Thursday, December 26, 2019

The Titanic Was A Ship - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 1 Words: 405 Downloads: 8 Date added: 2019/07/29 Category History Essay Level High school Tags: Titanic Essay Did you like this example? The Titanic was a ship created by Harland and Wolff Shipyard in Belfast. It was known as The Ship that could not be sunk. Many people believed this to the point that they had no fear to be on the ship, even in the winter. Unfortunately, she never lived up to the expectation. Some reasons she sunk was because it did not have Ice Patrol, enough lifeboats, or a reliable radio system. On April 10, 1912, the Titanic sailed into open waters headed from Southampton Ireland, to Western New York. It carried over 2,000 people who had all the faith in the world that she would get them to their destination. They had no idea how wrong they were. April 14, just 4 days later, the Titanic struck an iceberg. The Captain, Edward Smith, was drunk and asleep in his cabin that night. There was no one in the entire area to call for help. They were on their own, with limited lifeboats and definitely not much time to get enough people on board. Because of the limited life boats and a poor radio system, 1,503 people perished that day. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "The Titanic Was A Ship" essay for you Create order Next year I am going on a cruise to Mexico. They have updated several rules so that my family and I will be protected. Ice Patrol is now required for when any ship travels into the sea. An Ice Patrols job is to scout and monitor the ocean and locate any icebergs and movement with the sea. To go along with the Ice Patrol, sufficient lifeboats are now on each ship. The Titanics lifeboats could only hold 50% of its passengers. The law now requires that there has to be enough lifeboats for the entirety of the ships passengers. The last rule is Radio Control. Since this new law, ships now have to maintain constant communication with coastal ships so, that the ship is not lost or sunk like the Titanic was sunk. Even though the Titanic had its downfalls, it lets us know how important it is for ships to be prepared. If the Titanic was properly prepared with Ice Patrol, sufficient lifeboats, and Radio Control, there was a chance more people would have made it out alive. I can now get aboard a cruise ship without the fear of sinking because of the updated rules and procedures. This gives me great comfort on cruise ships because I know everyone will have my back, and they will have a reliable system.

Wednesday, December 18, 2019

Mary Rowlandsons Captivity Narrative, The Sovereignty And...

Mary Rowlandson’s captivity narrative, The Sovereignty and Goodness of God, and Charles Brockden Brown’s novel Edgar Huntly were both written during a time of discovery, exploration, and the questioning of identity in America. The frontier was considered the wild place of the unknown, and in these two works, the wilderness of the frontier and characters of â€Å"civilized† society interact to form compelling stories. Mary Rowlandson’s narrative and Brown’s novel Edgar Huntly both use the theme of savagery, in which the world of the frontier enables self-proclaimed â€Å"civilized† people to rationalize savage behavior, showing that everyone has the capability of savagery, and all have inner, dark impulses that are an inherent part of one’s human†¦show more content†¦In another instance she consumed raw horse-liver which she described in this manner: â€Å"I was forced to take the rest and eat it as it was, with the blood abo ut my mouth, and yet a savory bit it was to me; for to the hungry soul every bitter thing was sweet† (Rowlandson 68). Her description of eating the horse liver with the image of the â€Å"blood about her mouth† is particularly savage and would normally by associated only with the Native Americans. She attempts to justify her behavior with her desperate hunger, and this further reveals the ability of the frontier to create a world in which the â€Å"civilized† attempt to rationalize their own savage behavior. After she later ate a piece of fawn so tender that she was able to eat the bones as well as the flesh, Rowlandson relied upon her faith and credited God for making the normally detestable food delicious to her. She portrays the food as a gift from God when she states, â€Å"I would tell the world what a blessing the Lord gave to such mean food† (Rowlandon 76). This also reveals Rowlandson’s shifting perspective in the narrative as to what is and is not considered savagery; At the beginning of the novel, a Native American committing these same actions would have been considered by Rowlandson to be the most â€Å"barbarous heathen.† Perhaps one of Mary Rowlandon’s most barbarous actions occurred during the eighteenth remove when she stole a piece of horse meat from a child. Rowlandson describes the incident

Tuesday, December 10, 2019

Shawn Joyce Essay Example For Students

Shawn Joyce Essay Homer (Odyssey)The classic epic The Odyssey and the Old Testament show manydifferences in the Greek and Hebrew religions. The Greek religion ispolytheistic and the Hebrew religion is monotheistic. In comparing thenature of the gods there are many differences. In comparing therelationships between Odysseus and Athena on one hand, and Job and God onthe other, we can discern differences between the religious attitudes ofthe Greeks and Hebrews. These differences include, one God versus many,and childish gods versus a loving God. In Homers Odyssey, Odysseus deals with many Gods while in the OldTestament Job deals with one God. Homer states, the master of heaven andhigh thunder, Zeus, went to his place among the Gods(101). This is areference that the Greek religion is a polytheistic religion. The quotecontinues to state that Athena forewarns Odysseus of the woes that hewill encounter (101). She proceeds to warn him because she cares abouthim. Athena cares about Odysseus just as God cares about Job. Godrespects Job, for he says, no one on earth is like him-he is a truly goodperson, who respects me and refuses to do evil (Job 1.8). Because Job hasnever done anything to disrespect God, God loves Job and doesnt want anyharm to happen to him. Although the books are different, the concern thegods have for their people is similar. Greek gods acted in a childish manner some of the time. Poseidon,the God of the sea, wanted to destroy Odysseus (Book V).His actions wereimmature and uncalled for because he is supposed to be a god, which is nothow he behaved. The gods are also jealous. Calypso states, a hard-hearted lot you are, you gods, and as jealous as jealous can be!(bookV). If the gods are supposed to be rulers then why are they jealous? Jealousyis not a godly trait. One can see in the Old Testament that the Hebrew Godis never jealous. When conversing with Satan, God says, All right, Satan,do what you want with anything that belongs to him, but dont harmJob(Job1.12). God is not jealous because first of all, that is not hisnature. Secondly, he knows that Job is his loyal servant.In the twobooks the gods act differently according to their nature. In conclusion, it is important to notice the differences andsimilarities in the two pieces of literature. The relationships betweenOdysseus and Athena and Job and God are similar in some ways. Both Athenaand God care for their loyal subjects. In the Odyssey there are differentgods and in the Old Testament there is only one God. Some of the gods inthe Odyssey have childish traits, while in the Old Testament, God acts in agodly fashion.

Monday, December 2, 2019

Risk Assessment and Practices of Dodge Ball

Table of Contents Introduction Hazards Risk management strategies Works Cited Introduction This report highlights the measures that have been taken to address the dangers posed by the dodge ball game in the school. In compiling the report, the main hazards were identified. The report also gives the strategies put in place to control hazards to reduce the risks of playing the game.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Risk Assessment and Practices of Dodge Ball specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Hazards The main hazards in the dodge ball game may include aggression between participants which can result to serious physical injuries. The aggressions not only cause injuries to players, but also to members of staff. The aggression can also arise from the spectators or the general public. This form of aggression has the potential to cause psychological and physical problem to participants, spectators and members of staff in the school. Physical obstacle in the school compound can also be a source of hazard to all participants with a potential of causing serious physical injuries. Poor preparations by players such as lack of warm up before engaging in the game potentially poses a risk of physical injuries to participants. To add to this, regular collisions between participants and injuries from equipment such as balls are a threat to both the players and officials. Wrong footwear, jewelry, glasses and poor behavior by players are also hazards that may risk the safety of the participants and the spectators. Risk management strategies Students need to be supervised at all times when they are playing dodge ball. Proper preparation before the game should be done and all players should ensure thorough warm up. No student should be allowed in the field of play without proper clothing and particularly the footwear should be right. All balls should be thrown at a height below the chest. Any ball aiming the head should be prohibited. According to Keyes (14), to avoid injuries from the balls, soft balls should be used. All aggressive players should be removed from the field of play as a punishment. Officials should not condone any unruly behavior from the crowd. Any member of the crowd with such behavior should face a ban from attending future matches. Officials also have the duty to ensure the field of play is free from obstacles that are potentially dangerous. First aid kits should be available at all times. Together with this, a team of well trained volunteers should be made available to administer first aid to all injured players. No jewelry should be allowed in the field of play. Each player should also be made aware of the disciplinary action that may be taken for any action that may pose risks to other players.Advertising Looking for essay on health medicine? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Drinks of all forms should be di scouraged from the field and all officials should enforce this. The clothing should not have zips. Officiating staff should check to ensure only sportswear are worn by all the players. Dodge ball has number of positive outcomes. The training helps in the strengthening of muscles. The game also help the body to improve on endurance and to increase in performance of the body, the body muscles also learn to coordinate well as one try to dodge the ball from time to time. The game also helps one to increase his awareness to the surrounding environment. It is also excellent for cardiovascular exercises, and also reduces stress level, anxiety and risk depression. In conclusion, dodge ball game should be encouraged. However, all rules of the game must be adhered. Any bleach to the set down rules should be punished. Works Cited Keyes, Andy. The Complete Book about Dodge ball. New York: Authorhouse.2005. Print This essay on Risk Assessment and Practices of Dodge Ball was written and submitted by user Chace Oneal to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Wednesday, November 27, 2019

