Avoiding Cross-Cultural Miscommunication Essay

In the current era of globalization, national boundaries are losing meaning and more and more companies now have their operations spread across various countries of the globe. Multi national companies now operate across different continents and it is typical of a company to have head quarters in one country but be present in multiple counties at the same time. This means that these multi national companies have to adapt to the culture of the company they are operating in. Also, the work force of such companies is an amalgamation of the local people along with some foreign workers and managers so effective communication and smooth operations are only possible if culture is well understood. However, this is not as simple as it seems and cross cultural miscommunications are harmful. Cross cultural miscommunication is not only detrimental to the working environment of the organization but it can also lead to a failure of the company as a whole in the society. To avoid any miscommunication, we first need to examine what culture is made up of. Artifacts, rituals, Stories, histories, myths, legends, jokes, and ceremonies are cultural symbols. By noticing these things and people’s reactions to them we can figure out the cultural norms and values and can avoid transgressing any boundaries. Ethnocentrism is the belief that one’s own race, culture or ethnic group is superior to the rest and the tendency to think like this is greater in MNCs. Many foreign managers or workers think in this manner and antagonize their co workers. This can be over come by encouraging inter cultural communication so that any misunderstandings or predetermined notions or stereo types may be removed. Also, if a cooperative culture is promoted at work and people taught to appreciate/criticize ideas rather than people, this problem may be solved. We also need to examine the interrelationship between attitudes, values, customs and beliefs and culture. A culture shapes the attitudes, values and beliefs of a person and the actions and preferences of the society (that are directly dependant upon the belief) make up the culture. Hence, this shows that there is a two relationship. For instance, the Japanese have a very serious attitude about work and they believe in hard work so working meticulously is a part of their culture. Similarly, the Muslim culture is conservative so they have a negative attitude towards men and women shaking hands and the believe it to be immoral. Global companies need to adopt a ‘glocal strategy’ meaning that they need to amend their global strategy according to the local culture and norms. Before a company enters a new country, formal market research should be conducted in order to make a customer profile according to which the product and promotion strategies will then be designed. International companies should be flexible to minor changes in the product so as to meet the local demands. Pizza hut has been successful all over the world for they have catered to the local taste in every country. For instance, it is spicier in the subcontinent and in countries such as India where people avoid meat; there is large vegetarian and cheese variety. The promotion strategies should also be according to the native culture. Companies should keep in mind that International brand cannot have the same advertising everywhere due to different cultures. When companies are entering a foreign culture, they should be aware of customs, traditions in general and in particular they should know about the psychology of the people. Companies should be aware of the attitude of the people towards work and the products/service the company has to offer. Understanding the local workforce is important for a company because an effective workforce is integral for success and it is crucial to design jobs, compensation packages and motivators that appeal to them. Attitudes toward work, leisure, time, change, family, social mobility and religion play a vital role in shaping the culture. In a collectivist culture, family is the top priority and the much of the leisure time is spent with family. In a society where family ties are weak, work and friends have a greater importance so the culture is an individualist one. In some cultures, there is greater emphasis on work and such people are hard workers by nature and their work is meticulous. The Chinese culture is a classical example of how hard work is an element of the national culture. The physical environment of a place influences the culture of that place as physical conditions such as the weather affect the life style of the people. The architecture of a place also reflects the culture. Moreover, it is important to understand the verbal and non verbal elements of a culture. For instance, the Arabs like to kiss on the cheeks when they meet even during formal meetings but in a British culture, this would be highly inappropriate. Similarly, maintaining eye contact is a non verbal cue, in some cultures it would be a symbol of courage while in others it will be considered insolent. Moreover education and technology are linked to the culture and this is evident by the fact that some cultures such as the Japanese lay stress on innovating and developing technology where as some have a laid back attitude. Some cultures lay stress on education and that is evident by the high literacy levels there. Lastly, media has a two way relationship with culture: mass media not only depicts the culture but it also leads to cultural change in the society. The success of any company also depends on the political and legal system of that country. In countries where there is political turbulence or the policies do not support foreign investment, survival becomes tough for the company as is the case in third world countries like Bangladesh where there is a frequent change in governments that leads to changes in policies too. References Brown, A. (1995). Organizational Culture. Pitman, London. Charles M. and Yongsun, P. (2006). Managing a Global Workforce: Challenges and Opportunities in International Human Resource Management. M. E . Sharpe Dong, Q. , Day, K. D. (2001). Overcoming Ethnocentrism through Developing Intercultural communication sensitivity and Multi culturism. Retrieved on January 16,2009 from http://www. allacademic. com David Straker. Elements of Culture. Retrieved on January 15, 2009 From www. changingminds. org Kwintessential Cross Cultural Solutions. Cross Cultural Communications. Retrieved on January 15, 2009 from http://www. kwintessential. co. uk

Amys bread case study Essay

Case Study Questions 1. Who are the main players (name and position)? The main Player in this is Amy Scherber and she is the manager and owner. Another main character is Toy Kim Dupree and he is Amy’s assistant manager. 2. In what business or businesses and industry or industries is the company operating? Amy’s bread is in the business of selling bread products both wholesale and retail. They sell primarily to high quality restaurants, hotels and food shops. 3. What are the issues and problems facing the company? (Sort them by importance and urgency.) It is hard to make a large profit because Amy pays her employees a higher amount then the other business in her field. She also has to employee about four times as many employees to complete the same job due to the intensiveness provided on each batch of bread. The company is also struggling with the idea of wither to expand or stand pat with their business. 4. What is the primary problem for the company/organization in this case? The primary problem in this case is the idea of expansion. The problem is that they do not know if they should expand or stand pat. If they do expand how are they going to centralize their business. Are they going to do strictly wholesale or wholesale and retail. 5. Why have the problem (s) you cite emerged? Identify the causal chain (the events or circumstances that caused the problem-Some will be Internal Weaknesses, others EXTERNAL Threats). This main problem has occurred because they are currently located in a storefront that is not adequate to provide the needs of all their potential customers. The main weakness here is that they are in a bad location for advancement. In their current location they are completing all of the orders that they possibly can. 6. What are the characteristics of the industry that the company is in and how is the industry changing over time? When Amy’s Bread first open bread baking was a growth industry. The U.S Department of Commerce reported there was a 12 percent increase in the consumption of specialty breads per capita. This industry is also very tough to get into there are a great deal of company’s that already have been working with restaurants for a long time. The other problem with the industry is that because it was a growth period many new bakers were trying to enter it and earn a name for them. So the computation for customers is high in the industry and only growing more competitive. 7. What is the firm’s strategy for differentiation, enabling them to compete within the context of their industry? Amy had a clear goal she wanted to be famous for making a great product and for creating a good place to work. Amy’s product itself was different because she set the highest standards on her quality. They also do not use any machines in the shaping of their bread. Every load of bread was hand crafted and shaped which was why her payroll was so high but it set her breads apart from the average shop. 8. What are possible solutions to the problems you have identified? Possible solutions to her crisis on where to go or wither to move at all are one she could not move and be satisfied where she is. The second option is she could move to a building that she would be able to produce large amounts of wholesale goods at and not concentrate on retail goods. The third option is she could move to an even bigger place where she could sell retail product and still meet her needs for wholesale. 9. What are the advantages and possible disadvantages of your solution(s)? If she stays pat then she will be able to turn a marginal profit and meet the needs of her current customers. The disadvantages would be that she would then miss out on opportunity to sell to all the customers that she has on her waiting list and her retail business would not be any bigger. In second option they would be able to meet all her wholesale needs. The disadvantages would be that she could not sell retail customers any more and she would be paying more for the property. In the third option she would be able to sell both retail and wholesale. She would be in a newly developing retail market with access to foot traffic. She would also be able to meet all her whole sale needs. To top it off she would be able to design the layout of the building to fit her exact needs. The disadvantages of this are that it is very expensive. She would get everything that she is looking for but at a substantially higher price then the other two options. 10. Are there any possible problems with your suggested recommendations? What contingencies need to be accommodated? My recommendation would be to choose the third option. It is the most expensive but Amy has already demonstrated that she has a sharp business minded and is able to build business and promote it. The retail space will help spread the word of how good her bread actually is and word of mouth is the best advertisement they could have. The biggest problem that they could have is if they start to loose customers. A second problem would be if the market begins to shift away from the cravings of bread. Or another problem could be that they simply do not add enough customers to be able to afford the new space. Case Study Analysis Narrative Format Case title: Amy’s Bread Student: Nicholas Mustico Date: 3-18-2013 Course: Management Principles Firm Overview and Introduction to the Case (Use this and all headings in your narrative) In this first section of the narrative, you will provide a brief description of the case subject firm and circumstances for your reader. YOU are the expert. Your analysis is reliant on the fact that you’ve read the case at least three In the case study of Amy’s bread you get a complete overview of the company. It discusses where they started how they started and the experience that the owner Amy Scherber has. Amy Scherber is the centerpiece of the company she is the founder, owner, manager, and lead baker/chef for Amy’s bread. Amy is also the main person in charge of the company’s finances and business discussions. Amy is now facing the problem of wither or not she is going to expand her company. She has been able to entrench her business in the tough industry of baking breads. This is a business that is very completive and hard to establish yourself in. Now that she has become  establish she has to decide wither she would like to expand to meet consumer’s demands or stay where she is and be happy with what she has accomplished. Internal perspectives (Use this and all headings in your narrative) This section of your narrative is used to explain to your reader the internal, factual information about the case subject organization and the problems you’ve identified. Additionally, in this section you need to describe the causal chain. How did the problem arise? What caused it? The problem in this case would not be a problem if the company had not become as successful as it has. If the company had not become so popular then the small storefront that she had originally solicited would never have become a problem. They did become popular though and now they have to adjust to what they would like to become. No one knows if she had selected a larger site if she would have ever been able to get herself going but if she had then this problem may never have occurred. Her company now is at a point where they cannot satisfy one additional customer due to space constrictions. Amy’s problem is a hard one to decide on but for a company it is a good spot to be in if you have too much potential business. It is always better to have too much opportunity then too little. * External perspectives (Use this and all headings in your narrative) In this section you will describe the characteristics of the industry in which the subject organization operates. Identify any changes over time, which you believe contribute to the problems you’ve identified. Has the Firm’s Strategy for differentiation within their industry caused, Added to or exacerbated the problems you’ve identified? Amy’s bread is in a very complex and difficult industry to work in. She is in a field that has been â€Å"well farmed.† What I mean by that is that there have already been people there doing what she is trying to do. The business she is trying to sell to unless they are newer then her have all already put someone in place to fulfill their need. She then would have to show these businesses that she is that much better then her computation that they have already employed.  Amy’s strategy for differentiation is basically being better then the computation. She is striving to have the highest quality, freshest, and most innovative bread selection. She had made it a point that she will not sacrifice quality for anything else including profit. Amy was lucky, or smart enough to enter the backing industry when it was on the rise. Consumption of grains had just begun to rise when Amy entered the industry. The U.S Department of Commerce reported there was a 12 percent increase in the consumption of specialty breads per capita. This industry is also very tough to get into there are a great deal of company’s that already have been working with restaurants for a long time. The other problem with the industry is that because it was a growth period many new bakers were trying to enter it and earn a name for them. So the computation for customers is high in the industry and only growing more competitive. This main problem has occurred because they are currently located in a storefront that is not adequate to provide the needs of all their potential customers. The main weakness here is that they are in a bad location for advancement. In their current location they are completing all of the orders that they possibly can. Then again this is not a problem that most business would not want. Solutions (Use this and all headings in your narrative) In this section you will provide a proposed solution to the primary problem/ secondary problems you’ve identified. Possible solutions to her crisis on where to go or wither to move at all are one she could not move and be satisfied where she is. The second option is she could move to a building that she would be able to produce large amounts of wholesale goods at and not concentrate on retail goods. The third option is she could move to an even bigger place where she could sell retail product and still meet her needs for wholesale. If she stays pat then she will be able to turn a marginal profit and meet the needs of her current customers. The disadvantages would be that she would then miss out on opportunity to sell to all the customers that she has on her waiting list and her retail business would not be any bigger. In second option they would be able to meet all her wholesale needs. The disadvantages would be that she could not sell retail customers any more and she would be paying more for the  property. In the third option she would be able to sell both retail and wholesale. She would be in a newly developing retail market with access to foot traffic. She would also be able to meet all her whole sale needs. To top it off she would be able to design the layout of the building to fit her exact needs. The disadvantages of this are that it is very expensive. She would get everything that she is looking for but at a substantially higher price then the other two options. My recommendation would be to choose the third option. It is the most expensive but Amy has already demonstrated that she has a sharp business minded and is able to build business and promote it. The retail space will help spread the word of how good her bread actually is and word of mouth is the best advertisement they could have. The biggest problem that they could have is if they start to loose customers. A second problem would be if the market begins to shift away from the cravings of bread. Or another problem could be that they simply do not add enough customers to be able to afford the new space. Case Model Insert a copy of your case model at the end of your narrative. Model the problem and solution by drawing a diagram. Identify the problem, what is causing it, what is making the problem worse (or potentially hiding the problem), and what can be done to mitigate or eliminate it. Use the strategy models to help you think through the steps that must be taken to intervene and solve this problem. Case model

