Economics and Sino-Japanese Relations

Sino Japanese Relations in the 20th Century Relations between China and Japan are contradictory; they both rely heavily on each other economically, but they are distrustful of each other and there are huge cultural and political tensions between them. Japan helped provide infrastructure that allowed for the rapid industrialization of China, and if it were not for all of the foreign trade opportunities in China, Japan’s economy could have collapsed. At the same time however, China is still offended by the massive massacres and inhumane acts committed by the Japanese.Japan’s government is also very weary, and almost threatened, by China’s continuing growth economically, politically, and militarily. Despite the fact that China and Japan rely on each other economically and are so similar culturally, relations remain tense because of unresolved historical issues. The relationship between China and Japan really began to sour after Japan became industrial and imperialis tic during the mid nineteenth century. This period, known as the Meiji restoration, changed Japan from a feudal society to a more capitalist one.Japan’s military was also greatly strengthened during this time, and taking after the British and other western ideas, began to occupy China. This led to the First Sino-Japanese war in 1894. At the time, China was still relatively weak and a very primitive country compared to the new imperial Japan. This war was fought mainly over control of the Korean peninsula and was easily won by the powerful Japanese military. This wasn’t a particularly bloody or violent war, but it was the first incident that caused China to think negatively of Japan.Japan’s imperialism continued throughout the twentieth century, but never turned into a full out war until the Second Sino-Japanese war in 1937. The Second Sino-Japanese war was one of the most brutal wars in Asian history, and it is a significant root cause for the bad relations betw een China and Japan. This is mostly due to The Rape of Nanking, which was a gruesome mass murder and war rape committed by the Japanese in 1937. The Rape of Nanking occurred during a six-week period after the Japanese took over the city of Nanking (the capital of China at the time).During this time, the Japanese military proceeded to kill hundreds of thousands of civilians, and rape tens of thousands of innocent women. In fact, the acts of violence were so unnecessary and horrid, that this is also known as the â€Å"forgotten holocaust of world war two†. Pregnant women were often a target of murder, and they would often be bayoneted in the stomach, sometimes after rape. Tang Junshan, a survivor and witness to one of the Japanese army’s systematic mass killings, testified: The seventh and last person in the first row was a pregnant woman.The soldier thought he might as well rape her before killing her, so he pulled her out of the group to a spot about ten meters away. A s he was trying to rape her, the woman resisted fiercely  Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ The soldier abruptly stabbed her in the belly with a bayonet. She gave a final scream as her intestines spilled out. Then the soldier stabbed the fetus, with its umbilical cord clearly visible, and tossed it aside What has really caused the Rape of Nanking to be such a pressing issue though, is that Japan has done almost nothing to apologize to China. What’s worse, is that some Japanese scholars and officials claim the entire incident to be a hoax.Members of the Prime Minister’s Party state the â€Å"no evidence to prove the mass killings by Japanese soldiers in the captured [Nanking] and they even accused Beijing of using the alleged incident as a â€Å"political advertisement. † Of course, the Chinese government is very offended by these claims and since then, relations have deteriorated greatly. China also does nothing to try to forget about the unpleasant incident, and many Chinese textbook s horrifically describe the acts of the Japanese, which darkens the image of Japan to the Chinese populace even further.The brutal occupation of China was finally over after Japan was defeated at the end of World War Two. China and Japan then entered a brief period where relations remained stable; this was mostly due to the Japanese military being dismantled. The establishment of The People’s Republic of China also made Japan feel more respect towards them because China was becoming a â€Å"civilized† nation like themselves. During this short period, Japan assisted China through its first years as a newly developed, struggling nation. Many trade policies were agreed upon and Japan and China started to cooperate and coordinate on many levels.This helped both countries thrive culturally and their economies, especially Japan’s, boomed. Without these trade agreements, China never would have developed so quickly, and Japan wouldn't have been able to come out of the d evastation they suffered from World War Two as strongly. But even though the Japanese military was disbanded, China still viewed Japan as a threat because of the numerous atrocities that Japan had committed. China was worried about a remilitarization of Japan, as Japan’s army was slowly recovering from World War Two.But Japan remained peaceful, probably due to the increasing amount of business happening between the two countries. During the next few decades, Sino- Japanese diplomatic relations slowly improved, while economic ties increased exponentially. In the 70’s and 80’s, negotiations took place for a peace and friendship treaty between the two countries. There were also many VIP visits between the countries involving high ranking government officials, at even the Prime Minister of Japan visited China in 1984. After long term trade agreements and Chinese economic reform, bilateral trade rapidly increased.This is also known as the â€Å"golden age† of Sino- Japanese relations, as they made significant progress during the 70’s and 80’s. But a lot of these visits and treaties were mostly for show, and today, we realize that although it seemed like the two countries were finally starting to cooperate with each other, there were still many problems surrounding Sino-Japanese relations. Because of this purely economic relationship, China and Japan’s economies have become closely intertwined. They are almost completely dependent on each other economically, and wouldn't be the powerful countries that they are today without each other.As I said before, China never would have developed so quickly if it weren't for the early investments and trade from Japan. On the other hand, after Japan’s economic bubble popped in the 90’s, many investors needed to find new places to invest and trade, and China was filled with such opportunities. The continuous growth of China’s economy could not be sustained if i t weren’t for the steady stream of investments and trade coming from Japan, but on the other hand, Japan’s economy would be in shambles if it weren’t for all of the financial opportunities in China.But even a close trading relationship can’t fix a relationship stained with violence and distrust. Japan, for example, is worried that China is becoming too strong of a rising power in today’s society. As of just this last year, China has overtaken Japan as the worlds second biggest economy, trailing only behind the United States. China’s military is also quickly becoming modernized as the Chinese government gradually spends more and more on their national defense budget. As of today, there has been billions of dollars spent on advanced missiles and submarines. The rest of the world doesn’t event know the full extent of he power of the Chinese military, and China could posses more weapons than even the United States. This is not only concer ning to Japan, but also other developed countries as well. Although Japan is worried about the continuous growth of China, Japan is still in the lead developmentally and has been for the last century. China has been influenced greatly by Japan’s actions and took their development as a model for their own. When Japan first industrialized, it showed China that industrialization was a reachable goal that would make them more powerful. And until recent years, China has just been slightly behind Japan developmentally.In fact, China is very similar to what Japan was just 40 years ago. Just like China today, Japan was a rising Asian power that many westerners feared would become too powerful. Many indicators of a growing economy are also evident in China; literacy rates, infant mortality rates, and GDP (gross domestic product) are all on the rise, similar to what Japan’s were four decades ago. It’s no coincidence that China hosted the Beijing Olympics 44 years after To kyo, and they hosted the world expo 40 years after Osaka. China has a unique opportunity though, they can learn from Japan, and not make the same mistakes that Japan did.Japan doesn't want China to leap frog over them though, and has started to invest less into China, causing trade between the countries to decrease in the last decade. Japan has been deliberately putting less business into China, mostly because they don't want to contribute to the growth of a country that they view as a threat. But at China’s current rate of expansion and technological development, they could soon be losing their dependence on Japan. And it seems as though the only thing supporting a stable relationship right now is economics, and if that is gone then what will come of their already volatile relationship?Without the economic dependence that China and Japan have for each other, their relationship would almost certainly crumble. Having bad relations between these two countries is not only detrim ental for China and Japan, but also damaging for world politics, and the world economy as a whole. Creating healthier relations between them would allow for collaboration and cooperation which would help push Japan out of recession and let Japan help guide China in the right direction. It would also benefit the many Japanese investors who have billions invested in China to have improved communication with the country.Better relations between them would also greatly impact the outside world, especially the US. The United States has had a huge impact on the shaping Sino- Japanese relations. Having trusting political relations would allow the United States to become a more prominent contributor to Asian politics without having to choose sides on any touchy, historical issues. We wouldn't have to worry about starting a political flame war and we could focus more on building stronger relations with each other, making it easier to come to agreements and make decisions on major issues.It s eems like China and Japan are both going to have to put in more effort to improve Sino- Japanese relations in the long term. Both Japan and China are going to have to try much harder to establish relations that are built on something more than just trade. Due to this, it is advisable for them to make an effort to construct a new and healthier relationship that is not reliant on their economic structures. But how should they approach fixing a relationship that is stained with hatred and tension? First, Japan should focus on making sure that China forgives them for their past actions.It is important that China believes that this is a sincere gesture, as it has been attempted many times before. Japan should make sure to take full responsibility instead of just loosely apologizing as they have done in the past. They should also not view each other as threats, and become more trusting of each other’s intentions. China could make this easier for Japan by being more open about their military intentions. China and Japan should also be public about their diplomatic relations to keep their people informed about what state their countries are in.Fixing Sino-Japanese relations is going to be a long journey for both countries. Because of such a complicated and violent past things aren’t going to be easy, but their economies and cultures are so intertwined; it would be beneficial to them and the rest of the world to repair their broken relationship. But only once we look back at the history between these two countries can we understand how to look to the future. Bibliography: Anonymous â€Å"KEIDANREN : JAPAN-CHINA RELATIONS IN THE 21ST CENTURY (2001-02-20). † Nippon Keidanren. 20 Feb. 2001. Web. 1 Mar. 2011. . Anonymous â€Å"Nanking Massacre. † Nanking Massacre. Web. 8 May 2011. . â€Å"China and Japan, Rival Giants†, BBC, http://news. bbc. co. uk/2/shared/spl/hi/asia_pac/05/china_japan/html/history. stm (accessed February 21, 2011) â₠¬Å"The China-Japan Economic Relationship (sidebar). † Issues & Controversies. Facts On File News Services, 20 Dec. 2010. Web. 21 Feb. 2011. .Calder, Kent, â€Å"China and Japan’s Simmering rivalry†, Foreign affairs. April 2006. , http://www. foreignaffairs. com/articles/61515/kent-e-calder/china-and-japans-simmering-rivalry, (accessed February 21) * * Cave-Bigley, Anna. â€Å"The Paradox of Sino-Japanese Relations. † ISN. 26 Sept. 2008. Web. 20 Mar. 2011. . * * Chan, John. Sino-Japanese Relations Remain Tense. † World Socialist Web Site. 29 Oct. 2010. Web. 12 Mar. 2011. . * * Chanlett- Avery, â€Å"Sino- Japanese Relations: Issues for US policy†, Congressional research service, December 19, 2008. * * Deh Chien, Chen. â€Å"THE FORGOTTEN HOLOCAUST. † People. bu. edu — People on the Web at Boston University. Web. 12 Mar. 2011. . * Don Lee Times Staff Writer. China-Japan Economic Ties Glow Amid Political Chill; Last year's anti-Japa n protests gave companies pause, but the market is too vast to ignore.. † Los Angeles Times. 17 Apr. 2006: C1. eLibrary. Web. 21 Feb. 2011. Rose, Caroline. Sino-Japanese Relations: Facing the Past, Looking to the Future? New York [u. a. : Routledge, 2005. Print. Xin, Geng. â€Å"Sino-Japanese Relations Still Worryingly Uncertain – GlobalTimes. † Globaltimes_Opinion. Web. 21 Feb. 2011. . Soderberg, Marie.Chinese-Japanese Relations in the Twenty-first Century: Complementarity and Conflict. London: Routledge, 2002. Print. Xinhua. â€Å"China, Japan Economic Relations Complementary. † Chinadaily US Edition. Web. 9 Mar. 2011. . Yuqing, XING. â€Å"JAPAN’S UNIQUE ECONOMIC RELATIONS WITH CHINA: ECONOMIC INTEGRATION UNDER POLITICAL UNCERTAINTY. † Web. 9 Mar. 2011. . â€Å"MOFA: Japan-China Relations. † Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan (MOFA). Web. 12 Mar. 2011.

