Jordanians and Palestinians in the West Bank Essay Example

Jordanians and Palestinians in the West Bank Essay This paper contains a discussion of the West Bank settlers paticularly, the Jordanians and Palestinians. The similarities and differences of the two cultures in terms of their practices and ideologies as well as their beliefs were delved into. An analysis on how the two cultures co-exist in the area despite its history of their fight for power over the West Bank is also provided. The paper also discusses on the conquest of the Israeli forces over the area and the effects of their occupation to the Palestinians and Jordan settlers in the West bank as well as their present economy. Jordanians and Palestinians Living the Test of Times at the West Bank West Bank, is a southwestern Asia territory that bound by the Jordan territory in its eatern portion and Israel on its north, south and western portions. It is geographically placed seen on the western bank of the Jordan river. This territory was once part of Palestine but was formally annexed by Jordan in 1950. Jordan ruled the area until 1967 and during its rule, it granted full citizenship to Palestinians who were then living in the area (Encarta online encyclopedia, 2007). We will write a custom essay sample on Jordanians and Palestinians in the West Bank specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Jordanians and Palestinians in the West Bank specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Jordanians and Palestinians in the West Bank specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer The armies of Syria, Egypt and Jordan engaged into a six day war with Israel, in 1967. The Arab armies were defeated and Israel took control of several territories occupied by Syria, Egypt and Jordan and such included the West Bank. In 1988, Jordan ceded to the Palestine Liberation Organization all territorial claims to the West Bank, however, this did not do much because Israel also tried to establish its rule over the area. Israel imposed its laws in the West Bank governing the Palestinians in the process (Encarta online encyclopedia, 2007). The Israeli government introduced various reforms and improvement in the area, however, not all of these reforms benefitted the West Bank inhabitants. The Israeli built roads for their exclusive use only, the Palestinians were prohibited from utilizing it. The Palestinians also tried to establish their claim over the West Bank against the Israeli government. The clash on the establishment of power in the West Bank, led to bloody uprisings. It was only through a peace convention in 2006 that Israeli government agreed to retreat its forces in the area   (Encarta online encyclopedia, 2007). Majority of the population in the West Bank are Palestinian Arabs and 10 percent of the population in the area are Christian Arabs. Agriculture is the primary economic activity of the people because of the lack of more fruitful economic ventures in the area. Most of the job opportunities can be found on neighboring Arab countries like Israel. The currency that are ciculating in the area are the Israeli new sheqel and the Jordanian dinar. The dialects in the West Bank are similar to the Jordanian dialect (Encarta online encyclopedia, 2007). According to a Time magazine article, the Jordanian rule of the West Bank was more palatable for the Palestinians than the rule of the Israelis because they share the same culture. The Israelis were like robbers who took the Palestinian culture away from them. However, this does not mean that the Palestinians accepted the Jordanian rule with open arms. The two groups also had their share of uprisngs in the quest of both parties to retain power over the West Bank area. The Jordanian government invested heavily on the West bank even if this was already under the Israeli control because it had the aim of recovery. The investment made by the Jordan government on the area somehow uplifted the economy in the West Bank, however, this positive standing in the economy did not last long as other wars and uprising ensued thus, crippling the areas available resources (Encarta on line encyclopedia, 2007) The Palestinians in the West Bank are the original settlers of the area. They were the original heirs of the West Bank before it was occupied by various conquerors, among them were the Jordanians and the Israelis (Encarta on line encyclopedia, 2007). Based on culture and practices, the Palestinians and the Jordanians are almost similar. In terms of religion, both are attached to the Muslim faith. Majority of the Palestinians and Jordanians are Sunni Muslim, the largest sect in Islam. Others practice different religions such as Christianity, Jewish and the other Muslim sects (every culture, n.d.). For the Palestinians and the Jordanians, the role of women is basically to produce children and tend the household needs, they are not expected to work beyond the house and perform the duties of a man. Rarely is a woman perceived to be of equal rank as that of a man especially in the olden days. It is only recently that the women are allowed to perform other roles besides the tending the house needs and the children. Many women now are part of the workforce and are even doing mens job. This shift of ideology was not because of cultural influence from the West but because of the dire need for women to take these roles. Life is economically difficult in the West Bank and all efforts must be contributed to find work and provide food for the family (every culture, n.d.). Aside from these similarities, the two cultures also share the same belief in terms of courtship and marriage. They do not adhere to the Western style of dating and courtship. Their beliefs dictate that the man and the woman should have associated with each others families before they should enter into a romantic relationship. Courtship does not mean entering into a simple relationshipit means marriage (every culture, n.d.). Marriage is an important rite of passage for both cultures. They usually celebrate this with a feast catering 200 to 2,000 guests. A similar kind of celebration is also undertaken whenever a child is born, especially if the child is a baby boy. The Joradanian society has a higher regard for boys than girls. The Palestinians share the same ideology (every culture, n.d.). It is also the practice of the Jordanians to build houses that are several stories high; this is in preparation for the marriage of their sons. The sons who marry take their wives to the family home and live on one story of the house. The women take charge of the cooking   as well as the household chores while the men do not contribute any effort to the household works as they are prohibited by their culture from engaging in such activites. The Palestinian men also do not do houesehold chores. They have high regard for gender roles and distinction of the sexes (every culture, n.d.). People from both cultures are also very hospitable. They do not allow their visitors to bring anything, they provide for all the needs and the guests are expected to consume all that they serve. People from both cultures are also very formal and conservative, as compared to the Western people (every culture, n.d.). Most of the Jordanians and Palestinians also have a very good educational background. There is a great number of them who have attended school in universities and finished college degrees. However, those who are in the West Bank do not have very good jobs because there are only a few high paying jobs in the region. Most of the educated serve in   Israel where there is a higher pay offered and in nearby Arab countries which have better economies. These Muslims, however, do not hold high positions in the countries that they work for because the priority are the local inhabitants. Aside from these they are not also given the same salary as to that   of a local employee who hold the same position; they receive a lower salary. This practice can be attributed to the fact that the Israelis look lowly to the inhabitants of the West Bank, which happens to be a part of their conquered state until 2006 (every culture, n.d.). Among the dissimilarities in the culture of the Jordanians and the Palestinians is their heritage. The Jordanians have a country of their own—Jordan whereas the Palestines do not have a territory that they can call their own. The Palestinians are displaced and most of them are refugees in different Arab countries including Jordan. The Palestinian territory in 1947 was divided by the United Nations into two—the Palestinian state and the Jewish state. The Palestinian Arabs who comprised sixty-five percent of the population then did not agree of the partition plan and as a result thereof, a war ensued. The Palestinian Arabs lost in the war   while the Jewish state successfully established Israel in 1948. The Palestinians tried to establish their power in the area but they were not successful. This failure has led to poor stature of the Palestinians in the present day (Encarta online encyclopedia, 2007). The water scarcity in the area also contributes to its poor economic standing, it lacks better resources that could provide for the needs of the people. The various uprisings and the surge for power in the area is also a factor. Instead of concentrating on enriching their economy, the Palestines are busy fighting for their right to rule their land from the Israelis. The Israeli government played hard in giving up the West Bank leadership as compared to the Jordanian government which ceded its interests to the Palestine Liberation Organization. This cession of interests may have been a factor for the co-existence of the Jordanians and Palestinians in the area. Another factor may have been the fact that the Jordan government houses many of the Palestinian refugees in their country and their sharing of similar religious belief and culture. The fact that majority of both cultures adhere to the same Muslim sect is a great factor. They do not have a clash of ideologies as compared to Christians and Jews who have great disparities in their principles and the ideologies that bind them. In addition, the Palestinian culture in the West Bank also have a great influence from the Jordanian culture because of its conquest of the area for nearly seventeen years and the curriculum that the education system in the West Bank region follows   is patterned after the Jordanian curriculum. This type of curriculum may have been a factor in building a smoother relationship between the two cultures because they get to have a deeper understanding of each   others beliefs and background. However, it must be noted that not all those who have Jordanian citizenship in the West Bank are really Jordanians. Many of those who hold such citizenship are Palestinians who have been living in the West Bank before the Palestinian National Administration came to power (Encarta online encyclopedia, 2007). References Microsoft Encarta online encyclopedia (2007). â€Å"West Bank†. Retrieved April 22, 2008, from   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761557747/West_Bank.html Microsoft Encarta online encyclopedia (2007). â€Å"Modern Palestine†. Retrieved April 22,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   2008, from http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_701844116/Palestine_Modern.html Every Culture (n.d.). â€Å"Jordanians†. Retrieved April 22, 2008, from   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   http://www.everyculture.com/wc/Japan-to-Mali/Jordanians.html Every Culture (n.d.). â€Å"Palestinians†. Retrieved April 22, 2008, from   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   http://www.everyculture.com/wc/Germany-to-Jamaica/Palestinians.html Every Culture (n.d.). â€Å"Culture of Palestine, West Bank and Gaza Strip†. Retrieved April 22,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   2008, from http://www.everyculture.com/No-Sa/Palestine-West-Bank-and-Gaza-  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Strip.html Time magazine (1978, June 19). West Bank: The Cruelest Conflict. Retrieved April 22, 2008,   Ã‚   from http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,919757-1,00.html

Chaos Vs. Order Essays - Catbird Seat, Catbird, Free Essays