GENETIC TRANSFORMATION OF INDICA RICE BPT5204 WITH CRY1Aa3 GENE Essay Example

GENETIC TRANSFORMATION OF INDICA RICE BPT5204 WITH CRY1Aa3 GENE Essay Example GENETIC TRANSFORMATION OF INDICA RICE BPT5204 WITH CRY1Aa3 GENE Essay GENETIC TRANSFORMATION OF INDICA RICE BPT5204 WITH CRY1Aa3 GENE Essay Introduction It is indispensable that we better our nutrient production and distribution in order to feed and maintain a turning universe population free from hungriness, while at the same clip cut downing the environmental impacts of high populations and bettering the quality life for most worlds. This will necessitate continued development and responsible use of scientific finds and new engineerings. With the increasing demand of harvest manufacturers for new high giving up cultivars and the demand of consumers for agricultural merchandises, works breeders face major challenges. Assorted methods for presenting new cistrons that confer utile agronomic features into harvests have been successfully exploited by harvest breeders to better agricultural harvests and new cultivars with higher outputs, improved qualities, increased pest oppositions and agronomic traits are continually being developedThough BPT-5204 released during 1986, it has spread all provinces in India. ( Anonymous, 2004 ) . Its ex cellence in cooking quality, but susceptible to brown works hopper and root bore bit. Different exists in rice are considerable for response to callus initiation and transmutation and works regeneration between the japonica types and indica.Engineering of workss promises to make new chances in agribusiness, industry and medical specialty. However, presenting and showing foreign cistrons in workss besides presents many proficient challenges that are non encountered with microbic systems. Transformation techniques have been widely used in rice. A given transgenic event is good known need non consequences workss with their coveted degree for the look of transgene ( Butaye et al. 2005 ) . Therefore, in any harvest works transmutation programme it been necessary to derive a big figure of transgenic events as to pick up among the best of them. Therefore by utilizing efficient and selectable marker cistrons such as hph ( for hygromycin ) and saloon ( for basta ) are more powerful as they r eported in several surveies Experiment The chief purpose of this research is the transmutation of CRY1Aa3 GENE in to the INDICA RICE BPT520. Which is widely grown in India where it is a midget statured ( 78-80 centimeter ) , medium stooling variety.In the experiment the seeds are washed in unfertile conditions and inoculate with chemicals so arrange these seeds in MS medium home bases. After 21 yearss calli will develop. Fresh and healthy callosity was developed which is placed on choice medium. After 15 yearss of incubation in choice medium the immune callosity is transferred to fresh choice medium. This procedure will follow about 4-5 rhythms of choice, from the filteration of all the rhythms merely the immune embryogenic callosity is taken and it is transferred to regeneration medium. Assorted molecular techniques are followed to acquire PCR positive Deoxyribonucleic acid samples ( means our cistron of involvement which is integrated in to genome ) . These techniques are DNA isolation, Gel cataphoresis, Plasmid isolati on, PCR, Elution technique and southern analysis. Finally after all these process the sample was subjected to hybridization procedure so we can presume the consequence. LITERATURE REVIEW : Genetic technology allows the re-introduction of rice cistrons that have been isolated and modified to give altered belongingss. There is a great trade of advancement in stable familial transmutation of rice workss. Compared to conventional genteelness, familial technology is a comparatively faster agencies for varietal betterment that allows transportation of cistrons from within every bit good as outside the primary cistron pool. The usage of transgenic engineering as portion of the conventional genteelness plan purposes to selectively change, reassign, or use some utile agronomic features in workss. ( Lemaux and Peggy, 2008 ) . This engineering offers the possibility of selectively conveying in desirable features from different cultivars of that works species. For case, the transportation of Xa21, a opposition cistron to rice bacterial foliage blight, caused by Xanthomonas oryzae pv oryzae ( Xoo ) , to cultivars non holding this cistron without utilizing traversing and back-crossi ng. More significantly, characters from unrelated species including micro-organisms, animate beings, and workss can be transferred into mark workss thereby presenting utile foreign cistrons into workss through asexual methods that overcome the defects of conventional genteelness techniques. Great advancement has been made in transmutation engineerings since the in-between 1980s. Coevals of the transgenic works: An excess ordinary phenomenon is that the whole works can be regenerated from a individual works cell, which makes the transmutation of workss much easier than any other being. Alien cistrons can be introduced into life cells through viral infection, protoplast transmutation utilizing polyethylene ethanediol ( PEG ) , microinjection or electroporation, microprojectiles and through Agrobacterium tumefaciens infection.Genetic transmutation of rice through usage of Agrobacterium is a favorite attack as it enables transportation of Deoxyribonucleic acid with defined terminals, minimum rearrangement, integrating of a little figure of transcripts of the cistron and more significantly, the possibility of transportation of larger sections of DNA. In viral transmutation, if the familial stuff is packaged into the genome of a suited works virus and so the modified virus can be used for infection of the works and present the cistron of involvement. Protoplast mediated transmutation is a dependa ble method. Several explants such as embryogenic cell suspension initiated signifier callosity produced from mature seeds, immature embyos, anthers and developing microspores can be used for protoplast isolation ( Potrykus, 1991 ) . An advantage of direct cistron transportation is that any piece of DNA may be transferred without utilizing specialised vectors. The most promising process is `gene hiting . Research methods The popular indica genotype BPT 5204 ( Samba Masuri ) , which is widely grown in Andhra Pradesh was used for tissue civilization and transmutation experiments. It is a midget statured ( 78-80 centimeter ) , medium stooling assortment and matures in about 115-120 yearss with yield potency of 5.5 to 6.0 t/ha.. The grains are long slender and the hull is xanthous in coloring material. Milled rice is semitransparent and white in colour.The plasmid pC1300-cry1Aa3 ( Fig. 2 ) was used for transmutation. All other chemicals were procured from M/s. Sigma-Aldrich Inc. , USA Materials and methods Preparation of Nutrient media Preparation of Stock solutions of salts of MS medium Preparation of stock solution of endocrines Preparation of explant and constitution of civilization Familial transmutation Preparation of Agrobacterium civilization and co-cultivation Washing and Selection Regeneration Molecular analysis of transgenic workss The methods used in this research are 1.DNA isolation 2.Gel cataphoresis 3.Plasmid Isolation 4.Polymerization concatenation reaction ( PCR ) 5.Elution Technique 6.Southern Analysis Deoxyribonucleic acid isolation Is a everyday process in which The genomic DNA was isolated from the foliage samples. Two to three centimeter pieces of immature foliage from putatively transformed workss will take and cut into little pieces. Gel cataphoresis: It is a technique that is used for separation of an deoxyribonucleic acid ( DNA ) and ribonucleic acid ( RNA ) ( or ) protein molecules by utilizing an electrical current that is applied to an gel matrix. The Deoxyribonucleic acid Gel cataphoresis has been by and large used after an elaboration of DNA via PCR. This was chiefly used for analysis of stray DNA concentration and quality, PCR merchandise analysis. In this gel with EtBr absorbed under U.V. Plasmid Isolation It is a method that has been used to pull out and purified by a plasmid Deoxyribonucleic acid. As many methods that have been developed to sublimate the Deoxyribonucleic acid from bacteriums. In this technique we will take YEP medium incorporating Kantrex is inoculated with individual settlement of Agrobacterium incorporating the desired plasmid Polymerization concatenation reaction ( PCR ) The genomic DNA isolated from the foliages of putative transformants were subjected to PCR elaboration along with positive ( plasmid DNA ) and negative controls ( non-transformed works ) as per the process described by Williams et Al. ( 1990 ) . This is a technique to magnify individual transcript of piece of DNA across several orders of magnitude and bring forthing more transcripts of peculiar DNA. Southern Analysis Southernblotting is the technique chiefly used for the verification of PCR positives, Means Confirmation of our cistron of involvement, which is integrated into genome. ( mediated by A. tumefaciens. ) Southern blotting was the method of pick for transgene sensing. It involves the isolation of Deoxyribonucleic acid from selected workss, digestion of Deoxyribonucleic acid with limitation enzymes, cataphoresis on agarose gels to divide Deoxyribonucleic acid by size, denaturation of the Deoxyribonucleic acid and transportation of the Deoxyribonucleic acid to a membrane. Label the investigation with certain enzyme like Alkaline phosphatase, which when reacts with its substrate green goodss light which can be documented by exposing to an X-ray movie Concerns about utilizing Familial Transformation The current argument over the hazards of genetically modified ( GM ) nutrient is centered on issues runing from the environmental impacts to the possible affects on human existences and farm animal. If transgenic workss crossbreed with local weeds, it may increase their fight, and a new ace weed could be the consequence ( Daniell, 1999 ) . A recent study from the European Environmental Agency concludes that several bing and future transgenic harvests carry a high hazard of cistron flow to the environment, including the happening of non-transformed harvests in the Fieldss of nearby husbandmans. Transgenic oilseed colza assortments ( including canola ) are rated high hazard for cistron flow to the environment and to conventional harvests in neighbouring Fieldss. While transgenic sugar Beta vulgariss are rated at a medium to high hazard for cistron flow in both classs. In fact, 12 of the universe s 13 most of import harvest species, including wheat, rice, maize, and soya bean, crossbree d with non-cultivated species in some portion of their distribution.One of the solutions to this job is that ordinances, regulating the appraisal of transgenic harvest safety require appliers to pay particular attending to hazards, when releases are planned for parts in which hybridisation with weeds is possible. Problems Related to Utilizing Transgenic Rice in Rice Production Transformation is a heritable alteration in a cell or tissue brought approximately by the consumption and constitution of introduced DNA. Transformation techniques have developed quickly and some transformed harvests have been put into commercial production, including maize, cotton, soya bean, intercrossed maize, canola, tomato, squash and Piper nigrum. Although transgenic rice has been developed from different mark tissues, no commercial transgenic assortments soon have unrestricted usage in rice production. Some jobs include such as deficiency of cistron map ( look ) in the progenesis of transgenic plants.Though some information is available about the mode-of-inheritance of transgenes among offsprings, it has been hard to precisely explicate the mode-of heritage of the foreigner cistrons in these segregating populations. Most selective marker cistrons used in transmutation have been antibiotic opposition cistrons, such as Kantrex and hygromycin opposition cistrons. These selective marker cistrons were perfectly necessary ab initio for transmutation research ( Blochinger et al. , 1984 ) . Use of positive choice markers such manA cistron offers another fresh solution to this job. Week by hebdomad program In the first hebdomad the stock solutions are prepared harmonizing to the propotions. The stock solutions are 2,4-D, kinetin, NAA. After the prepration of the solutions, readying of alimentary media. The alimentary media MS medium which is used for callus initiation and regeneration. Then after readying of MS- agarose mock solutions and the prepratedium, prepration of choice medium, prepration of regeneration medium, prepration of YEB media. For every scientifical experiment the readying of mediums is really of import, to get down the experiment foremost we should fix all the stock standards.In the following hebdomad the callus civilization should be prepared and it is placed on choice medium. This measure will takes up to 15 yearss because the callus civilization should be placed under incubation upto 15 days.In the 4th hebdomad the incubated callus civilization was transferred to fresh choice medium upto 4 to5 rhythms of choice. After this procedure we may acquire opposition embryo logic callosity which is to regeneration medium.In the 5th hebdomad prepration of explants and the constitution of civilization. This procedure takes topographic point may take topographic point upto 10 yearss. Because the seeds must to be develope.In the following hebdomad transmutation procedure, in which the civilization is inoculated and reassign to the fresh stock. As the concluding measure, rinsing and choice of bacteriums. In this measure the immune callosity is selected for regeneration medium.

Saturday, November 23, 2019

the Six day war essays

the Six day war essays "Throughout the war, the Israeli's were out numbered by the other nations; millions versus thousands, and yet they carried through," Prime Minister Eshkol remarked, concerning the events of the Six Day War. During the Six Day War, when Israel was attacked by the surrounding Arab nations, it was a young, inexperienced and demographically diminutive country, containing a population of only 650,000 people. Whereas, the Arab nations collectively amounted to over 44,250,000 people. However, in spite of these hindrances, Israel managed to miraculously defeat the extremely powerful and strong Arab nations surrounding them. Zionists declared Israel a state on May 14, 1948 when the British rule over Palestine had been put to an end. The following day, armies of Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Iraq and Transjordan, totaling 800,000 combat forces attacked Israel. During the war, Israel lost control of the Old City of Jerusalem. The Israelis fought back and captured much of the territory, which had been set aside for the Arabs. By August of 1949, Israel and all five surrounding Arab nations had agreed to end the fighting. In 1950, the Jordanian military led by King Abdullah, became known as the West Bank in the kingdom of Jordan. Egypt set up an all Palestine government under the Mufti of Jerusalem, who had led Palestinian opposition to the British. After the war the Arabs and Israelis fought for many years about the 600,000 to 700,000 Arab refugees who left Israel as a result of the war. The Arabs claimed that Israel forced them out of Palestine. The United Nations attempted to aid the refugees to settle into Arab countries, but the Palestinians refused help. In 1954, Gamal Abdul Nasser became President of Egypt and a representative of Arab nationalism. He soon became the leader of all Arabs. In Egypt, the free officers who staged a military coup in 1952 disposed of King Farouk. Nasser had been one of these officers. ...

Thursday, November 21, 2019

The Big Society Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Big Society - Essay Example The Big Society program is pertinent to England’s domestic policy alone. However, these policy areas are passed on to the governments of Scotland, Northern Ireland, and Wales. The beginning The idea of Big Society, initiated in the Conservative manifesto was depicted in rather glowing terms by The Times in these words as an "an impressive attempt (The Times, 2010). To counsel the British Government on the proposed program, David Cameron employed Nat Wei, a founder-member of the well-known Teach First charity. The program envisages the establishment of a Big Society Bank and introduction of a national citizen service (Wiggins, 2010). The main characteristics of the same are as follows: More power to the communities (devolution). Transferring power from the central to the local government. Encouraging individuals to take an active part in their respective communities (volunteerism). Support to co-ops, charities, mutuals as well as social enterprises. Publish pertinent government data (transparent government). Measures to implement the program In 2011, major banks in the U.K. consented to provide ?200million as funds to the Big Society Bank (Giotis, 2011), apart from the funds to be utilized from those bank accounts that are lying dormant (Prince, 2010). It is reported that the British government has plans to release ?78billion in charitable assets to big society and accord up to 25 per cent of public service contracts to the voluntary as well as the private sector (Wintour, 2011). Discussions on the program Positive According to Simon Parker, who is the Director of New Local Government Network what is new about Big Society is that it spells out the extent of change required and it is a whole system shift (Parker, 2011).Ben Rogers of the Financial Times opined that the most remarkable factor about Cameron's address delivered at the Conservative Party Conference was on his notion, the Big Society. The speech signified that many of the political tribulations that confronts Mr. Cameron can be dealt with only if citizens are willing to play their part. According to the right wing newspaper The Spectator, it was Cameron’s hope to minimize fiscal shortfalls by dipping into bank accounts lying dormant and it is a bright idea in theory (Blackburn, 2010). Benedict Brogan in The Telegraph’s wrote that people expect their would-be leaders, to have vision and the PM offers a really big one, of a society re-erected from the ground up (Brogan, 2010). Negative To Labor MP, Ed Miliband, the Conservatives were "cynically attempting to dignify its cuts agenda, by dressing up the withdrawal of support with the language of reinvigorating civic society"(Watt, 2010). The Liverpool City Council of late pulled out of a pilot scheme, stating that the government’s current spending cuts is undermining the very future of volunteer groups. A former executive director of Community Service Volunteers, Dame Elisabeth Hoodless has expressed the s ame opinion. According to a recent independent audit report Cameron’s "big society" scheme is in danger of getting derailed by cruel cuts to grassroots voluntary organizations. It is also threatened by a breakdown in trust amid the very people that the administration is supposed to deliver its promising vision. The ?3.3 billion cut in government spending earmarked for the voluntary sector for three forthcoming years is said to be a body blow to the whole project (Butler, 2012). To this criticism Cameron counters by

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Bilingualism and How Communication Develops Dissertation

Bilingualism and How Communication Develops - Dissertation Example The ability to learn a language involves many areas of the brain. The association areas located in the parietal lobe with connections to the temporal and occipital areas are involved in language experiences by functionally facilitating a variety of language-related behaviours such as vision, body awareness, touch, spatial orientation, verbal comprehension, localisation of objects in space, abstract and complex cognitive functions of mathematical reasoning and formulation of logical thoughts stemming from visual experiences (Lezak, 1997). This area of the brain was termed this association area in the parietal lobe as the â€Å"association area of association areas† while others named this association area the â€Å"  cortex† (Lezak, 1997). The right hemisphere is also involved when organizing a narrative, an expression and during recognition of emotion in the tone of voice as well as regulation of rhythm and intonation of speech.  The specialization of the left hemis phere in language processing, neuronal systems used for grammatical, semantic and lexical processing have been found to be affected by early language experiences (Carlson, 2001). Studies also indicate that right hemisphere involvement is present since much of the language processing requires spatial location, motion; and specialization and differentiation of these neuronal circuits are related to the proficiency of the language. It is known that verbal behavior is lateralized and the functions of the left hemisphere are more specialized for the analysis of sequential stimuli such as speech. Speech consists of sounds arranged into sequences of words. Cortical language areas primarily associated with localization of language-related functions are on the left hemisphere around the Sylvian fissure, inferior frontal lobe which harbors Broca’s area, and Wernicke’s area, located in the posterior temporal lobe (Carlson, 2001).