Nestle SWOT Analysis Essay

Strength Strengths are one of the internal factor lead the organization to the success pathway and the business which allow you to operate more effectively than your competitors. For example, strength could be your specialist technical knowledge. As Nestle is a well-known brand in the world, so this is good for NESCAFÉ to make any further development and it is believed that NESCAFÉ is the major player in coffee market and it has a strong brand names because of associating with Nestle which has mass market share in the world. The company’s hot drinks portfolio includes a number of high-recognition brands supported by considerable marketing and research and development resources, such as NESCAFÉ and Milo. In addition, NESCAFÉ always provide and maintain the good quality control over the products. Today, experts agree that moderate coffee consumption of up to 4- 5 cups per day is not associated with detrimental effect on health and may thus fit within a balanced and active lifestyle. Health conscious products are made keeping in mind the nutritious values. NESCAFÉ are good in promotion strategies such as advertisement. The company used direct advertising and hidden advertising on TV .In addition, they have promotion with posters, billboards or various contest in order to find the winner from our company. This is a good promotion strategy of NESCAFÉ because it can increase sales and profitability for our company even more. This is one example of promotions for customers who like playing internet online by website Facebook that has name the game is â€Å"NESCAFÉ Gold Cup Goal Challenge Game† by player must kick to the goal. Weaknesses Weaknesses, it is define as internal environment that place an organization at disadvantage or work against a successful outcome. NESCAFÉ biased low margin profit lead to weaknesses. As common as we know that NESCAFÉ are cheaper enough that customers can be acquired. Meanwhile the cost of production NESCAFÉ and wages range of employees is relatively higher in order to encourage employees to perform tasks efficiency. From that, we can know that NESCAFÉ are not having large amount of profit. Inability to provide consistent quality is one of the NESCAFÉ’s weaknesses.  Many NESCAFÉ products had been recalled from trade due to poor quality suppliers. This does not only hurt the firm’s image but also its sale as well as the business is uncontrollable quality of the products. Moreover, coffee consumers have come to expect excellent quality of NESCAFÉ as a basic feature in their coffee. A critical threat to NESCAFÉ’s brand image and consequently brand shares could create due to the low awareness of NESCAFÉ’s coffee quality. Health-conscious consumers are being disregarded due to caffeine-based products of NESCAFÉ. Formulation of NESCAFÉ is biased towards containing caffeine. A large amount of caffeine consumed can resulting in negative affect on blood sugar levels that influences fat burning that could change into storing fat. Hence, health-conscious consumers avoid caffeine which both instant and regular coffee have been related to increased bladder cancer risk. Besides that, caffeine when consumed in excess can be addictive and stimulate. Opportunity Opportunity can be define as a potential favorable condition in which an organization can capitalize on a changing trend or an increasing demand for a product. It also can be said that a time or set of circumstances that makes it possible to do something. The first opportunity for the product NESCAFÉ coffee is the premium trend. In now a day, while the mass-market positioning of NESCAFÉ is an obstacle, the demand for premium coffee products are growing rapidly. This creates opportunities for the company to generate growth in mature markets through the development of brands and extensions, such as Nespresso and NESCAFÉ Dolce Gusto. In addition to developing product lines for the mass and the premium market, the company recognizes the rising consumer trend of eating out and is looking for ways to capitalize on the situation. NESCAFÉ is a well-known brand so awareness is the competitive edge in the coffee market. The health trend also is the opportunity for the product N ESCAFÉ coffee. Many people are more take care of their healthy life. While the coffee has not received the positive health-related publicity of tea, its image of coffee became less and less resolutely unhealthy in recent years. However, there is a general shift toward-consciousness, and NESCAFÉ coffee has done well in that aspect by having some of their products certified as the healthier option by the Health Promotion Board of Singapore. In additional, coffee can  help to prevent various diseases, including Parkinson’s diseases. Coffee also used as an enema to treat some diseases such as cancer. Coffee enemas are used as a part of the â€Å"Gerson Therapy† that is cancer patient are treated with caffeinated coffee in the form of enemas every four hours on a daily basis. This kind of treatment is continues to be used at the hospital of the Baja California in Tijuana, Mexico. The next opportunity for the NESCAFÉ coffee is the cross-branding. NESCAFÉ coffee had diversified their beverage portfolio offers it the opportunity to develop brands from other categories in hot drinks. Notably, it will be further develop its confectionery brands in other products along the lines of existing. Besides that, the company had also tried out some cross brand promotional activities like promoting NESCAFÉ coffee and Coffee Mate together in the NESCAFÉ dream couples contest. Worldwide NESCAFÉ coffee is the largest profit making category with different ranges of coffee starting from instant coffee specialties. With the effort, analyzing and learning from this huge and successful multinational corporation. Threat The term â€Å"threat† in SWOT analysis defined as the elements in the environment that could cause trouble for the business. The threat that existed that could affect the sales of NESCAFÉ is, firstly, the competition of the other companies that existed in the same industry. NESCAFÉ’s products are mostly coffee’s product. Thus, the products such like Old Town White Coffee, and some other tasty coffee such like Old Town Hazelnut White Coffee that produce by OLDTOWNâ„ ¢ strong competitor to NESCAFÉ in Malaysia. Beside this, the biggest competitor to NESCAFÉ could be Super Group Ltd from Singapore that is producing a several of coffee product, such as 3 in 1 brown sugar coffee, 3 in 1 rich coffee and 2 in 1 Kopi O. The price of products of Super Group Ltd also slightly lower than NESCAFÉ products, for example the NESCAFÉ 3 in 1 mild (30 x 20g) are sell in RM 10.99 in most case, but Super coffee 3 in 1 regular (30 x 20g) are sell in RM 10.5 0. As a consumer, they will go for the product that is cheaper usually. For OLDTOWNâ„ ¢, although their products are the highest price as compare to NESCAFÉ and Super Coffee, but the coffee that produces by this company is very rich, so as a consumer that chase for a rich taste of coffee, they will go for Old Town Coffee products. Thus, if can be clearly  state that NESCAFÉ is in a large competition with other companies in this industry. The threat for NESCAFÉ could also be the changing of consumer trend. Now a day, people are more concern of the health, so the coffee that contains caffeine will cause consumer to avoid it for the well-being of healthy life. Caffeine can consider as a kind of drug that it will cause addiction to it and fast or irregular heart beat rate. Other than that, 3 in 1 coffee also contain sugar that will cause diabetes (if high intake). So, as a consumer, that pay attention on personal and family health will avoid consuming the coffee. Other than that, consumer nowadays also prefer to enjoy a relaxing and luxury life, so they would rather sit under Starbuck or Coffee Bean or some other Cafà ©, enjoy a rich coffee such like cappuccino that made by professional machine, under a comfortable environment, than just make an cheap ordinary instant 3 in 1 coffee at home that without any milk foam on it. The inflation in economy environment could affect the sales of NESCAFÉ products. This is due to the inflation will lead to increasing in cost of the coffee bean, sugar and milk which is the important raw materials for NESCAFÉ products. With the rose of the price of raw materials of NESCAFÉ, the cost of production of NESCAFÉ product will increase as well. Beside this, the rose of the price of fuel which just happen recent in Malaysia (increase of RM0.20 per liter), could bring a huge impact on NESCAFÉ products. This is because of the increasing in price of fuel lead to increasing of transportation cost as well, which will eventually increase the cost of NESCAFÉ products. Based on a consumer opinion, inflation that leads to rise of expenses will cause consumers to reduce their expenses on coffee product. Relationship between strength, weaknesses, opportunity, and threat Based on SWOT study, strengths and weaknesses are internal factors of NESCAFÉ that give a dvantages or disadvantages, and opportunity and threat are the external factors. It requires flexibility use between this four internal and external factors to maintain a brand perform excellent at the market. The internal strength of NESCAFÉ can use to against the external threat. For example, strong brand name (Nestle) and mass market share because of high recognition of NESCAFÉ, this is what makes this brand win over all other competitor such as Old Town. Other than this, NESCAFÉ tend to provide and maintain good quality of its product (expertise agreed on 4-5 cups per day doesn’t affect  the health state of a person), which can adapt to the changing consumer trend to a healthier life style. NESCAFÉ also good in promotion strategies which can continuously increase the sale of NESCAFÉ products which allow it adapt to the situation where inflation happen (increase of sales- increase of profit- cover the rise of cost during inflation). The external opportunity of NESCAFÉ can be used to against its internal weaknesses. For example, NESCAFÉ as a premium trend allow the demand to its products to growth in a mature market (opportunity), with the base of high sales, the low margin profit of NESCAFÉ (weaknesses) wouldn’t cost losses in order to cover up the cost and expenses during the production of NESCAFÉ. Other than that, having coffee product to certified as a healthier option now a day (opportunity) can reduce the society health conscious on the caffeine which contain in the coffee (weaknesses).

Why Should Attendance Be Required in Cpllege

Williams, De’Quesha Essay 2 November 22, 2010 Why Should Attendance Be Required in College? Thesis; Attendance in college should be required because attendance is important. First, the president should require attendance in college classes because, people do not come to class and the people are receiving financial aid. Second, the president should require attendance in college classes because; the people will not know who is on campus. 3.Finally, the president should require attendance in college classes because; the students will be asking about their grades and the people will not even know the students name. Conclusion: All the statements above are why attendance should be required in college classes. Williams 2 How would you feel if you went to class everyday and did not get your financial aid like you was suppose to? That is because; role is not being taken in the classrooms. People that do not come to class are receiving financial aid. That is not fair to the people that comes to class everyday.Attendance should be requires so, that people that come to class like they should gets everything that they need. Next, attendance is important. The people that are coming to class like they should has not received their financial because; the person over financial aid says that they have been missing class. The people have been coming to class to receive their financial aid. That mistake happened because; the people are not taking role. So mistakes will not happen like this again the president should require attendance in college classes.Furthermore, the president should require attendance because; the people will not know who is on campus. It could be a murder on campus. It could be anyone that is not suppose to be on campus. Taking attendance will let everyone know who is suppose to be on campus. Then, which classes the students are suppose to be in. Moreover, the students will be asking about their grades. Then, the people would not know what to tell the students because; the people do not know the students name.Even if the students told the people their names they still will have to go by the role. To avoid problems the president should require attendance in college classes. If attendance is required the people will know which students are asking about their grades. Overall, the president should require attendance in college classes because; it is important to have attendance. The president will not know who is on campus if the president is not requiring attendance. Attendance should be required in college classes because; there are a lot of activities that happens on campus.

McDonalds Marketing Integration Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

McDonalds Marketing Integration - Essay Example Because of the emotion integration in its advertisement, it had touched feelings of many customers. Personally, I have been to several places in the Philippines and China with Mcdonalds as my favorite fast food chain. I have seen and heard of many Mcdonald advertisements in these places that touched my feelings. One is their advocacy of charity where they place a collecting can for generous customers to contribute their coins. This had touched my emotions because they have the heart for the needy despite their fame and success. Another is their inclusion of toys as one of the â€Å"come on† for customers with children. Their famous toys encouraged my kids to even promote the toys among their playmates. This is supported with the study of Story and French (p 1) where they explained that such strategy develops an early and positive relationship of young children with the fast food chain. Mc Donald advertisements are using marketing integration. However, they do it cleverly that it is not so obvious for the customers. Their advertisement is focused on the society’s needs thus their products are always in demand making their customers loyal to them.

Reflections on The Ideological Genesis of Needs Essay

Reflections on The Ideological Genesis of Needs - Essay Example Secondly it is considered as an object with an influential brand name in which case the function is forgotten and can be replaced by any other branded object and to be used as a possession of prestige to generate the same feeling status. The further discussions are on the exchange value, the symbolic and the sign value that are derived out of non-utilitarian objectives and gives a symbolic meaning to the object least taking it for the function it is meant for. The author thus considers the four logics of the object regarding (1) its utility, (2) the market price, (3) the symbolic value as a gift and (4) of a sign value as a status. The 'object of consumption' assumes its position when it disassociates its position as a utilitarian object, a symbol or as a commodity. Its sign value makes it as the object of consumption. The utilitarian object is irreplaceable barring the objects having the same function. Here the object has a relation with its function.

You will choose a current event topic from the last 20 or so years and Essay

You will choose a current event topic from the last 20 or so years and explain how this current event links back to the Industrial Revolution - Essay Example This often affects society negatively as the importance and sacredness of communication is undermined. Society has changed from a proactive population of outdoor people to more reserved technology conscious individuals. This problem is compounding the more human beings evolve, and it seems to be a long-term issue (Palfrey and Urs 52). The problem is linked to the Industrial Revolution as one sees large groups of laborers fill the industries to make these products on a large scale, similar to the Industrial Revolution (Brownsword 58). This issue seems to be compounding and is one, which will complex as the demand for technological gadgets is on the increase. There is a similarity between both revolutions. The industrial revolution included a change from traditional methods to use of machinery while the Digital Revolution has seen the mass production of new advanced equipment aiming at changing and improving

Managing Organisational Change Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Managing Organisational Change - Essay Example So the above stated lines are indicating one more interesting technique to reach Organisational goals, that is changing the people's attitude, their way of working, and behaviour towards work so that Organisation can reach its objectives through change which is probably the only way for it to reach its goals as modernisation automatically changes the surroundings, behaviours of buyers, the variety of competition and so on. Globalisation is a recent word suggesting that there is a new cohesion in markets worldwide, which may imply that it is likely that change cannot be resisted or that the traditional local markets cannot be sheltered from the impact of such general change. Such claims might seem to have a surface validity. However, it is difficult to identify exactly how this interplay of forces is materially different from influences that have reinforced change in the past. An in-depth analysis of the change management, as in terms what is causing the change, would be conducted foc using on the Brazilian based manufacturing firm, Semco. External Change Drivers The business does not get changed itself, nor does it require it self to change without any need as the profitability (growth) or survival is the core objective of any business, but when it comes to change, only external factors make an organisation or business change primarily, afterwards the firm changes itself may be in internal manners. The External change drivers that can be seen commonly in this modern world or from the time the changes took place include Mega Environment1, it further includes Technological Element, in which the modern technology that is used outside the firm, perhaps around the world and by the competitors, tends to change the Organisation, the failure to use such technology can result in loss of values, customers, and most importantly long-term profits. Semco acquired new plants, came up with innovation in their manufacturing techniques through R&D and so it reduced the rejection rate, it further downsized the company by eliminating 23% of employees through attrition and incentive programs, the company had to do all this otherwise it would not have been able to cope with the external changes. The next external change is brought by Economic Element, of course the change in the country's wealth distribution, it's financial debt and the inflation can create unbalance in an Organisation or any busin ess, such as the decrease in the price of a certain commodity or product can have some negative impact on the firms profitability, specially if the country in which the Organisation is operated is a socialist economy in which the government owns a lot than the individuals, the importance of economic element is obvious from the fact that in1980 when Semco was seeking help from various banks and foreign companies, many of the institutions refused it because of the economic status of Brazil and further the Semco's poor

Visa International Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Visa International - Case Study Example The Visa International is characterized by both coordination and competition; employee empowerment and decision making is fanned down to the lower level. The factors that lead to the selection of such a design was the competition that the industry was facing and thus there was a quick need to respond to the changes that were taking place. There was a need to be open and responsive to the changes occurring in the environment and let employees to be more enabling rather than being controlled. No, Chuck is not a leader since, leader is the person who influences his group and takes them along and in Chuck's situation he seems to be more of an independent player rather than working with the group collectively. Mallory is no wonder competitive and aggressive and target oriented but his attitude is harsh and bitter, and temperament is required to keep the person in his wits; so I don't think I will work for Mallory. Mallory was an achievement oriented person with less concern for relationships; his success lied in making quick and spontaneous decisions; the on spot decisions were the result of his independent thinking and least involvement of others, who would other wise have resulted in longer times in reaching a consensus which would then be too late. It is difficult to change a person's attitude and easy to teach his or her the skills; according to skills approach skills can be learned, but, the personality approach suggests that personality characteristics are innate; therefore, I will not hire Mallory instead will go for some one who is more adaptable to work and change according to the environment of the