Linguistics and Sociolinguistics Essay

It is dif? cult to see adequately the functions of language, because it is so deeply rooted in the whole of human behaviour that it may be suspected that there is little in the functional side of our conscious behaviour in which language does not play its part. Sapir (1933) Language is a complicated business. In everyday talk, we use the word ‘language’ in many different ways. It isn’t clear how ‘language’ should be de? ned or what the person on the street thinks it actually is! We talk about how miraculously a child’s ‘language’ is developing but how they make charming ‘grammar mistakes’, like me maden that instead of ‘I made that’. Here, language is an ability that is blossoming in the child. But the word is used in a myriad of different ways. For example, people have strong views about how beautiful or how hideous the ‘language’ is of some region or country or age group; how it sounds to the ear. People say ‘I just adore Italian or an Irish accent. ’ They grimace or smile at teenager talk on television. Here ‘language’ is being judged aesthetically. By contrast, we remark that you can’t really appreciate a culture without knowing the ‘language’, as when we learn French or Japanese for that reason. Then pupils struggle with rules for tenses like the passe compose and imparfait or have to memorize genders and irregular verb conjugations, matters of grammar which seem a million miles from cuisine, ? lm, high tech or Zen Buddhism. ‘Language’ here equates with grammar. 1 Language and society Then, people relate the word ‘language’ to the expression of thoughts. They often say that they ‘can’t ? nd the words’ for their thoughts or express feelings. Or they are ‘hunting for the right words’. Alternatively, we say that language is a means of communication. Politicians often use as an excuse the fact that their message ‘just isn’t getting across’ because the media distorts what they say. In negotiations or relationships, when communication fails, we say, ‘they just don’t speak the same language’. In another sense, ‘language’ refers to a school subject. It makes sense to say that ‘little Mary is behind in her English’, although you’d never know it when you hear her chatting with her friends. ‘Language’ is being viewed as a set of skills acquired in school. We are taught to write Standard English and spell correctly. At the same time, we use the term ‘language’ analogically, as a metaphor. We talk of such things as ‘body language’, or the ‘languages’ of music, painting or dance. It is fairly clear that these various ordinary uses of the word refer to different aspects of language, and take different perspectives on the sort of thing language is. Or, alternatively, we have simply grouped together under the heading of ‘language’ a range of diverse phenomena which are only partially related to each other. In order to clarify our thoughts about language, let’s look at some of the ways language is viewed by linguists. We can then give a precise statement of the speci? cally sociolinguistic view of language, and contrast it to other views of language assumed in linguistics proper. The primary aim of all linguistic scholarship is to determine the properties of natural language, the features it has which distinguish it from any possible arti? cial language. This means that linguistics will be universalistic in its basic aims. It will examine individual natural languages in the course of constructing a theory of universal grammar that explains why the whole set of natural languages are the way they are. Natural languages, English, French and so on, are in fact the data for this theory of natural language. Arti? cial languages are of interest too since they can exhibit certain properties any language has, but they also have features that can sharply distinguish them from any naturally evolved language. Linguistics and sociolinguistics 3 We will look at some arti? cial languages to illustrate this. The linguist Noam Chomsky, in his in? uential book Syntactic Structures (1957), employed the following languages in the course of his arguments: (i) (ii) (iii) ab, aabb, aaabbb, . . . and all sentences of the same type. aa, bb, abba, baab, aaaa, bbbb, aabbaa, abbbba, . . . and all sentences of the same type. aa, bb, abab, baba, aaaa, bbbb, aabaab, abbabb, . . . and all sentences of the same type. Why would we want to call (i), (ii) or (iii) languages? The answer is that they have certain properties of any language. They have a vocabulary of symbols, in this case two letters of the alphabet ‘a’ and ‘b’. Also, they have a syntax. That is, each of the languages has speci? c rules for joining together their symbols to produce the sentences or strings of that language. If the rule of syntax is not followed, then the string or sentence produced is not a sentence of that language. Consider the syntactic rules of the three languages. In language (i) the rule seems to be that for each sentence, whatever the number of occurrences of the ? rst symbol, a, it is immediately followed by exactly the same number of occurrences of the second symbol, b. In language (ii), the rule is that, for each sentence, whatever the arrangement of a and b in the ? rst half of that sentence, then that arrangement is repeated in reverse in the second half of the same sentence. I’ll leave the reader to work out the equally simple syntax of language (iii). Note that the output of the application of their respective syntactic rules to the symbols of these languages is an in? nite set of strings which are members of the language sharply distinguishable from another in? nite set of strings which are not members of the language. In brief, then, these arti? cial languages have vocabularies and syntactic rules for joining their symbols together. And, by following the rules of their syntax, an in? nite set of strings can be produced. Natural languages can also be considered in this way. Thus, English can be viewed as a set of strings. And this in? nite set is produced by the vocabulary and syntactic rules of English. If linguists can 4 Language and society construct a device, a grammar, which can specify the grammatical strings of English and separate them from the combinations of symbols which are not English, they have gone a considerable distance towards making explicit the syntactic properties of the language. And if the types of rule in that grammar are also necessary for the grammar of any natural language, then they might have discovered some of those universal properties of language which it is the aim of linguistics to discover. Chomsky, in fact, used languages (i), (ii) and (iii) to rule out a certain class of grammars as candidates for grammars of natural language. Of course, these arti? cial languages are also extremely unlike natural languages. One very noticeable difference is that the symbols and strings don’t bear any relation to the world. They have no senses or meanings, but are purely syntactic. The study of meaning and how it relates symbols to the world is called semantics. There are other arti? cial languages which have strings of symbols which are meaningful. An example is arithmetic. Consider ‘2 + 2 = 4’ or ‘3 ? 3 = 9’. These formulae have a syntax and a semantics. And they are true, while ‘2 + 2 = 5’ is false. These are language-like properties. But there is also something very unlike natural language, the language spontaneously acquired by children, about these formulae. Nothing in the world (we feel) could ever make ‘2 + 2 = 4’ false, as long as the symbols themselves don’t change their meanings. The formulae appear to be analytic or ‘always true by de? nition’. Contrast this with some sentences from natural language: 1. 2. 3. 4. Arthur is taller than Brenda. Brenda is taller than Tom. Doreen is taller than Brenda. Tom is shorter than X? We can use these sentences to make statements which are true or false, express our beliefs that each sentence designates a state of affairs in the actual world. These sentences are synthetic, true or false according to the facts. (Strictly speaking, it isn’t the sentences which are true or false, but the propositions which they express. A ‘sentence’ may express many different ‘propositions’. However, I will ignore the distinction in this book. ) We can capture a Linguistics and sociolinguistics 5 sentence’s relation with the world by giving its truth conditions. These are precisely the possible worlds – possible states of affairs – in which it is true. For example, 1 is true in worlds where the individual designated by ‘Arthur’ is a member of the class of individuals who are ‘taller than the individual designated by â€Å"Brenda† ’; otherwise it is false. Similarly, if ‘Doreen’ is also a member of that class, then 3 would be true, otherwise false. Only if we know these truth conditions, can we use the sentences to state what we ourselves believe. Or understand what somebody else using the sentence is claiming to be the case. Intuitively, to know truth conditions is part of the ‘meaning’ of the sentences. But sentences also relate to each other. For example, if 1 is true, then Arthur is ‘bigger’ or ‘greater’ than Brenda with respect to her ‘height’ or her ‘tallness’. Synonymy is one example of sense or semantic relations. Such semantic properties constitute inferential relationships between the sentences. Another example. We know that, if both Doreen and Arthur ‘are taller than’ Brenda, and Brenda ‘is taller than’ Tom, then Doreen and Arthur ‘are taller than’ Tom. We don’t have to look at the world to know this fact. It is a result of a semantic property of the language; the ‘transitivity’ of the predicate ‘taller than’. Similarly, ‘is shorter than’ in 4 bears a systematic semantic relation to its converse ‘is taller than’. Example 1 entails ‘Brenda is shorter than Arthur’. Entailments are inferences that depend on semantic relations. If one thinks about it, this web or network of sense relations seems to describe features of the very same possible worlds in which the sentences are true. Of course it would, wouldn’t it? This is because inferential relations between sentences are just those relations where the two sentences are both true! Hence, to specify sense relations is a way to partially describe the ‘worlds’ of the truth conditions – the ones in which the sentences are true. Hence it is a way of giving the ‘meaning’ of the sentences. So far, no social factors have been mentioned. How do social factors ? gure in the explanation of language? They don’t seem directly related to either syntax or semantics. We can begin a treatment of this question by mentioning a few social aspects of semantics. A fundamental factor in making both the arithmetic and natural language examples work is convention. In the ? rst case, of the 6 Language and society arithmetic symbols ‘2’, ‘4’ etc. , we have con? dence that when we use them, our addressee will understand that we intend to refer to sets of two and four, 2 and 4, etc. , respectively. This is an example of co-operative social co-ordination. It connects the sound [tu:] or the mark ‘2’ with any set of two things. It allows an English speaker to use the term with con? dence that their intention will be understood. The ‘sign’ and its ‘object’ have a coded relationship. Similarly with the predicates ‘is taller than’ and ‘is shorter than’. They have a coded relation with the states of affairs they represent. It is important to note that any intrinsic properties that the signs ‘2’ or ‘4’ or ‘tall’ or ‘short’ might have do not explain the link with their objects. Any noise or mark could just as easily be chosen. This is the property of the arbitrariness of the linguistic sign. Signs and objects are arbitrarily linked, by convention. And this is a social phenomenon. From a different perspective, the connection of world and words isn’t arbitrary, though it is equally social. Consider the web of inferential relations sketched above. The semantic structure of language describes the possible worlds in which sentences are true. Now to even establish this structure it is necessary for us to use the signs to express belief, what we take as actually true, to coordinate ‘taller than’ and ‘shorter than’ with the world as we take it to be. In essence, semantics de? nes possible states of the world based on our beliefs. Truth has to do with ‘senses i. e. the inferential net’, the relation of ‘words and world’, and ‘our beliefs’. Without the ‘possibly true’ world set given through meanings, we couldn’t inquire, because we couldn’t think hypothetically. Without the inferential relations, we couldn’t reliably think out the consequences of our hypotheses to test them and thus be right or wrong in our beliefs, assent or dissent in the light of experience. Thus, crucially, the semantic structure of a language is the very resource necessary for humanity to form any empirical theory of the world and use language to inquire – to ? x belief and hence deal with everyday experience, be able to live. That the set of sentences can form a coherent theory can be seen by the fact that, if you believe that 1–3 are true, then you can give a true answer to 4, without further looking at the world. Tom must be the ‘shortest one of all’ in this particular universe of discourse. There is no doubt Linguistics and sociolinguistics 7  that the process of inquiry is social. We have to co-ordinate our beliefs and inferences for language to work. Are there other properties of natural language which require social explanation? The answer is, ‘Yes, there are many such properties. ’ Next we will look at one of the most de? nitive social properties of language. This property is called variability. Consider the English word ‘butter’. On the levels of syntax, vocabulary and semantics, it is a single English item; a mass noun which means something like an edible, yellow, dairy product used in cooking and as a spread. Yet although it is one item, if I asked you to describe its pronunciation in English, you would not be able to give a single answer: there are various phonetic realizations of ‘butter’. In British English Received Pronunciation the t is made by putting the tongue tip on the ridge behind the teeth, and releasing the air in a small explosion without vibration of the vocal chords. The r, however, is not pronounced, although it is present in the written form. Instead, a vowel sound, schwa (phonetically transcribed as e) follows the t. The schwa is the same sound that is normally ? nal in the word sofa. Thus, the RP speaker and many other British English speakers say [bvte]. In Canadian and American accents there is a rule that when explosive sounds like t are made between two vowels, the vibration of the vocal chords, called voice, continues through the whole sequence. This has the effect of turning the [t], which is voiceless, into [d], which is its voiced counterpart. Thus, a Canadian saying ‘butter’ in fact pronounces it as if it were ‘budder’. However, Canadians and many of their American neighbours also have r-full accents (as do the Scots and Irish). This means that, unlike the RP British English speaker, they pronounce the written r in butter, giving us the ? nal form [bvter ]. In many British English accents there is yet another variation in the pronunciation of t in this environment. The vocal chords themselves are closed tightly and then released abruptly, giving the impression that t is missing. In fact, the gap is ? lled by a socalled glottal stop, symbolized by ?. So ‘butter’ is pronounced [bv? e]. Such a pronunciation would typify London working-class speech, familiar to North Americans as a Cockney accent from ? lms like My Fair Lady. 8 Language and society This ? lm, from George Bernard Shaw’s Pygmalion, introduces another feature of the variability we have been describing. For Professor Higgins (modelled by Shaw on the famous phonetician, Henry Sweet) to take such pains to train Eliza Doolittle to pronounce words like ‘butter’ as [bvte], as opposed to [bv? e], indicates that the variation must mean something. There is no conceptual difference in the word-meaning itself. The meaning difference of the variation is socially signi? cant and relates to those groups in a social structure who typically use one form rather than another. Such social meanings of variants can be further illustrated by looking at two other versions of ‘butter’. In the West Country of England there are some local accents which, like Canadian and some American accents, are r-full. Speakers would typically pronounce the r in ‘butter’. And this can be combined with the use of the glottal stop to give the form [bv? er ]. On British television an advertisement promoting butter used this regional form, presumably because it had a social meaning to British audiences suggestive of honest West Country farmers genuinely in touch with real, non-synthetic cows. In New York City a working-class accent will, in casual speech, be largely r-less like the British RP. But this would be combined with the voicing of the written ‘t’ between vowels giving the form [bvde]. Followers of the 1970s Kojak detective series on television will recognize this form. Imagine, however, the different social meaning that would be conveyed if Lieutenant Kojak pronounced the word [bvder ] as might an upper-middle-class New Yorker, or [bvte] as might an upper-middle-class Englishman. It would not be the impression of the ‘tough New York cop’. The diagram opposite gives a summary of the various ways ‘butter’ can be pronounced which we have looked at. The actual situation is far more complex and interesting than I have indicated, but we will be studying this in more detail later in the book. The purpose here is to merely illustrate the property of variability which natural languages possess. It is clear that this property requires social explanation. This is in contrast with the arbitrary property of language mentioned earlier. In characterizing the variant forms of ‘butter’, I needed to make reference to the geographical location in which the form