Chaos Vs. Order Essays - Catbird Seat, Catbird, Free Essays Chaos Vs. Order The short story by James Thurber, "The Catbird Seat", describes a man, Mr. Erwin Martin, who is very precise and logical in everything he does including his job and how he reacts when his order is disrupted by a loud, meddlesome woman, Mrs. Ulgine Barrows, who has much persuasion with the company president, Mr. Fitweiler. Mr. Martin?s order is disrupted by this chaos in the company and he can not have it so he decides he must kill Mrs. Barrows to get things back the way they were. The theme of the story is the battle for favorable position or to sit "in the catbird seat" and if one stays calm and keeps themselves in order they can eventually win over the chaos in their life. In the story Mr. Martin is the character who epitomizes order. He was very organized and kept a strict schedule. He arrived at work every day at eight thirty and walked home at five thirty, he ate dinner at Schraft?s every night at eight, then took a walk and usually was in bed around eleven. He was described as "neat, quiet, attentive" and coworkers described him as "infallible" and "the most efficient worker." His job at F His very job deals with keeping things organized. He also was said to have never drank anything stronger than ginger ale and never smoked in his life. This also represents perfection. He views Mrs. Barrows not as a person but as a "mistake" made by his boss, Mr. Fitweiler. He decides he must "rub out" the mistake by killing Mrs. Barrows. He is so exact in his ways that he spends a week coming up with a plan and goes over it every night. Another thing he does every night is he goes over his "case" against! Mrs. Barrows. He acts as the attorney, judge, and jury making his case against Mrs. Barrows. This also shows of a very organized mind. He objects and sustains himself, raps a gavel in his mind, charges Mrs. Barrows with "willful, blatant, and persistent attempts to destroy the efficiency and system of F He, of course, is also the executioner. He comes up with an organized plan in which he thinks of almost every possibility. He buys cigarettes to smoke at her apartment which will be his "red herring" since no one would suspect him if he left one there because everyone knows he doesn?t smoke. He was a very clever man who even got one of his assistants to believe he liked Mrs. Barrows. Mr. Martin represents order in the story and is almost too perfect. Just as Mr. Martin represents order in the story, Mrs. Barrows represents chaos. She was loud and obnoxious. She was described using animal words such as "brayed," "quacked," and "like a circus horse." Also, she never walked into a room, she "bounced," "romped," or "catapulted." She didn?t have to work hard to get her position as the adviser to Mr. Fitweiler, she just got the job after saving him from getting hurt by a large man at a party. She was the cause of many firings at F She was known for saying ridiculous things all of the time such as "tearing up the pea patch" and "sitting in the catbird seat. She never came into work before ten and was known to brag about the place where she lived. She was planning a "reorganization" of Mr. Martin?s department and that was where the chaos had to end for Mr. Martin. The title, "The Catbird Seat," basically means sitting pretty. Specifically, who is "sitting pretty". When the story begins it?s Mrs. Burrows who is "sitting pretty" or better, in a favorable position. She can recommend any change in the company to Mr. Fitweiler and it will most likely be done. She didn?t earn her position and in Mr. Martin?s opinion doesn?t know what she?s doing so he needs to get rid of her. He sets his plan in motion and when he realizes he can?t go through with it, he almost instantly comes

Developing an Integrated Marketing Communications strategy Essay

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Presentation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Presentation - Essay Example He demonstrates this by pulling a trick on the people using himself as the test for his antidote. Through an earlier worked out plan, he gets an accomplice to provide a poisonous snake that has had its venom drawn and fakes being poisoned by the bite of this snake. He goes through the throes of poisoning, only to survive when everyone has given him up for dead. This convinces the gullible onlookers of the potency of his poison antidote and there is a rush for purchasing it. Among these gullible customers are the marines and admiral of a visiting cruiser. It is during this episode that Blacaman the Bad comes in contact with a poor boy for whom he develops a fancy, because he has a face of an idiot. He pays the father of the boy and takes him under his wing. From then on the boy is a part of the fancy world of deceiving gullible people, assisting his mentor in the deceptions. The boy expresses a desire to be a soothsayer, but is found to be of no use, as he is incapable of delivering credible prophesies, and so he is put back to work at assisting his mentor in creating various devices of supposedly incredible capabilities. However, bad times soon fall on Blacaman the Bad and his incredible devices and potions are no longer selling. Blacaman the Bad decides to return the worthless boy back to his father and get his money back. Before he can execute this further misfortune falls on Blacaman the Bad. The admiral, who had bought the useless antidote for poisons, dies attempting to demonstrate its potency like Blacaman the Bad did. The marines return looking for Blacaman the bad to wreck vengeance, and so Blacaman the Bad flees with his protà ©gà ©. This flight puts them in a desolate land in which they almost die of hunger. Believing that all his misfortune is due to the boy he has taken under his wing, he puts him in a dungeon and tortures him and does not give him

Coca Cola Stakeholder Report

Coca Cola Stakeholder Report Goodstein, Nolan, and Pfeiffer states in their book that A mission defines the organisation existence and it covers four areas, firstly what is the purpose, for whom, how and why organisation exists. A mission statement provides framework to the organisation in which it will operate. A profit oriented organisation purpose is to satisfy needs of market and for non-profit oriented organisation it is to serve for community. For whom will be the customer of organisation and in non profit organisation the community at large. How covers the strategy the organisation will pursue in providing quality product or service to its potential customers. The answer of why of profit oriented organisation would be maximisation of profit and achieving growth by seizing new opportunities. A non-profit organisation has no concern with profit and focus on providing service to community. Organisation culture is belief, attitude and values. It provides basis for the way organisation will perform its activit ies. Values are important part of organisation and it sets organisation traits, its actual and required competence and quality of work. Its gives foundation for decision making, guidance of how work will perform, what kind of people are needed and areas needed more care. Values are basis of organisation decision. (Goostein, Nolan, Pfeiffer 1993) Organisation performs value scanning and stakeholders for effective decision making. Stakeholder holds powers and can significantly influence organisation decision. Stakeholders include shareholders, employee, customer, community, lenders, suppliers and Government. Shareholders and lenders can effect decision of organisation as they have significant interest and power. Second important stakeholder is customers of organisation and holder tremendous power and interest. Thirdly, the employees that require proper salaries and benefits against their services. All three stakeholders can influence the decision of organisation; therefore organisatio n should perform stakeholder analysis before making strategic decision to achieve its long term objectives. Typically organisation objectives are long term gaols which it wants to achieve. Normally those are maximisation of wealth of shareholders, providing quality products and increase in market share. As from the case of Coca Cola, its objectives includes Market leader in its industry Worldwide growth Provide reliable and quality product In order to achieve those objective, it has values which is based on teamwork, precision and bringing together its employee to strive to achieve its objectives. Objective of Three Stakeholders Coca cola has achieved the objectives of its three important stakeholders Customers, it has provided quality product to its customers and put forward customers trust at top priority. Coca Cola has heavily invested in its research and development area to produce high quality beverages. Employees, it has recognised its employees as an asset and understand the fact that a motivated employee strives for the growth of the company. It has taken different measures to satisfy its employees needs and provide them route to communicate and express their feelings. Shareholders, they want high return on their investment. As it is apparent from the growth and development of coca cola. It is working hard to maximise the wealth of shareholder. 1.3 Strategies employed by organisation and Government as stakeholder Its organisation is responsible to develop strategies to meet stakeholders objective. Every stakeholder has different set of objectives associated with the organisation. The interest of shareholders is maximisation of wealth and company growth. It is appearent from the case that Coca cola has achieved significant growth over the years and expand its business world as it serving customers over 200 countries and product range is 400 non aphonic beverages. Customers want value for money. Coca cola research and development has produced product to meet the demand of customers and marketing development has increased over the years. Coca cola adhere that customers trust is vital for the success of organisation. Coca cola has been meeting the legal and regulatory requirement nationally and internationally. In any business Government is always a major stakeholder as it holds significant power to disrupt organisation plans. So its necessary for organisation to prepare its strategies in compliance with law and regulations. Employees are major stakeholders of organisation; organisation should prepare strategies for training and development of its human resource and provide opportunity to excel. 2.1 Economic system and use of resources The central economic problem is shortage of resource, which includes land, labour and capital. It arises due to high human demand, scarcity does not arrive itself it is human wants and desire who brought them. Some of the resources problems are solved by the introduction of new technology as a substitute, where as other resource are still limited (Dhillon 2007) Economic system is concerned with effective use of resources. Economic system depends on the availability of resources and its demands. The types of economic system are as follow. Command system All resources are controlled by the government itself. Government prepare plans for resource allocation for industry and people. In this system government is owner of resources and make decision for what is needed to produce and way to produce. Free market economic system: In this decision are made by private individuals and industrialist. All resources are owned by private individuals. In a pure free market there would be no government involvements. America is biggest example of it where all resources are owned by firms. Capitalism is the astounding belief that the wickedest of men, will do the wickedest of things for the greatest good of everyone. (Keynes 2000) Mixed Economic System In mixed economic system some resources are controlled and owned by government and some resources are managed by private firm. This is very famous system and it combines the characteristics of both systems. Transitional economies In this system, it is changing from planned to free economy and involve market decide the price and barriers of trade are removed. 