Trends in income distribution in the United States Essay

Trends in income distribution in the United States - Essay Example The higher concentration wealth to the a few people will reflect a hierarchical structured society. Moreover, a relatively sprite distribution of income among people will reflect a bigger middle class. Either two of the circumstances has an impact on the situation, conditions and perceptions of people. The first situation implies a better situation for those who are more affluent or those who are in the upper strata of society. This can also dictate an unfair playing ground between the have’s and the have not’s. The second situation entails more social equity. This means that opportunities are fair to all people regardless of their class. This will also reflect the government’s structure and the degree of welfare it provide to its citizens. It may be noted that the gap in income distribution may be a major cause of negative perceptions among Americans, which divides the country into economic lines (Allen, 2007). Scholars have studied trends in the income distribution in various industrialized countries including the United States. In the said studies, the scholars have identified a pattern in the income distribution of industrialized countries particularly in the trajectories of income distribution. The common features suggest a systematic pattern in which inequality at first increased, reached a peak, and later declined in the course of industrial development. This creates an inverted U shape figure. Further studies reflect that after the 1970s, a reversal of the first study occured (Allen, 2007). Income distribution can be gleaned through various measures such as data on household income, individual income or tax accrued to the government. Income distribution can also be studied vis-Ã  -vis other factors such as gender, regional distribution, race, etc. Each year, the U.S. Census Bureau releases data on the

PUMPING IRON IN Saudi Arabia Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

PUMPING IRON IN Saudi Arabia - Essay Example This encourages the participants. Another purpose the author wanted to issue in this case is about gender. The gymnasium is occupied by men only. This raises a major concern about the health fitness of the women. All the participants in the gymnasium were men. The author has also raised religious issues involved. The author has clearly presented the picture of the Gym in question. He begins by describing the location of the gym. The author has also provided information on the charges that one needs to pay in order to become a member. Then, the author proceeds to describe the facilities that are found in the Gym. The Gym is packed with high quality exercise machine (Dyatt 2009). However, the author emphasizes on the fact that the equipments are old and the surfaces are peeling off though clean. The author has also revealed the uniqueness of the 10th Street from the fact that it observes the religious aspects carefully. For instance, the rights are put off and the door closed during the prayer of Saleh (Dyatt 2009). The lights are put off and the door locked automatically even if workout is in the middle. The author has also revealed that failure to observe these rules can lead to loss of license. When the lights are off, the carpets are out between the exercises machines after which the faithful faces Mecca in rows for prayer (Dyatt 2009). Meanwhile, other people would continue to work out quietly besides them. Both groups are expected to proceed harmoniously. The author have also emphasized that working out in the darkness is really interesting. It motivates people as it exaggerates the appearance of the people. The strong looks stronger in the darkness (Dyatt 2009). The author has also introduced the gym manager who is also a weight lifter. He is a friendly man who is interested in every attendant. He is determined to help the new weight lifters. The author has also revealed

Homeland Security Essay Example for Free

Homeland Security Essay Over the last few decades, a large number of terrorist organizations have sprung up around the world and the United States Homeland Security Policy has rapidly evolved to counter the threats that these terrorist organizations come as. The modes and methods of operation that these organizations use have become increasingly sophisticated and one cannot help but agree that amongst the most prominent of these terrorist organizations is the infamous Al Qaeda (Madsen, 2005). This paper seeks to examine the origin, ideology, infrastructure and history of Al Qaeda and provide an analysis of the United States Homeland Security Policy in light of the destructive potential Al Qaeda holds. By doing so, an analysis will be made of the effectiveness of the current Homeland security policy in light of the terrorist threats that are faced by the United States. The first traces of the establishment can effectively be traced back to the Afghan-Soviet War. It was during this war that the desire to join the Afghan Marxist Regime grew exponentially amongst foreign Arab Mujahedeen. In order to utilize this fervor, the Maktab-al-Khidmat was formed. This organization was formed by Osama Bin Laden And his teacher/mentor Abdullah Yusuf Azzam (Williams, Al Qaeda: Brotherhood of Terror, 2002). Together they established carried out extensive recruitment and fund accumulation from 1984 onwards. This organization had its headquarters in Pakistan and it was the Maktab-al-Khidmat that later evolved into the Al Qaeda and this phase of evolution can be traced to the point where Abdullah Yusuf Azzam began to persuade Osama Bin Laden to channel his own finances and resources into the operation (Global Security, 2008). During the soviet war, the involvement of the United States was primarily through the funding that it provided the afghan mujahedeen (Gerges, 2004). Quite a bit of this funding was done through the Pakistani intelligence agency known as the Inter Services Intelligence Agency. This involvement was code named Operation Cyclone and was designed to deal an indirect defeat to the Soviets. An aspect of the Maktab-al-Khidmat was that even though it did not manage to generate any significant numbers in terms of man power, it still allowed likeminded people from over forty countries to find a platform upon which they could unite and work together for bigger projects. When the war ended, the mujahedeen were back in power within three years time and Afghanistan was once more under the control of religious radicals. In 1988, Osama bin Laden, who had returned to Saudi Arabia, decided to form groups such as the Maktab-al-Khidmat in other parts of the world but at this stage in the evolution of the group, Osama had no desire to develop the group on entirely military grounds. Rather it was Abdullah Yusuf Azzam who considered the element of militarism and aggression to be undeniably important. Osama Bin Laden was later joined by former American special forces member Sergeant Ali Mohammad after Abdullah Yusuf Azzam had been assassinated, investigations carried out later showed that Osama Bin Laden worked closely with Ali Mohammad to devise plans for attacks on various United States civilian and military facilities. Later when the Gulf War began, complications grew between Osama Bin Laden and the Saudi government when the Saudi government chose to resort to asking the United States for support instead of taking up Osama Bin Laden on his offer to provide arms and support in the Gulf War. As a result of these complications, Osama Bin Laden was exiled from Saudi Arabia to Sudan, where he continued his objection against the Saudi government (Williams, The Al Qaeda Connection: International Terrorism, Organized Crime, and the Coming Apocalypse, 2005). This resulted in Osama bin Laden losing his Saudi passport as well as his Sudanese passport along with the humiliation of being disowned by his family. In these hard times, Osama Bin Laden turned to Afghanistan where he was welcomed by the Taliban. Afghanistan served as the ideal recruiting and training ground that was needed for Al Qaeda to develop itself and to strengthen its infrastructure. After having sought and found refuge in Afghanistan in 1996 (Burke, 2004), Osama Bin Laden began to establish training camps and began to gather local forces under his flag who he found shared his opinions from the time of Abdullah Yusuf Azzam. Ideology Objectives It is believed that the ideology that runs in the Al Qaeda network is one that has been inspired by the writings of Sayyid Qutb who was an author, educator, poet and was considered to be a leading intellectual of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood. Around the 1950’s and the 1960’s, Sayyid Qutb worked extensively on religious ideologies and published works which denounced the American way of life and the culture that prevailed in the American society. One of the few areas upon which Sayyid Qutb’s work had the most influence was that of Jihad, which is the Arabic term used for the struggle for Islam.   Through the teachings of Sayyid Qutb, the aggressive aspect of jihad became increasingly hostile and violent in its justifications. It is believed that the current set of beliefs that run through the foundations of Al Qaeda are based upon the very same principles of Sayyid Qutb’s political and religious philosophy that justifies the barbaric actions that the Al Qaeda takes today. According to Sayyid Qutb’s philosophies, the more non-Muslim dominance grew, the more justified it became to wage war against these elements. Concepts such as socialism and nationalism are highly criticized and condemned in the beliefs of Sayyid Qutb as were reflected in his teachings. This would explain the momentum that Al Qaeda appears to be gathering the last few years. It is believed that the traditional leader of the Al Qaeda, osama was also   highly influenced by Sayyid Qutb in his days as a student and would relish opportunities to debate upon them and learn more about them. Modern day religious analysts believe that Sayyid Qutb’s teachings served to provide extremists a loop hole through the interpretation of religious scriptures through which they could justify not only their wars but also the techniques that they use in their war. Moreover, interpretations of Sayyid Qutb’s teachings made in the late part of the last century built upon this loophole and reached a degree where it became obligatory to wage war against any and all elements that were non-Islamic. This mutated version of the philosophies of Sayyid Qutb made it obligatory to wage war not only against non-Islamic elements but also against any Islamic elements that refused to join the war. This can be observed to explain the Al Qaeda attacks on muslim countries as well as non-muslim countries. Organizational Structure The core organizational structure is one that centers on the base and develops and operates from that base (Gunaratna, 2003). Al Qaeda follows a Hydra like organizational structure in which distanced modules of the organizations are placed around the world and kept highly active while the central nerve is kept well hidden and it is ensured that information and funding are supplied to the distanced modules to keep them running. This way, Al Qaeda traditionally operates on a centralized leading structure where decision making and resource distribution is managed and coordinated by the center while the execution of the decisions is assigned to the nodes of the organization. However, the modern day organizational structure of Al Qaeda has evolved considerably as a result of the recent measures taken by the United States military with its partners in the war on terrorism (Wright, 2006). It is believed that the measures taken by this war on terrorism have led to the scattering of these nodes to a point where they have become isolated from each other and are operating independently in a majority of their catchment regions. It is believed that this decentralization of the nodes of Al Qaeda has caused the name Al Qaeda to become something of a brand name amongst terrorist organizations. This would explain attacks such as the 7 July London bombings of 2005 in which the involved elements were identified to be more Al Qaeda trained than of Al Qaeda origin (Corbin, 2002). It was attacks such as these that brought forth the fact that Al Qaeda had begun to optimize itself by making use of likeminded elements rather than spending time and resources to establish itself in regions where it desired to carry out operations. This can also be observed to explain the increasing number of Al Qaeda members who are educated and belong to well to do and sophisticated families. The arrests of Al Qaeda personnel made in the last few years have led to the origination of the belief that perhaps Al Qaeda does not operate by itself any more but has either chosen to disperse itself and inject itself into smaller terrorist organizations or has chosen to take on prodigies in the form of smaller terrorist organizations in reply to the increasing number of measures being taken by the coalition of the members of the war against terrorism (Vidino Emerson, 2005). Al Qaeda does not operate solely by its own self, more than often it utilizes smaller more agile terrorist organizations to obtain its objectives. Frequently groups that it has coordinated with include Abu Sayyaf Group from Malaysia, the Egyptian Islamic Jihad, Jemaah Islamiya from Indonesia and   Lashkar e Taiba from Kashmir. Hierarchy The current hierarchy that Al Qaeda employs is an element that has not been ascertained by American intelligence in its structure. However, the arrests of Al Qaeda personnel have led to an inference in this regard. It is believed that Al Qaeda is divided into seven divisions. The first of these divisions is that of the Shura Council which comprises of the senior Al Qaeda members and where the emir presides. The second and perhaps most active section is the Military Committee which oversees and managers training of personnel, weapon acquisition, arsenal maintenance and strategic planning. The third and perhaps even more significant section is the Business Committee which ensures that consistent funding is maintained through businesses around the world and also handles the responsibility of the providing of false documentation when needed. The Law Committee evaluates the plans to decide whether or not the plans drawn comply with the religious principles that the organization follows. Closely working with this committee is the Study/Fatwa Committee which is in charge of the drawing up and publication of religious edicts (Bajoria, 2008). A media committee was also formed in the late 1990’s but it is believed now that it has been replace by the As-Sahab which is an advanced media production house which is in charge of handling public relations as well as ensuring a supply of the video and audio requirements that the organization requires. The United States Homeland Security Policy The Department of Homeland security was established on the Cabinet level on June 6, 2002 as an enhancement to the White House Office of Homeland Security. It was through the department of Homeland Security that the Patriot Act was passed and it was observed to be one of the most deep reaching and most extensive of measures that had ever been taken by the Bush administration. In order to gain an understanding of the United States Homeland Security Policy it is first essential to gain a concrete understanding of the major events that have shaped its formation in the past and are currently shaping its evolution in the present through their long term implications. When studying the attacks that Al Qaeda has made in its history, it is necessary to understand that it was not merely the destruction because of the attacks that was the cause for concern, but the degree of information acquisition, ammunition and explosive acquirement and intelligence implementation that is staggering. The modus operandi of Al Qaeda involves well educated and sophisticated people who are well funded. This makes the implications of the attacks of this organization all the more profound and deeper in the long run. One of the first attacks that the Al Qaeda staged was in 1992 in Yemen. As per the objectives of the Al Qaeda discussed above, the objective of this attack was to discourage the prevalence of American armed forces elements from proceeding to Somalia in international famine relief efforts. The operation under which the soldiers were moving was Operation Restore Hope and was meant for the sheer purpose of discouraging the American armed forces and the American people. Seven people were injured severely and two people died, all of them were civilians. Formerly, Al Qaeda had chosen to exercise its resources in battle and against military installations. This attack was perceived as a change in the Al Qaeda’s stance towards the war it was waging. It was in this attack that the Al Qaeda first presented justification for the killing of civilians and this aspect of the Al Qaeda’s evolving modus operandi was one that has been the focus of almost every homeland security policy that has developed ever since.