Health and sefty Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Health and sefty - Essay Example Naturally large number of skilled and unskilled manpower is engaged for successful completion of these projects. It has been observed with concern that large number of accidents of different types and intensities frequently occurs during different construction activities causing personal injury or property damage. Blake defines accident ‘as any assurance that interrupts or interferes with the orderly progress of the project’. The accidents are direct result of unsafe activities and conditions both of which can be controlled by health and safety management. Unsafe activities involve working without authority, failure to warn of danger, leaving equipment in dangerous condition, using defective equipment etc. Unsafe conditions involve inadequate or missing guard, defective tools and machinery, inadequate fire fighting, excessive noise etc. An accident prevention programme is aimed to reduce the number of accidents and there by the cost of construction. From the observation and analysis it has been seen that 85 to 95% of accidents are prevent able. It is not just a matter of setting up a list of rules and making safety inspection, although both of these have their place. We need a system for managing health and safety which meets the needs of project and fulfills legal requirements. Objectives of Health and Safety Management. The perceived objectives of the health and safety management for accident prevention are as under:- 1. To reduce the chances of loss of human life. 2. To reduce the temporary and permanent injuries to work force employed. 3. To avoid adoption of unsafe practices during all phases/ activities. 4. To avoid loss of materials resulting from accidents. Project Identification. A ware house was constructed for the storage of chemicals. The project involves design, excavation for basement, digging of foundations, scaffolding and form work for roof slab. The project was completed in six months and we will discuss the health and safety issu es along with risk management during all activities. Considerations and Decisions of the Architect/Designer. At the onset of design stage or planning to begin work, a comprehensive health and safety plan for the project should be formalized and set out in a health and safety plan.  Following are the salient aspects need to be addressed by the designer. 1. The project should be well designed and meeting standard engineering and environmental requirement of the area by the competent designers. 2. Principles of structural design along with standard code practices are adhered while designing with minimum risk. 3. Waste management for the debris likely to encounter during construction must be worked out in design stage. 4. Environmental factors like wind, cold, snow and rain should be considered while designing the structure. 5. Adequate fire arrangement in design should be incorporated. 6. Cross checking of design by an independent party. 7. Design must ensure safety during constructi on and maintenance afterwards. Hazard Identification. These are danger or potential danger likely to occur during any phase of project. The Maximum hazard identification levels were found to be 0.899 (89.9%) for a construction project within the nuclear industry. Investigation into hazard identification levels have been initially targeted on three different industry sectors i.e. UK rail, nuclear, and general construction. Likely hazard during identified project are

Research critique Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Research critique - Assignment Example The reason this article was chosen, and the nexus of its relevance as stated in the research questions, is that it specifically seeks to understand real issues as applied to real nurses (Akerstedt, et al. 2002). It takes into account the difference between many important demographic qualities. [104] Purpose of Study. The study is investigating possible contributors to maladaptive health outcomes in nurses who work full-time. Age and familial demands placed on the nurse are considered and weighed, as are the impacts of fatigue and recovery from night shift work. The outcomes were interesting, particularly the conclusion that domestic responsibilities are not significant contributors to maladaptive health outcomes. What was found to be significant was the shift pattern worked, especially night duty (Demerouti, et al. 2001). Interestingly, the effect of age was found to be equivocal with the younger nurses showing poorer recovery than the older group; it was shown that age was not associated with negative outcomes. [110] Literature Review. The literature review is well done and uses recent sources for those aspects of the discussion which require timely analysis, e.g., in 1990 it was well known that nurses worked in a stressful environment and so that old of a source is not a critical issue. When the authors begin discussing and citing information based on neuro-chemical studies, however, advances in that area of research would require up-to-date sources and older studies would lack reliable data. In this case, those aspects of the literature review that require modernity are properly supported with research performed within the previous year of this study (Newey & Hood 2004), and the sources used are reliable and known in the field. The authors are psychological researchers and not nurses; they do, however, use recognized studies from nurses and other scientists to support their points and give weight to

Planned Parenthood organization and social media Case Study

Planned Parenthood organization and social media - Case Study Example The organization had formally moved to the online platform in 2002 and had its own web space. It had joined social spaces such as Facebook in 2004, YouTube in 2005, and Twitter in 2006. However, in 2011, the fight over the defunding of the organization made the people in the organization to rethink on how to change their approach of the online space to make it more interactive and engaging to improve user experience (Planned Parenthood, 2012). When the campaign commenced, it resulted to a thousand of calls and emails from the organizational supporters. Within a short time of voting, the organization had received thousands of messages from e-mails, YouTube, Facebook, and other social media channels from supporters and even Chaperoned emails from partners (Perry, 2012). 2. In this case, social media played a big role in the defunding conflict as a lead for the TV reporting. This means that, TV reporters only got news after supporters, organizations employees, partners and all the other individuals involved gave their views on the social media platforms. For example, Wining states that, â€Å"in the meantime, the press began to report claims that Komen was deleting negative social media posts† (Winig, 2012, p. 18). Certainly, it is evident that this press release was done after the media personnel realized what Komen was doing on the social media platforms. Otherwise, this statement would not have been released if social media was not there. Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube were the main social media platforms that played the largest role in the conflict.

