vs. Holocaust1570 Words   |  7 Pagesvictims’ human rights. In the Belgian Congo we can find the story of Charles Marlow, the narrator of Heart of Darkness, which attempted to expose the atrocities committed by the ivory company that he actually worked for. â€Å"The earth seemed unearthly. We are accustomed to look upon the shackled form of a conquered monster, but there— there you could look at a thing monstrous and free. It was unearthly, and the men were—No, they were not inhuman.† (Conrad pg.58) 9In the case of the Holocaust there areRead MoreHeart Of Darkness And Things Fall Apart1580 Words   |  7 PagesHeart of Darkness and Things Fall Apart illustrate the different ways of presenting Africa in literature. In Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad shows Africa through the perspective of the colonizing Europeans, who tend to depict all the natives as savages. In response to Conrad s stereotypical depiction of Africans, Chinua Achebe wrote Things Fall Apart through the point of view of the natives to show Africans, not as primitives, but as members of a thriving society. Things Fall Apart follows OkonkwoRead MoreHeart Of Darkness Critical Analysis1980 Words   |  8 Pageslegacy of Heart of Darkness is credited more to Joseph Conrad’s ensnaring form than his message. Readers enamored with the first few pages of â€Å" still and exquisite brilliance† as an unnamed Narrator drifts down the Thames at the helm of a yacht are unceremoniously thrust into a framed narrative of a man who ventures in and out of the heart of the Congo (Conrad 4). Marlow begins his tale by suggesting that England too, was once a dark place to be conquered. â€Å"The conquest of the earth is not a prettyRead MoreHeart of Darkness Study Gu ide Essay2239 Words   |  9 Pages Heart of Darkness Study Questions Chapter 1 1. The setting of the story begins on the Nellie, a ship. The turn of the tide is significant because it gives the men on board extra time to talk, and Marlow begins telling his story. In addition, symbolically, the turning of the tide conveys a change, and perhaps, foreshadowing of the story. The author spends a lot of time dealing with light because it is the main symbol in the novella. Light and darkness are universal symbols that represent goodRead MoreEssay on Voice, Words and Sound in Heart of Darkness2073 Words   |  9 PagesVoice, Words and Sound in Heart of Darkness  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚   To Marlow, voice is the supreme symbol of civilization, and civilized understanding is expressed through words. The absence of words, or the inability to express something in words, signals meaninglessness. The psychedelic experience brings one into direct confrontation with the breakdown of language (the ‘transcendence of verbal concepts’ cited in the introduction), its inability to express the hidden truth of existence. Marlow becomes awareRead MoreThe Distorted Images in Heart of Darkness4513 Words   |  19 PagesThe distorted images in Heart of Darkness Abstract In Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad exposes the evil of the imperialism and pays sympathy to the oppressed Africans. But affected by imperialist ideology, he serves as a racist and a defender of the imperialism when he attempts to condemn the colonizers. This paper will be analyzing the distorted images in Heart of darkness from the perspective of post-colonialism and Orientalism theory. The present paper is divided into five parts: Part 1 is

Anna Leonowens Western Teacher in Siam

Known for:  adaptation of her stories into movies and plays including  Anna and the King of Siam,The King and I Dates:  November 5, 1834 - January 19, 1914/5Occupation:  writerAlso known as:  Anna Harriette Crawford Leonowens Many know the story of Anna Leonowens quite indirectly: through the film and stage versions of the 1944 novel which was based on Anna Leonowens own remiscences, published in the 1870s. These reminiscences, published in two books  The English Governess at the Siamese Court  and  TheRomance of the Harem, were themselves highly fictionalized versions of just a few years of Annas life. Leonowens was born in India (she claimed Wales). When she was six, her parents left her in England at a girls school run by a relative. Her father, an army sergeant, was killed in India, and Annas mother didnt return for her until Anna was fifteen years old. When Annas stepfather tried to marry her to a much older man, Anna moved into the home of a clergyman and traveled with him. (Some sources say the clergyman was married, others that he was single.) Anna then married an army clerk, Thomas Leon Owens or Leonowens, and moved with him to Singapore. He died, leaving her in poverty to raise their daughter and son. She started a school in Singapore for the children of the British officers, but it failed. In 1862, she took a position in Bangkok, then Siam and now Thailand, as a tutor to the children of the King, sending her daughter to live in England. King Rama IV or King Mongkut followed tradition in having many wives and many children. While Anna Leonowens was quick to take credit for her influence in the modernization of Siam/Thailand, clearly the Kings decision to have a governess or tutor of British background was already part of a beginning of such modernization. When Leonowens left Siam/Thailand in 1867, a year before Mongkut died. She published her first volume of reminiscences in 1870, the second two years later. Anna Leonowens moved to Canada, where she became involved in education and in womens issues. She was a key organizer of the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design, and was active in the local and National Council of Women. While a progressive on educational issues, an opponent of slavery and a proponent of womens rights, Leonowens also had difficulty transcending the imperialism and racism of her background and upbringing. Perhaps because her story is virtually the only one in the west to speak of the Siamese court from personal experience, it continues to capture the imagination. After the 1940s novel based on her life was published, the story was adapted for stage and later film, despite continuing protests from Thailand of the inaccuracies included. Bibliography The English Governess at the Siamese Court: Anna Leonowens, 1999. (Originally published 1870.)The Romance of the Harem: Anna Leonowens, Susan Morgan editor. 1991. (Originally published 1872.)Anna and the King of Siam: Margaret Landon, illustrated by Margaret Ayer. 1999. (Originally published 1944.)Anna Leonowens: A Life Beyond the King and I: Leslie Smith Dow, 1999.Masked: The Life of Anna Leonowens, Schoolmistress at the Court of Siam:  Alfred Habegger. 