2.2 Social welfare and industrial initiatives Social welfare policies include health, education, social works, education, pension scheme and housing schemes. Theaker (2004), states in his book that there are different types of rules developed by societies. These rules provides framework for an organisation in preparing its strategies. The objective behind rules and policies are that organisation should be proactive. It implies that organisation should be not focused on self interest and work for the benefit of its employees, community at large etc. Moore (2002), states in his book that the government is responsible for unemployment, employee housing and wage levels. Government hold power and should prepare policy to protect the community. Social welfare involves equal distribution of wealth. If wealth is distributed equally then there will be no poverty. Social welfare has strong history in UK; the government has prepared different laws and policies to protect citizens of UK which includes the poor law 1834, the welfare state in Britain 1948, housing policy, education policy etc. Industrial policy Industrial policy concerned with growth and development. Its objectives are Sustainable growth of industry Raise in employment rate Efficient and effective use of Human resource development Country growth and development in making it world player UK five productivity drivers are (Budget 2005) Increasing competition Enterprise promotion by minimising barriers to entry Research and development Skills and competence Investment decision These policies and measures can significant impacts on industry and organisation to achieve growth and development. Government strives to promote and protect its industry and community by making effective laws and policies. 2.3 Macroeconomics policy and influence of global economy Macroeconomics policy measures and control output, spending and income. Country national income provide basis for measuring the output, spending and income which helps to draw monetary and fiscal policy. Fiscal policy It has detrimental impact on consumer buying decision. Fiscal policy is used as tool to control government spending, demand level, output and taxation. A rise in income tax and NI will affect the income after tax and more they work and more they will pay tax and vice versa. A change in tax will affect pattern of demand of customer. Increase in duty will reduce the buying as in case of Cigarettes. Government subsidies are used to improve the production capacity and growth of industry to increase employment rate and government revenue. Monetary Policy of UK A monetary policy involves that the government changes the base rate to change the growth rate and aggregate demands. Monetary policy used as a measure to control inflation, interest rate and supply of money. In UK the monetary policy is managed by Bank of England that is responsible for controlling inflation, price stability and to provide growth and employment. Influence of global economy Globalisation and international trade has changed the direction of industry. Earlier organisation has to compete nationally, now it has to compete with international player and that has overall structure of industry. The ultimate benefit goes to the end users in terms of low prices due to competition. Globalisation has increased the level of uncertainty among domestic producer. Product development, marketing and prices are changing rapidly due to international trade. Government has put significant attention in drawing fiscal and monetary policy to cope with such uncertainties which could lead them to either inflation or recession. The economic decision about what to produce and how to produce and to whom to produce becomes a matter of judgement and need flexibility in it. 3.1 Market structure Market structures are as follow Perfect market Imperfect market Perfect market Wessels express in his books about the conditions that lead to a perfect competition market which are Extensive numbers of companies are operating in the market Many substitutes are available to customers Buyers knows the prices of every supplier to make rational decision Easy exits are available to companies In perfect market structure buyers can insert pressure on companies. Globalisation and international trade has changed the structure of industry all over the world. There are so many buyers and produces are available and high competition in the market. Imperfect market In imperfect market, there is few number of producer and hold significant power to insert pressure on consumer. In this structure, consumer has limited number of choices to buy product. Organisation can change the price and make high margin profit out of it. In imperfect market it has different types, Monopoly Mankiw (2006) states, A monopolist can impose the price of product. Customers have no other choice except the buying from the single producer. Consumer prefers to have perfect competition where there is large number of suppliers. It can change prices any time as it is a sole producer of product. Oligopoly Mankiw (2006), It is simplest form, in which there are few sellers in the market and producing, offering the same products which are very much identical in nature and durability. Monopolist competition Mankiw (2006), It is almost similar to the oligopoly, there are few seller in the market and producing the same product but in this products are not identical in nature. In this structure all firms are having monopoly in its particular products and competing with each other over same customer base. Duopoly It is simplest form of oligopoly, in this both producer coordinate with each other and decide the price and output and make changes accordingly. 3.2 market forces and organisation response Organisation is a separate entity and it is subject to influence of external environment. The market forces includes customer demand, change in taste of customer, each party holds some power to influence organisation decision. It can Supply and demand Economist focused on Supply and demand. These are main forces in the economy that make market works. Supply and demand determines the price and quantity to be produced. High demand lead to a rise in price, as company has to increase its capacity to meet the demand of market. The demand of commodity is influenced by customer taste, customer perception, income, price of related product, expectations of customers and quantity demanded. Elasticity The behaviour of demand and price has direct relationship with supply. A rise in demand will directly impact on relative decrease in supply and which lead the demand at par. Similarly a rise in demand will lead to relative rise in price. Customer perception and actions It has strong influence on buying and selling of product. A buyer is itself a seller. A buyer wants a product at low price and sells it at a high price and again the buyer or end user wants to buy product at low price. The buying behaviour strongly influenced the product price and product. In a perfect competition market its makes more competitive and lead to price war and heavy marketing activity. Monitory and fiscal policy Change in monetary and fiscal policies significantly impact organisation operations and its policies and which also lead to rise in product price. Response Supply for product A rise in demand put pressure on organisation to provide the required supply. Where organisation doesnt have spare capacity of production it will require a high investment in manufacturing. Economy of scale A certain rise in demand provides opportunity to achieve economy of scale by producing more products to meet the market demand and enjoy the benefit of economy of scale. Working capital A certain rise or fall in demand put pressure on organisation working capital. Organisation holding, transportation and storage costs are significantly influence by the rise or fall in demand. 3.3 Competitive Strategies Porter 1998 states that organisation prepares its strategy to distinct itself from its competitors to gain competitive advantage such strategies able an organisation to provide different set of values to its customers. According porter generic competitive strategies, Organisation can gain competitive advantage and it can outperform its competitor as being A low cost producer It involves producing goods at low cost, achieving economy of scale and cost cutting by lowering marketing, product development cost and responding to the market requirement. A differentiator Differentiation can be achieved by producing innovative product, increasing promotion and making brand image. A focus It involves dealing at lower level by identifying a niche market and producing product according to the requirement of specific market. Every company focus on achieving competitive advantage to outperform its competitor which often lead organisation to price war, heaving investment in promotions and pursuing wrong practices to capture market and gain growth. Role of Competition commission and regulatory bodies The role of competition commission is determined by stature, it is concerned with investigating and reporting on wrong practices. The main objective is to overcome incorrect practices of companies in gaining market share and making profits and forcing fair trading policies and anticompetitive practices. (Seven 2001) 4.1 Importance of International trade International trade and globalisation has brought significant advantages. This includes Balance of Payments International trade has allowed countries to improve their balance of payments. Lower production cost Production cost in developing countries is lower due to low labour cost, raw material as compare to UK, USA or European countries and international trade has allowed them to get advantage of lower production cost. Comparative advantage Some countries are specialised in producing product. Due to International trade and globalisation, countries are buying product from those countries that are specialised in producing product at lower cost. Such as India is providing outsourcing services to UK, USA, Australia, Canada etc. Non financial benefit International trade has brought non financial benefit to the countries such as it has lead countries to make strong political relations, understanding each other culture and work together. Indonesia, India, Pakistan, China has strong relationship with UK. Increase competition It has lead to increase competition in the market. Countries are getting benefits from high competition as it leads to low price product to capture market. 4.2 Impact of Two European Union Policies on UK business European Union has implemented different policies but the main two are World Trade Organisation (WTO) The main impact of European Union policies includes the introduction of free trade, world trade organisation, which has significantly affected the UK economy. Free trade has lead to increase competition in the European Union markets. Flow of migrant The major economic impacts of European policies are flow of migrant. It has lead to low skill labour to fill the gap in labour market. However significant flow of migration in UK has increased unemployment. (D2) Single owner Business International trade and global economy has brought significant competition in the market. There are many suppliers available to provide a long range of products and product substitutes are easily available. Those customers who prefer to buy less expensive product can easily get the products of their choice. The globalisation and international trade may have impacted the market at macro level but the small market is still safe to some extent. However at macro level, globalisation has strongly affected the GDP, which has put pressure on government monetary and fiscal policies to respond to those forces. 4.3 Economic Implication of Entry into EMU The economics of Europe has affected the market of its member and has brought significant changes in it. These includes Singly currency Euro is major currency in major parts of Europe which is used daily by 60% of Europe citizens. A single currency has minimised the exchange cost and eliminate exchange risk. Price Stability It has improved the price stability by keeping the interest rate and inflation rate at a low level. European Single Market Act The introduction of WTO, the goods will be traded freely between the euro zone has minimise the import duties and payments are being dealt in singly euro currency has minimise the cost of trading between different countries. (D3) Convergence into Europe EMU has introduced fine convergence criteria for members Inflation rate should not exceed 1.5%. Interest rate should not rise more than 2% Budget deficit should not exceed 3% of Gross Domestic product market price National debt should not exceed 60% of gross domestic product market price. Exchange rate should remain at normal ERM Bands for two years.