Tsarist Regime Essay Example for Free

Tsarist Regime Essay How successful was opposition to the tsarist regime between 1861 and 1881 in achieving its aims? There was a great deal of opposition to the tsarist regime between 1861 and 1881 and many were successful. The opposition came from the liberal minded intelligentsia who were determined to change what they believed to be outmoded and inhibiting Russian ways. The Populists, who aimed to win over the peasantry to their socialist ideas by stirring up their resentment of the Tsarist Autocracy. Although there were very few intelligentsia, their size and influence grew in the 1970s due to the development of the law courts, as a result of reform. These courts produced an unexpected crop of professionally trained lawyers, who were ready to question and challenge Russian autocratic practices. They were determined to change what they believed to be outmoded and inhibiting Russian ways. Some of the younger generation, who were influenced by the Nihilists, wanted to sweep away everything from the past so a new society could be born. The St Petersburg Zemstvo almost immediately demanded a central body to co-ordinate the regional zemstva, but the tsar disagreed with the proposal. However, the increase in repression from 1866 onwards only increased the zemstva demands for constitutional change and heightened student idealism and determination. This shows that they were successful in challenging the tsar even when he stood firm against the proposal and they were able to put pressure on for change. This ideology was thereafter aimed to persuade the peasants and fuel their resentment towards the Russian autocracy by the Populists. Sergei Nechyev, a radical of peasant extraction inspired a circle of young revolutionaries, the â€Å"Chaikovsky circle†, which produced many pamphlets and smuggled in books officially banned in Russia. This, in turn, led Pyotr Lavrov to lead a group of around 2000 young men and women, mainly from the nobility and intelligentsia in 1874 and â€Å"go to the people†. They became known as the Populists. The populists aimed to win over the peasantry to their socialist ideas, by stirring up their resentment against the lack of land and the heavy tax burden they still carried, despite emancipation. They believed that the future of Russia depended on land redistribution and the development of the peasant commune. The movement did succeed in carrying out some assassinations – General Mezemstev, head of the Third section in 1878, as was Prince Kropotkin. What worried the authorities in particular was the public sympathy won by such assassins and the way they seemed able to escape  with popular support. There were even some talks between the Zemstva and the Populists to try to place more pressure on the Autocracy for constitutional reform. This shows that they were successful in gaining support from the public for their actions. However, both the populists and the Intelligentsia were not always successful in their opposition to the tsarist regime. The Intelligentsia didn’t really achieve much, especially what they set out to do. Even though they gained some power and ploughed on pressure for constitutional change, they were not able to change the outmoded and inhibiting way of Russia. When the Zemstvo demanded a central body to co-ordinate the regional zemstva, the tsar stood firm against this proposal. They were not able to change the Russian state in anyway and were not granted more individual freedom. Furthermore many of the Populists, who tried to influence and win over the peasantry with their socialist ideas, were arrested in the autumn of 1874, 1600 of the total 2000 to be precise. They tried to dress up and talk like peasants to persuade the villagers of their importance to Russian society. However, the peasants’ ignorance, superstition, prejudice and deep-rooted loyalty to the tsar ensured they were arrested. From this you can see that many peasants were loyal to the tsar and did not believe and want revolution, they were unwilling to accept socialist ideas and challenge the tsarist regime. In conclusion, I believe the opposition was successful in achieving its aims between 1861 and 1881 because the Intelligentsia were able to demand constitutional changes which they could not do before because they lacked knowledge and determination. Moreover, the populists were able to get away with assassinations and this worried the authorities as these assassins gained a lot of public sympathy and escaped due to public support. Even though they struggled, in the end they still achieved some changes and this shows the opposition were successful in achieving their aims against the tsarist regime.

Analysis of Robert Frost’s Mending Wall

Analysis of Robert Frost’s Mending Wall A Critical Analysis of Robert Frost’s Mending Wall Robert Lee Frost was a Four-time Pulitzer Prize winner for poetry, who was born in San Francisco on March 26 1874 to Isabelle Moodie and William Prescott Frost Jr. (Dreese) William named his firstborn child after his personal hero,Robert E. Lee who was the commander of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia during the American Civil War. Frosts had only one sibling which was his younger sister Jeanie who was born two years later. Their father, William, was a rough-around-the-edges journalist who was a hard drinker, always carried a pistol, and kept a glass jar of pickled bull testicles on his desk at work. Growing up as a child, Robert was introduced to fear at an early age as his father was a violent drunk. Although his mother was quite the opposite and was very caring it did little to help elevate the pain and fear that Robert went through in his childhood. Nurtured in a house of fear, Robert was a highly sensitive child who often suffered from stomach pains and other mysterious ailments. When he found going to school too much to bear, he was frequently home-schooled by his mother. (Dreese) His mother was very fond of geography and the natural world and this is where young Robert obtained his love for nature. After entering high school in Lawrence he began reading and writing poetry. This interest followed him all through his years of education at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire, in 1892, and later at Harvard University in Boston. Although very educated, Robert never obtained a formal college degree. After leaving school, Frost became a drifter and had a number of different occupations ranging from a teacher, newspaperman and even the editor of the Lawrence Sentinel at one point. In 1894, he published his first poem called My Butterfly in the New York newspaper called the Independent. One year after publishing his poem, he married and fathered 6 children with Elinor Miriam White, whom he was friends with in high school and who happened to be the key inspiration in his poetry till her tragic death due to breast cancer in 1938. After moving to England in 1912, Robert meet a number of influentially poets such as Robert Graves and Ezra Pound. Through them, Robert was able to publi sh many of his works that helped jumpstart his career. By the time Frost returned to America in 1915, he had published a couple of collections of poems including North of Boston, which was one of his most successfully collections. By the early1920’s Robert Frost became one of the most well-known poets in America. He continued to publish great throughout the remainder of his life time such as; In the Clearing, Steeple Bush, and New Hampshire. Robert Lee Frost died in Boston on January 29, 1963, of complications from prostate surgery. â€Å"Mending Wall is the opening poem of Frosts second volume, North of Boston. This poem like much of his work, invites a range of conventional interpretations; readers may be tempted to meet its homespun wisdom with moralizing humanist pieties, or to match its smug wit with equally condescending judgments about the two characters and their psychological portraits. (Dwokin) The term â€Å"two opposites attract† resonates with analyzing Mending Wall. The poem depicts â€Å"one who seizes the particular occasion of mending as fuel for the imagination and therefore as a release from the dull ritual of work each spring and one who is trapped by work and by the past as it comes down to him in the form of his fathers clichà ©.†(Lentricchia) This poem alludes to many themes such as family traditions, man and the natural world of even language and communications. All these themes are instrumental in understanding the central argument which is individuals with opposing outlooks on life can still build a defining relationship. Mending Wall is a poem about a wall made of stones that divides the narrator’s property from his neighbor’s. Every spring, the two neighbors meet up to inspect the wall and make any necessary repairs. The narrator do not understand why his neighbor insists that the wall stays up as he states, â€Å"He is all pine and I am apple orchard. My apple trees will never get across and eat the cones under his pines, I tell him.†(Frost 583) He believe there is no reason for the wall to be kept there as there are no cows to be contained, just apple and pine trees. He don’t believe in having a wall just for the sake of it. The neighbor through always reply with, â€Å"Good fences make good neighbors.†(Frost 583) The narrator remains unconvinced of this traditionally way of life and consistently presses the neighbor to not be so closed minded and look past the old-fashioned folly of such reasoning. The narrator sees the world much differently than his neighbors does as he expresses his distaste for the wall that separates their land. In the introduction to the poem, the narrator is examining the wall as he notices the gaps he begins question what made them. He do not believes this is the work of hunters who usually damages the wall after they remove the stones from to pass through. â€Å"Where they have left not one stone on a stone, but they would have the rabbit out of hiding, to please the yelping dog â€Å"As the narrator is looking at the wall he states, â€Å"Something there is that doesn’t love a wall,† (Frost 583) he believes the will corrupt is nature itself saying it dislikes the walls when it tries to break it down â€Å"as the frozen ground swells† (Frost 583) underneath it. He does not know why the gaps appear there but every spring they find them when they approach the wall to inspect. After a quick overview of the damage to the wall Frost a pproaches his neighbor as he does every year to make preparations for fixing the wall. â€Å"I let my neighbor know beyond the hill; and on the day we meet to walk the line and set the wall between us.†(Frost 583). This is very interesting in the sense that the Frost obviously shows little interest in keeping the wall up but agrees to help fix it every year. This interpretation presents a clear and concise understanding that the narrator was actually looking forward to the meeting and would like to maintain or even build on the relationship with his neighbor. This part of the poem introduces us to that neighbor. As the two individuals began to build the wall, Frost emphasizes the isolation between them as he states, â€Å"we keep the wall between us as we go.†(Frost 583) These reasoning for this can be contributed to the neighbors need for privacy and boundaries. As the two repair the wall, the narrator mocks the importance of this unnecessary work when he playfully su ggests that they use a spell to balance the stones on the wall since most of them are like â€Å"loaves and some so nearly balls†(Frost 583) which makes them difficult to stay in place. He later says, â€Å"Oh, just another kind of outdoor game, one on a side. It comes to little more.†(Frost 583) The neighbor however is committed to an end, the fences completion. His participation in the process of rebuilding is, for him, sheer work because he never really plays the outdoor game. (Lentricchia) This is the argument that the narrator brings to his neighbor. He tries to rationalize with his neighbor as he jokingly makes a statement, â€Å"He is all pine and I am apple orchard. My apple trees will never cross and eat the cones under his pine, I tell him.†(Frost 583) By saying this, the narrator expresses his lack of seriousness when it comes to building the wall and makes an effort to get his neighbors viewpoint on this activity. This shows that there is a form of r elationship or at least respect on the narrator’s part as he is attempting to understand the reasoning that his neighbor has for maintain this isolation between the two of them. The neighbor simply says, â€Å"Good fences make good neighbors.† The neighbor’s comments implies that there is some type of moral principle or tradition to keeping the wall intact. This line could be considered as the most important one in the poem as it the defining reason for the separation of the neighbors and also displays how different the two characters in the story are. This phrase has been used in many instances throughout society as certain metaphors for social of emotional walls. In this story however, it has a very simplistic meaning behind it which is to keeping your lives divided keeps things simple and easy. Otherwise, people can intrude upon one another and become too intrusive, leading to disagreements. In this aspect the two character differ greatly. He believes that th e walls does no good to them as it keeps nothing out. The narrators retort to this is, â€Å"Why do they make good neighbors? Isn’t it where there are cows? But here there are no cows? (Frost 583) He questions the reasoning behind putting the wall back up as he says â€Å"Before I built a wall I’d ask to know what I was walling in or walling out, and to whom I was like to give offense.†(Frost 583) He almost decided to allude to the notion that eve’s would be offended at the neighbors persistent rebuilding of the wall every year as a joke. â€Å"Something there that is that doesn’t love a wall, that wants it down. I could say Elves to, him.† (Frost 583) Instead, he decided not to, â€Å"But it’s not elves exactly, and I’d rather he said it for himself.†(Frost 583) In this instance, it seems that there is mutual respect between each individual. In conclusion, after analyzing this poem the narrator presents a bit of irony concerning his role in this story. He presents a feeling of insecurity about himself. For instance, he is trying to persuade his neighbor to stop rebuilding the wall but yet they meet annually to fix it regardless. It has become an accepted routine by both parties. If he really felt that the wall should not exist then he would have made this clear from the beginning and he would not wait until this annually mending of the wall became a routine. Frost highlights the human tendency to build barriers in some form whether they are emotional, legal or physical ones. Although the narrator does not see the benefit in repairing the wall, he continues to reappear each spring, which suggests he gains something from this experience. A fence is typically associated with separation and the establishment of boundaries but in this poem, it is a motive for two neighbors to work together to accomplish a common goal, buildin g a relationship in the process.

Vitamin C Content of Apple Juice :: essays research papers

Vitamin C Content of Apple Juice Introduction Complete lack of ascorbic acid (a.k.a Vitamin C) in the diets of humans and other primates leads to a classic nutritional disease, scurvy. This disease was widespread in Europe during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, but it is rare today. Ascorbic acid is widely distributed in nature, but it occurs in extremely high concentrations in citrus and green plants such as green peppers and spinach. Ascorbic acid can be synthesized by all plants and animals, with the exception of humans, other primates, and guinea pigs. Therefore, vitamin C must be present in our dietary substances.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The fundamental role of ascorbic acid in metabolic processes is not very well understood. There is some evidence that it may be involved in metabolic hydroxylation reactions of tyrosine, proline, and some steroid hormones, and in the cleavage-oxidation of homogentisic acid. Its function in these metabolic processes appears to be related to the ability of vitamin C to act as a reducing agent.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The adult Recommended Daily Allowance f vitamin C is 70 mg per day. Some scientists and physicians have suggested doses up to 1 to 3 grams per day in order to help resist the common cold. Deficiency of vitamin C results in swollen joint, abnormal development and maintenance of tissue structures, and eventually scurvy.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Determination of vitamin C in biological fluids such as bolld and urine is difficult because only small amounts of the vitamin are present and many interfering reducing agents are present. Substances containing sulfhydryl groups, sulfite, and thisosufate are common in biological fluids and react with DCIP, but much more slowly than ascorbic acid. The interference by sulfhydryl is often minimized by the addition of p-cholormercuribenzoic acid. Materials and Supplies Apple Juice Metaphosphoric acid/ Acetic acid solution 4% Unknown ascorbic acid in metaphosphoric acid/acetic acid solution, .5mg/ml 2,6 dicholorphenolindophenol solution in water Ascorbic acid oxidase, lyophilized water Experimental Procedure Standard Ascorbic Acid Solution Fill a microburet with DCIP solution. Using a pipet, transfer 1.0 ml of the ascorbic acid standard solution to a 50 ml Erlenmeyer flask containing 5 ml of 4% metaphosphoric acid solution. Read and record the initial reading on the buret. Titrate by rapid, dropwise addition of DCIP from the buret while mixing the contents of the flask. Add DCIP solution until a distinct rose-pink color persists for 15-20 seconds. Record the final reading on the buret. Repeat this procedure twice more, each time with a fresh 1.