Innovation & Change Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Innovation & Change - Essay Example According to Kwun and Cho (2001, p. 128) external sources are much influential than internal ones in change initiation. These external forces can be political, economic, social and technological. Talking about change specifically from the perspective of healthcare organizations, Harris (2005, p. 68-71) stated that government and other policy making authorities affect healthcare practices in a country; country’s GDP and government budget for health impacts cost of health; people’s perception and general culture of a country affects healthcare provision; and changes in ‘global technological and information innovation’ affect ‘clinical diagnosis and intervention, as well as management and communication strategies’ practiced by an healthcare organization. Hence like other organizations healthcare organizations are also influenced by external environment which in turn affects the way change and innovation is implemented in an organization. Defining change and innovation in healthcare, Lansisalmi et al (2006, p. 67) stated that it can be â€Å"new services, new ways of working and/or new technologies†. Continuing on same lines, Greenhalgh et al (2004, p. 582) stated that these improved ways, services or technologies â€Å"are directed at improving health outcomes, administrative efficiency, cost effectiveness, or users’ experience and are implemented by planned and coordinated actions†. While talking about change in the field of nursing, Langford (1981) explained that in the field of nursing a person may go through change as a participator in the change process, he/she may act as a target of change process or he/she may work as a change initiator. Loveridge and Cummings (1996, p. 380) explains that â€Å"the nurse may be going through change individually, may be trying to change a patient’s health habits, or may be experiencing reorganization in the work environment†. Langford (1981) affirms t hat for decades health care sector has been a field of rapid technological growth. Out of many types of change and innovation, this essay particularly focuses on technological innovations. Technological innovations can be broadly categorized as product innovation or process innovation. Product innovation is when new product or service is introduced whereas process innovation is when the change is brought about in the process through which the product is produced. This essay will focus on product innovation where the change introduced is Biphasic Positive Airway Pressure ventilation system (BIPAP), specifically the Evita Ventilator whose impact on the delivery of healthcare will be studied. Why the introduction of BIPAP was important and how it has benefited the healthcare delivery are a few focal areas of this essay. Moreover, the whole change process of introducing BIPAP from initiation to implementation and evaluation will be studied to present recommendations for strategy develop ment for implementing, monitoring and evaluating change in healthcare. Models and Theories of Change There are several models of change introduced by different researchers. Some of these models are for planned change whereas some are for unplanned change. Since the change implemented in my area of practice, that is, the introduction of BIPAP system, is a planned change different planned change models and theories are discussed in this section.

Practice & Communication In Social Work Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Practice & Communication In Social Work - Essay Example Many of the groups that a person is a member of can impact greatly on their lives – either positively or negatively. Throughout the ages, writers and researchers have been interested in the dynamics of groups. How a group forms, how it changes over time, how it comes to an end, and how a group structures itself, has been investigated by numerous researchers (Adams, 1990). What I have come to learn from this course is that to understand others, I need to understand group processes. For this semester’s social work course, a reflective journal assignment was set, focusing on my working within a group. I was in group D and our task was to raise money or provide Service User support for a local charity of our choice. I was at this stage of the course aware that our group would go through a process of stages, and so I chose Tuckman’s model (1965), that he later revised in 1977. The aim of this report is to evaluate the effectiveness of the group and my contribution to the group over the semester. Tuckman’s (1951) model of group dynamics states that all groups go through four stages: forming, storming, norming and performing. Tuckman contends that groups usually form when people test the boundaries of others. We had ample opportunity to do this, I think to our advantage, as we all knew each other from this class. I was fortunate to have mostly teamed up with people who had similar motivation levels to me. However, on reflection I can see how being placed into a group, instead of choosing one myself to be in, would represent many group formations in the professional world. In the workforce, people are often put into teams without having a choice.

Axon company Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Axon company - Essay Example In 2001 they leading business consultancy Bywater and broadened its offering in the management consultancy space, delivering strategy, process and organisational transformation programmes. In the US also they have acquired several SAP consultancy firms including TUI Consulting Inc, Premier HR Solutions Inc and Zytalis Inc. Axon now has offices in the US, Asia Pacific and Europe and turned over more than  £137.5m in 2006 and their clients include Transport for London, The AA, Xerox, Birmingham City Council, BP, Pratt & Whitney, Sikorsky, Goodrich Corporation, Air Canada and Aquarion. Their three lines of business include business consulting division, solutions implementation division and applications management division. They cater to sectors ranging from aerospace to retail and telecommunications to oil and gas. They address emerging issues like address emerging global issues such as electronic commerce, industry convergence, worldwide alliances, virtual organisations and corporate citizenship. The market environment for such consultancy firms is robust with growth but not all succeed due to the prevailing market forces. An analysis of the industry, the market forces and the economy relevant to the company would help to determine the future prospects for Axon. Besides, any company is also governed by the regulatory issues and this too contributes to the success of the organization. The consulting industry has experienced sizeable growth and enviable profits. Consulting services generated approximately $120 billion worldwide during 2004 and the future is promising as well (Mark, 2006). This is due to various factors that govern the industry. Industries like health care, financial services, energy, retail and IT have all exhibited phenomenal growth. In the competitive environment firms are increasingly hiring consultants and offering excellent compensation

Artist statement-lost wax casting Personal Statement

Artist -lost wax casting - Personal Statement Example For a top quality casting, one must use the finest materials in the market (Fred 11). The contrast of the poodle curving determination can be guaranteed by the carver’s skills (Richards 16). The poodles contrast should be appealing to everyone, and so it matters a lot. Careful and skilled curving will enhance the outcomes (Richards 18). The body posture in lost wax casting is supremely crucial because it also what determines of the poodles final looks (Richards 22). This simply means would you like the poodle to be in a standing, or lying flat position (Richards 22). The most challenging part in casting will occur in balancing, especially if the casting of the poodle is to occur in an upright position (Slobodkin 4). The reason behind this is that the feet are the one to hold all the body weight of the poodle reasoning that the feet are smaller compared to the body (Slobodkin 4). The feet base should be flat so as to enhance an upright position of a casted poodle (Slobodkin

The Greeks and Philosophy Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The Greeks and Philosophy - Research Paper Example For, â€Å"†¦without any assistance of sense, and perseveres until by pure intelligence he arrives at the perception of the absolute good, he at last finds himself at the end of   the intellectual world, as in the case of sight at the end of the visible.†2 Philosophy is about finding points that will lead one to theorize. Philosophy includes â€Å"†¦steps and points of departure into a world which is above hypotheses, in order that she may soar beyond them to the first principle of the whole†¦Ã¢â‚¬ 3 â€Å"Until the person is able to abstract and define rationally the idea of good, and unless he can run the gauntlet of all objections, and is ready to disprove them, not by appeals to opinion, but to absolute truth, never faltering at any step of the argument --unless he can do all this, you would say that he knows neither the idea of good nor any other good; he apprehends only a shadow, if anything at all, which is given by opinion and not by science; --drea ming and slumbering in this life, before he is well awake here, he arrives at the world below, and has his final quietus.†4 For Plato, what equaled philosophy included the truth. â€Å"And I thought that I had better have recourse to ideas, and seek in them the truth of existence.†5 Naturally, the most logical thoughts that were reinforced as correct were what Plato considered philosophy, saying that â€Å"†¦I first assumed some principle which I judged to be the strongest, and then I affirmed as true whatever seemed to agree with this, whether relating to the cause or to anything else; and that which disagreed I regarded as untrue.†6 True philosophy, after all, lies â€Å"†¦in [the] asking and answering questions†¦Ã¢â‚¬ 7 Rejecting the false and embracing the truth seems to have been what Plato was searching for all the time in his dialogues. The process of philosophy was about digging into the psyche to find a deeper truth. The process involves lots of rational thinking, evaluation, and critical thinking skills. Not only that, but Plato’s ideas of philosophy held fast to the ideas that what was good and virtuous were things that were worth philosophizing about. This process of parsing out what was good and virtuous in itself was worth it to Plato to take great pains to try to explain—in detail—what was worth expounding upon in his dialogues. Plato consistently maintained that philosophy was a constant search for that which was real, good, true, and reliable—versus that which was fake or a facade, bad, untrue, or inconsistent. Constistency is what made Plato such an emblematic figure in philosophy, because one knew what to expect from his type of logic. Therefore, his points were not only true but rational. B) Find at least two passages in the dialogues that were covered in this module where Plato shows Socrates entering into the dialectical process of Philosophy. Copy and paste the passages usi ng quotation marks and cite the source dialogue. You find two passages where Socrates is exchanging questions and answers with someone on a topic, issue or question. Where do you find these passages? Find them in any of these dialogues: ION EUTHYPHRO APOLOGY CRITO PHAEDO REPUBLIC SYMPOSIUM ?DO NOT USE THE SEVEN PASSAGES SUPPLIES IN PART A THAT DESCRIBE DIALECTICS! Those passages are not demonstrations of the process but are descriptions of it. How long do they need to be? Not the entire dialogue! Just submit a passage long enough to see the back