2014.  Bombay Anna: The Real Story and Remarkable Adventures of the King and I Governess  :  Susan Morgan. 2008.Katya the Prince of Siam: Eileen Hunter, 1995. Biography of King Mongkuts grandson and his wife (Phitsanulokprachanat and Ekaterina Ivanovna Desnitsky). More womens history biographies, by name: A  |  B  |  C  |  D  |  E  |  F  |  G  |  H  |  I  |  J  |  K  |  L  |  M  |  N  |  O  |  P/Q  |  R  |  S  |  T  |  U/V  |  W  |  X/Y/Z Contemporary Reviews of Leonowens Book This notice was published in  The Ladies Repository, February 1871, vol. 7 no. 2, p. 154.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Opinions expressed are of the original author, not of this sites Guide. The narrative of The English Governess at the Siamese Court abounds in curious details of court life, and describes the manners, customs, climate, and productions of the Siamese.   The author was engaged as instructress to the children of the Siamese monarch.   Her book is extremely entertaining. This notice was published in Overland Monthly and Out West Magazine, vol. 6, no. 3, March 1871, pp. 293ff.  Opinions expressed are of the original author, not of this sites Expert. The notice gives a sense of the reception of Anna Leonowens work in her own time. The English Governess at the Siamese Court: Being Recollections of Six Years in the Royal Palace at Bangkok. By Anna Harriette Leonowens. with Illustrations from Photographs presented to the Author by the King of Siam. Boston: Fields, Osgood Co. 1870. There are no longer any  penetralia  anywhere. The private life of the most sacred personages is turned inside out, and bookwrights and newspaper correspondents penetrate everywhere. If the Grand Lama of Thibet still secludes himself within the Snowy Mountains, tis but for a season. For curiosity of late has cunning grown, and at its own good pleasure spies out the secrecy of every life. This may be Byron adapted to a modern subject, but it is neverheless true. After the New York newspapers have interviewed the Japanese Mikado, and have drawn pen-pictures (from the life) of the Brother of the Sun and Moon, who rules the Central Flowery Kingdom, there does not appear to be much of any thing left for the ubiquitous and unconquerable book-making observer. The mystery which has for ages surrounded the existence of Oriental potentates has been the last refuge of falsehood, fleeing from indomitable curiosity. Even this has gone at last -- rude hands having torn away the tantalizing cur tains which concealed the dread  arcana  from the eyes of the profane world -- and sunlight has streamed in upon the astonished inmates, blinking and cowering in their nakedness among the gaudy shams of their languid existence.Most remarkable of all these exposures is the simple and graphic story of the life which an English governess led for six years in the palace of the Supreme King of Siam. Who would have thought, years ago, when we read of the mysterious, gilded, jeweled palaces of Bangkok, the royal train of white elephants, the awe-inspiring paraphernalia of Phra parawendt Maha Mongkut -- who would have thought that all these splendors would be uncovered for us, just as a new Asmodeus might take the roofs off the gilded temples and harems, and expose all the wretched contents? But this has been done, and Mrs. Leonowens, in her fresh, lively way, tells us of all she saw. And the sight is not satisfactory. Human nature in a pagan palace, burdened though it may be with a roy al ceremonial and covered with jewels and silk attire, is a few shades weaker than elsewhere. The swelling domes, crusted with barbaric pearl and gold, worshiped at a distance by the awe-struck subjects of the mighty ruler, cover as much lying, hypocrisy, vice and tyranny as may have been found in the palaces of  Le Grande Monarque  in the days of the Montespans, the Maintenons, and the Cardinals Mazarin and De Retz. Poor humanity does not vary much, after all, whether we find it in a hovel or castle; and it is edifying to have the truism so often and abundantly fortified by evidence from the four corners of the globe.The English governess at the Court of Siam had marvelous opportunities for seeing the whole domestic and interior life of royalty in Siam. An instructor of the Kings children, she came to be on familiar terms with the august tyrant who holds the lives of a great nation in his hand. A woman, she was permitted to penetrate into the secret recesses of the harem, and c ould tell all that was fit to tell of the life of the multitudinous wives of the oriental despot. So we have all the  minutia  of the Siamese Court, not tediously drawn out, but graphically sketched by an observant woman, and charming from its novelty, if nothing more. There is, too, a touch of sadness in all she says of the poor women who languish out their lives in this splendid misery. The poor child-wife of the King, who sang a scrap of There is a Happy Land, far, far away; the concubine, beaten on the mouth with a slipper -- these, and all others like them, are the sombre shadows of the interior life of the royal abode. We close the book, heartily glad that we are not subjects of his Golden-Footed Majesty of Siam. This notice was published in the Princeton Review, April 1873, p. 378. Opinions expressed are of the original author, not of this sites Expert. The notice gives a sense of the reception of Anna Leonowens work in her own time. The Romance of the Harem.  By Mrs. Anna H. Leonowens, Author of the English Governess at the Siamese Court. Illustrated. Boston: J. R. Osgood Co. The remarkable experiences of Mrs. Leonowens at the Court of Siam are related with simplicity and in an attractive style. The secrets of an Oriental Harem are exposed with fidelity; and they reveal wonderful incidents of passion and intrigue, of treachery and cruelty; and also of heroic love and martyr-like endurance under most inhuman tortures. The book is full of matters of painful and tragical interest; as in the narratives about Tuptim, the Tragedy of the Harem; the Favorite of the Harem; the Heroism of a Child; Witchcraft in Siam, etc. The illustrations are numerous and generally very good; many of them are from photographs. No recent book gives so vivid a description of the interior life, customs, forms and usages of an Oriental Court; of the degradation of women and the tyranny of man. The author had unusual opportunities for beco ming acquainted with the facts she records.