Sunday, November 17, 2019

How does John Steinbeck portray racism in Of Mice And Men Essay Example for Free

How does John Steinbeck portray racism in Of Mice And Men Essay From the 17th Century, when the first settlers arrived, immigrants dreamed of a better life in America. People went there to escape from discrimination or poverty, and to make a new life for themselves or their families. They dreamed of making their fortunes in the goldfields. For many the dream became a nightmare. The horrors of slavery, of the American Civil War, the growth of towns with slums as bad as those in Europe, and the corruption of the American political system led to many shattered hopes. For the American society as a whole the dream ended with the Wall Street crash of 1929. This was the start of the Great Depression that would affect the whole world during the 1930s. However the dream survived in the hope of individuals. Thousands made their way west to California to escape from their farmlands in the mid-West. George and Lennie dreamt of there little house and a couple of acres. However, between 1929 39 there was a general world destine in trade and prosperity. A great deal of money had been spent on the First World War, and countries found themselves in debt. Lots of American lost their jobs. They joined bands of wandering farmers, looking for work. The farm owners of California found that they could pay very low wages, and expect men to work for long hours, as the demand for work was so great. The men were only needed for short periods at a time, for harvesting and so they had to travel around for work. On October 24, 1929, the stock market crashed. Prices began to decline early in the day, triggering a selling panic in the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). This caused the loss of jobs of various workers, black or white. It was very hard for the workers to find a job elsewhere in any other farms, just like George and lennie. These kinds of workers were called itinerant workers. The coming months saw no recovery. The racism, which Martin Luther King talks about in his famous I had a dream speech, states that white men think they have got power over black people. That all men are created equally, and no one differs from each other. The black people have to give up their seats if a white person comes on to the bus and there is no space left. Also black people were not allowed to shop in the same place as white people. And black people had to send their children to a different school to the white people. This is an example of segregation and isolation. Crooks demands isolation because he is black and wants to live alone. He is also called names nigger . He is proberly one of the most disliked people in the story because of the colour of hes skin. But still people say crooks the nigger is a really nice fellow at the same time. I think they just call him that because at that time they could say or do anything to a nigger and still get away with it. The white boys did not want to sleep in the same room as a black man. I just totally disagree with this because you should not judge a perosn by the colout of the skin. Also crooks himself does not want to sleep with them because of the way the white boys have treated him. Crooks him self is a stable buck which is a very low classed job even at that time. The white boys call crooks crooks because as a stable buck he waz kicked on the back by a horse and he is now got a crooked back. Also the white lads have made crooks fight on christmas day with smitty just so he can sit down and have a drink with the white boys on christmas day. I think that is not acceptable because crooks is already hurt hes back from the accident with the horse and on top of that he had to have a fight with smitty with that injury when smitty was perfectly fine. All they did do was that they tyied hes hands behind hes back so he could not punch crooks but can only kick him. This first starts when crooks privacy is invaded by lennie. When lennie enters crooks room without no permission from crooks to cum into the room. Crooks is not very happy when lennie enters the room and says you got no right to come in my room. This heres my room. Nobody got no rights in here but me! Crooks says all of this because he is not really happy with lennies presents in the room. As lennie stays longer and longer he starts to find out that lennie is dumb and crooks thinks to him self that he has got the upper hand on lennie. Crooks for the first time has got power over someone and thats a white man. Then lennie gets up and says to crooks why are you not liked on the ranch and crooks replys by saying its just because Im BLACK! Crooks means by this quote that the white men on the ranch do not like him. And also crooks has got nobody to talk to because crooks is the only nigger on the ranch. Then lennie quickly changes the subject and starts talking about the dream him and George have got. But all crooks thinks is hes crazy . He thinks this because he thinks that lennie doesnt know what he is talking about. Crooks taunts lennie thaat George is not going to come back. And crooks also says he might even get hurt. After crooks has said that crooks face lightened up with pleasure in his torture. After crooks has said lennie quickly gets to hes feet and says nothing is going to happen to come George he si going to come back safe. Crooks is really frightened when lennis sayss that and crooks moves further up hes bed and rests hes hands on hes knees. The reason for crooks out burst like that is because all crooks is trying to do is trying to make someone feel like how crooks is feeling by telling lennie when the other boys on the ranch play horse shoe he has to stay in hes room and read a book when he would rather be playing horse shoe with the other workers on the ranch. Crooks is trying say just because i am black they dont let me play horseshoe. Crooks is trying to gain sympthy from lennie but lennie does not really understand what crooks is trying to say to him. So lennie doesnt really f eel sorry for him because he doesnt know what going on. So lennie cant really feel sorry for crooks because he is lost him self in other words. The workers on the ranch describe crooks as a nigger one second and the other second they be saying he is a very nice fella . I think my self that crooks is a very good person and stays quiet throught the book but it is just because of the colour of hes skin he is treated like dirt. Even thought crooks is proberly the most educated person on the farm. Crooks has got a dictionary which is described as battered and ripped and hes also got some tatered magazines. Also crooks has got some reading books, which are described, as dirty . And all of these things go on a special shelf over hes bunk. When crooks read these books he feels proud and really important because at this time not much people could read or write. And on top of all that hes a nigger . When we first meet crooks I thought he waz a nasty man because of hes posture and hes colour of hes skin. But looks can be dece-ving because he turned out to be a very well educated person and also soft hearted. It was very unusal for a black man to read or write in these in these times even so most of the white men could not read or write. I really feel sorry for crooks because he is alll alone and must feel really isolated at times or most of the time. And he has got no company at all and he aint even got no one to talk to at all because hes black. If you ask me I think that is really unacceptable because no one should be left alone for that reason. He aint got no friends to say hello too all because of the colour of hes skin. The white boys always pick him on. And even thought it aint hes fault most of the things are blamed on him. Also when the boss is feeling really mad he takes it all out on crooks and crooks just gets shouted at for no reason at all. Crooks on the hireachy he is right at the bottom and hes got no power at all. Even thought he has been one of the people who has been working there the longest and he has been loyal to boss. Curleys wife, the attention seeker always flirts with other prople on the ranch because her husband is always at the cathouse or out and about. And is never at home to care about her. Curleys wife is one of the most powerful people in the hireachy because she is married to the boses son. She tries to have some comfort with other people. This is because her husband takes no notice of her apart from the sex. She is used for an object of sex. When crooks reailses that his chances of being in the dream looked very slim and he crawled back defeated because he cant say anything to Curleys wife at all because she has got all the power. She can get him hung from a tree so easy, she can jus say that he waz flirting with me and thats it he would get hung. If that was a white person being prosequted they would give him a trial and would be taken to court but just because he is black they would just get him hung without any proof he did it or not. Going back to the initial question, I think that john Steinbeck doesnt throw the thought of racism in our face. He just hints of the idea and makes do the rest of the thinking. This is proved whenthe worker calls him a nigger and also a nice fella. We had do some thinking to find out that the word nigger is used so much that the workers dont even think of what the word means.

Friday, November 15, 2019

Geography of Belize :: Essays Papers

Geography of Belize Belize which was formerly known as British Honduras until 1981 is an 8,867 acre plot of land located in Central America. The territory covered by Belize is slightly smaller than the state of Massachusetts (Gall 45). Mexico surrounds Belize to the north, Guatemala to the southwest and the Caribbean Sea to the east. The population of Belize conists of approximately 256,000 people. Rougly seventy-one percent of Belize's population resides in cities such as Belize City, San Ignacio, and Punta Gorda. The remaining population lives in rural areas (Krutzinna 66-67). Belize's climate is tropical and humid throughout most of the year. The rainy season falls between the months of May and October. THe average temperature along the Belizean coast is 78.8Â °, while temperatures rise inland. The hurricane season is the most influential climatic element to Belize's environment and well being, which lasts from July to October. For example, the capital city of Belize was moved from coastal Belize City to Belmopan central Belize in 1971 because of the extensive damage caused by Hurricane Hattie in 1961 (Krutzinna 105). Belmopan has been Belize's captial since 1971. It is seated in the center of Belize on the Belize River, half way between the coastal Belize City and the Belize- Guatemalan border town of San Ignacio. The capital has not become the bustling metropolis that Belize City continues to be, but it does provide a train station for travelers as well as cultural buildings for some light sight-seeing. Belmopan, Belize is geographically and politically important to Belize, however, it is still not the center of Belizean culture and economy (Krutzinna 105-106). Forests and woodlands cover about ninety-two percent of Belize's terrain (Marshall 447). These forests and woodlands are home to seven hundered species of trees and approximately four thousand species of flowering plants. Among the seven hundred species of trees living in the forests and woodlands are mahogany, pine, cedar and rosewood. Belize exports much of its mahogany, pine and cedar woods, which directly affects the issue of deforestation it is currently facing from the abundance of trees that have been cut down in the past (Gall 49). Deforestation has become an important topic in Belize since many of its trees have been cut down for sale on the international market.

Tuesday, November 12, 2019

Secretary: Law and Legal Secretaries

When people hear the word ‘Secretary' – I'm pretty sure they picture someone behind a desk typing. Yes, this is pretty accurate but a Secretary in whatever field is so much more (and one can indeed spend much time running between their desk and any multitude of places! ). I remember learning a spelling mnemonic of sorts at school that Secretaries keep the secrets. Now I realise it's perhaps more to do with the word's derivatives but it's stuck with me!Having finished a Legal Secretaries Level 3 Diploma course in which I have an overall grade of a Merit, I have found myself privy to these ‘secrets' and the opportunity I wanted: to expand and specialise my skills in an administrative field. It has given me a goal, having not taken the most direct job path. It can be difficult to find the right next step to take in your working life. Law is a fascinating arena, even more so ‘backstage'.It might at times seem to be a far cry from the drama of the court room but w ithout Legal Secretaries doing their part to make a difference with their input in the office, which affects the Solicitor who passes that effect onto the client, all aiming to reach the desired result, I'm not quite sure what would happen. Sometimes I think it takes an organiser, an administrator or a (Legal) Secretary to understand another – it takes one to know one.The day to day achievements can be small, but by getting a complex subject filed comprehensively, simply giving someone the assurance that their enquiry is being looked at correctly or preparing someone thoroughly for a meeting, you in turn ensure that the client is getting the best service possible (even though you may not be attending that meeting in person). These are things that I already do but in the sphere of law they become magnified – what starts as small, indirect input evolves into an integral part of the law process.That is quite something to be part of and I look forward to it. Within my rece ption role, I have had over 2 years of part-time work experience of dealing with clients and solicitors in an office environment. My role included answering the phone, getting personal details from callers and transferring to the appropriate member of staff. I learned to be patient, methodical and efficient. Flexibility is one of my strengths; I am also prepared to learn new skills. I have extensive experience of using computers.I have experience of Microsoft and Microsoft Excel in which I passed exams. I have used Word to produce documents such as letters, posters and minutes. I am able to prioritise my workload. Being flexible, I also have a positive attitude. This was particularly evident at The Broadcast Monitoring where I was able to concentrate all day even when working an early morning shift which began at 6. 30am. I also undertook nightshift to cover for staff on holiday. I work well under pressure. There were many deadlines throughout the day.This also involved good written and verbal communication skills which were required when report writing and dealing with colleagues. I have found that I am able to build up close working relationships with other members of staff; most recently at my time in Chipatiso Associates (I can appreciate client confidentiality). I am a good organiser and am able to work on my own initiative. I was efficient at delegating the department workload at the Solicitors firm. I have an editorial/press reader eye for detail. I am polite and reliable, trustworthy and conscientious.

Sunday, November 10, 2019

Biometrics Essay

Biometric Recognition or Biometrics refers to the automatic identification of a person based on intrinsic physical or behavioral traits. It requires physically present at the point of identification. Identification based on biometric techniques lessen the need to remember a password or carry a token like a physical ID. Various biometric traits are being used for real-time recognition, the most popular being face, iris and fingerprint. However, there are biometric systems that are based on retinal scan, voice, signature and hand geometry. First, a user must be enrolled in the system so that his biometric template or reference can be captured. This template is securely stored in a central database. The template is used for matching when an individual needs to be identified. Depending on the context, a biometric system can operate either in a verification (authentication) or an identification mode. The biometric recognition system is a technology design to monitor the students’ official entry inside the campus. It will also serve as the Internet and Tool room access pass. With the issues concern on the monitoring of students, the researchers delve on the propose project study entitled â€Å"TUPT using Biometric Technology.† It will also be used to identify students who will use University facilities like Internet Center and Tool Room. This study will help the security system by adopting the biometric recognition to identify the bona fide students of TUP- Taguig. It will also track and manage the end user of Internet Center same with the borrower in Tool Room. Statement of the Problem This study would utilize the security systems in the campus. Several problems incurred in the campus wherein the security guards encountered difficulties in dealing with student’s admission. To a large extent, borrowing, monitoring and tracking of equipments by the students are also considered in this study. In view, the researchers prompted to conduct this study by enhancing the ID system in which the Biometric Recognition should be adopted. Objectives General Objective: This study aims to enhance the University ID system by adopting Biometric Technology. Specific objectives: 1.To create a system that will enhance the security of the campus using Biometric technology. 2.To develop a more efficient management and operation in ID system. 3.To gather information regarding the development of ID system in TUP- Taguig using Biometric. 4.To test and implement the effectiveness of said system in the campus.

Friday, November 8, 2019

Hodges and Tizard Essays

Hodges and Tizard Essays Hodges and Tizard Essay Hodges and Tizard Essay Failure to make any form of attachment If child is in institutional care, isolation, parent working.  Rutter-  Compared UK and Romanian children adopted both before and after 6 months old. Found that the Romanian children adopted before 6 months did as well socially and emotionally and the UK control group whereas the Romanian children adopted after 6 months old had problems developing attachments and displayed disinhibited attachments and had poor peer relations. Hodges and Tizard  Studied the long term effects of privation using 65 children who were brought up in a childrens home until the age of 4. During this time the children were unable to form any attachments with their caregivers as staff were discouraged from forming attachments in order to reduce upset. After four years old 25 children were restored into their original homes, 33 were adopted and 7 remained in care. The children were followed up at the age of 8 and 16. The researchers found that 20/21 of the adopted children and 6/13 of the restored children had close attachments with their parents. However, the restored children were more likely to be rejecting/ hostile at both 8 and 16. All three groups had problems forming peer relationships and were rated by teachers as being more likely to seek attention. Curtis  Studied Genie who had suffered from privation for the first 13 years of her life. Privation caused numerous bad effects including poor physical development (rickets in her legs), lack of speech, emotional tantrums etc. Some progress was made with making attachments but Genie suffered further bad care in foster homes and regressed dramatically.  Day care  Is a form of care for infants and children offered by someone other than close family, taking place outside the home, children spend all, or part of the day in care but return home at night, Includes nurseries, child-minding. Positive effects of day care  Clarke-Stewart et al  Found that children in group based day care wee more sociable and better able to negotiate with peers than children cared for at home or by child-minders. EPPE project  Indicated positive effects of day care on social development including peer relations. Different forms of day care had an impact forms with education and care combined = a more positive effect on social development. 3000 UK children aged 3-4, Cognitive development for all children in pre-school was improved in comparison to those who were home schooled.  Children are more likely to have adverse social profiles this increased the risk of anti-social behaviour and could be reduced by high quality pre-school when aged 3-4.  Negative effects of day care  NICHD  Social competence and problem behaviours including being aggressive, but also challenging behaviour attention seeking.  Day care made children more aggressive and disobedient.