High Cost of Poverty in the United States Essay Example for Free

High Cost of Poverty in the United States Essay Poverty can be defined in many different ways. In certain attempts, it can be used in numbers, while other definitions can be more vague, and used to define a life style. The defined term of poverty is â€Å"the state of one who lacks a usual or socially acceptable amount of money or material possessions†. (Mirriam Webster, 2011) According to the U.S. Census Bureau, more than 37 million people live below the poverty line. â€Å"The ranks of Americas poor swelled to almost 1 in 6 people last year, reaching a new high as long-term unemployment left millions of Americans struggling and out of work. The number of uninsured edged up to 49.9 million, the biggest in more than two decades.† (Yen, 2011) Poverty is obviously very common in our country, and all over the world. Even with the United States being the wealthiest country in the world, we still have many Americans who struggle everyday to survive. The topic I chose to focus on is the high cost of poverty, and how it actually costs more to be poor. Although it seems like an oxymoron, it is a very realistic topic. I chose this topic because I have personally been involved in both sides of economic statuses. Although I do not live in extreme poverty, I technically have an income that falls within the line of poverty, but I do not have a family to support and have student loans to live off of. I wanted to know further detail of how those who only experience poverty, have limited choices, and how their disadvantages actually cost them more money. My personal life experience is one from an upper middle class family, and was raised in a wealthy suburb in a predominately white community. My family never had financial struggles, so I had no experience with battling bills. I worked in high school and had my own money, but I had nothing to pay for. I thought I made a decent amount of money making $7 an hour, and only working 15-20 hours a week. For a person with no bills or rents to pay for, $150-200 a week was a lot to me. Recently, I moved out of my parent’s suburban home and into the city to be closer to school and gain some independence as an adult. I make about $250-400 a week, depending on the activity of the restaurant I waitress at. I soon realized that I am very dependent on my two roommates to split bills and rent, because I could never afford to live on my own. Although we live in a low income neighborhood, the cost of food, rent, electric, heat and cable bills stack up, and I struggle to pay them. I also only pay one third of the full cost. I have a car I need to put gas in, a gym membership I pay monthly and credit card bills every month. I now see how people that make just as much, or less than I do, struggle even more to make ends meet when their income is at the head of the household. I wanted to show to people that it is more expensive to be poor, because of the lack of resources, income and credit, and also what their options become for survival due to these circumstances. I also did a quantitative study on renting versus owning an item, to show that it actually costs more to rent something than to purchase it upfront. I chose to sample the same three items from two different stores, and recording the prices to see the differences of renting and owning it. I am aware that most individuals in poverty, usually do not have enough money to purchase items or homes upfront so they often rent them, thinking they can afford weekly or monthly payments to stretch out their income to afford other life necessities. My first concept I chose to focus was access to food. I thought about how much I spend on the food I enjoy for just for me personally, and I think it is expensive. I enjoy fruits and fresh vegetables, brand name cereals and expensive breads. Since I grew up eating the certain brands, I continue to try and afford the things I like. Being an individual with a low income, I cannot imagine supporting not only myself, but a family solely on my income. In this research paper, I will explain the hardships of getting to and from the grocery store, and if you cannot, you need to shop elsewhere, such as corner stores.† Prices in urban corner stores are almost always higher, economists say. And sometimes, prices in supermarkets in poorer neighborhoods are higher. Many of these stores charge more because the cost of doing business in some neighborhoods is higher.† [ (Brown, 2009) ] This can lead to spending extra time, danger, stress, and in the end, costing the individual more money. It also forces those with less money to spend, higher risk for obesity. â€Å"Inequitable access to healthy foods is one mechanism by which socioeconomic factors influence the diet and health of a population†. (Drewnowski, 2009) Since they do not have the money to afford healthy choices, they must choose foods that they can stretch out in order to feed their families, even if it is not healthy. My next concept I chose to study was the price of minimum wage, and how it isn’t really the minimum coverage of standard living. In New York State, the minimum wage is $7.25. â€Å"About 20% of American adults who have jobs are earning less than $10.65 an hour. Even at 40 hours a week, that amounts to less than $22,314, which is the poverty level for a family of four†. [ (Isidore, 2011) ]. This simply states that a monthly income of about $1,000-$2,000 is almost impossible to survive on. This may lead to bad credit, forced into renting, and having people do dangerous or criminal activity to get money or items for their families. The poverty rate for all people disguises substantial variation between racial and ethnic subgroups. Poverty rates for blacks and Hispanics greatly exceed the national average. According to the United States Census Bureau, â€Å"In 2010, 27.4 percent of blacks and 26.6 percent of Hispanics were poor, compared to 9.9 percent of non-Hispanic whites and 12.1 percent of Asians.† (Bureau of the Census, 2011) Poverty rates are most often the highest for families headed by single women, particularly if they are black or Hispanic. â€Å"In 2010, 31.6 percent of households headed by single women were poor, while 15.8 percent of households headed by single men and 6.2 percent of married-couple households lived in poverty.† (Bureau of the Census, 2011). â€Å"The official poverty level is an annual income of $22,314 for a family of four â€Å". (Yen, 2011) On average, depending on the size of a household, a family living in poverty has an average income of less than $20,000. This can include couples with children, single parents with one or more children. Needless to say, this is not a lot of money to support a family on, and thus they have to take extra steps to survive, which results in higher costs, and contributing to the statement of the high cost of poverty. You have to be rich to be poor. This is what some people, who have never lived below the poverty line, dont understand. The poorer you are, the more things cost. Additional steps in money, time, hassle, exhaustion, and danger. This is a fact of life that television, magazines and media, do not often explain. Take for example, food. First, if you do not have a car, getting to the supermarket can take anywhere from one to three hours of public transportation, and costing a price to use the bus or a taxi. To use the method of public transportation, it is necessary to have to loa d all of your groceries into the bus, or taxi. This is limiting to space and capability of carrying all of the groceries. A simpler version of this would be to walk to the corner store, for free, but where the grocery selection is limited and prices are doubled. â€Å"Prices in urban corner stores are almost always higher, economists say. And sometimes, prices in supermarkets in poorer neighborhoods are higher. Many of these stores charge more because the cost of doing business in some neighborhoods is higher.† (Brown, 2009) Also, if you are living in poverty, you will most likely not be making enough money to buy $100 or more worth of groceries for your family. This results in the person or family spending more money, to either get to the grocery store, or paying more for the food to save money traveling to and from. In the end, it is a losing situation, and the poor are paying more in the end than someone who is wealthy and has access to the necessary resources. Spending more money than middle class, or wealthy class to buy groceries is one example of how high the cost of poverty is. If the poor is spending money in the corner stores, they are most likely not getting nutritious foods or healthy choices that most corner stores do not carry. Obesity is a direct result from that, seeing that unhealthy foods cost way less than healthy eating does.† Obesity and type 2 diabetes follow a socioeconomic gradient. Highest rates are observed among groups with the lowest levels of education and income and in the most deprived areas. Inequitable access to healthy foods is one mechanism by which socioeconomic factors influence the diet and health of a population†. (Drewnowski, 2009) Low income levels leave people no choice but to choose foods that are nutrient poor, because it is a price that can afford and something they can stretch out among their whole family to feed them. It is also the best way to provide daily calories at an affordable c ost. Those who are struggling financially are clearly the most disadvantaged when it comes to healthy eating habits. In our grocery stores today we have so many artificial sweeteners, preservatives, fats and sweets that are sure to taste good, but not good for our health. Fats and sweets tend to cost way less, where as healthy foods cost more. It makes no sense to have unhealthy foods cost less than healthy foods, but it is the manufacturing and production that determines the cost of foods. Therefore, those who do not have the money to purchase healthy options have to choose foods that fit in their budget. These are usually unhealthy, packaged, canned or frozen options that have little to no nutritional value. Even those families that have government support, welfare checks and food stamps are still on a restricted budget. The foods they are allowed to get for free or reduced price are items such as fruit juices, canned fruits, cereal, grits, and corn tortillas. These items are all packed with sugar and calories which is not aiding in healthy lifestyles. â€Å"Researchers have shown that low-income neighborhoods attract more fast-food outlets and convenience stores as opposed to full-service supermarkets and grocery stores† (Drewnowski, 2009). This also relates back to travel costs, transportation and affording food. Since it is easier to get to the corner stores, it is a disadvantage to the customers because the corner stores are usually just packed with unhealthy options. It is economic deprivation that is a key factor in obesity, and one key factor of weight gain may be low diet cost. Another example of how the high cost of poverty is, is the price of minimum wage and if it really acceptable to be the minimum wage you can survive on. Most people and experts agree that to get out of an economic slump, we need more jobs. But another problem is that millions of Americans already have jobs that dont pay very much. â€Å"About 20% of American adults who have jobs are earning less than $10.65 an hour. Even at 40 hours a week, that amounts to less than $22,314, which is the poverty level for a family of four†. (Isidore, 2011) In New York State, the federal minimum wage is $7.25. Minimum wage is supposed to be the wage in which it is the bare minimum amount of money that one can survive on. Even at 40 hours a week, that equals to be $290 without taxes taken out. This would be a paycheck of about $250 for one week, and this equals about $1000 a month. Taking into consideration that those who are the working poor, they need to spend more money getting to and from work, which also costs extra time. They also need to pay bills, feed themselves and their families. For an individual making $1,000 a month, this is almost impossible to survive on even in minimal conditions. An average cost of rent in Buffalo NY is fairly inexpensive, and taking into consideration that Buffalo on of the poorest cities in the United States, we have to be aware that there is many people in the city below the poverty line. According to Rentjungle.com, An average one bedroom apartment in Buffalo is $679 a month and two bedroom apartment rents average $750. To see this in comparison to another large city, one bedroom apartments in New York City rent for $2356 a month on average and two bedroom apartment rents average $2767. Minimum wage is clearly not enough to survive on if your average monthly income is $1000. Out of $1000 income, you have to set aside an average of $600 for rent, leaving you $400 for car fees, if you have one, or transportation fees if you depend on them. If your apartment does not include utilities, you need money for electric bill, gas bills, which can skyrocket in our area when it is winter, cable or internet if possible, and food budget. Another example of a disadvantage the poor have is the actual process of cashing their check to get their money. The rich or middle class usually have the option of direct deposit for their paychecks. The poor have check-cashing and payday loan joints, which cost time and money. The poor pay more for financial services, and many people who cannot be capable to have a bank account may have to pay extra money for a money order to pay their bills and cash their checks. â€Å"They may pay a 2 percent check-cashing fee because they dont have bank services. (Brown, 2009) Many people in poverty literally live paycheck to paycheck. If they have a bill that’s due, they do not have a luxury of online payments, because they cannot afford computers or internet, so they have to mail it. If they do not have the money in time for a bill, they have to wait for their next paycheck. This can cost late fees, and in an end result, spending more money than a person with those luxuries. While many people are surviving in this manner, people will look for any way to get by without spending their money. Many people in poverty may depend on credit cards to help them afford things they cannot. Credit cards can help out for temporary reasons, but if not paid off, this can cause more problems. People who are struggling to pay their bills will most likely have bad credit, and have no other option but to rent homes, items, and many other things they cannot afford, due to their credit and income. Bad credit also costs more money than those with good credit. If a person does not have enough money to pay off bills in full, they will get extra interest charges and fees that stack up and end up costing more for them. Since I did not have the option of going into homes of the people in poverty, I decided to do research on items, rather than homes, to compare the costs of rent to own. Poor people do not have the option of owning homes, because of their credit and/or income, so they have no choice but to rent. I wanted to see if the price you pay for being a low income individual actually costs you more, than to own something. This is to show that poverty does in fact cost more to live I chose to look at a refrigerator, a range and a television from two different department stores to compare prices on a rent versus owning the item. My first item, the refrigerator, a 25.3 cubic foot, Side-by-Side with thru-the Door Ice and Water, Black color, was $799.99 to own immediately from Best Buy. At Rent- A-Center, the same exact refrigerator was $37.99 to rent per week, for 91 weeks. At first, it seems like a cheap deal and a realistic price for those who do not have the $799.99 upfront to spend. When you do the math, $37.99 per week for 91 weeks is $3457 total to own after renting at the $37.99 per week. This is over four times the price it would cost to buy at Best Buy and own immediately. I also learned that consumers can get a â€Å"discounted† price by purchasing the item after 90 days, which seemed a little better to me. When I did the math again, it would equal out to be $1728 total to own after renting for 90 days. This is still about double the price of buying it immediately. My next item I compared was the range. A GE-30† Freestanding Electric Range, Black-on-Black Quickset III oven. At Best Buy this was $429.99 to own immediately. Rent-A-Center had the same oven for $24.99 to rent per week for 74 weeks. The total to own after renting for 74 weeks at $24.99 was $ 1849. After 90 days of renting, the total price to own would be $924.63. The prices are clearly different, but yet it seems manageable when you are there. Looking at a price of $25 a week for a nice, brand new stove seems pretty manageable if you have a low income. When you look at the math and how much it will actually cost to rent rather than own, it is actually over four times the original price to own the oven upfront. The last item I compared was a television, an Insignia © Advanced 42† Class/1080p/ 120Hz/ LCD. This item from Best Buy was $749.99 to own immediately. Rent-A-Center had the same television for $39.99 to rent per week, for 74 weeks. It seems like a reasonable, affordable price until you calculate it and realize that it would cost $2959 total to own after 74 weeks of renting. This is about four times the original price. After 90 days of renting, the â€Å"discount† price to own, at Rent-A-Center is $1479, still double the original price. All three of the items I chose to compare are most needed in homes, with the exception of the television. Although it is not a necessity, almost all homes have at least one television. When those who are living in poverty want to own these items, they will have struggles to afford paying them. They turn to the option of renting because they see the low price and it appeals that it is affordable to them. The small payments they think they can afford weekly add up and end up costing them quadruple of original prices. In conclusion, being poor is a struggle. It costs much more money and time to be poor. Working lots of hours and making little money takes a toll on many people here in the United States. I wanted to show readers that this is a very realistic topic to study, and that the cost of poverty is high. The obstacles and disadvantages those in poverty have to deal with are frustrating, stressful ,and in need of change. Poverty is a very difficult thing to understand and take control over because lifestyles cannot be forced upon. People choose their own paths of life, and lack of education, jobs, motivation, children and many other situations are uncontrollable. In our society, I think it is important to know the struggles of those in poverty stricken situations and to understand their hardships. This can be motivation to those in it, or headed towards it in their future. Learning about the costs and disadvantages poverty comes with can be a motivating factor for people to go to college and get an education to receive a well paying job, get a job in general, educate themselves about saving money, and learning that renting is not cheaper than owning. Hopefully my research will be beneficial to those in college, living on low income, to do well in school to gain better jobs, educate those in poverty about the costs they are spending and figuring new alternatives, and to open eyes to those that think it is cheap to be poor. Being in poverty costs time and the cost of poverty is certainly high. In the end, the high cost of poverty will be a never ending cycle of time and money and I hope this research paper opens the eyes of all individuals to help make this problem change. Bibliography Brown, D. L. (2009). The High Cost of Poverty: Why the Poor Pay More. Lexis Nexis Academic , A-4. Bureau of the Census. (2011). Income Alternative Poverty Estimates in the United States. Washington D.C: U.S Census Bureau. Drewnowski, A. (2009). Nutrition Reviews: Obesity, diets, and social inequalities. Seattle: University of Washington. Isidore, C. (2011, September 27). CNN Money. Retrieved November 15, 2011, from Not getting by on minimum wage: http://money.cnn.com/2011/09/27/news/economy/minimum_wage_jobs/index.htm Jason M. Sutherland, E. S. (2009). Getting Past Denial — The High Cost of Health Care in the United States. The New England Journal of Medicine , 1227-30. Mirriam Webster. (2011). Mirriam Webster Dictonary. Dictionary . Brittanica Company. Yen, H. (2011, September 13). Yahoo News. (A. Press, Ed.) Retrieved November 15, 2011, from Census: US poverty rate swells to nearly 1 in 6: http://news.yahoo.com/census-us-poverty-rate-swells-nearly-1-6-142639972.html