Stomach Stapling: Surgical Treatment For Obesity Essay -- Research Med

Stomach Stapling: Surgical Treatment For Obesity In today's society there is an increasing number of obese people despite the growing concerns about leading a healthy lifestyle. There are numerous programs, diets, medications, etc. that have been developed to aid weight loss efforts and weight maintenance. One field that is being rapidly explored is methods of surgical treatment for obesity. This paper will explore these surgical methods. In doing so it is important to also discuss the definition and measurement of obesity, programs that have been established and claim to aid weight loss efforts, candidates for this type of treatment, medical research that has been conducted and the risks involved in this type of treatment for obesity. The purpose of this paper is to correctly inform the reader about the claims of surgical treatment and the risks that are actually involved. Obesity: Definition and Measurement The term obesity is quite difficult to define for the mere fact that humans are highly individualistic and vary in weight and height. Therefore, a standardized definition of obesity is not inclusive. One definition of obesity is "a clinical term for excess body weight generally applied to persons who are 20% or more above a desired weight for height" (Williams, 1992, p.221). Another way to define obesity is simply as an "excess accumulation of body fat" (Perri, Nezu and Viegener, 1992, p.23); however, this definition seems to be simplistic because it does not explicitly determine what the percentage overweight should be in order to define a person as obese. Because there is no standard body weight, overweight is often measured by body mass index (BMI). Body mass index is calculated as follows: BMI=weight(in k... ...H Consensus Statement 1991, March 25-27; 9(1):1-20. Mason, E.E., Doherty, C., Maher, J.W., Scott, D.H., Rodriguez, E.M. and Blommers, T.J. (1987). Super obesity and gastric reduction procedures. Gastroenterology Clinics of North America, 16, 495-502. Perri, Michael G., Nezu, A.M., and Viegener, B.J. (1992). Improving the Long Term Management of Obesity. New York: Wiley. Wadden, T.A. and VanItallie, T.B. (1992). Treatment of the Seriously Obese Patient. New York: Guilford Press. Williams, Sue R. (1992). Basic Nutrition and Diet Therapy. St. Louis: Mosby-Year Book, Inc. http://www.commpro.com/thin/obesity.html http://www.commpro.com/thin/surgery.html http://www.ivanhoe.com/docs/backissues/lapband.html http://www-surgery.med.ohio-state.edu/divisions/genr/obesity.htm http://text.nlm.nih...ww/84txt.

Concerns that Caused the Settlement of British North America :: American America History

Concerns that Caused the Settlement of British North America I believe that throughout the Colonial period, economic concerns had more to do with the settling of British North America than did religious reasons. First, according to my textbook, the British originally sponsored trips over to the New World only after other countries were profiting from their collections of goods and new trade ports. Maybe other countries in Europe had begun settling the New World for religious concerns, but definitely not Britain. The British government was more concerned with staying up with other countries in Europe in the economic race rather than trying to find religious havens for people who weren't with the majority when it came to religion, such as all the non-Anglicans. Second, proprietary organizations were into only the monetary value of North America. Organizations, such as the Virginia Company, were formed for the sole purpose of creating joint venture expeditions in hope of finding gold and silver. Yes, they may have been sympathetic towards those w ho had religious concerns, but may have only sponsored them for their own possible profit. Third, out of all the immigration to North America, the most came from slaves and indentured servants. This shows that more people came over to support the economy, rather than for religious tolerance. Slaves were then forced to accept new religions, which is opposite a reason to come over for religious concern in their original territory. They were accepted in their native land, but came over to a new one and were forced into a new religion. In conclusion, the settling of

Evaluation of Early Childhood Development

The early childhood stage of development is the time of physical, cognitive, social and emotional development. Infants enter the world with a limited range of knowledge, skills and abilities. A child beginning to develop new motor, cognitive, language and social skills is a source of wonder for parents and caregivers, but sometimes may not be so much of a wonder. The study of development is a rich and varied subject, because sometimes factors may influence a child’s development to take an atypical route.Developmental psychology seeks to understand and explain how people grow and change through the entire lifespan. Researchers study the enormous range of influences including how genetics shape a child's development as well as how experiences play a role. Because of this, it would be a good idea to devise a developmental policy to monitor development and hence provide the necessary support and treatment for children who are having certain difficulties in their developmental proc ess, thus minimizing the challenges of family caregiving.Under psychological basis and using prior knowledge of policies, leadership skills, legal strategies and organisational dynamics a programme can be devised to inform policymakers and government agencies as well as health-specific caregiver organizations, on legislation and policies that can assist family caregivers, including community based supports etc. Methods to measure the impact and effectiveness of the program implemented will be taken by conducting interviews with several persons and experiments will also be done.The programme will be called ‘The Children’s Basic Integration’ and will be a faction under the American Psychological Association (APA) that targets the development and of children between 3-5 years of age, of early childhood, referred to as the Initiative vs. Guilt stage by Erik Erikson. During this stage, children begin to acquire a desire to copy adults around them and thus take initiat ive in creating play situations during play time. At this stage, Erikson states that children become involved in an ‘Oedipal Struggle’ and resolve this struggle through social role identification.Children at this stage become frustrated and experience a feeling of guilt if they do not obtain something that they naturally desire, if they are abused or neglected or feel as though they have done something wrong. This stage was chosen because a lot of behavioural patterns can be detected and identified, it is a relatively early stage to install change if necessary and they can take part in dialogue in acquiring data for the evaluation.

With Reference to a Named Example

A disaster hotspot is an area with a vulnerable population at risk from 2 or more hazards. The Philippines are considered a disaster hot spot. The Philippines are exposed to more than 2 hazards, geophysical and hydro-meteorological such as earthquakes and tropical storms these hazards are more affective as he Philippines is known for having a vulnerable, poor, population meaning it has a lower capacity to cope.The Philippines are largely affected by geophysical hazards, mainly by tectonic hazards such as earthquakes and volcanoes, these hazards occur due to the Philippines geographical location, it is located between 2 destructive plate boundaries of the Eurasian plate and the Philippines plate which when submerging under one another create allot of friction which causes heat, this melts the submerging plate under the Philippine islands themselves which form volcanoes on the islands such as Mayon which prove to be quiet catastrophic when erupting.The friction created by the submergen ce of the plate can also be felt as an earthquake and as the plate boundaries are quiet close to the islands the earthquakes are generally more powerful like the Manila earthquake January 11, 1982 which was registered 6. 9 on the Richter scale. As the Philippines are also surrounded by sea and oceans tsunamis is a large possibility, when an earthquake under sea occurs the water above it gets shaken causing waves which get larger as they close in to the shores.This is a large threat to the Philippines as it is formed of 7 thousand islands most of them relatively close to the sea level meaning that they can get submerged by waves not that high, a 7. 9 magnitude earthquake hit the east cost of the Philippines on August 16th, 1976 12:11 A. M. , this created a tsunami devastating 700km of coastline bordering Moro Gulf in the North Celebes Sea this tragedy left 5,000 dead, 2,200 missing, 9,500 injuries and a total of 93,500 people left homeless.Hydro meteorological Hazards also affect the Philippines like Tropical storms, as the Philippines are located 5Â °-20Â ° above the equator which is considered as being the tropical storm belt so deadly tropical storms are quiet common, Washi 2011 was one of the world’s deadliest storms of 2011 which left 1,000 people dead and many more homeless. Droughts also are a major occurrence like the February 2010 drought caused by the El Nino oscillation, losing the country 2. 5 million metric tonnes of rice and corn where 800,000 hectares of rice and cornfields were already affected by other problems.This damage caused 33 million US dollars’ worth of damage which was predicted to ride to 400 million. The high vulnerability of the population gives the Philippines a very low capacity to cope. This is due to the high levels of poverty (26. 5% in 2009) this means that people cannot afford to prepare for hazards, like have storm proof/ earthquake proof infrastructures. High population density at the coastal regions, like t he capital Manila, means even more people are prone to flooding and tsunamis and also mudslides and also in higher concentrations so if a hazard does occur more people are affected at the same time.

Economics of Renewable Resources Essay

Answer any THREE questions. Do not attempt to answer more than three questions. The three questions that you answer will be given equal weight. 1.(a)  Consider now a newly planted stand of trees. What decision rule should be employed for determining the â€Å"optimal† investment in the trees – the optimal rotation – given that the stand of trees is being managed on a Single Rotation basis? Explain. (b) Now suppose that the stand was, instead, to be managed on a Multiple Rotation basis, rather than a Single Rotation basis. What impact would managing the stand on a Multiple Rotation, as opposed to a Single Rotation, basis have upon the optimal rotation period? Would it be correct to say that the opportunity to use the forest land over and over again for growing trees, under Multiple Rotation, would lead to the rotation period being longer than it would be under a Single Rotation basis? Explain fully. (c) It has been argued that forest policies in most Canadian provinces have as their long term goal fully regulated normal forests. Explain, with the aid of a simple example, what is meant by the term normal forest, as opposed to a single stand of trees. What relevance, if any, does the idea of a normal forest have to the concept of Maximum Sustained Yield as applied to forestry? Explain. 2.  The economics of renewable natural resources has, in all of its sub-branches, a common theoretical core. The core consists of the closely linked theory of capital and the theory of investment.  You have studied the economics of fishery management and foresty management. In what sense, if any, can fishery resources and forestry resources he regarded a capital assets from the point of view of society? With the aid of examples, discuss the opportunities, which society has to â€Å"invest† both positively and negatively, in such resources. What basic rules do the theories of capital and investment suggest that society should follow in making such investment decisions? In light of these rules, define what would an economist understand by the term â€Å"overexploitation† of a specific renewable resource. Under what circumstances would you expect â€Å"overexploitation† given set of renewable resources to be of a chronic problem? Explain. 3. (a)  The static economic model of the fishery studied by you, the Gordon-Schaefer model, predicts that optimal economic management of a fishery resource would always lead to the fishery resource being stabilized above the MSY level. The dynamic, capital theoretic, economic model, also studied by you, gives us no such assurance. On the contrary, the dynamic economic model predicts that optimal economic management of the fishery could easily lead to the fishery resource being stabilized below the MSY level. How can such an apparent contradiction be explained? Discuss. 1 (b) The static Gordon-Schaefer economic model of the fishery also predicts that,  under Pure Open Access, while there will be overexploitation of the fishery resource there will be no danger of the fishery resource being driven to extinction. Yet there are several examples from the real world of fishery resources being driven to at least near extinction. Recall the examples of Norwegian Spring Spawing Herring and the Bering Sea Donought Hole pollock resource. How can you explain the difference between the Gordon-Schaefer model prediction and what we observe in the real world? Discuss fully. 4.  Under the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, coastal states, such as Canada, have been given the right to establish 370km Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs). Due to the mobility of most capture fishery resources, most coastal states establishing EEZs find that some of the fishery resources in their EEZs cross the EEZ boundary into neighbouring EEZs, or into the adjacent high seas. The coastal states are thus faced with a â€Å"shared† fish stock management problem. Consider now two coastal states, A and B, that share a transboundary fish stock, which does not extend into the adjacent high seas. On what grounds can it be argued that, if A and B refuse to cooperate in managing the transboundary fish stock, both A and B will be driven to adopt fishery exploitation strategies that they will know to be harmful? Suppose that A and B agree to cooperate in the management of the transboundary fish stock. A and B are identical in every respect, except that A has a lower social rate of discount than does B. Could this difference in social rates of discount lead to A and B differing in terms of their management goals for the transboundary fish stock? If so, how? If A and B do have difference resource management goals, does the economic theory of shared fish stock management studied by you suggest that it will be impossible for A and B to establish a successful cooperative fisheries management arrangement? Explain. 5.  Limited Entry Type I fisheries management programs, involving limited entry  to the fishery combined with Olympics style TACs, have more often than not produced disappointing results. This has led to the adoption of Limited Entry Type II programs in which TACs and limited entry to the fishery are combined with harvesting rights schemes, the most common of which in Canada consists of ITQs. Discuss the nature of ITQ schemes, such as those found in B.C., and in so doing explain why economists prefer ITQ schemes in which the individual quotas are: (i) long term (in fact, if not in law); (ii) expressed as percentages of the TAC, as well as being transferable. Would it be correct to say that ITQ schemes are feasible only in single species fisheries, or can they be used in multiple species fisheries as well? Explain. Everyone agrees that there are some fisheries, particularly in developing fishing states, where it is not feasible to implement ITQ schemes. Do alternative harvesting rights schemes exist that might be used in such fisheries? If so, describe briefly one such alternative harvesting rights scheme.