Tuesday, November 5, 2019

Usage Mistakes #1

Usage Mistakes #1 Usage Mistakes #1 Usage Mistakes #1 By Mark Nichol The sentences below illustrate various types of mistakes in wording born from (not â€Å"borne out of†) ignorance or carelessness. 1. All the progress we have made to educate people about the hazards of smoking may be for not. The writer, perhaps unfamiliar with the term naught, assumed that the last word of the sentence is intended to denote negation rather than futility: â€Å"All the progress we have made to educate people about the hazards of smoking may be for naught.† 2. President Obama traveled to Cuba for a historical visit. A historical visit is one that occurs in history, though one should not refer to a visit this way; historical is superfluous. The writer meant to state that the visit is historic; that word means â€Å"of significance to history† (though it sometimes refers simply to something established or existing from the past): â€Å"President Obama traveled to Cuba for a historic visit.† (But shouldn’t it be â€Å"an historic visit†? No, because the correct pronunciation of historic is to sound the h, though many people, including me, believe it is easier to use an and treat the first letter of the following word as silent.) 3. His speech was a load of dribble. Some people seem to think that references such as the one here are to someone’s writing or utterance being worth no more than drool, but the correct word for foolish or silly talk (which can refer to slavering but is etymologically unrelated) is drivel: â€Å"His speech was a load of drivel.† 4. The list is virtually a whose-who of prominent community members. The pronoun whose has no place in this sentence. The phrase â€Å"who’s who† (the contraction is of â€Å"who is†) refers to a roster of notable people or things or summaries about them, or to such a group collectively: â€Å"The list is virtually a who’s who of prominent community members.† This usage- without a connecting hyphen- stems from publications with titles modeled on the phrase, such as Who’s Who in American Art. 5. Where does the US Jewish population predominately live? Predominate is a verb; the correct adjectival and adverbial forms are predominant and predominantly: â€Å"Where does the US Jewish population predominantly live?† Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Common Mistakes category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Yours faithfully or Yours sincerely?When to Form a Plural with an Apostrophe40 Idioms with First

Sunday, November 3, 2019

Louis XVI and the French Revolution Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Louis XVI and the French Revolution - Essay Example I ordered the arrest of Duval d’Espremensil and Goislard de Montsadert, who opposed the judicial reform that was against the public interest. As a King, I had to put into consideration the public interest and not favor the parliament interests that will have an adverse impact on the public. I expected the two to support me instead of criticizing the Brienne ministry reforms. Their act could have caused great influence to different groups of people making them develop a negative attitude leading to violence. However, in mid-1780s the country was almost driven near bankruptcy due to the policy of borrowing loans internationally and not raising taxes that increased the country’s debt. I was therefore obliged to collaborate in the radical fiscal reforms which were not supported by the nobles. The nobility did not help the deterioration of provincial privileges in order to favor the centralized monarchy (Hardman, 2000). I, therefore, state that I did not escape as accused, but I was under depression due to the queen’s infidelity. I needed s time away from everything in order to forget my marital problems, and I engaged in activities like hunting. Therefore, I had no reason to run away to avoid my duties as the King. Before my downfall, I was forced to accept the authority of the National Assembly which I had I resisted initially. I did everything for the benefit of the country. As I rest my case, I wish to declare that I am innocent according to the charges pressed against me† (Plain, 2002).

Friday, November 1, 2019

Should all organisations consider their brand as an employer Essay - 1

Should all organisations consider their brand as an employer - Essay Example to establish brand as an employer as such practices enhance the value proposition of the employer that is reflected in their business operations (Kashyap and Rangnekar, 2014). In order to sustain frequent economic and financial turmoil in the complex business environment, an organization has to possess relevant human assets with technological and behavioural competencies. As the process of employer branding involves extensive research of internal and external environment to understand the exact position of the employer in the market, determining further fundamental action plan for fulfilling the gap in the perceived image of the employer among the target group becomes easier (Newell, 2005). Therefore, the organization gets an opportunity to communicate its employers’ value proposition (EVP) and areas of improvement according to the research result in the market segment to be perceived as one of the distinct employers in its area of operations (Edwards, 2012). With a quest to be a part of good organizational environment, which is really scarce in the corporate world, potential candidates are willing to put less emphasis on monetary benefits if they understand long term career prospects, sound values and cultural practices in an organization (Saini, Rai and Chaudhary, 2014). Hence, adoption of employer branding serves business environment in two ways. The organization gets an easy access to skill enriched pool of candidates for serving the organizational purpose in an efficient manner and the candidates also receives an opportunity to exercise their existing talents in the organizational framework (Grà ¼newà ¤lder, 2008). Moreover, international mobility of skilled workforce and archaic skills of the aging personnel has also necessitated organizations to create an employer brand to retain and attract the best talents for enhancing business performance in the upcoming future (Kupfernagel, 2009). Researchers have shown that almost 69% of t he Americans prefer to be

Wednesday, October 30, 2019

Museum Project Movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Museum Project - Movie Review Example The personages in the art piece are elongated, and the artist has emphasized linear decoration as well as remote facial expressions. The artist also uses decoration technique that was common in the 14th century known as punched decoration. This is evidence in the painting where one can see flattened pieces of metalwork with designs embedded in the piece. To the viewers’ one could say that this painting is unusual and unique. The audience can see that the child is wearing a coral necklace depicting that it will protect him from evil while also he is holding a goldfinch in his hand symbolizing his future sacrifice. The donor Knight on the left can be said to possess an affluent, aristocratic background because of the Cross of Malta that he wears on his sleeve (Soares 1). The other man on the right dressed in red can be said to be a high-ranking church official because of the style and colour of his clothing. These two instances of portraiture represent the increasing grandness of the individual in the Renaissance era. The child and Madonna are painted in tempera on wood, and the viewer can see the different armaments of the painting’s dimensions. The aspect of the painting is 48.75 by 21 inches and was painted in Late Medieval. According to Soares, the inscriptions and markings of the painting are Cecchus Petri de Pisis Mepisit AD MCCCLXXXVI, which are painted along the bottom of the painting frame (1). The use of punched decoration by Pietro is one of the painting’s characteristic that was used in the Early Italian Renaissance painting. This technical innovation used is depicted by the use of flattened pieces of metalwork with designs embedded in the art piece (Soares 1). The Renaissance paintings had engaged frames, which were made of wooden strips affiliated to the outside edge of the panel, which is the case in Madonna and Child painting. This is also evident in the painting Saint Francis Receiving the Stigmata

Monday, October 28, 2019

The Thoeries of Local Government in Nigeria Essay Example for Free

The Thoeries of Local Government in Nigeria Essay Rural development of the grassroots has been the concern of every responsible and responsive political system. This is because development and participation have continued to elude people of the grassroots. Development remains insignificant if it does not positively affect the lives of those in the periphery of decision making arrangement. The Nigerian state therefore created local government as the third tier of government whose objective is to ensure effective, measurable and efficient service delivery to the people. Local government is faced with various difficulties. The major concern of this paper is to dwell on these difficulties and illuminates the factors that are responsible for them. In achieving this, the paper relies on descriptive approach and unstructured interview. It concludes that problems of local government are multifarious in nature and the solutions for them should be adequate and practical in order to evolve viable and development-oriented third tier of government. Key words: grassroots, political system, autonomy, third tier, participation, development, uniformity, unity, culture, diversity, interference, national integration, performance, consciousness, concept, commitment, democracy, inefficiency, corruption, decentralisation. Introduction The expediency for the creation of local government anywhere in the world stems from the need to facilitate development at the grassroots. The importance of local government is a function of its ability to generate sense of belongingness, safety and satisfaction among its populace. All forms of government, regimes or political systems have so far ensured the attainment of this goal. Such strategy for ensuring national administrative development and political efficacy is found in the concept and practice of local government. Whatever is the mode of government, local government has been essentially regarded as the path to, and guarantor of, national integration, administration and development. In Nigeria’s socio-political context, with multiplicity of culture, diversity of languages and differentiated needs and means, the importance of such an organisation in fostering the needed national consciousness, unity and relative uniformity as well as preservation of peculiar diversities cannot be over-emphasised. Central to the creation of local government, however, is its ability to facilitate an avenue through which government and the people intermix, relate and more quickly than any other means resolve or dissolve issues that may have heated the system. Local government has been perceived as a panacea for the diverse problems of the diverse people with diverse culture. As important as this tier of government has been, there seems to be some impediments that have been infringing on its performance and functions in recent times. These impediments range from political but undue interference of the higher levels of government i. e. federal and state governments, bribery and corruption to embezzlement and gross inadequacy of well-trained and qualified personnel to mention a few. The Concept of Local Government The concept of local government involves a philosophical commitment to democratic participation in the governing process at the grassroots level. This implies legal and administrative decentralisation of authority, power and personnel by a higher level of government to a community with a will of its own, performing specific functions as within the wider national framework. A local government is a government at the grassroots level of administration â€Å"meant for meeting peculiar grassroots need of the people (Agagu, 1997:18). It is defined as â€Å"government by the popularly elected bodies charged with administrative and executive duties in matters concerning the inhabitants of a particular district or place (Appadorai, 1975:287). Looking at the existence, performance and relevance of local government, Laski (1982:411) opines that: we cannot realise the full benefit of democratic government unless we begin by the admission that all problems are not central problems, and that the result of problems not central in their incidence requires decision at the place, and by the person, where and whom the incidence is most deeply felt Local government can also be defined as that tier of government closest to the people, â€Å"which is vested with certain powers to exercise control over the affairs of people in its domain† (Lawal,2000:60). A local government is expected to play the role of promoting the democratic ideals of a society and co-ordinating development programme at the local level. It is also expected to serve as the basis of socio-economic development in the locality. Observations have shown that local government in Nigeria has not performed to expectation. Keen observers have since adduced various propositions for explaining the reasons why the system has recorded abysmal level of inefficiency and ineffectiveness vis-a-vis justification for its establishment. But before reading into the problems of local government, we shall first attempt to illuminate the historical background of local government in order to have adequate grasp of its future and achieve deeper understanding of salient issues raised in this paper. Brief Historical Background of Local government System in Nigeria Regardless of nomenclature, local government is a creation of British colonial rule in Nigeria. It has overtime experienced change in name, structure and composition. Between 1930s and 1940s, for instance, local government was known as chief-in-council and chief-and-council, where traditional rulers were given pride of place in the scheme of things. In the 1950s, election was introduced according to the British model in the western and eastern parts of the country with some measure of autonomy in personnel, financial and general administration (Nwabueze, 1982:20-21). It was on this premise that the rising tide of progress, growth and development experienced in the local governments in these areas was based. The pace of this development was more noticeable in the south than in the north. During this period, heterogeneity was the hallmark of local government as there was no uniformity in the system and the level of development was also remarkably different. The introduction of 1976 reforms by military administration of General Obasanjo brought about uniformity in the administrative structure of the system. The reforms introduced a multi-purpose single-tier local government system (Ajayi, 2000:70) The reforms also introduced population criterion under which a local government could be created. Consequently, a population of within 150,000 to 800,000 was considered feasible for a local government. This was done to avoid the creation of non-viable local council and for easy accessibility. There was provision for elective positions having the chairmen as executive head of local government with supervisory councillors constituting the cabinet. This was complemented by the bureaucrats and professionals, such as Doctors, Engineers, etc. , who were charged with the responsibility of implementing policies (1976 Guidelines). In 1991, a major landmark reform was introduced as the system had legislative arm. In addition, the Babangida administration increased the number of local government from 301 in 1976 to 453 in 1989 and 589 in 1991. the Abacha regime also increased the number to 774 local councils that we have today and the administrative structure also underwent some changes (Ajayi, 2000:71). In summary, it can be said that no public institution in Nigeria has been so subjected to frequent reforms than local government. Nearly every successive administration introduces one administrative change or the other. Apart from the celebrated 1976 reforms, state government officials have also introduced various manipulations. For instance, in Ekiti state, the tenure of elected local government officials was reduced to two years. While some retained it to reflect three years. In the southwest, except for Lagos, a caretaker committee was introduced in 2003 immediately after the general elections. In similar vein, in June 2007, some state governments dissolved their local councils and appointed caretaker committee to steer the affairs of the council prior the conduct of elections. It is germane to note here that these changes were not without resultant effects. Some of these changes met with social strife. For instance in 1997, the relocation of some local government headquarters was marked with large scale destruction of lives and property in Ondo, Osun, Delta, Rivers and Cross-River States (Omotosho, 1998:94-105). Specifically in Ondo State, the relocation of the then newly created Akoko South East local government headquarters from Oba Akoko to Isua Akoko was met with destruction of lives and property. In 1998, Abubakar administration introduced sole administrator system at the grassroots level before elections were conducted in December 1998 for the posts of chairmen and councillors. Also the dissolution of local councils in Ekiti State by the new administration of Governor Segun Oni in June 2007 generated furore between the local council’s chairmen and the governor. In essence, it has become almost fashionable in Nigeria for incumbent administration to introduce one change or the other in the institution. So far, local government system in Nigeria has not been stable and this leaves its future to remain bleak, uncertain and insecure. Problems of Local Governments in Nigeria Despite the justification for the establishment of local government and its inevitable importance to the people at the grassroots level, this tier of government seems not to have justified the reasons for which it was established. The questions that summarily come to one’s mind are: why has local government not lived up to its expectations? What are the causes of these seemingly conspicuous weaknesses? What are the challenges of the local government? And how can these weaknesses be corrected and the challenges met? The problems of local government are multifarious in nature and it is the concern of this paper to explain them in details. These problems include: Finance Despite the increase in the total amount of funds available to local government in Nigeria since early 1990s, its economic and financial profile is still very poor, relative to the development programme it is expected to carry out. This situation is not unconnected to the mismanagement and embezzlement of these funds by the local councils. Inadequacy of Skilled Workers Save for some few local councils in Lagos states and, perhaps, some southern states, local government generally has experienced and is still experiencing dearth of skilled, technical and professional staff like qualified engineers (of all types), medical doctors, accountants, statisticians, economists, lawyers, town planners, to mention a few. The facilitating factors for this include: Low image of local government in the mind of professionals who feel and think that there is no job satisfaction sufficient to keep them at that low level of public service.   Hopeless nature of the job attributable to, and arising from, low or no incentives for junior workers, no chances for creativity and innovation as well as perpetual delay in payment of salary.   Recently and more importantly, threat and fear of retrenchment of junior workers has derailed their psychological balance and affected their efficiency and output. This is fashionable in Ondo and Ekiti states where series of staff audit were being carried out just for the purpose of downsizing to reduce wage bill as a result of the demand for and payment of fifteen percent increase in salary. Manner of recruitment is questionable as it is based on subjectivity and consideration of sentiment. Employment was based on favouritism, nepotism, ethnic and political consideration and other primordial factors that replaced and displaced competence, qualification, experience and performance. Problems of Participation and Involvement For the past decades, more euphemistic phrases have since been employed to justify people’s participation at the grassroots. They include: â€Å"Development from Below†, â€Å"Bottom-up Approach to Development†, â€Å"Popular Participation†, Bringing Government Closer to the People† and other catchphrase to argue for people’s involvement the affairs that directly affect them (Lawal, 2000:66). From all indications and convictions, research and physical observations have shown that there has been more hue and cry than action. Local government prepares estimates for its revenue and expenditure without proper recourse to, and due consultation with, the people for whom the exercise is being carried out to know their needs, their problems and potentials. A number of factors are responsible for non-involvement of people in their own affairs. These include:   Loss of interests in the project that will not benefit the chairmen and their cohorts.   The age-long belief by the officials that people are ignorant, illiterate and unenlightened.   Lack of political will by the leadership to run an open administration due again to selfish interest. Poverty of socio-political philosophy for change. Misplaced Priority Hard-earned and limited resources accrued to and raised by local government are always mismanaged. Priorities are misplaced; projects are done not according to or as demanded by the people but regrettably in tune with the selfish end and aggrandisement of the political leadership in collaboration with the senior bureaucrats at the local government level of administration. Coupled with this is the greatest bane of development in the Nigerian public service in general and local government in particular which corruption is. Reports of probe panels at the three tiers of government have revealed the culpability of civil servants. Corruption in low and high places, corruption has been rampant among the senior civil bureaucrats to whom the public funds meant for developmental purposes are entrusted. Generally, wide-scale embezzlement by officials of the grassroots has made the needed development of the grassroots a tall dream and has rendered them financially incapable to discharge their constitutionally assigned responsibilities. General Indiscipline Indiscipline is rampantly perceived and well pronounced among the workers in third tier of government. The senior officers who travel to their families away from their offices on Friday return very late the following Monday or may decide to stay back till Tuesday; and the junior members of staff who directly or indirectly observe this more often than not are in the habit of playing truant with their jobs. Little or no commitment to duty has become a rule rather than an exception. Offices have been turned to marketplaces where officers hawk their goods freely. The rules that guide moral conduct and professional ethics seem to have, at worse, become cobweb that is so weak to tame the monstrous activities of the workers. Indiscriminate lustful desires are noticeable among the workers. The official’s relationship between super ordinates and subordinates has been stained. Strict instructions handed down from top echelon to the bottom are either not followed or treated with levity as a result of the immoral relationship between the boss and subordinates. Official duties are seen as an extension of private leisure. Laissez-faire attitude to work has arrested the efficiency of local government and has drastically affected its performance. Undue Interference The degree of external influence and intrusion in local government affairs by the higher levels of government is worrisome and needs re-evaluation. Situation where the state governor unconstitutionally dissolves the entire elected council’s officers without proper investigations on spurious allegations is not good for the future of local government administration in the country. Such external interference indeed subverts democratic process and undermines constitutional authority at the grassroots level. The crux of the matter is the ‘almighty’ power and misuse of it enjoyed by the state governments over local governments. Practically, and in true sense, local government in Nigeria lacks autonomous financial power. Local government is now considered as an extension of state’s ministry. The inherent nature of this problem has caused subservience, a situation where local government waits for the next directives from state government before the former could think of, let alone embarking on developmental projects. This has made local government an object of control and directives. The major challenge that local government faces is the political control the respective state governor has on the local government chairmen. This is as a result of the fact that state governor sponsors election of most, if not all, of the chairmen. They are handpicked by the state governor rather than being elected. It is a clear case of who pays the piper dictates the tune. This again creates a problem of diversion of local government funds for personal use of state governor. In Ondo state, for instance, there is this unholy alliance between state government and local councils in the state, where the state government constitutes Joint Action Committee, tagged ‘JAC’. Federal allocations to local government are first deposited into a particular ad hoc account before calling for the committee meeting. This in a way paves the way for the state government to plan for the local government and release the money in instalments. The motive behind this is to divert the money to another thing entirely which does not have impact on the lives of the rural dwellers but that will be beneficial to the state governor. Another thing is the interest that the money will generate in the bank. The implication of this is that few of the local government chairmen who have genuine intentions and are ready to perform are being discouraged. This again assigns more power and control to the state governor. The overall effect of this is the negative impact it has on the people of the grassroots as they are getting more and more alienated from developments. Also illustrative and instructive is the arrest and prosecution by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) of the former Enugu State Governor, Chimaroke Nnamani, on the allegation of diverting local governments’ funds in the state. This shows the level of influence and control that state governors have over local governments in their respective states. This undue interference has incapacitated local government from effective functioning on the one hand, and alienated grassroots people from enjoying social services delivery expected of local government on the other.