Disciplinary procedures

Disciplinary procedures Introduction: Discipline is the essential part of any organization. A disciplinary procedure is sometimes the best way for your employer to tell you when something is wrong. It allows them to explain clearly what improvement is needed and should give you an opportunity to put your side of the situation. The discipline policy is depending of the company. Hear in newly open Tesco, the manager can take action against non-disciplinary action by using the following procedure. Informal non-disciplinary action The line manager should make clear the nature of his or her concern together with any suggestions as to how the member might improve their work performance in such kind of non-disciplinary conduction. There is some stage of to handle non disciplinary action. Hear in this case as a department manager the decision is being made as per the company policy about the disciplinary action. In this case Paul Wilkinson come late to the work but leave early, so as a department manager the legal action would be taken as under. In the case of Paul Wilkinson the action would be taken as under Stage 1 First formal oral warning While taking any disciplinary action, it is essential to give a formal oral warning to the employee, hear the department manager already given the oral warning to the Paul Wilkinson about their non-disciplinary behaviour but he didnt improve her behaviour, now as per the company policy the department manager will take the second step to follow the procedure. Stage-2 written warning After all investigation about the case if the person found guilty or un-discipline the next step would be to give a written notice. In the notice contain all the detail about the case and further action taken by the department manager. After giving formal oral warning the Paul Wilkinson does not make any improvement so, the manger gives him a written warning about their conduct. This written warning is the proof of the action which is taken by the manager so, in future if any legal conflict are arise, this written warning can remain as a proof. so as a department it is very wise to give a written warning before taking any non-disciplinary action. Stage 3 Final warning If there is still a failure to improve and conduct or performance is still unsatisfactory, or where the matter is sufficiently serious, the company give him a final warning about to improve the behaviour or follow the company rules. In this final warning company have to mentioned that if candidate do not follow the rules, company will dismiss him immediately. In this case if the Paul Wilkinson still not make any improvement the manager give him an final warning. Stage 4: Dismissal If conduct or performance is still unsatisfactory, dismissal will normally take place this is not any warning but final dismissal letter given to the candidate. As a department manager, before taking the dismissal action he informs to Paul Wilson and if he will fail to conduct performance after final warning, he will be dismissed by the company. The action would be taken in the case of Sheena Johnson Hear in this case Sheena Johnson found to theft the material from the department, so this is a legal crime to stealing the material from the company and the manager told him to report him tomorrow. So in this case the action would be taken as under. Investigating of stealing: as a department manager the first procedure would be to gathering evidence of offences, because the evidence is the proof of the case, without evidence manager can not take any further decision. Hear in this case security caught the Sheena Johnson to stealing the material so; the manager will see the evidence and then take the further decision. Seek Legal Advice before Confronting an Employee: before taking further action manager need to present that to your companys legal advisor first of all. Further more you conduct any interview with the person in a calm and rational manner. In the event that a suspected employee isnt caught in the act of theft nor have they confessed, once you feel you have gathered enough evidence to support your theory more firmly, you need to present that to your companys legal advisor first of all. If they feel you have a watertight case with enough evidence to prove their guilt then its important that you conduct any interview with the person in a calm and rational manner. This is because if they are guilty, advanced warning might enable them to concoct lies or alibis as to why they couldnt have been involved. Just simply and politely say that you just need a brief chat after work and not give them any indication that it might be about a particularly serious issue. The Interview: If you opt for the interview, however, you need to tell them the reason why you wanted to see them, explain the situation in a calm and rational manner and then give them the right to respond. At first, they might simply refute your claims and stand their ground but the more hard evidence you can introduce after theyve finished speaking, the more likely theyll buckle under the pressure and confess. They may not, of course, which is the point at which you may need to seek further legal advice about pursing the matter in court, if its a serious case. Reference:- http://www.human-resource-solutions.co.uk/Areas%20of%20Interest/Discipline.htm http://www.workplacesafetyadvice.co.uk/dealing-with-employee-theft.html