Conflict Resolution in Public Sector

CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION 1. 1Background to the Study Conflict is inevitable in organizations because, they function by means of adjustment and compromises among competitive elements in their structure and membership. Conflict also arises when there is change because, it may be seen as a threat to be challenged or resisted, or when there is frustration, this may produce an aggressive reaction, fight rather than flight. Conflict is not to be deplored, it is an inevitable result of progress and change and it can be used constructively. Conflict between individuals raises fewer problems than conflict between groups. Individuals cannot act independently and resolve their differences; members of group may have to accept the norms, goals and values of their group. The individual’s loyalty will usually be to his or her own group if it is in conflict with others. When the climate of the organization is not conducive to the needs of the personnel, conflict can result. In the past this conflict was regarded as inherently bad. Managers believed it was generated by trouble makers trying to disrupt the organization. Today, this stereotype view is no longer accepted. Conflict is currently regarded as inevitable and, if properly managed, a source of increased organizational effectiveness. The federal civil service commission is an organization of individuals and groups pursuing various goals. The federal civil service commission is established under section 153 (ii) of the 199 constitution of the federal republic of Nigeria. Specifically, part I (d), paragraph II of the third schedule to the constitution vests the commission with power to: (i)Appoint and promote persons to offices in the federal civil service, and. ii)Dismiss and exercise disciplinary control over persons holding such offices†. More so, in discharge of the above functions, the commission works in close operation with the ministries, departments and agencies (MDA’s) of the federal government. In area of recruitment and appointment, the commission relies on the MDA to provide it with vacancy positions and make a formal request that the commission should fill the vacancies. The MDA’s stipulate what should be the requisite qualifications for particular positions if they are not provided for by the scheme of service. The commission also invites experts from MDA’s, making a request for recruitment to participate in the interview as resource persons. MDA’s can also reject any particular selected candidate(s) if they convince the commission that he or she does not have the requisite qualifications. Promotion exercise is carried out only on the basis of vacancies provided by the MDA’s and all candidates for promotion must be recommended by the MDA’s. Resource persons from the MDA’s participate in the conduct of promotion examinations. The commission can dismiss and exercise disciplinary control only on the recommendation of the MDA’s. Section 170 of the 1999 constitution of the federal republic of Nigeria empowers the commission to delegate any of its functions as it deems fit. The commission has therefore delegated the following functions to federal ministries and extra – ministerial departments in order to speed up action on appointment, promotion and disciplinary control of officers in salary grade levels 03-06. However, the disciplinary control of officers on salary grade levels 07-13 after being considered by the senior staff committees (SSC) in the ministries. In order to monitor the effective utilization of the delegated powers, participation of commissioners from the commission in the meetings of SSCs is mandatory. Indeed, without the participation of members of the commission, decisions reached at such meetings would be null and void. Moreover, returns on all appointments, promotions and disciplinary cases considered in the meetings should be rendered to the commission within two weeks of concluding such matters. In this research conflicts that arises as a result of the discharge of the federal civil service functions and duties and how they are managed will be discussed. Conflict is a natural and inevitable outcome of the close interaction of people who may have diverse opinions and values, pursue different objectives and have differential access to information and resources within the organization. Individuals and groups will use power and political activity to handle their differences and manage conflict. Too much conflict can be harmful to an organization. However conflict can also be a positive force because it challenges the status quo, encourages new ideas and approaches and leads to change. Some degree of conflict occurs in all human relationships, between friends, romantic partners and team mates as well as between parents and children, teachers and students and bosses and employees. Conflict is not necessarily a negative force, it results from normal interaction of varying human interests and the goals they wish to achieve through the organization. In any organization that encourages a democratic push and pull of ideas, the forces of conflict, power and politics may be particularly evident. Managers in all organizations regularly deal with conflict and struggle with decisions about how to get the most out of employees, enhance Job satisfaction and team identification and realize high organizational performance. Conflict between individuals and groups is a universal phenomenon. A better understanding of the important areas of conflict will help managers to use the people in the organization more effectively to reach organizational objectives. Failure to be concerned about conflict is very costly since ignoring it will almost guarantee that work and interpersonal relations will deteriorate. If this occurs, employees will have little motivation to work together and organizational effectiveness will suffer. 1. 2Statement of the Problem Each organization has an objective to achieve and the ability to achieve this objective depends on how integrated the personnel are in the pursuit of this objectives. The civil services of the federation objectives include the following:- i)Appointment of qualified candidates including promotion to man the different ministries/extra–ministerial departments in the federal civil service. i) Recommendations to government on personnel policies aimed at improving the effectiveness and efficiency of the federal civil service and, iii)Ensuring that personnel decisions including discipline are taken objectively, promptly and competently and that such decisions reflect the stated policies and interest of the government. The question to be investigated in the study proposed here will be, does conflict due to the lack of integration of the offi cer’s result to ineffective achievement of the objectives of the federal civil service commission? The question will be investigated using data already in existence with the addition of data that has accumulated since earlier studies were done and also data gathered during the research will be used. 1. 3Objective of the Study Effectiveness and efficiency can only be achieved in an organization when the various departments that exist in the organization work co-operatively. It is also one thing to argue that conflict can be valuable for an organization. However, this research work aims at finding out the positive and negative effects of conflict, what happens to an organization without conflict, it will also seek to explain the types of conflict that exist, their sources and how conflict can be managed, that is, how it is controlled, resolved and how it can be stimulated. Also the need for integration as a means for effectiveness and efficiency will be determined. 1. 4Significance of the Study We have come a long way since the days when conflict was believed to be universally destructive. Unfortunately, With the exception of some lip services given in recent years to the value of conflict in organizations, both practicing managers and management scholars continue to treat conflict management and conflict resolution as synonymous. There are some positive consequences to be gained from conflict, but also that organizations require functional conflict if they are to survive. There will be situations in which conflict levels are too low and as a result, the other side of the conflict management coin; conflict stimulation should not be ignored. Excessive levels of conflict can, and do hinder organizational effectiveness. Conflict should not be completely written off like in the traditional era, but should be encouraged as it helps to bring out efficiency and effectiveness if properly managed. Mary parker Follet herself said that there is no good or bad conflict, but conflict provides opportunities for good or bad result. 1. 5Research Questions At the end of the study, the following questions shall be answered 1. What are the types of conflict that exists in an organization? 2. What are the sources of the conflict? 3. What are the Strategies for managing conflict? 4. What are the values of conflicts? 5. What are the transitions in conflict thought? 6. How can conflict be stimulated and why? 7. How can conflict be controlled and resolved? 8. What are the positive and negative effects of conflicts? 1. 6Research Hypotheses 1. H0: Lack of integration between groups does not result to conflict in an organization H1: lack of integration between groups results to conflict in the organization 2. H0: Conflict if properly managed does not improve organizational performance. H1: Conflict if properly managed improves organizational performance 1. 7Scope and Limitations of the Study The scope of the study covers the departments including the offices of the commissioners of the various states in the federal civil service commission. The scope also covers the relationship between the groups, how integrated they are with one another in other to achieve organizational goals and objectives and how the conflicts that arise as a result of their relationship are managed. However, the limitations encountered during the course of this research are as a result of the limited time frame available in acquiring information. Being the Federal Civil Service Commission there are a lot of Bureaucratic bottlenecks, getting required information took a lot of time, the letter of introduction which was addressed to the chairman took about a month, of which I had to rewrite another letter before getting any response. As a result for the duration of time I went to the organization once every week till I got the information I needed. Most officers were unwilling to give information concerning conflict in the organization, some even refused to admit that conflict existed in the organization; some thought that conflict implies physical combats instead of interference by a person or group on another. Only a few of them seemed to know what conflict is really about. There is also the high cost of printing and photocopying of materials required for the study. 1. 8Definition of Terms Conflict: This is the behaviour by a person or group which is purposely designed to inhibit the attainment of goals by another person or group. Competition: Competition takes place when individuals or groups have incompatible goals but do not interfere with each other as they both try to attain their respective goals. Organization: A group of people who form a business club or work together in other to achieve a particular aim. Strategy: A plan that is intended to achieve a particular purpose. Management: Is the process of combining and utilizing, or of allocating organizations input (men, material and money) by planning, organizing, directing and controlling for the purpose of producing outputs (goods and services desired by customers so that the organizations objectives are accomplished). Value: Value is how much something is worth in money or other goods for which it can be exchanged or how much something is worth compared with its price. Structure: The way in which the parts of something are connected together, arranged or organized, a particular arrangement of parts, something that is made of several parts. Traditional: Being part of the beliefs customs or way of life of a particular group of people that have not changed for a long time. Intra-Individual Conflict: This refers to conflict within an individual about which work activities to perform. Inter-Individual Conflict: This refers to conflict between two individuals. Inter-Group Conflict: This is conflict between departments in a single firm as well as conflict between different firms. Conflict Management: Are techniques for controlling conflicting which either is to stimulate conflict or to resolve it. Conflict Stimulation: This enables groups or individuals in an organization who are too set in their ways or too willing to accept unquestioningly the view of a powerful individual. Conflict Resolution: These are techniques that are used in conflict situations. Smoothing: This is a conflict resolution technique which involves considerable use of tact by the party doing the smoothing. Playing down of differences between individuals and groups while, emphasizing their common interests. Consensus: Consensus requires the conflicting party to work together to find the best solution to their problem, an opinion that all members must agree. Confrontation: This technique requires the opposing parties to openly state their views to each other. A situation where there is an angry disagreement between people or groups who have different opinions. Integration: This technique requires the conflicting parties to collaborate in order to resolve the conflict. It requires both parties to have the attitude that, although they may be in conflict they will strive to develop collaboratively a solution that satisfies the needs of both parties. CHAPTER TWO REVIEW OF LITERATURE AND THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK 2. 1Definition of Conflict Organizational conflict is inevitable because of the regular and continuing human interactions that must occur. It can be defined as all types of opposition or antagonistic interaction. It is based on scarcity of power, resources or social position, and differing value structures. Conflict occurs, between managers and subordinates, between labour and management, between work groups, and between the organization and its external environment. Many of the traditional management writers, both classicists and neoclassicists, treated the existence of conflict as an indication of a problem, a disturbance that interfered with the smooth operation of the organization. Current management writers and practicing managers are careful not to assume that all conflict is bad instead, conflict is viewed as a phenomenon that arises in every organization to a certain extent, and in some organizations it is a positive indicator of highly motivated, highly committed organization members. Conflict can be a highly constructive force, particularly in highly differentiated organizations which utilize a considerable amount of horizontal integration. The challenge to modern management is not to avoid conflict or suppress it; instead, managers must find ways to channel the energy that conflict represents into activities with positive payoffs for the organization and to keep it within acceptable limits. Conflicts need to be resolved constructively, not hidden from view. According to Boone and Kortz (1987) conflict is opposition interaction resulting from scarcity of power, resources or social position, and different value structures on the part of the individuals or groups. DuBose (1988) sees conflict as any kind of opposition or antagonistic interaction between two or more parties; it can be conceptualized as existing along continuous range. At one extreme, there is no conflict. At the other extreme is conflicts highest state, described behaviourally as the act of destroying or annihilating the opposing party. All intensities of interpersonal, intra group and inter group conflicts would fall somewhere along this continuum. Inherent in this definition is the requirement that conflict must be perceived by the involved parties. In other words, if there is opposition but the parties fail to perceive it; then it does not exist. Similarly, if a conflict is perceived, it exists whether or not that perception is accurate. Griffin (2002) also sees conflict as a disagreement between two or more individuals, groups, or organizations. This disagreement may be relatively superficial or very strong. It may be short-lived or it can exist for months even years, and it may be work-related or personal. Conflict according to Mullins (2007) is seen as behaviour intended to obstruct the achievement of some other person’s goals. Conflict is based on the incompatibility of goals and arises from opposing behaviours. It can be viewed at the individual, group or organization level. Management establishes boundaries that distinguish acceptable and non acceptable behaviour from employees. The actions of employees are then judged as falling on one side or the other of these boundaries. According to Gray and Starke (1980) conflict is behaviour by a person or group which is purposely designed to inhibit the attainment of goals by another person or group. This purposeful inhibition may be active or passive. For example, in a sequential production line, if one group does not do its job and its output is the input for another department, the other department will be blocked from reaching its goals of say, producing at standard. Alternatively, the blocking behaviour may be active, as in the case of two fighters trying to knock each other out. The key issue in defining conflict is that of incompatible goals. When one person or group deliberately interferes with another person or group with the purpose of denying the other group goal achievement, conflict exists. Conflict and Competition Conflict is similar to competition but more severe competition means rivalry among groups in the pursuit of a common prize, while conflict presumes direct interference with goal achievement. The terms of conflict and competition are often mistakenly used interchangeably. Perhaps the most widely accepted view at present is that competition takes place when individuals or groups have incompatible goals but do not interfere with each other as they both try to attain their respective goals. Conflict on the hand occurs when individuals or groups have incompatible goals and they interfere with each other as they try to attain their respective goals. These definitions suggests that the key behavioural difference in conflict and competition analogous to the behavioural differences evident in a race and a fight. In the former, the goals are incompatible (only one runner can win), but the runners do not interfere with one another. In the later the goals are also incompatible (only one fighter can win), but interference is an obvious part of the conflict. Using these two definitions allows us to clearly categorize many of the familiar activities in our society. One of the things that become apparent immediately is that certain activities which are typically viewed as homogenous must be further broken down. For example, certain sports (boxing, tennis, football, hockey etc) are characterized by obvious blocking behaviour at the resource attainment level. The general public usually refers to what businesses do to each other in the market place as competition, this is an over simplification. At one extreme, business firms vigorously block one another’s attempt to achieve goals and this is conflict. For example, in an industry where consumer demand is low and industry production capacity is high conflict is almost certain to result as each firm attempts to reach its goals at the expense of the other firms. Blocking activity in these cases, often takes place at the activity level. A different situation exists in industries where government’s contracts are the rule. Here, competition is more likely. Each firm submits bids and strives to reach its goal of getting the contract. Blocking behaviour is not evident even though there can be only one winner and the goals of the firm are incompatible. 2. 