History of Ledd Zeppelin and ITs Musical Impact Essay -- Led Zeppelin

History of Ledd Zeppelin and ITs Musical Impact Tell someone to name a band from the 1960s and '70s and you could probably listen to a dozen answers before hearing the same one twice. The overwhelming amount of talent squeezed into these two decades has produced some of the most popular, most powerful, and in some cases, the most bizarre music ever. Led Zeppelin, The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, The Rolling Stones, The Yardbirds, Janis Joplin, Bob Dylan, Elvis Presley, Queen, Aerosmith, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, The Eagles.... All were from this era that seemed to glorify music as no other time period did, or ever will. The amount of evolution of music that occurred in this time period is amazing as well. The mainstream went from listening to songs like Bill Haley and the Comet's "Rock Around The Clock," to The Beatles' frightening "Revolution 9." While these two examples may seem completely different, they are not as distant as one might think. Nearly all music from the '60s and '70s was bred from its earlier ancestors. Music has been constantly evolving, and during the two decades in question, it underwent a radical change like never before. The New Yardbirds In early 1968 the music group The Yardbirds was in shambles. Their last, and half-put --together album "Little Games" was a total flop and the band had to struggle to have the release of the album in the UK stopped. On March 30, the group allowed a taping of their concert in Madison Square Garden to be considered for a live album to be released later. They easily convinced their record contractor, Epic Records, to ditch the project. The lead guitarist of The Yardbirds, Jeff Beck, had suffered from a mental breakdown a few years earlier and could no longer handle the pressure of touring. The band members, Keith Relf, Chris Dreja, Jim McCarty, and Jimmy Page decided to throw in the towel and let the band collapse. Playing wasn't the same rush it used to be, and it just wasn't fun anymore. Each member elected to follow their own projects. Dreja planned a career in photography, McCarty and Relf intended on starting bands of their own. Lead guitarist, Jimmy Page was given legal rights to the band's name, songs, and albums. However, along with the rights that Page was given, were 10 tour dates that still needed to be honored in Scandinavia. Page nee... ...The most significant thing about Led Zeppelin's music today, is that it doesn't sound dated. The music seems similar to music today. The lasting impression of their music is obvious, and can be heard in any Rock band of today. Unfortunately, the machine that was Led Zeppelin came to a screeching halt on the morning of September 25, 1980. When band members decided to go into Bonham's bedroom to pull a prank on him in his sleep, Bonham was found dead. After a night of heavy drinking, Bonham had turned the wrong way in his sleep, and asphyxiated himself upon his own vomit. A statement was released on December 4, 1980, stating that the band could not go on in its present state. After 11 incredible years, the band could not function with "the loss of our dear friend." Led Zeppelin had owned the 70s, and they were going to finish their reign quietly, and let the throne open to the next "supergroup." As suddenly as Led Zeppelin began, it had ended even more so. The giant had fallen. . "As it was, then again it will be, Though the course may change sometimes, Rivers always reach the sea." -Ten Years Gone Led Zeppelin History of Ledd Zeppelin and ITs Musical Impact Essay -- Led Zeppelin History of Ledd Zeppelin and ITs Musical Impact Tell someone to name a band from the 1960s and '70s and you could probably listen to a dozen answers before hearing the same one twice. The overwhelming amount of talent squeezed into these two decades has produced some of the most popular, most powerful, and in some cases, the most bizarre music ever. Led Zeppelin, The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, The Rolling Stones, The Yardbirds, Janis Joplin, Bob Dylan, Elvis Presley, Queen, Aerosmith, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, The Eagles.... All were from this era that seemed to glorify music as no other time period did, or ever will. The amount of evolution of music that occurred in this time period is amazing as well. The mainstream went from listening to songs like Bill Haley and the Comet's "Rock Around The Clock," to The Beatles' frightening "Revolution 9." While these two examples may seem completely different, they are not as distant as one might think. Nearly all music from the '60s and '70s was bred from its earlier ancestors. Music has been constantly evolving, and during the two decades in question, it underwent a radical change like never before. The New Yardbirds In early 1968 the music group The Yardbirds was in shambles. Their last, and half-put --together album "Little Games" was a total flop and the band had to struggle to have the release of the album in the UK stopped. On March 30, the group allowed a taping of their concert in Madison Square Garden to be considered for a live album to be released later. They easily convinced their record contractor, Epic Records, to ditch the project. The lead guitarist of The Yardbirds, Jeff Beck, had suffered from a mental breakdown a few years earlier and could no longer handle the pressure of touring. The band members, Keith Relf, Chris Dreja, Jim McCarty, and Jimmy Page decided to throw in the towel and let the band collapse. Playing wasn't the same rush it used to be, and it just wasn't fun anymore. Each member elected to follow their own projects. Dreja planned a career in photography, McCarty and Relf intended on starting bands of their own. Lead guitarist, Jimmy Page was given legal rights to the band's name, songs, and albums. However, along with the rights that Page was given, were 10 tour dates that still needed to be honored in Scandinavia. Page nee... ...The most significant thing about Led Zeppelin's music today, is that it doesn't sound dated. The music seems similar to music today. The lasting impression of their music is obvious, and can be heard in any Rock band of today. Unfortunately, the machine that was Led Zeppelin came to a screeching halt on the morning of September 25, 1980. When band members decided to go into Bonham's bedroom to pull a prank on him in his sleep, Bonham was found dead. After a night of heavy drinking, Bonham had turned the wrong way in his sleep, and asphyxiated himself upon his own vomit. A statement was released on December 4, 1980, stating that the band could not go on in its present state. After 11 incredible years, the band could not function with "the loss of our dear friend." Led Zeppelin had owned the 70s, and they were going to finish their reign quietly, and let the throne open to the next "supergroup." As suddenly as Led Zeppelin began, it had ended even more so. The giant had fallen. . "As it was, then again it will be, Though the course may change sometimes, Rivers always reach the sea." -Ten Years Gone Led Zeppelin

Public Administration Essay

DEFINING PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION When people think about government, they think of elected officials. The attentive public knows these officials who live in the spotlight but not the public administrators who make governing possible; it generally gives them little thought unless it is to criticize â€Å"government bureaucrats.† Yet we are in contact with public administration almost from the moment of birth, when registration requirements are met, and our earthly remains cannot be disposed of without final administrative certification. Our experiences with public administrators have become so extensive that our society may be labeled the â€Å"administered society†. Various institutions are involved in public administration. Much of the policy-making activities of public administration is done by large, specialized governmental agencies (micro-administration). Some of them are mostly involved with policy formulation, for example, the Parliament or Congress. But to implement their decisions public administration also requires numerous profit and nonprofit agencies, banks and hospitals, district and city governments (macro-administration). Thus, public administration may be defined as a complex political process involving the authoritative implementation of legitimated policy choices. Public administration is not as showy as other kinds of politics. Much of its work is quiet, small scale, and specialized. Part of the administrative process is even kept secret. The anonymity of much public administration raises fears that government policies are made by people who are not accountable to citizens. Many fear that these so-called faceless bureaucrats subvert the intensions of elected officials. Others see administrators as mere cogs in the machinery of government. But whether in the negative or positive sense, public administration is policy making. And whether close to the centers of power or at the street level in local agencies, public administrators are policy makers. They are the translators and tailors of government. If the elected officials are visible to the public, public administrators are the anonymous specialists. But without their knowledge, diligence, and creativity, government would be ineffective and inefficient. HISTORICAL OVERVIEW OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION Large-scale administrative organization has existed from early times. The ancient empires of Egypt, Persia, Greece, Rome, China, and later the Holy Roman Empire as well as recent colonial empires of Britain, Spain, Russia, Portugal, and France – they all organized and maintained political rule over wide areas and large populations by the use of quite a sophisticated administrative apparatus and more or less skilled administrative functionaries. The personal nature of that rule was very great. Everything depended on the emperor. The emperor in turn had to rely on the personal loyalty of his subordinates, who maintained themselves by the personal support from their underlings, down to rank-and file personnel on the fringes of the empire. The emperor carried an enormous work load reading or listening to petitions, policy arguments, judicial claims, appeals for favors, and the like in an attempt to keep the vast imperial machine functioning. It was a system of favoritism and patronage. In a system based on personal preferment, a change of emperor disrupted the entire arrangements of government. Those who had been in favor might now be out of favor. Weak rulers followed strong rulers, foolish monarchs succeeded wise monarchs – but all were dependent on the army, which supplied the continuity that enabled the empire to endure so long. In the absence of institutional, bureaucratic procedures, government moved from stability to near anarchy and back again. Modern administrative system is based on objective norms (such as laws, rules and regulations) rather than on favoritism It is a system of offices rather than officers. Loyalty is owed first of all to the state and the administrative organization. Members of the bureaucracy, or large, formal, complex organizations that appeared in the recent times, are chosen for their qualification rather than for their personal connections with powerful persons. When vacancies occur by death, resignation, or for other reasons, new qualified persons are selected according to clearly defined rules. Bureaucracy does not die when its members die. BUSINESS MANAGEMENT AND PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION In the studies of the 1880s and later scholars have collected an impressive