Causes of State Failure in Sub-Saharan Africa

Causes of State Failure in Sub-Saharan Africa Abstract This project sets out to examine the causes of the failure of the state in sub-Saharan Africa. Since the introduction of democracy in the sub-continent in the early 1990’s, the process has been a slow and cumbersome, casting doubts on the possibility of instituting genuine democracy on the sub-continent. The political crisis gave room for autocrats who were the fomenters of the problem to eternalize themselves in power in the name of avoiding further conflicts or problems. They have advanced a whole range of different problems as the cause of this crisis where as the problem lies in the absence of a democratic culture or the proper understanding of it. In the words of the great Africanist, the late Professor Ake Claude, the sub-continents problems is but one of leadership crisis. As this dawns on us at a moment when democratic regimes are a necessity in the new global context, how do we solve the problems which have stalled the institution this much cherished democracy? The answer the thesis states lies in the institutionalization of democracy. Introduction The quest for good governments in Africa has been a high priority item on the agenda of African and world politicians for well over half a century. The African continent for several decades now has been replete with ills such as low living standards, a stagnant economy, and high rates of unemployment, poverty, low infrastructural development, a violent political environment, dictatorships, ethnic clashes and above all a general disregard of the fundamental rights of the people. It still grapples with these political uncertainties, economic adversities, and social inequalities today (Chazan, 1999). There is thus a need to device the best means possible by which the state can be organized and empowered so that it deals adequately with these problems. Democracy’s ability to organize society, ensuring the respect of the rights and liberties of the people, pressing for accountable leadership, ensuring effective participation, a transparent economy and a just and equitable social order, in essence ensuring the socio-economic and political prosperity of a nation, which in summary are Africa’s biggest problems, makes it the best possible solution to the problems Africa faces today. As a result, the quest for democracy in Africa has been seen as vital if Africa has to set up a harmonized community that will develop and catch up with the demands of the ever globalizing world. The story of instituting democracy in Sub-Saharan Africa has been a long drawn one, with many highs and lows; several events have made it seem very probable and promising, but also there have been on the other hand other very challenging events which have questioned the possibility of democracy’s survival. As a result, several debates have ensued amongst Africanist, who have focused on a large part on the prospects of democracy on the continent, some arguing that it is doomed to fail and other optimist who believe that a genuine democratic system can and will emerge in sub-Saharan Africa. Their focus therefore have been how democracy can be properly instituted, its challenges and how the inherent problems it faces can be adequately resolved so that Africa will benefit from good governance schemes. There have been several events starting with the legalization of political parties and the return to multiparty elections in the late 1980’s which suggested that democracy was well under way on the continent. But as it was being instituted it faced several challenges which resorted to disorderliness throwing back the move to democracy; new forms of electoral authoritarianism, return to military and in some extreme cases gruesome civil wars broke out on the sub-continent. This has left many critics of African democracy to question the possibility of instituting genuine democracy on the continent, despite it being the choice of the people. Apologist of African democracy have since argued that Africa’s political crisis were as a result of an imposition of a western culture or style of administration which is not compatible with the African society. They consider democracy alien and in violation to the African culture (Ake, 1991). This according to them has been the reason for the failure of democracy. They rather support the one party dictatorial style governance, which they claim is the best means by which the continent can unite to develop (Busia, 1961). Another school of thought which emerged after the transition period, the modernist, advanced reasons for the failure of democracy in Africa, blaming the superficial nature of the state, and its failure to penetrate the African society adequately, calling the state a weak leviathan (Chabal Daloz, 1999). This same school and notably Patrick Chabal note that Africa’s economic crisis does not favor the successful implementation of democracy on the continent. Democracy he argues is underpinned by capitalism, a uniquely dynamic and productive system, in its absence therefore there is doubt that democracy can be successfully instituted on the African sub-continent. This view has also supported the point that democracy is an imposition on Africa and thus will always fail the aspirations of those who seek to implement it on the continent. This thesis therefore sets out to answer some of this cynicism and provide a possible solution for the problems democracy in the African sub-continent faces. If anything democracy has not failed Africa, but Africa as shown by the poor actions of its leader, has failed to grasp the concept of democracy. It sets out trying to systematically bring out how through its political evolution, it is the failure to properly institute democracy during the second wave democratization process which has brought about the political crisis the sub-continent is facing. Secondly if neo-patrimonialism exists and survives today it is because leaders have twisted democratic tenets to suit their whims and caprices, thus legitimizing such authoritative regimes. The set backs it faced during the mid-1990 did not spell doom for democracy, but rather served as an eye opener for Africa. â€Å"The democratic struggle is a gradual process which will emerge from experience and improvisation as it continues to struggle† states professor Claude Ake, who believes that Africa’s experience will develop the best suited type of democracy that will solve its problems (Ake, 1993). Democracy can survive in Africa, but the players and fomenters must take several factors into consideration, like picking up more democratic ethics and tenets and developing a strong united civil society, showing more good will and respect towards their people and the state as opposed to the selfish and greedy attitude which has been noted to be the norm on the sub-continent. With time as adequate steps like institutionalization and consolidation are taken, democracy will be a success story in Africa. This view is also supported by Larry Diamond, who stated inter alia â€Å"†¦ if progress is to be made towards developing democratic governance, it is likely to be gradual messy, fitful and slow, with many imperfections along the way† (Diamond, 1989, p.24). Thus this piece looks at how these imperfections were created and how certain responses will set the sub-continent on track to democratic governance. This thesis starts off by looking at the development of democracy on the African sub-continent in the 1990’s. Chapter one will therefore start off looking at why the third wave started, how it happened and why it was believed to have been the new way for Africa. The case of post independent African politics was very elusive of the masses. The one party patrimonial state had proven to be disastrous, the military regimes which later emerged, preaching immediate growth and development also failed the aspirations of the people and so there was a general move by the people towards democracy. This was in addition to the external pressures that existed at the moment. Thus there was a general surge towards democratic elections in the sub continent, with several parties legalized and the political life of the sub-continent in different countries. Chapter two looks at the break down in the drive towards democracy. Why the democratic frenzy was short lived, only registering limited success across Sub-Saharan Africa. As the concepts of multiparty elections were applied across the sub continent, there were different outcomes with each case being very unique to the different nations. Generally democracy failed to take root. It was cosmetic and a virtual democracy as described by Richard Joseph. It will consider the reasons why this was the case. Given that almost all the countries in the sub-continent held elections of different kinds, did this imply they were all democracies? We will look at the new classifications of African regimes. Considering that they were all at this point considered transitionary. Chapter three starts off by considering the complex nature of democracy. It brings out a list of factors which qualify a state as a democracy or not. It then looks at the regimes on the sub-continent and categorizes them per the 2006 Freedom House Review. These are democracies (11), Hybrid regimes (23) and autocracies (14). Since our focus is on the failing state we shall look at the commonalities and differences between the hybrid and failed/unreformed regimes. In that light we shall bring out the common or popular concern for democracy in Africa which is the misconception democracy suffers and the need for institutionalization. Chapter four now looks at the problems African democracies have faced since inception. Considering the very broad nature and tone the thesis has taken this far, it will consider a case study on the Republic of Cameroon, a country in the Central African region of Africa, which has failed to properly institute democracy till date. It is considered an electoral autocracy and serves as a perfect example of how Africa, fails democracy. The problems this state faces are in effect what most of the states of the Sub-Saharan region face, certain outcomes may differ, but essentially the issues or problems are the same. This study will provide the perfect opportunity of putting into context all the issues that I have raised this far to buttress the point of the thesis, which is that it is the failure to fully understand and properly grasp the concept of democracy that has caused democracy to fail in this country and the sub-continent as a whole. These areas include the formation of political parties, to the electoral process, the narrow political field, constrained civil society, absence of civility, politicized violence and the international support for dictatorships. These points were adequately discussed by Professor Celestin Monga. Chapter five shall be the conclusion to this project in which we shall be looking at possible solutions to the problems raised above. It shall first suggest solutions to the problems duly raised and also consider effective institutionalization through the strengthening of the three tiers of government namely the executive, legislative and judiciary; so that there is a balance in power amongst these three. By applying these solutions in the Cameroonian context and eventually on the sub-continent, the African sub-continent will be brought closer to the mark of consolidated democracies. The Rebirth of Democracy (1990-1993) The period 1989-1993 was considered to be the break point for Africa. This is the period during which Africa witnessed a wave of regime changes. Hitherto to this period, single party, military regimes and presidents for life was the norm in most African states. Competitive politics was considered a luxury by most African leaders who stated that it was neither necessary nor affordable for Africans (Decalo, 1992). This belief was aptly described in the words of Sierra Leonean president at the time Siaka Stevens when he said of democracy and I quote ‘†¦it is a system of institutionalized tribal ethnic quiquennial warfare euphemistically known as elections which is an open invitation to anarchy and disunity’ (Decalo, 1992) a view which was endorsed by Tanzania’s Julius Nyerere who also stated that democracy was stronger with a one party state rule which unified the country. To back up this system of administration, it was claimed that Africa had its own unique history and tradition thus the introduction of democracy was a violation of the integrity of the African culture (Ake, 1991). The African traditional system in its own right, they further argued, was infused with democracy with standards of accountability considered to be stricter than the west, though invariably patrimonial, thus it possessed signs of a democracy-hence a democracy (Ake, 1991). A second argument put forward was the social composition of African states. Because of its plural nature, the introduction of liberal democracy could possibly inflame ethnic rivalries which will result in political disintegration. Democracy they argued was a distraction to what was important for society. It was a thing for elites and the educated masses and ended on paper, it did not provide or cater for the pressing needs of the rural masses. This one party protagonist’s concluded that a patrimonial system was going to unite and direct all positive energy towards economic development (Ake, 1991). Thus African style democracy as it came to be termed of one party politics was considered the best option for Africa given its complex social context, endorsed by most Western governments as shown by their cooperation with them. This ideology was even backed in cases by the World Bank as noted by their remark that â€Å"†¦with weak states, only a bureaucratic authoritarian regime could contain fissiparous tensions and lead to a free market economy†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Decalo, 1992). Africans believed so much in this style of administration Samuel Decalo talks of Mugabe during a state visit to the United States of America in the 80’s, who recommended to the American congress, the one party state system as an option they should consider (Decalo, 1992). A point to note here is the hypocrisy of this political ideology. Despite preaching governments of national unity and socio-economic development, the opposite was being practiced and witnessed in most countries. The presidency and administration became the possession of whatever ethnic group held the presidency. Nepotism was rife and groups were rather occupied with gaining a greater share of the existing pie than working for equitable development (Decalo, 1992). This political practice as a result accentuated the tribal and ethnic divide which existed within the many African states and fuelled anti-government sentiments amongst the population as we shall see below. A change to this political scenario though requisite, was least expected to occur by scholars, in a continent which had shown signs of defiance to a more liberal democracy by sticking to its own developed and formulated ideology of ‘Afro-Marxism’ (Decalo, 1992). There were strong calls both from within and without for a change to the system that was failing to provide adequately for their needs. This saw mass demonstrations, rallies and civil disobedience all calling for the return of democracy and for regime change. This was spawned by the stifling political authoritarianism and economic decay, further triggered by the spectacle of the fall of titans in East Europe (Decalo, 1992). The one party state had yielded a form of presidential authoritarianism, through which the state economy was plundered, there was a disdain for civic and human rights, and little or no attention was paid to the plight of the rural population (Decalo, 1992). Economic projects were failing to materialize; there was the absence of infrastructural development needed for this growth and above all a high rate of unemployment. The military regimes which took over power in