Saturday, October 26, 2019

Cloning :: essays research papers

The first thing that must be cleared up is what is cloning, and what is a clone. A clone is an organism derived asexually from a single individual by cuttings, bulbs, tubers, fission, or parthenogenesis reproduction ("Cloning", 1997). Pathogenesis reproduction is the development of an organism from an unfertilized ovum, seed or spore ("Pathogenesis", 1997). So cloning, biologically speaking, is any process in which production of a clone is successful. Therefore, the biological term cloning is the production of a genetically identical duplicate of an organism. However, people can use the word cloning to intend other meanings. For instance, we generalize many older and new techniques as cloning. This is not a good practice because these techniques are different and impose unique concerns and issues. In the world of scientific technology, cloning is the artificial production of organisms with the same genetic material. Scientists actually call the transferring of a nucleus from the cell of one organism to an enucleated egg cell, nuclear transfer (Wilmut 811). This will produce an organism that has the exact genetic material as that of the donor cell. Scientists are using current techniques exceedingly more, and with a variety of species. Astonishingly, more clones are present in the world than one would think. In nature, and even in the lives of humans, clones are present. As stated earlier, a clone is an organism that has the same genetic information as another organism. From this we can say that cloning occurs with all plants, some insects, algae, unicellular organisms that conduct mitosis or binary fission, and occasionally by all multi-cellular organisms, including humans. Monozygotic twins, or identical twins, are clones of each other. They have the same exact genetic information due to the division of an embryo early in development, which produces two identical embryos. About eight million identical twins are alive in the world; thus, already eight million human clones inhabit the world. Today, the only cloning research is occurring in scientific model organisms. These are organisms that research scientists from around the globe have collected abundant amounts of data. All this data is necessary so that advancements in research can continue more efficiently. The most common scientific models are E. coli, mice, fruit flies, and frogs. The first organisms that were cloned using nuclear transfer were frogs. This is because they have large egg cells and scientists can obtain up to two thousand of them from one ovulation. Cloning :: essays research papers The first thing that must be cleared up is what is cloning, and what is a clone. A clone is an organism derived asexually from a single individual by cuttings, bulbs, tubers, fission, or parthenogenesis reproduction ("Cloning", 1997). Pathogenesis reproduction is the development of an organism from an unfertilized ovum, seed or spore ("Pathogenesis", 1997). So cloning, biologically speaking, is any process in which production of a clone is successful. Therefore, the biological term cloning is the production of a genetically identical duplicate of an organism. However, people can use the word cloning to intend other meanings. For instance, we generalize many older and new techniques as cloning. This is not a good practice because these techniques are different and impose unique concerns and issues. In the world of scientific technology, cloning is the artificial production of organisms with the same genetic material. Scientists actually call the transferring of a nucleus from the cell of one organism to an enucleated egg cell, nuclear transfer (Wilmut 811). This will produce an organism that has the exact genetic material as that of the donor cell. Scientists are using current techniques exceedingly more, and with a variety of species. Astonishingly, more clones are present in the world than one would think. In nature, and even in the lives of humans, clones are present. As stated earlier, a clone is an organism that has the same genetic information as another organism. From this we can say that cloning occurs with all plants, some insects, algae, unicellular organisms that conduct mitosis or binary fission, and occasionally by all multi-cellular organisms, including humans. Monozygotic twins, or identical twins, are clones of each other. They have the same exact genetic information due to the division of an embryo early in development, which produces two identical embryos. About eight million identical twins are alive in the world; thus, already eight million human clones inhabit the world. Today, the only cloning research is occurring in scientific model organisms. These are organisms that research scientists from around the globe have collected abundant amounts of data. All this data is necessary so that advancements in research can continue more efficiently. The most common scientific models are E. coli, mice, fruit flies, and frogs. The first organisms that were cloned using nuclear transfer were frogs. This is because they have large egg cells and scientists can obtain up to two thousand of them from one ovulation.

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Fashion and Gender

Introduction In the western culture, fashion has affected and reflected the distinctions between the social and economical status of men and women throughout the years. From the 19th century on, gender, social understanding of femininity and masculinity, became clearer and more precise. They were identifiable through fashion and clothing and were an important aspect in distinguishing roles of men and women. However, changes in fashion will blur as much as emphasise the differences between gender, evolving in parallel borrowing from one another.Thus, as the constant changes in fashion, the level of differences between men and women varied very so often. Fashion was influencing and defining gender role and gender lifestyle was influencing fashion. Masculine men and feminine women The first signs of gender distinctions appeared at the start of the 19th century following the French Revolution. In addition to separating social classes, fashion now established a clear division between male and female clothing. Men were no longer powdered or perfumed and they got rid of ornaments and wigs, now signifies of femininity.Their clothing was characterized by a restricted use of material, tailored construction, simplified set of surface, uniformity, net and spotless garments, perfect hats and limited color (29 January). According to the trickle-down effect, fashion trends were still created by the upper-classes and were followed by others down the scale (05 February). Then, according to Georg Simmel, two types of males emerged from the middle-class. Dandies were followers of the leisure class and never went against a particular fashion dress code while bohemian were rejecting fashion (05 February).Men of the upper-class are characterized as a Flaneur by Walter Benjamin: â€Å"Empathy is the nature of the intoxication to which the flaneur abandons himself [†¦]† (05 February). The upper-class still needed to follow three rules in order to stay on top and keep the m iddle-class from rising; the expensive fabric, the lack of movement inflicted by the garment and the novelty of the ensemble (05 February). They conformed to a conspicuous lifestyle with their absence of labour and function in the society, but still in a more subtle way than women in terms of dress (29 January).Indeed, women became a physical display representing the husband’s wealth through fashion, assuring their social rank in the leisure class; the new aristocrats. Important gatherings such as the Grand Prix de Paris were a place where â€Å"one went to the races, as to the theater, partly to look over the women and their apparel† (Hebert, 24). They would wear multiple colors, dresses with pouf skirts, light fabrics, beading and flower ornaments, parasols and other accessories. Women were placed in the forefront with fashion and devoid of any role or power. [†¦] the adornment of both the female person and her environment was an expression of women’s inf erior economic power and her social status as a man’s chattel† (Veblen, 91). Unattached and unmarried women were also expected to dressed respectfully and fashionably for the dignity of her family and for future husbands. Lower-level women such as actresses and prostitutes, who were mingling with the upper-class, wore more revealing clothes but still in fashion. Women were thought of as irrational and sensible creatures who adhered to fashion by weakness, to have a sense of belonging.During the 19th century and early 20th century, there is a clear distinction between man and woman fashion. It is reflected in their clothes and in their social status and role in the society. Gender was easily identifiable with the shape formed by the garment. While men wear clean cut, sober and solid suits, holding all the power, the women dress in soft, elaborate and colourful dresses, trophies to the men. ? Fashion upside-down With the start of the World War I, women were now helping ou t and filling more masculine jobs. Roles were no longer clearly defined according to hysical characteristics. â€Å"Because while war work forced women to life in new social and physical environments, they had to adapt their clothing to unfamiliar activities and spaces† (Matthews David, 101). New technology and new combat techniques meant also a change in menswear. Soldiers had to wear uniforms that hid their masculine forms to allow movement. They replaced their flat and boxy hats with a more feminine and round one with leaves and flowers to hide in the trenches. â€Å"A definite outline, a traditionally masculine attribute, proved a deadly handicap in battle† (Matthews David, 97).Upper-class men were traditionally supposed to show their status through clothing. The advent of the war blurred distinctions between classes as both had to participate in the war effort. Men were no longer useless and ineffective in the society, with meant a necessary change in fashion. Res trictions in luxury fabrics, such as silk, fur and ornaments, forced a transformation of men’s masculine and luxurious attire. All men were now wearing jersey fabric clothing, darker earth colours and softer silhouettes. In the early 20th century, there was a eminent need for change in fashion.While men were adopting feminine fashion to survive during the war, women started borrowing the simplified and linear masculine silhouette. â€Å"The flip side of this feminization of the sniper was the much more generalized masculinization of women’s civilian and uniform dress during the war† (Matthews David, 101). They started wearing suits with sober colours to adapt to their more active lifestyle in the warfare. The latter was the start of a changing role in society for women. Before this change, women had no power on fashion or society.They were now needed for labour and they showed to be very efficient. This allowed women to make decisions and have a definite role so ciety. By adopting the masculine look, they gained power. They were no longer considered as an accessory to men. The exchanges of particular characteristics of gender made the distinctions and the differences more blurry. The World War I was a turning point in fashion for both men and women. Shortages of materials transformed clothing; new fabrics emerged, new silhouettes using less fabrics, less ornaments, leaner cuts, suits for women and softer clothes for men. Women were now looking more or less like men with the square suits and linear dresses, requisitioning their roles as women as though the clothes itself hold the power. While men were still the dominant figure, women were revising their position in the public and private sphere. ? Conclusion To conclude, gender is a social perception of masculinity and femininity. Through the 19th and 20th century, both men and women were affected by fashion; gender leading the distinctions.Sexes were defined by gender in the 19th century wi th the specific trends of clothing for each. Men were wearing clean and linear cuts, showing their boxy figures, while women wore elaborate and frivolous clothes highlighting their silhouette. Roles were also clearly different according to gender. Men held all the power and women served of accessories, displaying the husband’s wealth. The World War I acted as a turning point for men and women. Both were transforming their fashion because of their active lifestyle by adopting each others gender characteristics of fashion.Men softened their figures while women started wearing masculine suits. Gender differences became were blurred and roles redefined; women gained power and all men got functional for the society. Hence, the level of distinction between gender is in constant change. Fashion influences gender roles and gender lifestyle influences fashion. The latter blurs, blends as well as emphasis the social perceptions of what a men and a women is and looks like. Gender contin ues to affect and reflect distinctions between sexes, both constantly borrowing and exchanging from one another.