body of data how best to carry out and manage routine operations to gain productivity in industry. Principles of scientific business management were worked out and people were trained to follow them. Later successful business was seen as the model for the proper management of government, and the field of public administration was seen as a field of business, because management of all organizations in both the fields involves planning the activities and establishing goals; organizing work activities; staffing and training; directing or decision-making; coordinating to assure that the various work activities come together; report-  ing the status of work and problems to both supervisors and subordinates; and budgeting to assure that work activities correspond to fiscal planning, accounting, and control. Some scholars argued that administration is a more general term and a more generic process than management. Administration takes place at factories, schools, hospitals, prisons, insurance companies, or welfare agencies, whether these organizations were private or public. Accordingly they started speaking about business and public administration. There is an obvious difference between administration of business, or private organization, and administration of public organizations. Thus, the word public in ‘public administration’ is meaningful, and the study of public affairs will have to take into account not only management subjects common to both public and private sectors, but also the special environment in which the public servant has to live, an environment constituted of the mix of administration, policy making, and politics. And then, public organizations are more dependent on government allocations, more constrained by law, more exposed to political influences, and more difficult to evaluate than business organizations. These differences suggest caution in applying business management techniques to government agencies. Public Administration as an Academic Discipline Originally the discipline of public administration was not strong on theory. Early public administration was marked by a concern for applying the  principles of business management to a higher level of business – public affairs. The method of case study was borrowed from business schools and applied to public administration. It was a prescriptive method and it told the student what he â€Å"ought to do† and what he â€Å"should not do† in specific situations of managing of public agencies. But by and by public administration developed a theory and a method of investigation of its own. In the 1950s it began to borrow heavily from sociology, political science, psychology, and social psychology that led to the formation of organization theory that helps to understand the nature of human organizations. Then, the 1950s and 1960s witnessed a dramatic upsurge of professional and academic participation in comparative administration studies. Comparative administration was focused on the developing nations and the analysis of â€Å"transitional societies†. Considerable attention was paid to studies of particular areas of the world. There were detailed case-by-case examinations of administrative situations in both the developing countries and the older, established bureaucracies of the industrialized world. They developed elaborate and highly generalized models of development administration and managed to explain many development situations. Another situation that has drawn from the management science traditions is the emergence of public policy analysis as a major branch of public administration studies. Writings on decision-making took into account economic, political, psychological, historical, and even nonrational, or irrational processes. The National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration (NASPAA) advocates public policy analysis as one of the subject areas that should be included in any comprehensive program in administration. An interesting development in American public administration in the late 1960s is known as the New Public Administration which was a reaction against the value-free positivism that had characterized much of American public administration thought since World War II. It reasserted the importance of normative values, particularly social justice. The disclosures of the Watergate scandals have reinforced these positions and stressed anew the importance of integrity, openness, and accountability in the conduct of public affairs. This concern for the needs of human beings in the modern world can be seen in the growth of consumer and environmental protection functions domestically, and pressure for human rights around the world. The politics  of public administration becomes increasingly interesting. Citizens, students, and scholars all round the world have come to understand the enormous impact of public administration on all of us, which is an important reason for the renaissance of their interest in public administration. SOME THEORETICAL ASPECTS   OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION Though there are different approaches to the field of public administration, this interdisciplinary subject nowadays has a quite strong theory that tries to take into account not only management subjects, but also the mix of administration, policy making, and politics. Let us consider some issues of this theory and start with organization theory common to both public and private sectors. The basic aspects of organization theory The terms public and private convey very different connotations to the general public. Public organizations are commonly pictured as large mazes that employ bureaucrats to create red tape; private organizations, on the other hand, are viewed to be run by hard-nosed managers who worry about profit and consumers. Public organizations are pictured as wasteful; private organizations are often presented as efficient. Yet these perceptions of their differences do not withstand careful scrutiny. Both types of organizations have much in common. Organization as bureaucracy Whether in business or government organizations, a dominant form of any administration is bureaucracy. Bureaucracies are generally defined as organizations that (1) are large, (2) hierarchical in structure with each employee accountable to the top executive through a chain of command, (3) provide each employee with a clearly defined role and area of responsibility, (4) base their decisions on impersonal rules, and (5) hire and promote employees taking into account their skills and training related to specific jobs. Bureaucracy has promise but it may also create problems  and abuses of power, especially in the absence of effective coordination. Organization as a dynamic change Then, both public and private organizations have a dilemma – the need for both stability and change. All organizations resist change as organizational change is often painful and destructive. Despite the need for new ideas, new approaches, and new types of employees, stability need usually dominates in organizations. And the forces of stability are stronger in public organizations. These institutions are generally insulated from survival concerns by legal mandates. Few of them declare bankruptcy despite serious doubts about their efficiency. Organization as human relations Both organizations, especially public organizations, are crowded with individuals. Individuals bring to organizations a complex mix of needs (both fundamental needs, as food, shelter, health care, and future security which are bought with money earned through work, and our highest spiritual needs to belong to a social group and to contribute to it, the need of self-actualization, esteem and recognition). To attract and keep people and to encourage dependable and innovative performance, organizations must take into account individual needs and motivation and satisfy them. Organizations should also make a system of various rewards that are powerful incentives for above-average performance. Pay, promotions, recognition, and others rewards are distributed by managerial staff. Social rewards like friendship, conversation, impact, satisfaction received from meaningful work appear in the process of work itself. The social rewards of some jobs are more obvious than others. Jobs with greater variety, responsibility, and challenge are inherently more rewarding while routine can generate lack of interest and boredom, and managers should take it into account. Organization as a structure of subgroups Most work in organizations depends on ensemble rather than solo effort, and is a mix of collaboration and interdependence. There are two basic groups in organizations: formal and informal. Formal groups (departments, committees) are identified and selected by organizational leaders, and their major  characteristics are organizational legitimacy and task orientation. Informal groups (sport groups, common lunch hours, etc.) are not created by management but evolve out of the rich social environment. Though people in these groups get together to share common interests, not to work, their activities in them (supporting friends, trading rumors, and so on) have a profound effects on work and are as important as formal assignments. Organization as a cultural product Organizations have not only tangible dimensions such as an office building, an organizational chart, products and services, specific individuals and groups. Organizations are cultural and meaning systems as well as places for work. The concept of culture is difficult to define. But when comparing organizations in different countries, their cultural differences are extremely vivid and important. Despite similar work and procedures, police departments, for example, in India, Germany and Japan differ greatly. Offering a small gift to a policeman may be considered corruption in one nation and a sign of respect in another. Organizations are also meaning systems as they provide meaning to our lives. Feelings and emotions as well as purpose are very important to work life of an organization. The despair of the unemployed goes deeper than financial worries; many feel lost, without significance. Both culture and emotions influence structure, effectiveness, and change in organizations. Organizations are not only places of production; they are also sites rich with symbols and bureaucrats and executives act as tribal leaders: they tell stories, repeat myths, and stage rites and ceremonials. The symbolic and cultural dimensions of organizations are increasingly viewed as essential to understanding individual organizations and their role in society. The environment of public administration When many people think of public administration as an activity, they visualize large offices crammed with rows of faceless bureaucrats sitting at desks and producing an endless stream of paperwork. But this view captures only few of the important things that professional civil servants actually do. Public administration also has many more participants, such as the  executive, the legislature, the courts, and organized groups, which are involved in the formulation and implementation of public policy. And if a public administrator focuses the attention on only some of them then others may become neglected and that may lead to the jeopardy of the entire program. Summing up what has been said, it is important to underline that the theory of public administration is very diverse, is rapidly developing and depends much on what we know about why humans behave as they do when they interact with each other. PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION PERSONNEL:  ROLE-TYPES, ROLE CONFLICTS, ROLE OVERLOADS Large organizations employ many individuals. Charismatic leaders, caring supervisors, innovative program directors, and numerous street-level employees lend individuality to the collective and character to the whole organization. One should also remember that higher moral and ethical standards are expected of public employees than of private employees, and that public managers work within very strict limits of legislation, executive orders, and regulations surrounding government. But unique contributions of individuals do not obscure their general patterns of behavior, or roles. A role is a predictable set of expectations and behaviors associated with an office or position. Like an actor assigned a part, cabinet secretaries, police officers, and policy analysts step into roles that are already largely defined. A person usually performs several roles and it may become a source of stress and overload. Role overload is more than just too much work, or overwork. Role overload exists when the demands of various roles overwhelm an individual’s ability to balance expectations, when the demands of one role make it difficult to fulfill the demands of others. The lawyer who must cancel an appointment to care for a sick child or the professor who neglects his students to fulfill administrative obligations is experiencing a role conflict. Viewing organization as a system of roles helps to identify rights and obligations of each employee. Roles provide the consistency that holds an organization together. An organization that falls apart when individuals leave has not built an adequate structure of roles. Although public organizations contain  many specific roles, five role-types – the political executive, desktop administrator, professional, street-level bureaucrat, and policy entrepreneur – are the most common. Political executives Political executives (the secretary of a State Department, the city manager, or the county administrator) occupy the top of public organizations. Although their jobs and responsibilities are different, they all perform the functions of a political aide, policy maker, and top administrator. In most cases, political executives are political appointees – elected officials give them their jobs. That is why, their position, their tenure, and their influence while in office derive from the authority of elected officials. The official who wins the election most commonly appoints loyal supporters. They are advisors for selected officials. Elected officials cannot do everything. They can do little more than point the general direction and scrutinize the final result. That is why political executives appointed by them are also policy makers. The political executive initiates, shapes, promotes, and oversees policy changes. They may also have responsibility for major decisions. The ultimate authority, however, rests with the elected official. Political executives are also top-level administrators. It is a difficult role. Public executives are legally responsible for implementing policy They must cut through the red tape, resistance of change, intra-organizational conflict to assure that the public is served well.. Those political executives who fail to reach down and get the support and enthusiasm of their agency personnel will effect little change in policy. But if they completely disregard the preferences, knowledge, and experience of their agencies, stalemate ensues. If they uncritically adopt the views of their elected officials or their agencies, they may lose influence with elected officials. Desktop administrators Desktop administrators are career civil servants down the hierarchy a few steps from political executives. They are middle managers and closely fit the general description of a bureaucrat. Whether a social worker supervisor or the director of a major government program, the desktop administrator  spends days filled with memoranda and meetings. The desktop administrators are torn between the promises and practicality of governing. Desk administrators guide policy intentions into policy actions that actually change, for better or worse, people’s life. If there is, for example, a public and political consensus that the government should assist poor blind people, the definition worked out by a desktop administrator to answer the question who is poor and who is blind, has a dramatic influence to the nature of the program. Desktop administrators differ fundamentally from political executives in that most of them are career civil servants. After a short probation period, most earn job tenure, and usually are not fired. Tenure insulates the civil service from direct political interference in the day-to-day working of government. Job tenure protects civil servants from losing their jobs, but they may be reassigned to less important jobs of equal rank if they lose favor with political executives. Professionals Professionals make up the third major role-type in public organizations. The original meaning of the term profession was a ceremonial vow made when joining a religious community. This vow followed years of training and some certification that the acquired knowledge and appropriate norms of behavior justified an individual’s initiation. Modern professionals receive standard specific training that ends with certification. They also learn values and norms of behavior. Increasingly the work of public organizations depends on professionals and more and more professionals are involved in public administration. The work of professionals involves applying their general knowledge to the specific case and requires considerable autonomy and flexibility. An important difference between professional and non-professional work is who evaluates performance. Nonprofessionals are evaluated by their immediate supervisors. Professionals assert their independence from supervisors. Their work is evaluated by peer review of their colleagues and that has flaws: fellow professionals are sometimes more willing to overlook the mistakes of colleagues for different reasons. Street-level bureaucrats Street-level bureaucrats (social workers, police officers, public school  teachers, public health nurses, job and drug-counselors, etc.) are at the bottom or near the bottom of public organizations. Their authority does not come from rank, since they are at the bottom of hierarchy, but from the discretionary nature of their work. They deal with people and people are complex and unpredictable, they are not the same and require individual attention. A common complaint about public bureaucrats is that they treat everyone like a number; they ignore unique problems and circumstances. But there are only general guidelines how to deal with people (an abusive parent, an arrested, poor, old or sick person), and it is impossible to write better guidelines to make everyone happy. Street-level administrator must use judgment to apply rules and laws to unique situations, and judgment requires discretion. Given limited resources, public organizations want fewer, not more clients, and this is an important difference between public and private organizations, which attract more clients to earn more profit. And dependence of clients on street-level bureaucrats often create conflicts. Street-level bureaucrats work in situations that defy direct supervision. Even when supervisors are nearby, much work with clients is done privately. Most paperwork and computerized information systems attempt to control street-level bureaucrats, who in turn become skilled in filling out forms to satisfy supervisors while maintaining their own autonomy. Street-level bureaucrats are also policy-makers. They often decide what policies to implement, their beliefs can affect their work with clients, they may interpret the policy to benefit clients and vice versa, and thus they may change the policy while implementing it. Policy entrepreneurs The policy entrepreneur is generally considered to be the charismatic person at the top, though they can exist at all levels of an organization. They are strongly committed to specific programs and are strong managers. They are skilled in gathering support and guiding an idea into reality. The role requires conceptual leadership, strategic planning, and political activism. This role is both necessary and dangerous. They take risks and push limits, which is necessary for a dynamic government, but they also bend rules and sometimes lead policy astray. PERSONNEL ADMINISTRATION: STAFFING  AND TRAINING THE AGENCY An important task in the management of any enterprise, private or public, is the recruiting, selecting, promoting, and terminating of personnel and employee training. Recruiting Once jobs have been created, the recruitment starts, i.e. finding people to fill those jobs. Public administration in the United States has come a long way from the time of Andrew Jackson, when, in the popular view, government jobs could be performed by any individuals (or at least any men) with normal intelligence. Under Jackson and his successors, frequent rotation on office was encouraged; no particular prior training or experience was necessary for most jobs. Merit systems were designed for the most part to keep out the grossly incompetent, not to attract the highly qualified. Gradually, the pattern changed. The government began attracting especially competent applicants. Openings were more highly publicized, recruiting visits were made to college and university campuses, and wages were made more nearly competitive with those in the private sector. Active efforts were made to attract individuals who, in earlier times, would have been excluded from public employment because of their ethnic or racial backgrounds or because they were women. Examining and selecting Once applications have been received, the next step in the personnel process is examination. The term examination does not refer only to a pencil-and-paper test. Some judgments are made on the basis of an unassembled examination. That is, the application form itself may require sufficient information to permit the assignment of a score based on reported experience and education and on references. Another possibility, especially important for jobs requiring particular skills, is performance examination. Some jobs call for an oral examination, particularly those for which communication skills are especially important. One examination of special importance is the Professional and Administrative Career Examination (PACE). PACE is intended to select candidates for federal government careers rather than for particular jobs. The personnel agency (e.g. Civil Service Commission) considers the list with the names of the individuals with the highest examination scores from which it chooses the new employee. Considerable discretion is allowed in making the final choice. Following selection, the new employee is likely to serve a probationary period, often six months, during which removal is relatively easy. Personnel managers encourage supervisors to see this as an extension of the testing procedure, but few employees are, in fact, dismissed during this period. Evaluation The evaluation of employee performance is a further personnel function. Recently, the trend has been to formalize rating schemes and to regularize feedback to employees. Where possible, objective measures of the work completed are employed. In jobs where this is not possible, supervisors are encouraged to judge performance as accurately as possible using impressionistic techniques. By supplying a continuing record of performance, such evaluation can protect employees from capricious actions of a subjective supervisor. Continuing education in the public service Government is deeply involved with the further education and training of the employees. This involvement may range from relatively simple, in-house training sessions – even on-the-job training – to the financing of undergraduate or graduate education. Many universities, in cooperation with government agencies, have developed special programs for public employees, and the courses typically lasting for a week, may be conducted either at a university campus or at an agency site. The Federal Executive Institute in Charlottesville, Virginia, established in 1968, operated by the Civil Service Commission, provides managerial training for high-level federal executives. The commission also has regional training centers located throughout the country. Public personnel are also often given leaves for a semester or a year by their agency to pursue a degree at the doctoral level (the Doctor of Public Administration) or to fulfill a master’s program. ELEMENTS AND MODELS OF A DECISION-MAKING PROCESS We all make decisions all the time. Some are small; some will have ramifications throughout our lives. Sometimes we make snap judgments that in retrospect seem wise. Other times we carefully weigh the pros and cons but are betrayed by fate. Often the most important decisions are nondecisions: we put things off, choose to ignore problems, or to avoid situations or people and later discover that inaction has consequences just as important as those resulting from action. Four processes of decision-making Whether small or large, short- or long-term, studied or impulsive, decision-making involves four major elements: problem definition, information search, choice, and evaluation. They are not sequential, they occur simultaneously. And it is often difficult to identify when a decision process begins and ends as most important choices are ongoing. Problem definition The first step in defining a problem is recognizing that it exists. Then, problems are plentiful; attention is scare. Selecting a problem for attention and placing it on the policy agenda is the most important element in policy making. When a problem is given attention, it gains focus and takes shape. How a problem is defined affects how it is addressed. The problem of the homeless is a good example. The people without home have always been with us. Most often they have been seen as people who because of their own weaknesses could not find work and afford homes. They were dismissed as drunks and drifters. So defined, the homeless remained a problem in the background – a problem for the Salvation Army, not the government. But as their number grew, we began to take a closer look. We saw individuals discharged from mental institutions, the unemployed whose benefits had expired, and families unable to afford decent home. And we started seeing â€Å"the homeless† as people in desperate situations. This change in our perception altered the decision process. Homelessness is now a focus of policy debate. Information search When we are only vaguely aware that a problem exists, our first step is often to learn more about it, and this learning is an important step in the decision-making. Acid rain is a good example. First in Europe and then in North America, people noticed that trees were dying, and a few scientists began to ask why. Pollution and changes in climate were explored. Out of this active search for information the problem gained definition: air pollution is killing trees. Then, the solutions were considered. Reducing acid rains requires costly reduction in pollution created in regions often at great distance from the dying trees. Thus, the information defined the nature of the policy-making. Information has always been central to governing, and governments are primary sponsors of research both in the sciences and humanities. Such research is driven by the interests of scholars and may not have immediate relevance to policy debate. But it may have important policy implications. For example, advances in lasers and genetic engineering influence defense and social policy in ways unanticipated by scientists or their government sponsors. Choice As problems are defined and information about problems and outcomes is examined, choices emerge. Weighing options and selecting are the most visible decision-making processes.  Sometimes choices are difficult and taking decisions is very hard, especially when choices are not clear and their results are unpredictable. Should we negotiate with terrorists? Do we want to save the lives of hostages, as family members prefer, or do we want to eliminate any incentive for future terrorism? The selection process does not necessarily require reasoned judgments; the compromises of group decision-making often produce results that only few individuals prefer; satisfying single interests often means ignoring the interests of others. Evaluation Decisions do not end with choices among alternatives. Decision-making  involves evaluating the effects and actions. Evaluation may be formal (an official study of the results produced by a new government program) or informal (scanning the news, talking to colleagues). Whether formal or informal, evaluation is another form of information gathering after the choice. The distinction between information search and evaluation is arbitrary. Before decision makers reach conclusions, most try to anticipate outcomes. The most difficult aspect of evaluating choices is establishing the criteria. The most common criterion is the result – if things turn out well we feel that we made the right choice. But in this case we may confuse good luck with good decision-making (consider the decision to have a surgery: all surgery involves risk, and if a person chooses to take the very slight risk to remove a small tumor and dies during surgery, was the decision wrong?). Results are not universal criteria for the quality of a decision. The evaluation of any decision-making must involve looking at results and processes as well as the situation faced by decision makers. Models of decision-making There is no right or wrong way to make decisions. Sometimes cautious deliberation is the best path; at other times risks are required. But scholars speak about two broad categories of models of decision-making: rational and nonrational models. Rational decisions are choices based on judgment of preferences and outcomes. They are not always turn out best and they do not eliminate the possibility of failure. Sometimes the goal is so important that it is rational to choose an option with little promise of payoff. Opting for experimental surgery is a rational choice over a life of pain. In nonrational models choices do not result from the deliberate balancing of pros and cons. These models share the assumption that the mix of rules and participants shape choices, and that decisions result from the varying (though not necessarily accidental) mix of ingredients. Most of governmental decisions are within these models. The decision process there is too complex to take into account multiple goals, alternatives and impacts of every alternative; the time required to take a decision is too short; the  finances are too thin to provide long researches. Taken to extremes, rational models reduce human judgment to computation, and nonrational models portray decision outcomes as the result of forces beyond individual control.  Both rational and nonrational models of the decision process are products of value-neutral social science. Values enter rational decision models only in the form of preferences, but they are generally defined in terms of self-interest. An emerging view of decision-making places a stronger emphasis on decisions as value statements. LEADERSHIP Leadership is the direction and guiding of other participants in the organization. Leadership differs in degree. Transactional leaders exchange rewards for services. They guide subordinates in recognizing and clarifying roles and tasks. They give their subordinates the direction, support, and confidence to fulfill their role expectations. They also help subordinates understand and satisfy their own needs and desires. They encourage better than average performance from their subordinates. They are good managers. Transformational leadership is more dramatic. Transformational leaders change the relationship of the subordinate and the organization. They encourage subordinates to go well beyond their original commitments and expectations. If transactional leaders expect diligence, transformational leaders foster devotion. These leaders have the ability to reach the souls of others to raise human consciousness. They raise the level of awareness and encourage people to look beyond their sel f-interest. Both forms of leadership are important. When people in positions of authority encourage subordinates to believe that their work is important – not merely a fair exchange of pay for work – motivation, commitment, and performance surpass routine expectations. Leadership is required for major changes and new directions, and without leadership government easily stagnates. When things go well or poorly we credit or blame the leader. We look for leadership in candidates for high office. But can we determine which job candidates are â€Å"natural born† leaders? Can we train employees so that they develop the required personality characteristics to become effective leaders? Over many years, investigators have hoped to identify leadership traits. It is  extremely difficult to know precisely what traits such diverse political leaders as Napoleon Bonaparte, Luther King, Vladimir Lenin, Joseph Stalin, Indira Ghandi, and Adolf Hitler shared in common. Yet many researches have attempted to identify universal characteristics of leadership and the following classification of the leadership traits is suggested: 1)capacity (intelligence, verbal facility, originality, judgment); 2)achievement (scholarship, knowledge, athletic accomplishments); 3)responsibility (dependability, initiative, persistence, aggressiveness, self-confidence, desire to excel); 4)participation (activity, sociability, cooperation, adaptability, humor); 5)status (socioeconomic position, popularity). Yet this list is not very helpful. Particular traits are neither necessary nor sufficient to become a leader. There are brilliant thinkers and talkers who are not leaders, and there are people who are not very intelligent and not blessed with verbal facility who are obvious leaders. The holding of a degree does not say enough of the holder and whether he would fit into a particular situation. In some situations the manager’s superior education may be even resented by less well educated organization members. It is obvious that some managers are better leaders than others, and if psychological traits do not explain the variations, what is the explanation? Some investigators emphasize the situational character of leadership. The ingredients of this parameter of leadership are the following: †¢status, or position power – the degree to which the leader is enabled to get the group members to comply with and accept his or her leadership (but leadership should not be confused with high position – holding high office does not guarantee impact; despite the leader’s formal power, he or she did not always get from subordinates the performance that was desired); †¢leader-member relations – acceptance of the leader by members and their loyalty to him or her; †¢task-structure – the degree to which the jobs of the followers are well defined; †¢ability to recognize the most critical needs for organization members at the moment (physiological needs for food, sleep, etc. or safety needs for freedom from fear, for security and stability; needs for love, friends and contact; esteem needs for self-respect and the respect of others or needs for self-actualization, for a chieving one’s potential). Defining leadership is a very difficult task but  rejecting the study of leadership would impoverish our understanding of governing.