certain instances to sweep clean the state failed to return power back to civilian rule and fell into the same predicament by falling short of the efficiency mark. These regimes were thus fundamentally unaccountable, personalized and patrimonial (Decalo, 1992). There were the failures of these regimes that could be considered the primary cause of the call to democracy and multipartyism. The growing urbanization and education of Africans made sensitive to the hostile political and economic environment being created by their leaders, thus they desired liberty and the respect of their rights which had been usurped and abused by this dictatorial one party system. They wanted their grievances listened to and solved by a regime that had been removed from the people, blind and deaf to their problems. The only way to do this was by mass protest against such regimes and seeking to over throw them. Economic related reasons, mainly externally influenced, could be said to be the greatest factors which led to this drive in re-democratization. Africa relied for a large part on international aid and loans to fund most of its activities. The administrative sector was the biggest employer in most countries, thus the money aid they received was used almost entirely on salary payments and carry out government businesses, rather than invest in lucrative businesses which could eventually pay back. Civil servants in the higher echelon were corrupt and embezzled these state funds to fund their luxurious lives. The growth registered within the economy was good but this was not sustainable growth and did not guarantee a future for the economy. Most corporations were state owned and private businesses were not promoted or were largely absent. As a result of all these, donor countries through the IMF and World Bank suggested certain adjustments be made with the governance system if they were to continue offering this aid and loans. This came to be known as the Structural Adjustment Program (SAP) which called for African governments to privatize state owned corporations, cut down on its public sector and above all to democratize as conditions to receive aid. This provided a lee way for the dissenting voices of nationals who wanted change. They were joined by civil servants who suffered huge pay cuts and in extreme cases lost their jobs. This situation was further aggravated by the fall in commodity prices in the international markets meaning that African states were pretty much at the mercy of international donors, who wanted change with the regimes. Finally the demise of communism and the end of the Cold War also had an immense impact on the political life of African states. First of all it diverted the attention of investors to the newly liberalized and potential economies of Eastern Europe, thus reducing the amount of capital investments which flowed to the continent, affecting the African economy adversely. Secondly the West no longer supported the dictatorial regimes in Africa as it did during the Cold War days. They withdrew support from these regimes (example of Angola and Togo where they had supported antagonized sectarian groups) asking them to democratize as a condition for continuous aid and loans (Decalo, 1992). This was especially true of France who had since independence maintained a close link with Francophone African states and signed several military accords with African states offering them (military) support when they needed it; the case of Central Africa and the support they offered Idriss Deby against Bedel Bokassa 1990, one authoritarian regime for another. The Apartheid regime of South Africa also did not receive any more support from the West, who had pursued half hearted sanctions against this repressive regime. As soon as the Cold War came to an end, the Apartheid regime under pressure yielded and released Mandela, introducing reforms, forcing other African states to follow suit, who had used this regime to propagate a repressive rule against their citizens. They were thus forced to change. The first shots of democracy in Africa were noted in Benin, when in early 1990, students, civil servants and the whole community took to the streets denouncing the rule of then president, Mathieu Kerekou and calling for what they termed â€Å"a national sovereign conference of all active forces† (Richard Joseph, 1991). This sovereign national conference was to bring together representatives of the different sectors and works of life in a voice of national unity to address the problems of society. In the case of Benin, it resulted in the removal of President Mathieu Kerekou’s control of public policy and the establishment of a transitional government (Richard Joseph, 1991). The outcome of this was received with much delight in other African states and they later began calling for national conferences in their respective countries. This was the case in Togo, Zaire, Congo, Gabon and Cameroon. The out come was not necessarily the same as in the case of Benin, because not all the presidents yielded to such demands, they resisted these popular calls and tried making substantive concessions to the opposition (Richard Joseph, 1991). All in all it marked the beginning of change on the continent as a result of popular demand (democratic will, the voice of the people). All this pressure resulted in the democratization of Africa as noted by the re-legalization of political parties, restored freedoms of association, assembly and expression and also in the reform of constitutions which led to multiparty elections in most sub-Saharan states (Richard Joseph, 1998). Over the brief period of 1990-1994, 54 competitive elections were held in 29 countries with 30 of the electoral outcomes welcomed by the electorates and the process ruled as free and fair by observers (Bratton, 1998). One party rule was noted to have been replaced with more open and participatory competitive democracy. With the influx of these political parties, they were quick at pointing out the short comings of government, its administrative inefficiency, political corruption, economic mismanagement, and social decay (El-Khawas, 2001). Notably between 1990 and 1993, twenty five countries held elections with eleven opposition parties winning and coming to power. Though very commendable, the legalization of opposition parties did not necessarily mean democracy for African countries (Diamond, 1994). Even those who saw regime change sooner than later faced crisis thus questioning the durability of democracy in Africa, because certain cracks were noted in the firmament of this nascent African democracy. Looking at the above, democracy was not brought about by conditions of the west, but rather it was the desire and commitment of the people for accountability and meaningful development from their respective governments, further fuelled by the economic conditions and effects of the SAP, which only came to show how poorly the state was being managed. On the contrary the west could be accused of complacency. As earlier mentioned they had supported these authoritative regimes and cooperated with them. Even after conditions were placed on leverage, they never followed them up or pressed this dictatorial regimes to democratize as in the case of Kenya, Cameroon and Togo just to name a few, to which the international community still offered loans and did not question the actions of these governments like human rights abuse, which drew a lot of criticism from the press and public (Ake, 1991). Therefore the call for democracy was only emboldened by economic factors which brought change at the time to some countries (Benin ousting of Kerekou, Liberia, fall of Samuel Doe) but failed to change regimes in others (Cameroon, Nigeria, Kenya) and can not be said to be the main factor but a mix of both (Ake, 1991). Chapter Three: The Democratic Dark Days Following this run of political liberalization was a period of political violence, wars and crisis in a number of African countries that sent ripples down the nascent democracy in Africa. A critical look at the outcome of the first set of elections organized in the sub-continent drew a lot of criticism from pundits who considered the process as cosmetic and as failing in its objectives. What seemed to have been created on the African sub-continent was a virtual democracy as noted by Richard Joseph (Richard Joseph, 1993). This could be explained by the fact that in a number of African states, the incumbents managed to hang on to power after elections in their states, despite the mass demonstrations against their administrations and rule. It is necessary to remind ourselves here of the popular support democracy enjoyed in the different African states; it was not an orchestration or ploy of an elitist few, but a genuine request by all for change, thus a lot was expected in the form of regime changes across the continent. Despite this, a few countries (11 of the 25 countries that held competitive elections during the period of 1992-1993) and notably Zambia and South Africa managed to see a democratic change in leadership (El-Khawas, 2001). Thus the much anticipated democracy in sub-Saharan Africa was failing to take root. Regimes failed to be changed in Cameroon, Gabon, Congo, Kenya and Ghana just to name a few, despite mass protest and popular support the opposition in these countries enjoyed. Elections were noted to be carried out in a politically tensed atmosphere, characterized by intimidation (house arrest and states of emergency), massive vote rigging and general violence. The experienced leaders with all the powers they wielded violated the rules of the country with impunity and after enjoying the booty they had siphoned from the economy, had every intention of staying in power and as a result did all to ensure their stay in power. ). As a matter of fact, the biblical adage of old wine in new wine skins held true here since there seemed to be nothing new to the political order in a number of states that witnessed elections. The story of ousted leaders on the continent during the military coup days of the 1960’s had not been an envious one; as such they would do anything to preserve power in the event where they had been very reckless with power (Young, 1996; De Walle, 2001). This is what Professor Ake Claude termed the leadership crisis of the continent; according to the professor the African political crisis resulted from the absence of true statesmen, but rather the prominence of those with every intention of ensuring their stay in power or having their own share of the national cake (Ake, 1996). This assertion has been supported by Richard Joseph, who holds that a prebendal system is set up, with entrenched corruption, and the leaders work only for the benefit of themselves and their clients, leaving the locals to their own devices for survival (Joseph, 2003). As such, these leaders organized charades in the name of elections, given that they controlled the judiciary and legislative and with this centralization of power they were able to corner the multitude of opposition parties they had legalized as a disorganizing technique of the opposition (Young, 1996). As such despite their inefficiencies, the leaders found themselves in power with very vindictive policies against opposition strongholds. This was the case in Kenya, Cameroon, Gabon and Ivory Coast, where particular regions and tribes were subject to marginalization and vengeance of the leader. In Kenya, Arap Moi and his cohorts fomented tribal conflicts that led to the death of about 1500 and displaced a further 350,000 in the rift valley area, in Cameroon the Anglophone West Cameroon was massively under represented in the government that was formed following the presidential elections of 1992. Millions of dollars which were funds for other projects were misappropriated to ensure such electoral successes and thus their stay in power (Diamond, 2008; Young, 1996). These leaders were also noted by the international community as having been endorsed by the people, and as a result the West continued its support of these corrupt regimes with poor human right records, and with incumbents who had every intention to continue pillaging the economy as before. The situation generally speaking looked bleak for the African Sub-continent which had received the third wave with such enthusiasm. The democratic quest was dealt further blows when civil wars and genocides broke out in some of the sub-Saharan countries; there was a return of the military to power in others. This period is considered to be the dark moments of African political development. The Congo Basin has been noted as one of the main trouble spots on the continent owing to the manner in which the wars which emanated from this region spread across, affecting all the countries sharing borders. Zaire for starters was under the tight grip of the dictator Mobuto Sese Seko, who did not give into the pressures for democratization. He refused convening a national conference, blaming it on technicalities of representation owing to the ethnic diversity and broadness of Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of Congo-DRC). Thus democracy did not effectively take root there, despite calls for the democratization by the masses. Armed conflicts broke out first in Burundi following the overthrow of the newly elected president Melchior Ndadaye, by Tutsi officers, trying to reinstate Tutsi control over the Tutsi dominated state. In neighboring Rwanda, the Hutu rule came to a halt when following elections in 1994 the Hutu president Juvenal Habyarimana had to form a coalition regime with the Tutsi minority, but was assassinated during the process, giving room to extremist Hutu’s to launch a genocidal raid against the Tutsi’s. These two wars led to the death and displacement of millions further enshrining the problems rocking this continent. The National Resistant Movement (NRM) initiated by Yoweri Museveni of Uganda, an arm movement against dictators in the Central-East of Africa and enjoying the support of western powers and international donors promoted more of the armed conflicts faced by this part of Africa. It supported rebels against the Kabila regime who had earlier ejected Mobuto from power in 1997 (following the wars in Rwanda which gave the rebels led by Kabila the impetus to fight Mobuto) following a fall out between the rebels and Kabila, leading to the Congo war lasting from 1998-2003 Young, 1996; Richard Joseph, 1998). The story of armed conflicts in the wake of an era of democratic elections is numerous on the African continent. One very interesting case to site here is that of Congo-Brazzaville, where democratic tides were considerably reversed following the forceful return to power by Denis Sassou-Nguesso who had earlier been defeated in elections in 1993 (Young, 1996). This was accomplished with the support of France and Angola in front of a dumb struck international community that only muttered on the events that were ravaging the continent. The Liberian and Sierra Leonean cases could also be sited, but given these it is good enough to make our analysis of the democratic struggle in Sub-Saharan continent. These crises resulted in the deaths of millions, refugee problems, food shortages and famines, poverty, a poor economy and low rate of development not only in countries involved, but affected the economy of other states in general as it stalled possible investments in this part of the world. International investors feared investing in a place which did not guarantee the safety of their businesses; they rather invested in the newly democratized states of West Europe. African investors themselves were fleeing with whatever capital they had; leading to massive capital flights and brain drain as whole families sought new places and beginnings. This far Africa was not providing a perfect home for Africans. If anything these moments looked to be supporting the claims of some African democratic skeptics and proponents of African socialism (and thus one party style democracy) that democracy let alone libe