2Nature of Conflict Conflict may manifest itself in various ways. People may compete with one another, glare at one another, shout, or withdraw. Groups may band together to protect popular members or oust unpopular members. Organizations may seek legal remedy. Working with diversity discusses how casual dress policies are creating conflict in some organizations. Most people assume that conflict is something to be avoided because it connotes antagonism, hostility, unpleasantness, and dissension. Indeed, managers and management theorists have traditionally viewed conflict as a problem to be avoided. In recent years however, we have come to recognize that, although conflict can be a major problem, certain kinds of conflict may also be beneficial. For instance, when two members of a site selection committee disagree over the best location for a new plant, each may be forceD to study and defend his or her preferred alternative more thoroughly. As a result of more systematic analysis and discussion the committee may make a better decision and be better prepared to justify it to others than if every one had agreed from the outset and accepted an alternative that was perhaps not well analyzed. As long as conflict is being handled in a cordial and constructive manner, it is probably serving a useful purpose in the organization. On the other hand, when working relationships are being disrupted and the conflict has reached destructive levels, it has likely become dysfunctional and needs to be addressed. According to Mullins (2007) conflict is not necessarily a bad thing however, it can be seen as a constructive force and in certain circumstances it can be welcomed or even encouraged. For example, it can be seen as an aid to incremental improvement in organization design and functioning and to the decision making process. Conflict can be an agent for evolution, and for internal and external change. Properly identified and handled, it can help to minimize the destructive influences of the win–lose situation. From a survey of practicing managers who reported that they spend approximately 20 percent of their time dealing with conflict situations a number of both positive and negative outcomes of conflict were recorded positive outcomes include. a. Better ideas produced b. People forced to search for new approaches. c. Long-standing problems brought to the surface and resolved. d. Stimulation of interest and creativity. e. A chance for people to test their capacities Negative outcomes include: a. Some people felt defeated and demeaned b. The distance between people increased c. A climate of mistrust and suspicion developed d. Resistance developed rather than team work e. An increase in employee turnover. According to Gray and Starke (1980) the positive outcome of conflict an as follows: a. The energy level of groups or individuals increase with conflict. This increased energy level can be seen when people talk louder, listen more closely to what is being said, or work harder. Two of the benefits organizations get from increased energy levels are increased output and innovative ideas for doing the work better. . Group cohesion increases. Research has shown that, when groups are engaged in a conflict, their internal cohesion increases. The other group is seen as the â€Å"enemy† and group resources are mobilized to meet the threat from the â€Å"outside†. To do this, disagreements within the group must be suppressed and all energies diverted towards the enemy. Thi s process can be seen in the mid-east; Arab nations have trouble getting along with one another except when a common threat (Israel) dominates their relationship. The reason that increased cohesion is considered a positive outcome of conflict is that highly cohesive groups can have high productivity, particularly if they support management goals. c. Problems are made known during conflict when conflict develops management can readily see that something is amiss and can embark in a program to resolve the conflict. If two groups are in disagreement about something but never make it known, they may work at a reduced level of effectiveness without management being able to determine why. This is particularly likely to happen if the problem between the groups is caused by some system of work that management has set up. Group members may be reluctant to criticize management about the system, and the conflict will not be made known. Negative outcomes d. A decline in communication between the conflicting parties,when individuals or groups are upset with each other, a common development is that they stop speaking. As we have seen, this is very dysfunctional because conflict is often worsened when there is little information passing between the conflicting parties. e. Hostility and aggression develop it is a typical human reaction to feel hostility toward someone who is blocking our attempts to reach a goal. Aggression (either physical or verbal) is also a common behaviour associated with hostility. While this may satisfy the person’s urges to attack the person doing the blocking, from the organizations point of view it is undesirable because it channels behaviour into non productive area. For example if two groups are in conflict about something they may spend much of the work day devising schemes to block the other group’s goal attainment. Obviously a point is reached where the work of each group does not get done. f. Over conformity to group demands. We noted above that conflict could cause groups to become cohesive and this might result in higher productivity. We must also recognize that members of a group faced with an outside threat may over conform to the group demands. This involves blind acceptance of the leaders’ interpretation of the opposing group and no thinking about solutions by anyone in the group. This prolongs the conflict and makes it more intense. As time passes, the group is unable to view its opposition with any objectivity and perceptions become very distorted. Either too much or too little conflict can be dysfunctional for an organization. In either case performance maybe low. However, an optimal level of conflict that sparks motivation, creativity, innovation and initiation can result in higher levels of performance. If there is absolutely no conflict in the group or organization, its members may become complacent and apathetic. As a result group or organizational performance and innovation may begin to suffer. A moderate level of conflict among groups or organizational members, on the other hand, can spark motivation, creativity, innovation and initiation and raise performance. Too much conflict though, can produce undesirable results such as hostility and lack of cooperation, which lowers performance. The key for managers is to find and maintain the optimal amount of conflict that fosters performance. Of course, what constitutes optimal conflict varies with both situation and the people involved. 2. 3Types of Conflicts The first step in learning to deal with organizational conflict is the recognition that all conflicts are not alike; they spring from different sources and must be resolved in different ways. The major categories of organizational conflict are; intrapersonal conflict, interpersonal conflict, person group conflict and inter group conflict. Intra personal conflict occurs within the individual that is a single member of the organization and comes primarily from two sources: role conflict and job stress. Role conflict is the simultaneous occurrence of two (or more) role sending such that compliance with one would make more difficult compliance with the other. For instance a person’s superior may make it clear to him that he is expected to hold his subordinates strictly to company rules. At the same time, his subordinates may indicate in various ways that they would like loose, relaxed supervision, and that they will make things difficult if they are pushed too hard. Such cases are so common that a whole literature has been created on the problem of the first line supervision as the â€Å"man in the middle†. In addition, role conflict may occur as the result of different roles an individual has to play. For instance, the role of parent and the role of employee may come into conflict when the employee’s child becomes sick. The wide spread presence of two wage-earner households and societal changes affecting values with respect to work have resulted in individuals being called upon to play a greater number of diverse roles. The result is increased frequency of this type of role conflict. The second primary source of intra personal conflict in modern organization is job stress. As the pace of change quickens in organizations and throughout society, workers may come to feel lost, unsure of what is expected of them, and unsure of their abilities to cope with what they perceive as ever– mounting pressure. While some stress may even be a positive factor in motivating individuals and in fueling innovation, chronic over stress leads to short-tempered, uncooperative defensive employees who may even indulge in such self destructive activities as alcoholism and drug abuse, the cost of such response to stress maybe the individual’s family. Job stress also results when the individual, on an on going basis, is unable to meet his or her own expectations, either in terms of performance (for example, the social worker who wishes to help people but feels unable to do so because of the nature of the system) or in terms of the nature of the work (for example, the assembling line worker who is bored by the repetitious nature of the job and feels that his skills and abilities are not being utilized). Intrapersonal conflict is a subject of increasing concern to organizations due to its damaging impact in Job performance, absenteeism and turnover. Employee counseling centers, company-sponsored stress management seminars, and management by objectives programs are just some of the methods currently being used to combat this problem. Interpersonal conflict is conflict occurring between two or more organizational members as a result of such factors as differences in managerial philosophies, values and problem-solving styles or competition for power or promotion. Traditionally this type of conflict was attributed to personality differences†. However, it can result from several factors. . Differences in values. For instance, one manager might place a great emphasis in task accomplishment to the exclusion of all else, while another might stress the need to maintain good employee relations even if performance of the immediate task is slightly affected. b. Differences in problem-Solving styles. One person may prefer to work in groups, for example, while another prefers to work alone. c. Differences in managerial philosophies. One manage may favour decentralization of decision making while another favours centralization. In addition, interpersonal conflict can occur due to competition between individuals, for power, for promotion, or for other organizational rewards. Because interpersonal conflict interferes with effective communication, and thus problem solving, it is a cause of considerable concern for modern organization. Organization development and communication training are frequently used methods of modifying interpersonal conflicts and channeling them into more constructive paths. a. Person-group conflict. This is conflict resulting from individual opposition to group norms or rules of behaviour that govern group membership. The classic example of this phenomenon is the â€Å"rate breaker† who consistently performs at a level well above that of other group due to fear that higher performance standards will be established based on the performance of the rate breaker. A more recent example is the treatment sometimes afforded the â€Å"Whistle blower†, the individual who brings to the attention of management or the general public instances of waste, fraud or corruption. Such individual may be ostracized and subject to harassment by other members of the group. On the other hand, person-group conflict can sometimes play a positive role within organizations. When an individual places his or her own needs for recognition or power ahead of the needs of the group to accomplish it’s task, group pressure can exert a powerful influence to bring the individual back into line with over all group norms. Intergroup conflict- This type of conflict occurs between departments or work groups and typically revolves around issue of authority, jurisdiction, control of work flow, or access to scarce organizational resources. It arises directly from the need for differentiation in an organization. To deal with complexity, we resort to specialization and specialists’ people with diverse cognitive and emotional orientations in the various functional areas. Such people frequently experience difficulty in communicating and cooperating. Yet, for an organization to act as a unit there must be integration or collaboration among the various departments. Thus, management frequently faces a problem. Long-run performance requires substantial integration, but efforts to generate collaboration often produce short-run conflict. Intergroup conflict arises from two sources: systems conflict and bargaining conflict. Systems conflict come about because of the divergence in objectives between work groups. For example, the marketing department may feel that rapid order processing is more important than quality control since replacing a defective unit is likely to produce less customer dissatisfaction than waiting on an unfilled order. The production department, on the other hand, may feel that its reputation depends on the continued high quality of its products and this belief may be supported by the incentive system used to govern rewards for production department personnel. Strategies for resolving system conflicts include rotation of department members among work units to improve understanding and empathy with the problems of other departments, charges in formal incentive systems to reflect overall organizational objectives related to the issue, and the use of horizontal integrative mechanisms such as task forces. Bargaining conflicts occurs when groups compete for scarce organizational resources or for power and influence within the system. An excellent recent example of such conflicts involved government attempts to reduce budget deficits by reducing expenditures. Interest groups both inside and outside government have attempted to influence this process to ensure that their programs are not cut. When viewed from the organizational level, conflict can often be categorized into two groups: Institutionalized and emergent. Each presents problem. Institutionalized conflict often results from organizational attempts to structure work assignments. This is clearly seen in the case of departmentalization, in which organizations group their personnel into major departments such as finance, marketing and production. Once assigned to such a bailiwick, it is common to find the personnel becoming highly concerned with the needs of their own particular department and relatively unconcerned with those of the others. Budget time finds everyone fighting for increased departmental allocations. Since this is a win lose situation, those who get percentage increases achieve them only at the expense of the other departments. Such a conflict situation, however, is often inevitable, since many people feel greater loyalty to their department in particular than to their organization in general. A similar type of institutionalized conflict emerges from the organization’s creation of a hierarchy. Low level managers have short-run problems related to work schedules and quotas. Top managers have long-run concerns related to the future course of the total organization. Each hierarchical level tends to be in some degree of conflict with the one above. Similarly, line and staff personnel are often at loggerheads. The former is responsible for making action decisions, the latter provides support help. Line-staff conflict is often brought about by the following attitudes and philosophies. Line officers are highly action-oriented; staff officers are concerned with studying a problem in depth before making recommendation. Line officers are highly intuitive in contrast to being analytical; staff officers are highly analytical, in contrast to being intuitive. Line officers are often short sighted, staff officers are often long-range orientated. Line officers often ask the wrong kinds of questions staff officers have answers and therefore spend their time looking for questions. Line officers wants simple easy-to-use solutions, staff officers complicate situations by providing esoteric data. Line officers are accustomed to examining some of the available alternatives and choosing one of them, staff officers are interested in examining all of the possible alternative, weighing them, analyzing them and then choosing the â€Å"best† one regardless of time or cost restraints. Line officers are highly protective of the organization, staff are highly critical of the organization. Each of these institutionalized conflicts is caused by the creation of a formal organization. Management cannot sidestep them; they are inherently in a hierarchical structure. All the organization can do is to try to manage them properly. Emergent conflict arises from personnel and social causes one of the most common is formal-informal organizational conflict. When the goals of these two groups are incompatible, problems can result. The objectives of the formal organization may call for more output than the members of informal organization are willing to give. A second form of emergent conflict arises from status incongruencies. Some people in the organization may feel that they know a great deal more than their supervisors about how to improve efficiency. However, status is often accorded on the basis of rank. Additionally, line managers often suffer status incongruency when staff advisers have the boss’s ear and can convince the latter to implement their recommendations. In such cases the line personnel are reduced to being order –takers, while the staff people call the shorts. Additionally, if personnel are highly trained or well educated and the organization assigns them a job requiring minimum ability, they often feel the work is below them and suffer status conflict. So, too do personnel who are promoted to higher positions but not given the symbols that accompany the office. For example, a person who is promoted into the top-management ranks but not given a private office and a secretary like the other top managers may well have status problem. These emergent conflict situations are personal and social in nature in that they involve individual and group norms. Whether or not there is a conflict depends upon how the people view the situation. An informal organization that feels management’s work quotas are too low may not have any problem accepting an increase in them. Likewise, a manager who is obvious to status symbols may not feel status inconsistency if the organization fails to provide a private office and a secretary. In most situations, however, this is not the case. 2. 4Sources of Conflict There are numerous sources of conflict within formal organization. Much has been written about the implications of conflict as a social process. The important point is not so much whether competing sub-groups and conflict are seen as inevitable consequences of organization structure, but how conflict, when found to exist, is handled and managed. The following are the sources of conflict according to Mullins (2007). Difference in perception- We all see things in different ways. We all have our own, unique picture or image of how we see the real world. Differences in perception result in different people attaching different meanings to the same stimuli. As perceptions became a person’s reality, value judgments can be a potential major source of conflict. Limited resources- Most organization resources are limited and individuals and groups have to fight for their share, for example at the time of the llocation of the next year’s budget or when cutbacks have to be made, the greater the limitation of resources, then usually the greater the potential for conflict. In an organization with reducing profits or revenue the potential for conflict is likely to be intensified. Departmentalization and specialization- Most work organizations are divided into departments with specialized functions. Because of familiarity with the manner in which they undertake their activities, managers tend to turn inwards and to concentrate on the achievement of their own particular goals. When departments need to co-operate, this is a frequent source of conflict. Differing goals and internal environments of departments are also a potential source of conflict. In Woodward’s study of management organization of firms in the country she comments on the bad relationships between accountants and other managers. One reason for this hostility was the beginning of two quite separate financial functions. People concerned with works accounting tended to assume responsibility for end results that was not properly theirs; they saw their role as a controlling and sanctioning one rather than a serving and supportive one. Line managers resented this attitude and retaliated by becoming aggressive and obstructive. The nature of work activities -Where the task of one person is dependent upon the work of others there is potential for conflict. For instance, if a worker is expected to complete the assembly of a given number of components in a week but the person forwarding the part assembled component does not supply a sufficient number on time. If reward and punishment systems are perceived to be based on keeping up with performance levels, then the potential for conflict is even greater. If the work of a department is dependent upon the output of another department, a similar situation could arise, especially if this situation is coupled with limited resources for example, where the activities of a department, whose budget reduced below what is believed necessary to run, the department efficiently, are interdependent with those of another department, which appears to have received a more generous budget allocation. Role conflict- A role is the expected pattern of behaviour associated with the members occupying a particular position within the structure of the organization. In practice, the