Journalism Essahe

Critically evaluate the extent to which the key economic/technological challenges facing political journalism in the UK democracy are undermining the ability of the quality news media to play the role demanded of them within competitive and participatory democracies (as defined by Stromback). The quality of the Uk’s new’s media is often scrutinised and mocked for their unashamed bias political opinions, going back to the fundamentals of journalism and the diversion of right and left wing politics, it was inevitable that quality news would disintegrate into a playing field for them to dig the opposition.However, the cause of this could be down to economical and technological challenges facing the news media today, along with the decrease in political interest came the rise in commercialisation. Competitive and participatory democracies include a range of requirements from journalists to act a certain role in society.As described in The Future of Journalism in Advanced De mocracies â€Å"a competitive democracy requires of journalism the following: it should act as a watchdog or burglar alarm† giving the public the honest and truths within politics for them then to make and adequate decision based on sufficient information. A participatory democracy â€Å"requires that journalism should mobilise the citizen’s interest and participation in public life† it also states that journalism should â€Å"focus on the solving of problems and not just the problems themselves. (Anderson & Ward, 2006: 47) There are a range of economical factors, which have affected the quality of news and the role in which they are depicted to play in competitive and participatory democracies, as defined by Stromback, therefore, these have effected the roles in which journalists play in society. Increased Leisure has become a challenging factor in competing with other entertainment provisions; the various opportunities such as Sunday shopping have proven a ne gative impact on Sunday newspapers.Sunday has always been a day of rest, therefore before technology had evolved people would spend this time reading newspapers and conforming an opinion based on the quality news provided, â€Å"if we are to understand what media communications people are actually exposed to and what message content they actually receive, it makes sense to ask how people come to pay attention to a particular medium; in short, why are people moved to watch, listen to, or read a particular program or story? † (Alger, 1995: 33) ince this as drastically changed it has resulted in the commodification of news media and undermining the quality of news by selecting stories and information which attract the public’s interest and not necessarily stories of important and prominence. â€Å"Journalism has always entertained and as well as informed. Had it not done so, it would not have reached a mass audience. But today, say journalism’s critics, the instin ct amuse is driving out the will, and depleting the resource, to report and analyse in depth. (Hagreaves, 2003: 104) In addition to this, social fragmentation has multiplied and caused a decline in cohesion; at one time it was clear that there was only a limited number of views, which brought together a large number of people who had the same ideologies and preference. Now, due the increased number of major media corporation and accessibility to over-seas news there has been a massive break down in social groups.This gives the market only to options, to either supply to a niche market, targeting a particular social clad which would cause a massive loss in profit and interest for the media corporation or, to continue to target the mass market and conform to commercialization and sensationalism to attract the reader. Large corporations need the funds to run the ‘business’ and without this would simply mean a decline and eventually a complete collapse and therefore they ha ve to rely on either readers or sponsor each wanting a certain type on context.Further economical challenges facing journalism today include that increased wealth has led to the ‘culture of contentment’ theory written by Galbraith. This has resulted in the lower-class, those with fewer beneficiaries has caused a lack of interest in news media, this is due to the under class choosing to almost ignore the current political situation as it does not affect them for any good reason. â€Å"Many of the national papers are overtly and emphatically partisan.The ownership and editorial orientation are overwhelmingly toward the Conservative party and ideology, and the trend toward ownership concentration over the past couple of decades has intensified the press skew towards the Conservative party. † (Alger, 1995: 408) This shows that the upper classes fail to think about the future consequences of political decisions, as all of the UK’s news corporation are privately owned it means that the ball is in their court, however, due to the decisions being made and the lack of public interest displayed in the news media today it has unintentionally ‘shot itself in the foot. This has then led to a reduction in political interest, due to the â€Å"compression of the gap between right-wind and left-wing politics† (Anderson & Ward, 2007: 27) this occurred as a result of commercialization, as news media started to concentrate on market values rather than the role they where traditional made for it became apparent that editors where increasing the number of stories which aligned with their political stance and more so, they would glamourize this by omission of important information.It system became blurred and peoples views on politics had changed, the traditional bonds and conformations had broken down. The under class would consider the future benefits of their decisions, they would condone things which in the long run would serve them greatl y however the upper class ignored the future consequences of their decisions and this led to a collapse in political conforms. Today is the perfect visual representation of the extent to which this has occurred; the current coalition government is a product of the news media and the lack of adequate and sufficient information.Other change that evolve and continually challenge political journalism are technological and at the fast pace it is moving news media is finding it difficult to conform to traditional news values and keep the quality of news among the most popular. The development in multi-channel television has created fragmented viewing habits for the audience; this has led to a decline in some of the highest forms of quality news such as, The 10 O’clock News.This has led to conglomeration and concentration of ownership, which creates a dominated market of privately owned corporations. Although this plays an essential part in reducing costs and pressures of news media it often conforms to market driven attitudes that are in complete opposition to the roles depicted by competitive and participatory democracies. â€Å"Murdoch’s orientation towards his newspaper â€Å"properties† is a centerpiece of the current trend. As he has said: â€Å"All newspapers run to make profits†¦.I don’t run anything for respectability†. Therefore, today’s quality newspapers â€Å"have descended to the slimy and sensational- a process that might better be called Murdochization. † (Alger, 1995: 408) This also led to the declining diversity in news provisions, as competition increased it was soon wiped-out by the conformation of large corporate companies which where then driven away from their traditional role to act as a watchdog and instead, more often than not, conform around commodification such as Murdoch’s. The most nfluential and fast-paced form of technology affecting the quality of news media has to be, the birth of the Internet; this offers unlimited access to news providers all over the world and outside of the journalism profession. â€Å" ‘What the hell were we all smoking that weekend? Is the question now asked at Time Warner, according to Rupert Murdoch, reflecting upon the decision by Time Warner to sell itself into a merger with American Online at the very peak of dotcom valuations, with the result that it inflicted huge, medium term misery on it’s own shareholders. (Hargreaves, 2003: 237) The Internet was curated by news media and only to be the destroyer, since the birth of the Internet the quality of news in traditional newspapers and television has plummeted only to become the start of another line of challenges facing journalist’s everyday. The internet expanded the news media market excessively creating a mass amount of jobs, â€Å"there were so many jobs, it became difficult to recruit people into journalism training courses† (Hargreaves, 2003 : 236) Newspapers where now battling not only with their paper based competition, but a whole new level of news media.As the online market grew at a phenomenal rate its affects on newspapers included trivialisation and commercialisation, as they had to compete for the readers. Newspapers where in decline â€Å"fewer people are reading these newspapers and circulations continue their steady decline from the peak year of 1989 reflecting, at least in part, the expansion of local radio, the spiraling costs of newsprint and growing access to the internet. (Allan, 2005: 140) Journalists ethics where thrown out the window and instead superiority was given to market values, again this moves away from the traditions of the news role in UK democracies. However, without the internet, news media would have never reached the mass audience it has. It became possible to communicate all over the world which led to word news, â€Å"the global nature of the new communications network means that ind ividuals can consume journalism all over the world. This allows journalists to, in one sense increase their skills to act as the watchdog role over society, â€Å"journalism today is a two-way street or rather a multidirectional process of boundaryless space† which gives them the ability to give us information which has prominence to us. Although this has created massive opportunities in some respect, it will always revolve around profit hungry organisations, one would not exist without the other. With the increase in technology an increase in a journalist skill also applies, the newsroom requires a multi-skilled journalist to be able to source and construct relevant stories.However, due to the decreasing news media market journalism has been led to ‘downsizing’ therefore, journalists are now required to do more, with this comes a failure in the idea of democratic media, omission being one of the key factors undermining todays news media quality. As journalists b ecome pressured it is apparent that a lack of important information can be an accidental mistake, â€Å"Evidently more journalists than ever are feeling alarmed about their professions credibility problems with the public, due in part to their perception that standards of accuracy are in decline. (Allan, 2005: 6) With an endless amount of content, this is inevitably going to apply to news media if they continue to make cuts; this in itself proves the undermining role of quality news in todays democracies, they are willing to sacrifice the important information and acting as a watchdog role, over making cuts to increase on profits. As the internet continues to build a news media empire, newspapers are inclined to follow suit and this is where the lack of journalist ethics appears. Editors, pressured by intense competition for readers, demand that staff cut ethical corners; and competition among staff encourages some to respond† (Hargreaves, 2003: 221) with the pressures to dow nsize journalists are forced to reconcile their role in society and conform to the multi-news corporations and their needs for increased profits.This has also resulted in a decline in independent journalist sources, newspaper are now relying on PR material to build a sustainable story, however, this causes the quality of news to disappear completely, they are building a headline to attract the viewer and then using bogus, second-hand information and sources to build the context. â€Å"The majority believes that the news media pay too little attention to complex stories. † (Allan, 2005: 7) This is a result off multi-corporate news organisations who often ignore the role in which journalism should play in the UK’s democracies defined by Stromback. Journalists in a commercial setting are primarily working for their shareholders’ profits† (Hargreaves, 2003: 178) as a result the quality of news has decreased and it merely concentrates on entertainment news. To conclude, quality news has decreased as a result of technological and economical challenges. The extent to this bares down to the journalist and their ethics, most of which have conformed to different ideologies by large news corporations.The role in which Stromback demands of the UK’s political journalism is highly unachieved in today’s society; this is due to the increased pressures from large competition in the global news media market today. â€Å"Underlying this global expansion are specific economic factors, First, media products have relatively low reproduction costs. Second, they can be resold without requiring any additional outlay by producers, and hence once production costs are covered, they generate pure profits for their owners. (Curran & Gurevitch, 2005: 94) It has become an unavoidable need to concentrate on the market values due to the high number of privately owned news corporations, as a result of this journalist ethics and intentions within a democ racy, outlined by Stromback are completely ignored. The news media is now in a situation where it coexists with market values, it is unavoidable and an inevitable fact that this has resulted in the commercialisation and sensationalism of quality news. British local press is characterized by a sustained decline in the number of published titles, publisher’s readers and circulations although, paradoxically, this decline coexists with robust and expansive advertising revenues and profits. † (Allan, 2005: 141) it is now unavoidable and can not be undone, without multi-channel television or the birth of the internet would not have come this global force which allows the public to explore willingly, the news media, whether it is written professionally or not. 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