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Conflict Process and Management

Conflict Process Managing Conflict Case Studies Organizational Conflict Nidhi S Kohli 123720 R L Aparna 123716 Manisha K 123717 Priyanka G 123726 Swetha Joshi 123734 Sri Lakshmi 123732 CONTENTS 1. INTRODUCTION 1. CONFLICT PROCESS i. Stephen. P. Robbins’s Classification ii. Ashwattapa’s Compilation 2. MANAGING CONFLICT * Conflict Resolution Techniques * Conflict Stimulation Techniques * Types of Conflict and Resolution 3. CASE STUDIES i.Maruti Suzuki – Manesar Plant * Introduction * Findings * Suggestion & Conclusions ii. Indian Health Care Organization * Introduction * Findings * Suggestion & Conclusions 4. BIBLIOGRAPHY Introduction Conflict Defined It is a process which begins when one party perceives that another party has negatively affected, or is about to negatively affects, something that the first party cares about. Two main Schools of Thought * Traditional View A Belief that all conflicts are harmful and should be avoided. * Human Relations ViewBelief tha t conflict is natural and an inevitable outcome in any group. It is not only a positive force but is also necessary for a group to perform well. CONFLICT PROCESS (As proposed by Stephen Robbins) Stage 1: Potential Opposition or Incompatibility: * The first step in the conflict process is the presence of certain conditions that create opportunities for conflict to arise. * They need not lead directly to conflict, but one of them is necessary for conflict to arise. * These are the SOURCES of conflict. They can be broadly classified as: i. Communication Semantic difficulties, misunderstandings, and â€Å"noise† * Semantic difficulties arise as a result of difference in training, selective perception & inadequate information about others. * Potential to conflict arises in case of information overload or when information is too less. * Differing word connotations, jargon, insufficient exchange of information & noise in the communication channel are antecedent conditions to conflic t. * The filtering process as information is passed through different levels of organization offer potential opportunities for conflict to arise. i. Structure * Size and specialization of jobs The larger the group & more specialized its activities, the greater the likelihood of conflict. The potential of conflict is greatest when group members are younger & turnover is high. * Jurisdictional clarity/ambiguity The greater the jurisdictional ambiguity in precisely defining responsibility for actions, the greater the potential of conflict, as it increases inter-groups fighting for control of resources & territory. * Member/goal incompatibilityGroups within organizations have diverse goals. This diversity of goals among groups is a major source of conflict. * Leadership styles (close or participative) Tight & continuous observation with general control of other’s behaviors increases conflict potential. Also, research points out that participation & conflict are highly correlated, because participation encourages the promotion of differences. * Reward systems (win-lose) Conflict is created when one member’s gain is at another’s expense, especially in a group.But, if a group is dependent on another group, opposing forces are stimulated if one’s gain is at another’s expense. * Dependence/interdependence of groups iii. Personal Variables * Differing individual value systems: The most overlooked variable is social conflict, i. e. differing value systems. They are differences such as prejudices, disagreements over one’s contribution in the group and rewards one deserves and the likes. * Personality types: Having employees with different or opposing personality type, may lead to conflicts.Eg: Individuals who are dogmatic and highly authoritarian and who demonstrate low esteem may lead to potential conflict. Stage 2: Cognition and Personalization: If the conditions cited in stage 1 negatively affect something that one party cares about, then the potential for opposition or incompatibility becomes actualized in the second stage. The antecedent conditions can only lead to conflict when one or more of parties are affected by, and aware of, the conflict. As we noted in our definition of conflict, perception is required.Therefore, one or more of the parties must be aware of the existence of the antecedent conditions. However, because a conflict is perceived does not mean that it is personalized. Example: A may be aware that B and A are in serious disagreement†¦ but it may not make A tense or anxious, and it may have no effect whatsoever on A’s affection towards B. It is at the felt level, when individuals become emotionally involved, that parties experience anxiety, tension, frustration or hostility. IMPORTANCE OF STAGE 2:It is where conflict issues tend to be defined. It is the stage where the parties decide what the conflict is about. As a result this â€Å"sense making† is critical because t he way a conflict is defined goes a long way towards establishing the sort of outcomes that might settle it. Example: if I define our salary disagreement as a zero –sum situation –that is, if you get the increase in pay you want, there will be just that amount less for me- I am going to be far less willing to compromise than if I frame the conflict win- win situation (i. e. the dollar in the salary pool might be increased so that both of us could get the adds pay we want) ROLE OF EMOTIONS IN STAGE 2: Emotions play a major role in shaping perceptions. As they are classified into two: i) Negative emotions- to produce over simplification of issues, reduction in trust, and negative interpretations of the other party’s behavior. ii) Positive emotions- to increase the tendency to see potential relationships among the elements of problem, to take a broader view of the situation and to develop more innovative solutions. Stage 3: Intentions:Intentions are decisions to ac t in a given way in a conflict. Intentions intervene between people’s perception and emotions and their behaviour. The dimensions of intentions are: * Cooperativeness (the degree to which one party attempts to satisfy the other party’s concerns) * Assertiveness (the degree to which one party attempts to satisfy his or her own concerns) Using these two dimensions five conflict handling intentions can be identified. When concern for the self is low, they could be unassertive and if concern for the self is high, they could be very assertive.If the concern for others is low then they tend to be uncooperative and vice versa. 1) Competing: When one person seeks to satisfy his or her own interests regardless of the impact on the other parties to the conflict, he/she is competing. A competing style is high on assertiveness and low on cooperativeness. Competing style may be necessary when a quick, decisive action is required or when unpopular courses on important issues need to be implemented such as cost cutting and discipline a staff member. In addition this style may be required when â€Å"you know you are right† is an issue. ) Collaborating: A situation in which the parties to a conflict each desire to satisfy fully the concerns of all the parties. In collaborating, the intention of the parties is to solve the problem by clarifying differences rather than by accommodating various points of view. A collaborating style is high on both cooperation and assertion. The parties to a conflict view it as a problem solving situation. A problem solving approach requires the following conditions: * The parties to a conflict channel their energies in solving the problem rather than defeating each other. The goals, opinions, attitudes and feelings of all parties are accepted * The parties should realize that the conflict issue can make an effective contribution to the quality of human relationships if the issue is solved through a supporting and trusting cli mate. A critical concept is here that no blame is assigned to anyone and the issue is kept in focus. It is time consuming and may be costly when many individuals are involved. It can be used in following situations: * When there is a high level of trust When you don't want to have full responsibility * When you want others to also have â€Å"ownership† of solutions * When the people involved are willing to change their thinking as more information is found and new options are suggested 3) Avoiding:  A person may recognize that a conflict exists and want to withdraw from it or suppress it. Avoiding includes trying to just ignore a conflict and avoiding others with whom you disagree. Avoiding might take the form of postponing an issue for a better time or simply withdrawing from a threatening issue.An avoiding style may reflect a failure to address important issues and a tendency to remain neutral when there is a need to take position. It can be advisable in situations like: * When more information is needed to take a good decision * When you desire that people should cool down so that they regain their perspective after which tension may be handled properly and productively * When someone else can resolve the conflict more effectively 4) Accommodating: when one party seeks to appease an opponent, that party may be willing to place the opponent’s interests above his or her own.One party is willing to be self-sacrificing in order to maintain the relationship. This style is low in assertiveness and high in cooperativeness. A person who uses this style may be showing too little concern for personal goals as a result it may lead to lack of influence and recognition. The conflict is resolved without each party to a conflict presenting his or her own views. This style may be useful in following situations: * When maintaining harmony is more important * A conflict issue is more important to other person * Where relationships involved are more highly val ued then a conflict issue ) Compromising: A situation in which each party to a conflict is willing to give up something. Compromise is a common and practical approach to conflict management, in which two equally strong and persuasive parties attempt to work out a solution. It is an important style to settle complex issues in the short run. It can also be used as a backup mode when both collaboration and competition fail to work effectively in resolving the conflicts. Conclusion: Intentions provide general guidelines for parties in a conflict situation. They define each party’s purpose. Yet people intention is not fixed.During the course of conflict, they might change because of an emotional reaction to the behavior of other party. Stage IV: Behaviour: * The behaviour stage includes the statements, actions and reactions of conflicting parties. * This conflict behaviour is clear attempts to implement each party’s intention. * It is a dynamic process of interaction with a continuum. * Outcome maybe functional-improving group performance OR dysfunctional-hampering group performance. * When most people think of conflict situation they tend to focus on stage IV because this where conflict becomes visible.The behaviour stage includes the statements, actions and reasons made by the conflicting parties. These conflict behaviours are usually overt attempts to implement each party’s intentions, but they have stimulus quality that is separate from intentions. As a result of miscalculations or unskilled enactments, overt behaviour sometimes deviates from original intentions. * It helps to think of stage IV as a dynamic process of interaction. For Example: you make a demand on me, I respond by arguing, you threaten me, I threaten you back, and so on. * All conflicts exist somewhere along this continuum.At the lower part of the continuum, we have conflicts characterized by subtitle, indirect and highly controlled forms of tension, such as a student quest ioning in class a point the instructor has just made. Conflict intensities escalate as they move upward along the continuum rage. * The outcomes may be functional or dysfunctional. Functional -improving group performance. Dysfunctional -hampering group performance. For the most part, conflicts that reach the upper ranges of the continuum are almost always dysfunctional. Functional conflicts are typically confined to the lower range of the continuum.STAGE V: Outcomes: The action-reaction interplay between the conflicting parties results in consequences or outcomes. These outcomes may be: * Functional in that the conflict results in an improvement in the group’s performance, or * Dysfunctional in that it hinders group performance. Functional conflict: A functional conflict is a confrontation between groups that enhances and benefits the organization’s performance. * For example, two departments in a hospital may be in conflict over the most efficient and adaptive method of delivering health care to low-income rural families.Two departments agree on the goal but not on the means to achieve it. * Whatever the outcome, the low-income rural families probably will end up with better medical care once the conflict is settled. Without this type of conflict in organizations, there would be little commitment to change, and most groups would become stagnant. Functional conflict can lead to increased awareness of problems that need to be addressed, result in broader and more productive searches for solutions, and generally facilitate positive change, adaptation, and innovation.Dysfunctional conflict: A dysfunctional conflict is any confrontation or interaction between groups that harms the organization or hinders the achievement of organizational goals. Management must seek to eliminate dysfunctional conflict. Beneficial conflicts can often turn into harmful ones. In most cases, the point at which functional conflict becomes dysfunctional is impossible to ide ntify precisely. The same level of stress and conflict that creates a healthy and positive movement toward goals in one group may prove extremely disruptive and dysfunctional in another group.A group’s tolerance for stress and conflict can also depend on the type of organization it serves. Auto manufacturers, professional sports teams, and crisis organizations such as police and fire departments would have different points where functional conflict becomes dysfunctional than would organizations such as universities, research and development firms, and motion-picture production firms. Conflict can be considered as functional or dysfunctional depending on its effects on the organizational performance. Conflict also affects relationships within and between groups in several ways.We will look first at changes that typically occur within conflicting groups and then at the changes that occur in the relations between such groups. Changes within Groups: Within groups engaged in confl ict, the following changes are often observed: 1. First, external threats such as conflict bring about increased group cohesiveness. As a result, groups engaged in conflict become more attractive and important to their own members. 2. Increased cohesiveness suggests that conformity to group norms becomes more important. This may take the form of blind acceptance of dysfunctional solutions to the conflict.This is referred to as the emphasis on loyalty. 3. Ongoing conflict also stimulates an emphasis on task performance. All efforts within each conflicting groups are directed towards meeting the challenge posed by other groups, and concerns about individual satisfaction lose importance. 4. A sense of urgency surrounds task performance; defeating the enemy becomes uppermost, and there is much less goofing off. 5. In addition, when a group is in conflict, otherwise reluctant members will often submit to autocratic leadership to manage crisis, perceiving participative decision making as slow and weak. . A group in such circumstances is also likely to place much more emphasis on standardized procedures and centralized control. Changes between Groups: In addition to these four changes within groups, four changes often occur in relations between conflicting groups: 1. Hostility often surfaces in the form of hardened â€Å"we-they attitudes†. Each group sees itself as virtuous and other groups as enemies. 2. During conflicts, the perceptions of each group’s members become distorted. Group members develop stronger opinions of the importance of their unit. The marketing group in a business organization may think, â€Å"Without us selling the product, there would be no money to pay anyone else’s salary†. * The production group, meanwhile, will say, â€Å"if we don’t make the product, there is nothing to sell. † 3. The final change between groups is decreased communication. This can be extremely dysfunctional. The decision-making p rocess can be disrupted, and the customers or others whom the organization serves can be affected. PROCESS OF CONFLICT (As Proposed by Ashwathappa) The process of conflict comprises of five stages: 1. Latent Conflict 2.Perceived Conflict 3. Felt Conflict 4. Manifest Conflict 5. Conflict Outcome 1. Latent Conflict: When two or more parties need each other to achieve desired objectives, there is potential for conflict. Other antecedents of conflict such as interdependence, different goals, etc, do not automatically create conflict. But when they exist, they make it possible. Latent conflict often arises when a change occurs. Conflict is likely to be caused by a budget cutback, a change in organizational direction, a change in personal goals or the assignment of a new project to an already overloaded team.Antecedents of conflict: * Incompatible personalities or value systems. * Overlapping or unclear job boundaries. * Competition for limited resources. * Inadequate communication. * Int erdependent tasks. * Organizational complexity (conflict tends to increase as the number of hierarchical layers and specialized tasks increase). * Unreasonable or unclear policies, standards or rules. * Unreasonable deadline or extreme time pressure. * Collective decision making (the greater the number of people participating in a decision, the greater the potential for conflict). * Decision making by consensus. Unmet expectations (employees who have unrealistic expectations about job assignment, pay or promotions are more prone to conflict). * Unresolved or suppressed conflict. 2. Perceived Conflict: This is the stage at which members become aware of a problem. Incompatibility of needs is perceived and tension begins as the parties begin to worry about what will happen. But no party feels that it is being overly threatened. 3. Felt Conflict: At this stage, parties become emotionally involved and begin to focus on differences of opinion and opposing interests- sharpening perceived c onflict.Internal tensions and frustration begin to crystallize around specific, defines issues, and people begin to build an emotional commitment to their position. 4. Manifest Conflict: At this stage, parties engage in actions that help achieve own objectives and thwart those of others. Conflict behaviours vary from the subtle, indirect and highly controlled forms of interference, to direct, aggressive, violent and uncontrolled struggle. At the organisational level, strikes or lock-outs are the result. 