manner in which people actually behave may not be consistent with their expected pattern of behaviour. Problems of role incompatibility and role ambiguity arise from inadequate or inappropriate role definition and can be a significant source of conflict. Inequitable treatment- A person’s perception of unjust treatment such as in the operation of personnel policies and practices, or in reward and punishment systems can lead to tension and conflict. For instance, according to the equity theory of motivation the perception of inequality will motivate a person to take action to restore equity including change to inputs or outputs. Violation of territory- People tends to become attached to their own territory within work organizations, for example to their own area of work, or kinds of clients to be dealt with, or to their own room, chair or parking space. Jealously may arise over other people’s territory for instance, size of room company car, allocation of an assistant or other perks, through access to information or through membership of groups. A stranger walking into a place of work can create an immediate feeling of suspicion or even resentment because people do not usually like, ‘their’ territory entered by someone they do not know and whose motives are probably unclear to them. Ownership of territory may be conferred formally for example by organization charts, job descriptions or management decisions. It may be established through procedures for instance circulation lists or membership of committees. Or it may arise informally, for example, through group norms, tradition or perceived status symbols. The place where people choose to meet can have a possible, significant symbolic value. For instance if a subordinate is summoned to a meeting in a manager’s office this might be taken that the manager is signaling higher status. If the manager chooses to meet at the subordinates place of work, or on neutral territory, this may be a signal that the manager wishes to meet the subordinate as an equal. If a person’s territory is violated this can lead to the possibility of retaliation and conflict. Environment change- Change in an organization’s external environment such as shifts in demand, increased competition, government intervention, new technology or changing social values, can cause major areas of conflict. For instance a fall in demand for, or government financial restrictions, on, enrolments for a certain discipline in higher education can result in conflict for the allocation of resources. If the department concerned is a large and important one and led by a powerful head, there could be even greater potential for conflict. There are other sources of organizational conflicts, including; Individual; Such as attitudes, personality characteristics or particular personal need, illness or stress. Group, Such as group skills, the informal organization and group norms. An Organization; such as communications, authority structure, leadership style, managerial behaviour. The age gap-relationships between older employees and younger managers, where experience is on one side and power on the other, can lead to conflict. According to Gray and Starke (1980) sources of conflict are as follows. Limited Resource Perhaps the most fundamental fact of organizational life is that resources are finite. Even the most successful companies have found that they are limited in what they can accomplish. With this realization groups and individuals see that there will be times when they will have to fight for what they want. The most obvious manifestation of this problem comes when the annual budget is set. Each department typically submits a request for its needs during the next fiscal year, and top management adjusts the request based on its knowledge of the total organization. Department heads often see their requests cut back because the resources for the total organization are limited. When cutbacks occur, however, the potential for conflict increases because the heads of various departments begin making value judgments about why management decided to cut back one department but not another. As a general rule the greater the scarcity of resources, the greater the potential for conflict. Interdependent work activities Added to the basic problem of finite resources is the problem of organizational units having to work together. It is bad enough to get less than you wanted for your department because of some other department, but then to have to work with other departments may be more than some managers can take. Suppose you are the head of department A, and in the yearly budget just approved by top management, you received considerably less money for operations than you thought was minimally necessary to run your department. Suppose also that you see that department B got most of what it asked for. If the work activities of your department are interdependent with those of department B, you might well consider purposely slowing down your departments work in attempt to convince top management that they made a mistake in their allocation of funds. This is a particularly salient cause of conflict because there is so much interdependence of work activities in organizations. On a grander scale, inter organizational conflict is often caused because the activities of many separate organizations must be coordinated. In May, 1979, California motorists found themselves in long lines waiting for gasoline. The oil companies, the oil producers, consumer groups, and the government spent considerable time arguing about who was to blame. The problem was most likely caused by the tight interdependence of work activities needed to get oil from wellhead to the consumer. Any purposeful disruption by one of the organizations in the system (e. g. Iranian government’s decision to reduce output) would cause conflict among the other parties in the system. As a general rule the more interdependent the work activities, the greater the potential for conflict. It is important for management to know the nature of work interdependence so system of work can be implemented that will reduce the potentials for dysfunctional conflict. Differentiation of activities We noted above that interdependence of work activities is an important source of conflict in organizations. Backing up a step furthermore, we can see that the mere existence of groups doing different functions created the potential for conflict. As groups become familiar with how they perform their jobs, they may turn inward and become uninterested in, (A) how their work fits in with other groups (B) the importance of other groups work. As a result, when difficult issues between the groups must be dealt with, each group behaves in a way that increases potential for harmful conflict. This differentiation in work activities leads to differentiation in goals. Production goals may be to have long production runs with few changes in product style because this allows the production facilities to operate at peak efficiency. Marketing’s goal, on the other hand maybe to give customers what they want when they want it. This means rush orders, special orders, and other demands that directly conflict with production goals. Communication problems Both the interdependence and differentiation of work activities demand that communication between individuals and groups be effective. However, this often does not occur. At the broadcast level, communication problems develop because not all groups have the same information. Each group therefore takes a position based on its view of the world and the information it has. The obvious solution to this problem is to give all groups equal information. However, this is generally not feasible because individuals with important information may want to use it for their own advantage and not share it. Communication problems are also caused by technical Jargon that is so frequently used in organizations. Overtime, each group develops its own language which may mean nothing to another group. When the two groups must deal with a contentious issue, the â€Å"Us vs. them† mentally more easily develops because of the meanings each group attaches to words. Differences in perceptions We all see the world slightly differently because we have all had different experiences. These different views of the world can be a major source of conflict in organizations because value judgments flow from these views. Differences in perceptions involve the value of experience vs. the value of education. Older, more experienced managers often are in conflict with younger, inexperienced managers about the way in which work should be done. The experienced person usually points out how knowledgeable he or she has become over the years, whereas the in experienced person argues for â€Å"new way† of doing things. Often this conflict is resolved by the older person exercising his or her authority. It is hard to make unequivocal statements about how differences in perception will influence conflict. It is also difficult to deduce exactly how a person views the world, unless the person is well known to the manager. Nevertheless, a realization that differences in perception (by groups or individuals) is crucial to conflict means that it must be included in any discussion of the sources of conflict. The environment of the organization Thus far, we have been concerned with factors inside organizations which cause conflict. However, changes in the firm’s environment (which it usually has no control over) can cause major conflict within the organization. In the late 1970’s, for example, college enrolment in liberal arts declined as students began entering disciplines which were more job-oriented. This shift in demand meant that there were pressures to reallocate resources within universities. These pressures caused real problem as the different faculties were in conflict as to how this reallocation should be done. As another example, consider a conglomerate which finds that the demand for the output of one of its divisions is rapidly declining. The obvious thing to do is to hit back activities in that division and channel corporate resources into more profitable divisions. However, if the division having difficulties is an important one, and its head is a powerful person, tremendous conflict may develop as other division heads argue for a redistribution of resources within the company. Other sources of conflict exist in organizations. They are; (A)Individual differences (some people enjoy conflict while others don’t) (B)Unclear authority structures (conflict develops because people don’t know how far their authority extends) (C)Differences in attitudes (members of different groups have different attitudes). D)Task asymmetries (one group is more powerful than another and the weaker group tries to change the situation. (E)Difference in time horizons (some departments have a long-run view and others a short-run view. 2. 5 Strategies for Managing Conflict Although a certain amount of organizational conflict may be seen as inevitable, there are a number of ways in which management can attempt to avoid the harmful effects of conflict. The strat egies adopted will vary according to the nature and sources of conflict outlined above. a. Clarification of goals and objectives. The clarification and continual refinement of goals and objectives, role definitions and performance standards will help to avoid misunderstandings and conflict. Focusing attention on superordinate goals that are shared by the parties in conflict may help to diffuse hostility and lead to more co-operative behaviour. b. Resource distribution. Although it may not always be possible for managers to increase their allocated share of resources, they may be able to use imagination and initiative to help overcome conflict situations. For instance, making a special case to higher management; greater flexibility to transfer funds between budget headings, delaying staff appointments in one area to provide more money for another area. c. Human resource management policies and procedures. Careful and detailed attention to just and equitable human resource management policies and procedures may help to reduce areas of conflict. Examples are job analysis, recruitment and selection; systems of reward and punishment; appeals, grievance and disciplinary procedures; arbitration and mediation, recognition of trade unions and their officials. d. Non-monetary rewards. Where financial resources are limited, it may be possible to pay greater attention to non monetary rewards. Examples are job design, more interesting challenging or responsible work, increased delegation or empowerment, improved equipment, flexible working hours, attendance at course or conferences, unofficial perks or more relaxed working conditions. e. Development of interpersonal/group process skills. This may help to encourage a better understanding of ones own behaviour, the other person’s point of view, communication processes and problem solving. It may also encourage people to work through conflict situation in a constructive manner. . Group activities. Attention to the composition of groups and to factors which affect group cohesiveness may reduce dysfunctional conflict. Overlapping group membership with a linking pin process, and the careful selection of project teams or task forces for problems affecting more than one group, may also be beneficial. g. Leadership and management. A more participative and supportive style of leadership and managerial behaviour is likely to assist in conflict management for example, showing an attitude of respect and trust, encouraging personal self- development, creating a work environment in which staff can work co-operatively. A participative approach to leadership and management may also help to create greater employee commitment. h. Organizational process. Conflict situations may be reduced by attention to such features as the nature of the authority structure, work organization, patterns of communication and sharing of information, democratic functioning of the organization unnecessary adherence to bureaucratic procedures and official rules and regulations. i. Socio-technical approach. Viewing the organization as a socio-technical system, in which psychological and social factors are developed in keeping with structural and technical requirements, will help in reducing dysfunctional conflict. 2. 6The Value of Conflict The interactionist philosophy does not propose that all conflicts are good for an organization. Excessive levels of conflict can and do hinder organizational effectiveness. It shows itself in reduced job satisfaction by employees, increased absence and turnover rates, and eventually in lower productivity. What the interactionist approach says is that managers should continue to resolve those conflicts that hinder the organization, but stimulate conflict intensity when the level is below that which is necessary to maintain a responsive and innovative unit. Without some level of constructive conflict, an organization’s survival will be in jeopardy. Survival can result only when an organization is able to adapt to constant changes in the environment. Adaptation is possible only through change, and change is stimulated by conflict. Change develops from dissatisfaction, from a desire for improvement, and from creative development of alternatives. In other words, change do not just happen, they are inspired by conflict. Conflict is the catalyst of change. If we do not adapt our product and services to the changing needs of our customers, actions of our competitors, and new technological development, our organization will be sick and eventually die. Is it not possible that more organizations fail because of two little conflict rather than too much? Without change, no organization can survive, and conflict spurs change. Opposition to others’ ideas, dissatisfaction with the status quo, concern about doing things better, and the desire to improve inadequacies are all seeds of change. Therefore, the factor that differentiates the interactionist philosophy most form its predecessors is the belief that just as the level of conflict may be too high, requiring resolution, it may also be too low and in need of stimulation. There is a growing body of literature that supports the contention that organizations that have levels of conflict above, zero are more effective, that is functional levels of conflict are conducive to innovation and higher quality decisions. For instance, a review of the relationship between bureaucracy and innovation found that conflict encourages innovative solution. This relationship was more recently confirmed in a comparism of six major decisions during the administrations of four U. S presidents. The comparism demonstrated that conformity among presidential advisers was related to poor decisions, while an atmosphere of constructive conflict and critical thinking surrounded the well- developed decisions. The bankruptcy of the penn central railroad has been generally attributed to mismanagement and a failure of the company’s board of directors to question actions taken by management. The board was composed of outside directors, who met monthly to oversee the railroad’s operations. Few questioned the decisions made by the operating management, though there was wide evidence that several board members were uncomfortable with many major decisions made by the management. Apathy and a desire to avoid conflict allowed poor decisions to stand unquestioned. It can only be postulated how differently things might have turned out for the penn central had it had an enquiring board which demanded that the company’s management discuss and justify key decisions. In addition to better and more innovative decisions in situations where there is some conflict, there is evidence that indicates that conflict can be positively related to productivity. It was demonstrated that among the high conflict groups was 73 per cent greater than that of those groups characterized by low conflict conditions. Similarly, an investigation of twenty-two teams of system analysts, which the researcher sought to assist the relationship between inter personal compatibility and productivity, achieved results consistent with the previous studies. The findings strongly suggested that the more incompatible groups were likely to be more productive. 2. 7Transition in Conflict Thought According to Dubose (1980), the development of conflict thought as professed by academic has gone through three distinct stages which he labeled as traditional, behavioural and internationalist. The prescription of the early management theories, the traditionalists, towards conflict was simple. It should be eliminated. All conflicts were seen as destructive and it was management role to rid the organization of them. This philosophy dominated during the nineteenth century and continued to the middle 1940s. Thetraditional view was replaced in the late 1940s and early 1950s with a behavioural approach. Those who studied organizations began to recognize that all organizations, by their very nature, had built in contents. Since conflict was inevitable, the behaviouralist prescribed â€Å"acceptance† of conflict. They rationalized its existence. However, as with the traditionalists, the behaviouralist approach to managing conflict was to resolve it. Looking at the behaviours of manager, it seems clear that the traditional philosophy is still the most prevalent in organizations. We live in a society that has been built upon anti-conflict values. Since our earliest years we have been indoctrinated in the belief that it was important to get along with others and to avoid conflict. Parents in the home, teachers and administrators in school, teachings of the church, and authority figures in social groups all have historically reinforced the belief that disagreement bred discontent, which acted to dissolve common ties and could eventually lead to destruction of the system. Certainly we should not be surprised to find that children raised to view all conflict as destructive would mature into adult managers who would maintain and encourage the same values. In addition, the senior managers in most organizations praise and reward managers who maintain peace, harmony, and tranquility in their units, while disequilibrium, confrontation, and dissatisfaction are appraised negatively. Given that managers seek to â€Å"look good† on the criteria by which they are evaluated, and since the absence of conflict is frequently used at evaluation time as a proxy for managerial effectiveness, it should not be surprising to find that most managers are concerned with eliminating or suppressing all conflicts. According to Gray and Stark (1980) there are two distinct phases of thinking about conflict: the traditional view and the current view. The traditional view of conflict assumes that conflict is bad for organizations. In the view of the traditionalist, organizational conflict was proof that there was something â€Å"wrong† with the organization. The Hawthorne studies were probably important in shaping the traditional view because in those studies the dysfunctional consequences of conflict were noted. Another likely factor in the traditional view was the development of labour unions and the often violent conflict between labour and management. During the early twentieth century labou