5.Conflict Outcome: The conflict finally results in an outcome, which may be functional or dysfunctional. * Functional conflict refers to confrontation between two ideas, goals and parties that improve employees’ and the organisation’s performance. * Dysfunctional conflict is the negative side of functional conflict. * If the conflict is handled well, the result is functional conflict. * If the conflict is mishandled, the consequence is dysfunctional conflict. MANAGING CONFLICT 1. CONFLICT RESOLUTION TECHNIQUESProblem solving| Face-to-face meeting of conflicting parties to identify ;resolve conflict through open discussion| Super ordinate goals| Creating a shared goal that cannot be attained without the cooperation of each conflicting party| Expansion of resources| Expansion of resources can create a WIN-WIN situation| Avoidance| Withdrawal from, or suppression of the conflict| Smoothing| Playing down differences while emphasizing common interests between conflicting parties| Compromise| Each party to the conflict gives up something of value| Authoritative command| Management uses its formal authority to resolve the conflict, then communicates it to the conflicting parties| Altering human variables| Using behavioral change techniques, such as human relations training to alter attitudes ; behaviors that cause conflict| Altering structural variables| Changing formal organizational structure ; interaction of patterns of conflicting personalities thro ugh ob design, transfers, creating of coordinating positions etc| 2. CONFLICT STIMULATION TECHNIQUESCommunication| Using ambiguous or threatening messages to increase conflict levels| Bringing in outsiders| Adding employees to a group whose backgrounds, values attitudes or managerial styles differ from those of present members| Restructuring the organization| Realigning work groups, altering rules ; regulations, increasing interdependence, ; making similar structural changes to disrupt the status quo| Appointing a Devil’s Advocate| Designating a critic to purposely argue against majority positions held by the group. | TYPES OF CONFLICT ; RESOLUTION 1) INTRA – PERSONAL CONFLICT 2) INTER – PERSONAL CONFLICT 3) INTRA – GROUP CONFLICT 4) INTER – GROUP CONFLICT 1. INTRA – PERSONAL CONFLICT: Intra personal conflict refers to the discord that occurs within an individual.It is also called ‘Intra individual Conflict’ or ‘Intra psyc hic Conflict’ and is often studied by psychologists and personality theorists who are interested in the dynamics of personality and factors that pre-dispose people to inner conflicts. * Intra personal conflict can develop out of a person’s thoughts, ideas, emotions, values and pre-dispositions. This type of conflict is important because we encounter it on a daily basis and have to negotiate through it. * Though conflicts are usually viewed as negative, intra personal conflict has certain benefits. Healthy conflict provides an individual with the skills needed to develop better relationships, gain an understanding of oneself, increase resolution skills and avoid negative and damaging reactions.Intra personal conflict can be disruptive and stressful if we do not understand our own needs and desires. Therefore, it is important to understand our deep emotions and interests and stay in touch with ourselves. Causes of Intra personal Conflict: Intra personal conflict occurs w hen there is incompatibility or inconsistency among an individual’s cognitive elements. It implies that a new cognitive element is at variance with a prior explanation or expectation. Causes: * Difficulty in making a decision because of uncertainty. * Individual’s are pushed or pulled in opposite direction, i. e. , attractive or unattractive alternatives. * Simultaneous forces of about equal strength. A person is motivated to engage in two or more mutually exclusive situations. * When a person is required to perform a task that does not match his/her expertise, interests, goals and values. Intra personal conflict also arises from frustration, numerous roles which demand equal attention but is not always possible to devote, goals having both negative and positive aspects, cognitive dissonances, and neurotic tendencies. Conflict from Frustration: Frustration occurs when a motivated drive is blocked before a person reaches a desired goal. GOALS (Reduction of Drives ; fulf ills Deficiency) BARRIERS i. Overt ii. Covert DRIVE (Deficiency with Direction)NEED (Deficiency) ( DEFENCE MECHANISMS A. Aggression B. Withdrawal C. Fixation D. Compromise FRUSTRATION * An individual driven by an inner state of deficiency engages in some action to fulfill the deficiency. * But his/her attempts to reach the goal are checked by barriers which may be Overt (external) or Covert (internal). * The overt barriers may be social or non-social * The social barriers are those which are placed by others in the way of reaching one’s goal. * The non-social barriers include floods, power failures, etc. * The covert barriers are those which are inherent or within an individual. These last longer than the external barriers. The internal barriers include physical weakness, disabilities, personal limitations like lack of skill and intelligence, etc. * Blocked by these barriers, an individual becomes frustrated for being unable to reach his/her goal. * Frustration normally trigg ers defence mechanisms in the person. Defence mechanisms refer to unconscious processes that protect an individual from anxiety, stress, external threats, etc. * They do not alter the objective conditions of danger, but simply change the way a person perceives it. They involve an element of self-deception. * The frustrated individual adopts any of the four defence mechanisms: Aggression, Withdrawal, Fixation or Compromise. Aggression refers to the attack of the barriers, physically or symbolically. * Withdrawal refers to backing away from the barrier. * Fixation refers to the continuation of efforts to break the barrier. * Compromise refers to the search for a new goal. * Conflict occurs in all the defence mechanism situations. Goal Conflict: Goal conflict is more complex than conflict from frustration and occurs when the attainment of one goal excludes the possibility of attaining another. There are four major forms of goal conflict. They are: 1. Approach-Approach Conflict 2. Appro ach-Avoidance Conflict 3. Avoidance-Avoidance Conflict 4. Multiple Approach-Avoidance Conflict 1. Approach-Approach Conflict: This conflict arises when the individual is caught between two or more positive but mutually exclusive goals. * Approach-Approach conflict is hardly a conflict at all, because whichever choice the individual makes, he/she will attain a positively valued outcome. * Such a conflict is easily resolved by satisfying one goal first, then the other- Eg. Eating first and then sleeping. * Alternatively, this conflict is resolved by giving up on one of the goals. Obviously, Approach-Approach conflict does not generate much anxiety. Unfortunately, Approach-Approach conflict does not always end as stated. Often, when the choice is made, â€Å"decision regret† may occur. The option not chosen now becomes more attractive, simply because it was not chosen.Decision regret may lead decision makers to reconsider the positive aspects of the chosen option and give them m ore weight to justify and validate the decisions made. 2. Approach-Avoidance Conflict: * This conflict occurs when an individual is simultaneously attracted to and repelled by a single goal object. * If the motive to avoid the goal is stronger than the motive to approach it, the person will be caught where the strengths of the motives are roughly equal. * As the person moves towards or away from the goal, the relatively stronger motive takes over and brings the person back to the point where he/she vacillates. Generally, the Approach-Avoidance conflicts that are most pervasive and difficult to resolve take place in the following: i. Independence vs.Dependence: In times of stress, a person feels like resorting to the dependency characteristic of childhood, to have someone take care of a person and solve his/her problems. But he/she is taught to stand on his/her own feet which is a mark of maturity. ii. Co-operation vs. Competition: A person is taught to compete with others and make a success of one’s own efforts. At the same time, one is taught to co-operate and be helpful to others. iii. Impulsive Expression vs. Moral Standards: All societies place some degree of regulation upon impulse control. Sometimes. A person’s impulses may conflict most frequently with normal standards, and violation of these standards may generate strong feelings of guilt.The Approach-Avoidance conflict is most relevant to the study of Organizational behaviour. Generally, organisational goals have both positive and negative aspects for organizational participants, and hence, it may arouse a great deal of conflict within a person and can actually cause the person to vacillate anxiously at the point where approach equals avoidance. 3. Avoidance-Avoidance Conflict: * This conflict occurs when an individual is forced to choose between two mutually exclusive goals, each of which possesses unattarctive qualities. The net result is that a person is caught between two options. * Faced with an Avoidance-Avoidance conflict, most people will vacillate between the two options, without resolving the conflict. In the context of an organization, Avoidance-Avoidance conflict may be exemplified by a worker who is caught in the dilemma of bearing with the supervisor whom he detests most and quitting the organization and remaning jobless. Two kinds of behaviour are likely to be conspicuous in Avoidance-Avoidance conflicts. * The first is vacillation. As the growth of a goal increases, the closer a person gets to the goal. As the person approaches a negative goal, he/she finds it increasingly repelling. Consequently, the person tends to withdraw, but when a person does this, he/she comes closer to the negative goal and finds it in turn increasing the negative valence. * A second feature of this kind of conflict is an Attempt to Leave the conflict situation.Theoretically, a person might escape Avoidance-Avoidance conflict by running away from it altogether. But in pract ice, however, there are additional negative goals in the periphery of the situation and these prevent us from leaving. A person in Avoidance-Avoidance conflict may resort to other means to get relief from anxiety aroused by the conflict. 4. Multiple Approach-Avoidance Conflict: Often we are confronted with several possibilities for action, each having several desirable and undesirable features. A conflict of this type in which two alternatives- both involving positive and negative features- is referred to as a Double Approach-Avoidance Conflict or a Multiple Approach-Avoidance Conflict. Role Conflict: The final reason for intra-personal conflict is the need of an individual to play several roles simultaneously but finding time and resources inadequate to do so. * Role conflict is a type of social conflict caused from an individual being forced to take on separate and incompatible roles. * Role conflicts can occur individually, as in the case of one person being torn between separate roles for different organizations or groups, or within an organization, when an individual is asked to perform multiple roles in the same group. * Although all the roles which individuals bring into the organization are relevant to their behaviour in the study of Organizational behaviour, the organizational role is the most important. Cognitive Dissonance: * Cognitive Dissonance can lead to intra-personal conflict. Dissonance is the state of psychological discomfort or conflict created in people when they are faced with two or more goals or alternatives to a decision. * Although these alternatives occur together, they do not belong or fit together. * Cognitive Dissonance occurs when individuals recognize inconsistencies in their own thoughts and behaviours. * Such inconsistencies are stressful and uncomfortable, leading to intra-personal conflict. * Employees seek to remove inconsistencies by changing thoughts and behaviours, or by obtaining more information about the issue that is causing the dissonance. But cognitive dissonance, till it is removed, remains a source of conflict. Neurotic Tendencies: These are irrational personality mechanisms that an individual uses that create inner conflict. In turn, inner conflict often results in behaviours that lead to conflict with other people. * One example of neurotic action is the excessive use of tight organizational controls by neurotic managers, because they distrust people. Their excessive distrust and need to control, triggers conflict with others, especially subordinates who come to feel micromanaged and distrusted. * A common reaction to leaders with neurotic tendencies is either overt (open) or covert (hidden) aggression and hostility. Subordinates often try to settle the score and protect themselves from further abuse. These actions give the manager an even stronger sense of employee worthlessness. The manager’s hostility and attempts to control and punish become even more vigorous. STRATEGIES FOR R ESOLVING INTRA-PERSONAL CONFLICTS: Intra-personal conflict arises from frustration, competing roles, or goals having positive or negative aspects. 1. Conflict from Frustration: * To the extent that conflict from frustration results from blocked goal realization, removal of barriers (overt and covert) will help resolve this conflict. It is the manager’s responsibility to clear his employee’s path for advancement in his career. * Frustration is not always bad- it may contribute to improved performance.The frustrated individual may divert his attention from barriers, towards his job and try to show better results. * This is particularly true with an individual who has a self concept that includes confidence in being able to do a job well. But this is no consolation for a manager to ignore the frustration of an employee. If conflict from frustration is not resolved for long, the manager will be running the risk of losing the services of a competent and sincere employee. 2. Goal Conflict: Goal conflict has three main dimensions: approach-approach conflict, approach-avoidance conflict and avoidance-avoidance conflict. * Of the three, approach-approach conflict has the least impact on organisational behaviour.The manager’s involvement is not needed to resolve the conflict. It is best resolved by the employee himself/herself. The well known theory of Cognitive Dissonance helps the individual resolve the approach-approach conflict. The theory states that the person experiencing dissonance will be highly motivated to reduce or eliminate it and will actively avoid situations and information which would increase it. * Approach-avoidance conflict can be resolved by refusing to select either approach (positive aspect) or avoidance (negative aspect) choice. But an organizational member cannot avoid the conflict situation. He/she is forced to make a decision, and is therefore, exposed to conflict.This conflict too can be resolved in the same way as cognit ive dissonance: having decided either way (approach or avoidance), the individual may defend the decision. The manager has a responsibility to help the individual defend his/her choice. * Avoidance-avoidance conflict may be resolved by examining and solving the problems causing the conflict. An understanding of the reasons may help a person to overcome any prejudice he/she has developed against another person. Sound counseling from another person will be highly useful to the affected party. 3. Role Conflict: Role conflict can be resolved by minimizing the number of roles and fixing priorities for them. Once the priorities are determined, there must be no overlapping of roles. Much of the intra-personal conflicts in an organizational member can be resolved by developing compatibility between his/her personal and organizational goals. * A realization that he/she is working for the organisation and not for the managers will help him/her regain his/her balance and remain cool, irritants and hassles notwithstanding. The best solution for intra-personal conflict is to look to Hindu Philosophy and learn a valuable lesson from it. According to the philosophy, an individual is composed of three Gunas or psychogenic substances. They are: Sattwa, Rajas and Tamas. * Sattwa: It means Purity, Serenity, Poise, Calmness, Discrimination, Compassion, Clarity, Goodness, Altruism, Dispassion, Contentment, etc. , or together known as ILLUMINATION. Rajas: It means Love of Fame, Passion, Lust, Strife, Impatience, Jealousy, Pride, Display of Power, etc. , or together known as MOVEMENT. * Tamas: It means Anger, Pride, Ignorance, Stolidity, Offering Resistance, Inertia, forgetfulness, Confusion, Darkness, Brutality, etc. , or together known as OBSTRUCTION. It is essential that one should develop sattwic gunas in oneself, be it the manager or the managed. One can develop sattwic quality by reading holy scripts, regular prayers, moving with pious people, and leading a disciplined life. U nfortunately, modern organizations are filled with people who are imbedded with rajasic or tamasic qualities. Hence, the absence of harmonious industrial relations. 2. INTER- PERSONAL CONFLICT:Too often when a conflict occurs between supervisor-subordinate, employees-customers, coworkers, or even friends, there tends to be either a fight (personal attacks) or a flight (embarrassed silence or leaving) response. Neither is an effective way of handling interpersonal conflict. More appropriate for resolving conflict and preserving positive relationships would be to follow this process. 1. Allow time to cool off. 2. Analyze the situation. 3. State the problem to the other person. Some other strategies for resolving conflicts are: * LOSE – LOSE: In this lose-lose approach to conflict both the parties lose. This approach can take several forms. One very common approach is to compromise or take the middle ground in a dispute. A second form can be to pay off one of the parties in the conflict.These payments can take the form of bribes. A third approach can be to use an outside party or arbitrator to settle the dispute. A fourth approach can be to resolve the conflicts through the existing rules and law. It can sometime resolve the conflicts but the results are not always as desirable as win-lose and especially win-win approach. Lose-lose conflict is damaging and unhealthy to a relationship. Some people try to avoid conflict because they feel it's negative and will hurt someone's feelings. People like this will lose out because they don't give their honest opinion or feedback. They become too concerned with how other people feel at the expense of their own feelings. WIN – LOSE: A win-lose conflict means just that–win or lose. It's a type of conflict where just one person wins the argument while the other one feels bad. It's a game to those who view conflict as a battle to win at all times and at the expense of another person's loss. The win-lose app roach is often used in American business settings. The primary emphasis is on winning all you can, overstate your position, and make decisions quickly. In contrast to this, the Japanese approach to business focuses on team work, cooperation, saving face, avoiding confrontation, understating your position, informally letting others know the bottom line, and reaching areas of agreement.Though win lose strategy helps diffuse conflict, it may not be a permanent solution since the loser will tend to be bitter The following points make the strategy more clear: * There is a clear â€Å"we-they† distinction between the parties. * The parties see the issue from their own point of view. * The emphasis is on the solution rather than on the values, goals and objectives. * There is no planned sequence of activities. * WIN – WIN: It is the most desirable way of resolving conflicts. In this situation, the energies and struggles are directed to solve the problem rather than beating th e other party. The outcomes of this approach are so that both the parties are happy and results have benefits for both the parties.Although this is the difficult most strategy to solve the problems but this should be goal of the managers to resolve interpersonal conflict Interpersonal conflicts arise in every workplace. Supervisors may help reduce the number and severity of these conflicts by: * Emphasizing that employee must, despite their differences, treat each other with respect, dignity and fairness. * Eliminating a defensive climate in which employees judge and criticize each other, have hidden agendas and are close-minded to new ideas and changes. * Establishing a supportive climate where employees openly discuss and understand each other’s ideas and concerns, are willing to listen to each other, and focus on accomplishing their work and group goals. Providing training to employees on improving communication skills and settling differences effectively and on a timely b asis. WAYS OF RESOLVING INTERPERSONAL CONFLICTS: The Defusing Technique: The other person might be angry and may come to the situation armed with a number of arguments describing how you are to blame for his or her unhappiness. Your goal is to address the other’s anger –  and you do this by simply agreeing with the person. When you find some truth in the other point of view, it is difficult for the other person to maintain anger. Empathy: Try to put yourself into the shoes of the other person. See the world through their eyes.Empathy is an important listening technique which gives the other feedback that he or she is being heard. There are two forms of empathy. Thought Empathy  gives the message that you understand what the other is trying to say. You can do this in conversation by paraphrasing the words of the other person. * Exploration: Ask gentle, probing questions about what the other person is thinking and feeling. Encourage the other to talk fully about what is on his or her mind. For example, â€Å"Are there any other thoughts that you need to share with me? † * Using â€Å"I† Statements: Take responsibility for your own thoughts rather than attributing motives to the other person.This decreases the chance that the other person will become defensive. For example, â€Å"I feel pretty upset that this thing has come between us. † This statement is much more effective than saying, â€Å"You have made me feel very upset. † * Stroking: Find positive things to say about the other person, even if the other is angry with you. Show a respectful attitude. For example, â€Å"I genuinely respect you for having the courage to bring this problem to me. I admire your strength and your caring attitude. † 3. INTRA – GROUP CONFLICT: * Intra-group conflict refers to the incompatibility, Incongruence, or disagreement among the members of a group or its subgroups regarding goals, functions, or activities of the gro up. In Intra-group conflict the majority of the members of a group or its subgroups must be involved. Importance of groups: * First, groups are the building blocks of an organization. * Second, groups provide the primary mechanism for the attainment of organizational goals. * Third, groups provide psychological and other support to the individual members. The definition of a group should include the following: * A group must consist of two or more members. * A group must possess a stable structure; * The members should be interdependent. * The members should interact with each other. * The members should work toward the attainment of a common goal(s). Types of Groups: Groups can be broadly classified as formal or informal. 1.Formal Groups: These are further classified as follows: * Task/Functional Groups: Fiedler (1967) classified task groups into three types according to the nature of task interdependencies among group members in attaining their group objectives. * Interacting grou p * Coaching group * Counteracting group * Project Groups 2. Informal Groups: These are further classified as follows: * Interest Groups * Friendship Groups Effects of Intra-group Conflict: * Quality and quantity of team performance are considerably higher in competitive than cooperative conditions, * Heterogeneous members and consequent conflicts of interest and opinion produce better solutions to standardized sets of solutions. Affective conflict negatively influences group performance, group loyalty, work-group commitment, job satisfaction, and intent to stay in the present organization. Sources of Intra-group Conflict: * Leadership Style: * Situation A. * Situation B. * Situation C. * Universalistic approach and contingency approach, * i. e. , System IV for Likert and high concern for both production and people for Blake and Mouton) * Leadership can influence other variables, such as task structure, group composition, and size. * Task Structure * Routine (Simple, defined goals, procedures) * Non-routine (Complex) * Group Composition * Size * Cohesiveness and Group thinkingExternal Threats: 1. The external conflict needs to involve some threat. 2. The external conflict must affect the entire group and all its members equally and indiscriminately, and involve a solution. 3. The group needs to have been an ongoing one with some pre-existing cohesion or consensus, and to have a leadership that can authoritatively enforce cohesion (especially if all the members of the group do not feel the threat). 4. The group must be able to deal with the external conflict, and to provide emotional comfort and support to its members. Intervention: * Process * Team building * Structural * Change group membership * Changing the group size Altering the task * Changing the reward system * Modifying rules, procedures and appeal system. STRATEGIES FOR RESOLVING: 1. Invulnerability 2. Rationale 3. Morality 4. Stereotypes 5. Pressure 6. Self-Censorship 7. Unanimity 8. Mind guards 4. INTER – GROUP CONFLICT: Intergroup relations between two or more groups and their respective members are often necessary to complete the work required to operate a business. Many times, groups inter-relate to accomplish the organization's goals and objectives, and conflict can occur. Some conflict, called functional conflict, is considered positive, because it enhances performance and identifies weaknesses.Dysfunctional conflict, however, is confrontation or interaction between groups that harms the organization or hinders attainment of goals or objectives. Causes of Intergroup Conflict: * One of the most prominent reasons for intergroup conflict is simply the nature of the group. Other reasons may be work interdependence, goal variances, differences in perceptions, and the increased demand for specialists. * Also, individual members of a group often play a role in the initiation of group conflict. Any given group embodies various qualities, values, or unique traits that are created, followed, and even defended. * These clans can then distinguish â€Å"us† from â€Å"them. Members who violate important aspects of the group, and especially outsiders, who offend these ideals in some way, normally receive some type of corrective or defensive response. * Relationships between groups often reflect the opinions they hold of each other's characteristics. When groups share some interests and their directions seem parallel, each group may view the other positively; however, if the activities and goals of groups differ, they may view each other in a negative manner. * When trying to prevent or correct intergroup conflict, it is important to consider the history of relations between the groups in conflict. * History will repeat itself if left to its own devices. Limited resources and reward structures can foster intergroup conflict by making the differences in group goals more apparent.Resolving Inter-group conflict: The approaches available for resolving intra-personal and inter-personal conflicts can be used to solve inert-group disputes too. However, certain unique approaches are available for resolving inter-group conflict. They are: 1. Problem-solving: problem-solving is considered to be the most effective approach available as it emphasizes the attainment of the common interest of both conflicting parties. In the problem-solving strategy, attempts are made to find a solution that reconciles or integrates the need of both the parties. The two parties work together both to define the problem and to identify mutually satisfactory solutions.Moreover, there is open expression of feelings as well as exchange of task related information. 2. Organisation redesign: changing organisational structure is another approach for resolving conflict, particularly when the sources of conflict come from the coordination of work among different departments or divisions. One way of redesigning organisations is to reduce task inter dependence between groups and give each group clear responsibilities. Another way is to transfer or exchange members of conflicting groups. An appeal system may also be developed to eliminate the arbitrary use of power. 3. Super ordinate goals: appealing to super ordinate goals is another way of resolving conflict.The super ordinate goal is a common goal of both conflicting parties and the combined efforts of both parties will be needed to realize the goal. It takes precedence over other goals which may separate the conflicting parties. Survival of the organisation for example, can be a super ordinate goal. Creating awareness that the organisation’s survival will be jeopardized if conflicting groups do not work in unison and can have a salutary effect on disputing parties. 4. Expansion of resources: to the extent that scarce resources cause conflict, removing their scarcity will help resolve conflict. If Upgradation of one’s position has caused ripples elsewhere, some more jobs might be similarly upgraded.If increased budget allocation to one department has caused heart burn to the members of rival departments, the rival division’s allocation can also be correspondingly increased, and so on. 5. Avoidance: when the issue is trivial, avoidance strategy will be useful. In the avoidance strategy, the party or parties to the conflict may either withdraw from the conflict or conceal the incompatibility. In the first instance, one of the conflicting parties or both will withdraw from the conflicting situation. Where avoidance is not possible, concealing the fact by either or both conflicting parties that there is conflict may help defuse the conflict. 6. Smoothen: the process of playing down the differences between the individual and groups and highlighting their common interest is called smoothening.Finding and emphasizing similarities between conflicting parties, while playing down differences, can eventually lead the parties to realize that the two are not as f ar apart as was first believed. With shared viewpoints on some issue, the ability to work towards a smoothen can help reduce the intensity of the conflict and avoid an escalation of open hostility. However, smoothen is recommended as a stop gap measure to let people cool down and regain perspective. CASE STUDIES 1. Maruti Suzuki (Manesar) Company Profile: * MSIL – Maruti Suzuki India Ltd * It is a Japanese automobile company * Publicly listed automaker in India * First to mass produce and sell more than million cars The company's headquarters are located Kasturba Gandhi Marg in New Delhi. * Products: Maruti 800, Alto, Wagnor, Ritz, Swift, Dzire, Omni, Kizashi Evolution in India: * 2 phases pre-liberalization (1983-1996) * 2 phases post liberalization (1997-2001) * Employee number : 6,903 * Style of management : Japanese style * Captured and maintains 80% market share Reasons for choosing Maruti Manesar: * It is the most recent organizational conflict * Shows practical framewo rk of theory * Availability of proper and abundant information * It is a classic example of inter-group conflict Case Findings: * Management-Worker rift reasons: * WORKERS’ TAKE: Workers were paid lesser than counterparts in other locations * Workers were paid lesser than competitor’s workers in same position * Contract , permanent and seasonal workers were paid same wages * Working conditions – only 7 minutes tea break (both shifts) – Not allowed to attend nature’s call * The managers and supervisors resorted to use of derogatory and abusive behaviour constantly. * MANAGEMENTS APPROACH: * CEO Shinzo Nakanishi said he did not have any indication of such discontent. * workers did not attend the pre-shift meetings * Workers productivity was less, hence they were laid off Result: * Workers’ demands of wage hike not met immediately * First Step – AVOIDANCE * Second Step – De-recognition * Third Step – Fired workers * Plant a nd company’s productivity suffered almost 50% * Company’s goodwill marred Comparison between Theory and Practice: Summary & Conclusions: * It is a case of inter-group conflict It followed closed leadership style & is latent conflict * Discontent was brewing for over an year before the volcano erupted * The management should have been pro-active * Channels of communication must be strengthened * The workers should not have resorted to violence * Proper conflict resolution system should be put in effect and its presence communicated to all * Management should have empathized. * Management should alternate conflict resolution strategy as per situation 2. Indian Healthcare Organization (A Case Study on inter-personal and inter-group conflicts) Profile: * The Indian Healthcare Organization is situated in the Budgam district of Jammu and Kashmir. * The hospital is a non-profit one, formed in the year 1979. Reasons for choosing this case study: This case contains both, inter- personal & inter-group conflicts * Conflicts in a medical organisation will drastically affect the society * Through this case, we can get a clear understanding of the: * Conflict Process * Adult egos * WIN-WIN situation Situation: * One fine morning, the Indian Healthcare Organization was gearing up for its monthly meeting of the Chief Medical Officer (CMO), its other Medical and Para-medical officers. * Mr. Kumar, who is one of the paramedics in the hospital, had fixed a prior appointment in connection with discussing some problem with the CMO, Mr. Sharma, through the CMO’s personal assistant (PA). As he approached the PA’s room, a saw a Dr. Kapoor, one of the doctors in the hospital, talking to the PA. So he waited outside for sometime. * As the time of the meeting was approaching nearer, he went inside the PA’s room and reminded the PA of his appointment. At this Dr. Kapoor got very much irritated and annoyed for this interruption and shouted at him to leave the room, calling him an idiot. * Mr. Kumar was taken aback and felt crest fallen and started murmuring and came out of the room teary eyed. * Mr. Kumar reported the matter to his fellow paramedics who were standing outside in the corridor. All of them got infuriated and took it as an insult to the whole group. In this process, other doctors who had assembled there asked Dr. Kapoor about what has happened and learning of the whole situation, advised Mr. Kumar to forget the incident and seek a fresh appointment. * At this, a strong reaction came from the paramedics’ group and they started protesting and raising slogans. This protest eventually led to verbal as well as physical abuses between the two groups. * The CMO, Mr. Sharma came out of his Room after hearing the loud voices. Seeing the protests, he called Mr. Kumar and his group to his room to hear from them about the situation. * The group requested Dr. Sharma for immediate justice in the form of a written apology from Dr. Kapoor to Mr.Kumar, who for his no fault was badly insulted. At this, Dr. Sharma was shocked. * After this, Dr. Sharma also called Dr. Kapoor and his group members inside to hear their version and informs them about the APOLOGY demanded by the other group. They refused to do the same. * At this point Dr. Sharma was wondering how to conduct the monthly meeting. He started thinking as how to end this conflict between MEDICAL AND PARAMEDICAL GROUP. * MR. SHARMA decides to call MR. KUMAR and DR. KAPOOR together to sort out their problem. Result: * DR. KAPOOR and MR. KUMAR sit face to face in the presence of DR. SHARMA * They realize they are fighting over a petty issue They reconcile and communicate this to their respective groups who in turn mellow down. Comparison between Theory and Practice: Theory PUT into practice | Theory NOT put into Practice | * Dr. Sharma used Exploration technique. * DR. SHARMA also used problem solving and smoothing techniques of conflict resolution. * Bo th the parties compromised in the end and let go of â€Å"adult ego†. | * Since it is a case of conflicting personalities, STAGE IV (Behaviour) becomes STAGE I here. * Mr. Kumar did not approach the Redressal Forum. * Dr. Sharma approached both parties separately. * Both the groups did not follow protocol. | FINDINGS: It is an inter-personal conflict which blew up into an inter-group conflict * It is a WIN-WIN situation * It is also Felt conflict with parties becoming emotionally involved. * DR. SHARMA used the problem solving conflict resolution technique * The smoothing technique is also used SUGGESTIONS: * The PA should have acted in a more responsible manner * Dr. Kapoor should not have resorted to abusing Mr. Kumar * Mr. Kumar should not have involved his colleagues * Dr. Kapoor should also have refrained from group discussion * Dr. Sharma should not have met the parties separately MANAGING CONFLICT Actions to Avoid in Conflict Resolution: Do not avoid the conflict, hopi ng it will go away. * Do not meet separately with people in conflict. * Do not believe, for even a moment, the only people who are affected by the conflict are the participants. Actions to Undertake: * Ask each participant to describe specific actions they’d like to see the other party take * You, as the supervisor, must own some of the responsibilities * Understand if the situation needs further exploration * All participants discuss and commit * You expect the individuals to resolve the conflicts proactively as adults. * Assure both parties that you have every faith in their ability to resolve their differences BIBLIOGRAPHY Books: Websites: