Political science Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 5

Political science - Essay Example This is an issue that scholars and academics have spent a great deal of time considering since the conclusion of the Second World War. In 1945, the United States dropped two nuclear weapons on Japan, ending the war. To many, this suggests that nuclear weapons can be used to make peace and end war. Indeed, in the last seventy years no one else has used a nuclear weapon. Perhaps it makes sense to give these weapons to all countries, so that no one will wish to use them. However, as one scholar puts it: Given that nuclear weapons have not been used in war since 1945, that modern biological weapons have arguably never been utilized in warfare, and that the risk of chemical weapons is often considered exaggerated, one might think preventing the proliferation of WMDs is not a critical policy issue. However, the proliferation of new weapons systems can have a profound impact on international politics even at levels short of war. The impact on the coercive power of states and the potential for actual use make nuclear weapons potentially destabilizing in the international security environment. (Horowitz, 2). It is a bit naà ¯ve to believe that nuclear weapons cause peace. They are indeed a source of instability whether they are possessed by many or possessed by only a few. The main problem is that not all states are rational. Some behave in ways that are difficult to calculate. Indeed, some leaders suffer from mental illness. In fascist or dictatorial states, the leader of a power is unquestioned. Some states might want to commit national suicide by nuking another state that has nuclear weapons. Scholars and political scientists too often believe that everything in politics is a science and that the rational prevail. This is not what history teaches us. History shows that powerful weapons will be used in unpredictable ways. The

The Impact of Internal Conflicts on World Poltics Term Paper

The Impact of Internal Conflicts on World Poltics - Term Paper Example From the end of World War II until 2000, over sixteen million perished through internal wars, compared to three and a half million from interstate wars, (Alley 1). For each interstate war within that period, approximately five internal conflicts occurred, the relative totals being 25 and 112 respectively and the incidence of internal war has abated since its peak during the 1990s, although not markedly, (Walensteen and Sollenberg 623)a. Averaging 53 months in duration, internal wars are often protracted; their bitter political effects and legacies of crime, lawlessness and impunity lingering even longer after the guns have fallen silent and even when seemingly settled they often maintain a lethal potential to reignite. Various termed internal, intra-state, or civil wars, these events often lack fine starting and concluding points as the conditions of neither war nor peace testify to inconclusive military outcomes and continuing settlement failure. These conditions harbour unaccountab le local elites exploiting them to loot the national patrimony as much about the causes, costs and impacts of internal conflicts remains essentially domestic, but its international dimensions are usually germane and often telling. Embattled governments invite outsiders in; internal conflicts spread across borders; war within states feed off and sustain commercial penetrations; intergovernmental and externally based non-governmental relief operations establish their presence; and these conflicts evoke an array of external interventions ranging from military infiltrations to United Nations (UN) Security Council enforcement engagements authorised under Chapter Seven of the UN Charter. Criminality is now a significant factor in the internationalisation of internal conflict and hence the comprehension of internal wars therefore requires an appreciation of their international dimensions and implications (Walensteen and Sollenberg 593-600)b. Without denying their significant international dimensions, definitions of intra-state wars focus primarily on domestic origins; events fought between self-aware, defined groups that have organisational capacities to plan and carry out military operations in support of political goals. When viewed as insurgencies, internal wars comprise unconventional armed violence organises to either topple an existing regime or secede from an existing state, (Snow 65 & Thakur 117), a distinctive feature is the widespread entanglement of civilians as agents and victims; and such risk overt targeting by protecting and harbouring combatants, operating inside borders and without sanctuaries to which they can withdraw. This confinement intensifies internal wars, combatants and civilians alike forced to live by the knowledge that, should they survive, they will likely have to physically coexist as former enemies and the evenge enacted locally as an end in itself confuses wide objectives, complicating agreement about negotiating priorities or settlem ent implementation within and between warring factions. Some internal conflicts drag on for so long that few involved retain notions of the originating casus belli or political purpose, the conflict in Angola being an example and to revise Hobbes, internal wars are nasty, brutish and long, (Alley 6) Impacts upon international politics Internal conflicts now cost the international community in a variety of ways. A first cost results from habituation to crisis as the trigger resource mobilisation and claims that such

Communicative maturity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Communicative maturity - Essay Example Concisely, all these varied aspects of my life have curved me into a mature and ambitious individual that will be noteworthy and contributive in the life ahead. I have taken majors in Finance and Supply Chain Management, and it is my highest desire to continue my lifelong learning process that inclined me to attend your Language School, one of the most credible institutions. Since few decades, experts have indicated rapid advancement in the wave of globalization, and it has now become very imperative to be aware of other languages and cultures, essential for personal, as well as collective development and progress. Since I know that I have passion for language, I can learn French language in an effective manner. During these years, I have been managed my life through effective management of my responsibilities towards family, work, and school activities. In addition, as an immigrant, I worked very hard to learn English that was essential to be a part of American life. In this regard, English language allowed me to create relationships that I now enjoy and adore with my classmates, colleagues, and people around me. Moreover, English language enabled me to avail various opportunities in the United States that have now enhanced my quality of living. It is very important that an individual should set realistic objectives, and my desire to involve myself in a long-learning process has resulted in my application for learning French language. In other words, this language program will open new avenues.

Black Swan Report Essay Example for Free

Black Swan Report Essay Unreliable narrator is a narrator who can’t be trusted, because of a bias point of view, ignorance or self-interest. In the other hand, a reliable narrator is trustworthy, impartial, and most of the times omniscient. I loved the point of view of this movie because it all happened from the point of view of Nina, the protagonist. If you have some general knowledge about psychological disorders you will suspect of Nina having schizophrenia or dissociative identity disorder. Nina is not a reliable narrator, because her point of view of reality is altered. I believe that Nina doesn’t die at the end. We can’t trust her as a narrator. If she suffers schizophrenia, probably the scene in which she breaks the mirror and attacks Lily isn’t truth; therefore she couldn’t have stabbed herself. I also find it hard to believe the fact that she danced with a big blood spot the whole presentation and no one in the crew or crowd notice and she never fainted while dancing because of the loss of blood. I don’t believe the ending is real. I think the ending is symbolic and Nina â€Å"dying† as the white swan is actually Nina accepting that the world is not that good and she’s losing her innocence. Another thing can be that she lost her rational side and became totally insane. About the film, I believe some of the scenes were not necessary; they could have been less explicit. It was a great film and I loved the theme.

Decline of British Trade Union Membership: Causes

Decline of British Trade Union Membership: Causes Introduction The purpose of this essay is to analyse the factors leading to rapid decline of British trade union membership in the 1980s and 1990s. According to MacKenzie (2008), unions in industrialised countries have faced challenges associated with labour market restructuring. The restructuring happened due to liberalisation and privatisation of the sectors, downsizing the direct workforce and use of sub-contracts. According to Armstrong (2006) the political condition and change of economic condition with the effect of globalisation are the major factors contributing the change in trade union operation and its decline of membership. There are other factors also, one of them, according to Machin (2000) is union inability or unwillingness to unionise the growing number of new workplaces. The introduction of HRM(human Resource Management) concept and practice within the organisations as observed by Taylor (2003) contributed to the introduction of employee relations as a concept that broadened the study of industrial relations from a union focus to include wider aspects of the employment relationship, including non-unionised workplaces, personal contracts, and socio-emotional, rather than contractual arrangements. It is quite clear there are many factors responsible for the decline of trade union membership. It is important to look at British trade union history briefly to get a perspective of its function, growth and difficulties it is facing. As Stephen Dunn (2009) observed the British trade union experienced extraordinary growth for quarter century till 1950s in terms of its membership, activities and ability to carry on collective bargaining on the backdrop of World War 2 and changing socio-economic condition. That progress slowed down but it was still growing till 1970s when it again experienced rapid growth in its membership. The time after 1980s then continued to 1990s and 2000 the trade union membership experienced rapid fall and from 2000 it started stabilising with very slow increase. The report prepared by Cockburn (2009) shows the recorded trade union membership of 7,656,156 in 2008-09, compares to 7,627,693 reported in the previous period. This indicates an increase of 28,463 members or 0.37%. The total recorded membership of around 7.6 million compares with a peak of 13.2 m illion in 1979. The essay will try to discuss about various factors responsible for the decline in membership. Economic Factors The British economy saw many changes after World War 2 in terms of its growth, flexibility and approach. According to David Farnham (1997) there are three major changes happened in international and UKs domestic economy since 1950s and very prominently after 1980s. First, the developing countries restructured their manufacturing industries to become important exporters of manufactured and semi-manufactured goods in Europe, North America and Australasia. Second, the developed countries started moving from manufacturing to service economy thus non-manufacturing industries started growing in these countries. Third, the new emerging markets of East Europe and breaking down of Soviet Union created new opportunities for trade. The above changes had direct impact on UK economy and resulted in declining of number of people employed in manufacturing industries by 45% from 1979 and 1996, David Farnham (1997). There was an expansion on non-manual jobs, professional jobs also the number of worki ng people grew from 25 million in 1971 to 28 million in 1996. The above changes are reflected on British economy and have long lasting effect on life style of people. It also brings more completion in the market from external suppliers and changed the focus of British economy from large, nationalised, manufacturing based economy to privately owned, relatively small and service oriented. The idea of Globalisation in mid 1980s, as described by David Farnham (1997) saw capitalism as the major globalising dynamic and constantly increasing the scale of production and consumption. The increase in trade and commerce with new markets opened new scope as well as competition. The focus of the economy changed to mass produced, cheap products to meet high volume of demand and consumers aspirations. Thus British economy experienced imported products from East Asian countries which resulted in decrease of manufacturing industries in Britain. With the number of people in employment increased the a bility to buy, availability of easy credit and other factors contributed developing of overall living standard of the people. This change in economic condition made the trade union membership less attractive and the collectiveness started eroding among members resulted in decline of membership. Political Factors The British politics observed influence of two political parties The Conservatives and The Labour between 1970 and 2000; their ideological differences were prominent in their policies. The strategy of Conservative party who was in power from 1979 to 1997, as observed by David Farnham (1997), were influential in reducing public expenditure, cut taxation and state borrowing, privatised the nationalised industries and other public sectors, deregulate the economy, working towards free market, free trade, free enterprise, legislation to curb the powers of trade unions to free up labour market as well as undermine collectivism in favour of individualism at work places. As Ed Rose (2008) observed the employers right to manage was reinforced by restricting powers and activities of trade union and encouraged fluidity and flexibility within the labour market. According to Ed Rose (2008) the result is private sector employers achieve greater control over the work and labour process. In 1997 whe n the Labour party formed government they promised to change its traditional Labour policy, as observed by David Farnham (1997), towards promoting competition, pursue tough, efficient regulation, working as a partner to both employers and employee, fairness but no favour to the trade union and last but not the least no return to secondary action, strike without ballots or trade union law of the 1970s. Moreover, consecutive governments passed various legislations which curb the power of trade union and strengthen the hands of employers as well as encourage individualism over the collectivism. According to Millward (2000) and Kersley (2006), the union experienced decline of the unionised sector, collective representation which resulted in fall of collective bargaining with pay and other issues. As observed by Taylor (2003), somewhat hostile treatment from the Government and the policies, legislature changes that are made to restrict trade union power and activities were responsible fo r trade union to lose relevance in private sector organisations and also put challenge in front of trade union to adapt its functioning with the changing circumstance failing of which saw decline in membership and inability to connect with new workplaces. Industrial Factors The period from 1970s as observed by Ed Rose (2008), saw restructuring of British industry in terms of management style of employment relationship, increasing emphasis on communicating with workforce and workplace representation of employees. The result of these changes are adopting anti-union strategies, shifting from pluralist to more unitarist style by many private sectors. Both private and public sector organisations adopted HRM practices, strategies and models of employment engagement thus moving away from collectivism to individualism. As observed by Kersley (2006), Milward (2000), the restructuring of British industry saw the shift from manufacturing economy to service economy, the introduction of technology, computerisation and information technology paved the way for developing specialised skills, part-time, fixed and temporary work contract which resulted significant increase in labour market insecurity and have impact on employment relationship. Moreover, as Ed Rose (2008) pointed out with the changing economic condition and focus on cost saving many organisations sub-contract their fringe jobs to small or other organisations and only concentrate on core activities thus number of employees within the organisation has substantially decreased resulting decrease of employees bargaining power within the organisation. The drive for employing multi-skilled employees also reduced the dependence on specific employee to complete a task thus decreased the level of job security among employees resulting shift of balance towards employers control more than the employees. Trade Unions Internal Factors According to Curran (2006), the trade unions become too institutionalized which prevents it from progressing rather tied up in its own structure with the control power to the full time management of the Trade Union. According to him trade union leaders suffered complacency and forgot to remind people the good work of trade union movement and lot still can be done for those who are being exploited by organizing collective bargaining. Moreover, trade union failed to create connection with the new immigrant workers who would have been highly benefitted from trade union support as they were recruited for low skilled, low paid and most of the times were exploited. He observed that trade unions failed to recognize and adapt itself with the change that the society experienced due to political, economical and the effect of globalization. The trade unions need to understand that they have to adapt and organise its function according to the need of the situation, the advent of technology, pros perity and disposable income has changed the lifestyle of the trade union members but as an organization Trade Union failed to adopt itself with that change and got stuck with the philosophy, style and culture of trade unions foundation time. Moreover, many large Trade Unions still struggle to get rid of their Masculinity culture when the reality is almost 40% of the working population are women and it is difficult for the women to become member of trade union and associate with its day to day activities. As observed by Bob Carter(2004), the Trade Union need to redirect recruitment of members who are in part-timers contract of employment; change bargaining priorities to reflect part-timers concerns; and to change union organization and representation to facilitate participation by part-timers. It is quite evident from the above discussion that trade unions failed to change its priority and redesign its role to suit with the changing world and thus it became somewhat irrelevant to so me members which directly reflected in decline of membership. Future of Trade Union The prediction of future of Trade Union membership and prospect is difficult but can only be done based on past experience, available data and survey results. According to Ed Rose (2008), the evidence shows that there is very less likely the New Labour Government will change the direction of policies towards empowering and giving more authority to the trade unions. It is evident that the balance is more towards the Employers than trade union in controlling employee relationship. Moreover, the specialist skills of managers to deal with employer engagement, various legislations passed to provide more provisions and empower individualism and limiting collective bargaining are the clear indications of limiting trade union roles and powers in future. According to Kersley (2006), the change in giving standard contract to the employees and increase of special kind of contracts like consultancy, fixed term, term time, temporary, part time also private organisations support to non-unionised o rganisations and improving individual employee engagement programme as well as government legislations to support individualism are some of the biggest hindrance towards improving Trade Union membership. According to Ed Rose (2008), the prospect of increasing Trade Union membership looks bleak but analysing the present situation of increase in unemployment, increase of women membership in trade union as revealed from recent surveys and the indications are there that this trend is going to continue as well as the growing general perception among employees that employers are responsible for unfair treatment at workplace may help to improve the situation of trade union membership. There three strategies as suggested by Ed Rose (2008) could change the situation of decreasing Trade Union membership are Servicing Model, Partnership Approach and Organising Model to suit with the changing economic, political and industrial conditions. According to these models the Trade Union need to give service to its individual member by devoting more resources to the enforcement of their rights, be a partner with the employers to achieve competitive advantage for the firm and add values to the service pr ovided as a trade union and last but not the least to organise support for the workforce to solve conflicts and maintain a strong presence throughout. The above models may be theoretically looks good but there are contradictions and depends how well they are executed as well as perception of the role to all the stake holders. There can be element of low level of trust between employers and Trade Union on each other as Partnership Approach can contradict Organising Model. The whole situation of maintaining relationship with both employers and employees can be very difficult if the interest of employees and employers on specific issues are vastly different and in that situation it can be difficult for trade union to follow the above models as this can be perceived as contradictory to each other. According to Peter Wilby (2010), with the growing globalisation and the organisations tendency to move to the countries with cheap labour and favourable business environment, legislation, it is the time for the trade union to think globally as well as strengthening their local roots to strengthen the trade union movement. The trade unions should create a global Union to stop exploiting labour cause anywhere in the world and thus fight for the jobs for local people. It is important for trade union for its own survival to organise movement for local people and working proactively to increase membership, more reliant on its own strength and less dependent on political party like The Labour party introducing favourable legislation to empower Trade Union. According to Curran (2006), trade union should realise that changing its culture and style is not a threat to its values rather a way to sustain its principles of maintaining equality, liberty and solidarity at workplace. The growing tre nd of capitalism in the society creates hour glass situation in organisations where some people at top are enjoying all the benefits and those at the bottom are struggling and their family is experience stress and low prospect of development. This economic condition and stress to fulfil every demand to maintain good lifestyle and the realisation by trade union to change its style of functioning will help to improve the prospect of improving trade union membership in next five years. Though it is difficult to predict if it will able to touch its peak in terms of membership but it will definitely be able to improve current situation in terms of membership. Toyota: Corporate Social Responsibility Toyota: Corporate Social Responsibility The history of Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) which is a Japan based-company begins when it is established at 1937 by the founder, Kiichiro Toyoda. (Toyota Motor Corporation n.d.) Since then, the company has started to emerge into the industry of automobile manufacturing until now. As of today, Toyota is one of the worlds leading company manufacturing vehicles and parts. In order to move fast to keep pace with other competitors and to maintain its position and reputation in the business, Toyota has practiced the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) policy which is Contribution towards Sustainable Development. (Toyota Motor Corporation n.d.) With this policy, Toyota does not only concentrate in maximizing its profit as they also contribute in taking care of the welfare of the society and the environment. Nowadays, most of the consumers are highly educated and environmentally conscious as they are demanding for more than just a high quality or a reasonable price product. Therefore, To yota has to make sure that they can balance up the needs of the society and consumers. Besides producing high quality vehicles, Toyota also has to respond to the environmental issues which have been occurred. In this new era, Toyota is taking every steps and precautions to protect the environment. They may proclaim that they have done good to the society by implementing some policies or concepts such as the introduction to the hybrid cars. But how far could they go? One of the good examples is when Toyota Prius was first launched in 1997. Many has criticized and questioned about the Priuss green concept which uses the hybrid system. Production of hybrid cars is one of the responses of Toyota towards the issue of global warming and the limits of fossil fuel. (Toyota Motor Corporation n.d.) In producing this car especially the battery itself, it actually causes more harm to the environment. One of the biggest concerns about this car is that Prius battery contains nickel metal hydride. (Prius Outdoes Hummer in Environmental Damage 2007) Based on the newswire, the nickel is mined and smelted at a plant in Sudbury, Ontario which leads to environmental damage to the surrounding area. This has f urther leads the NASAs astronaut trainees to practice moon rovers around the Sudbury plant which is badly destructed. (Prius Outdoes Hummer in Environmental Damage 2007) Also, there are many critics who comment on the shipping footprint of the nickel battery. The smelted nickel from Sudbury is shipped to Wales for refinery and to be made into nickel foam at China. The completed batteries which are made in Japan would be then shipped to United States when the car is ready. (Hodges 2009) This has creates doubt about Toyotas environmental aspect as the production process of the battery is not helping in reducing emissions but in fact, the shipping process has already consumed a lot of fossil fuels which would lead to air pollution. Back in 2003, Toyota is questioned about its philosophies towards green environment. Toyota is facing a lawsuit from The Department of Justice and the Environment Protection Agency for violating Clean Air Act. (BJS, 2003) Upon Toyotas application for Certificates of Conformity, it has claimed that Toyota has sold 2.2 million vehicles which were different from the statements in the application. According to the United States government, Toyota has failed to disclose limitation in the operation of the on-board diagnostic system that checks for leaks in vehicles. (BJS, 2003) Because of the leakage problem, Toyota is involved in causing pollution as fuel that vapors into the air would lead to the ozone pollution. Due to this matter, the consumers of Toyota vehicles do not know that they are actually indirectly involved in polluting the environment. Another case which leads to a doubtful thought about Toyotas environmental friendly principles is when Toyota is sued by California at year 2 006. (Glaister 2006) Toyota and several other automakers are to take the blame for producing large amount of vehicles that releases huge quantities of carbon dioxide which contributes to global warming. According to the states Democratic attorney general, global warming is bringing harm to Californias economy, environment, public health and agriculture. (Glaister 2006) Though Toyota is making revolution by producing hybrid cars and building more fuel-efficient vehicles, Toyotas image and reputation are blemished by the lawsuits that it faced before. In spite of the criticism of the nickel battery and the lawsuit cases against Toyota, the company has actually poured a lot of effort in protecting the environment. Based on Toyotas sustainability concept, it has focused on three areas comprise of technology, manufacturing and social contribution. (Toyota Motor Corporation n.d.) Research and Development (RD) is categorized in the area of technology and one of the RD that Toyota has created is that they have engineered its own flower species. (Merchant 2009) The carbon dioxide released by its Prius assembly operations is offset by this new plant species. The flowers are derived from the cherry sage and gardenia which helps to absorb nitrogen oxides and to reduce the heat of the atmosphere. (Merchant 2009) Toyota should be praised because it has discovered something special in those flowers. Both the flowers have unique characteristics as the sages leaves can absorb harmful gases whereas gardenias leaves can reduce the temperature of t he factorys surroundings by creating water vapor in the air. (Blackburn 2009) With this, Toyota can concentrate in finding and doing research in advanced technology to produce hybrid cars as they have found a greener way to reduce the emissions of the manufacturing process. This also has shown that Toyota has gone beyond their industry area to look for alternatives and new innovations to preserve the environment. Their action would definitely build up its reputation and image among the stakeholders especially the consumers. In committing towards sustainable development, Toyota is also taking initiatives to develop the manufacturing process through a greener way. It cannot be denied that Toyota is actually polluting the environment during the process of manufacturing and producing the vehicles and car batteries. Hence, Toyota is designing and manufacturing its vehicles based on the concept of three Rs which consists of reduce, reuse and recycle. (Toyota Europe n.d.) Toyota has been manufacturing vehicles with recyclable materials as cars are actually built by plastics that are difficult to be recycled. Therefore, Toyota has created Toyota Super Olefin Polymer which is a special recyclable plastic to make car bumpers and other parts. It can then be recycled and used for many times. (Toyota Europe n.d) Besides, Toyota also has indirectly encouraged the consumers and dealers to be involved in recycling program. For example, each of the battery of the Prius car has a phone number on it to ensure every batter y goes back to Toyota for the purpose of recycling it and dealers are to be paid $200 for each battery. (Richard 2005) Other than that, Toyota has also stepped in further in the area of recycling. For instance, Toyota has built up a waste collection systems. It is for the purpose of retrieving used parts such as tyres, batteries and oil filters from European dealers to send them back for recovery. (Toyota Europe n.d.) In order to contribute to the society, Toyota has involved in various environmental activities. One of them is shown by Toyotas support of Planet Arks National Tree Day. National Tree Day is one of the Australias biggest community tree planting events which falls on August 1, 2010. (Tree Day n.d.) It is a special day where all the Australians would gather around to join this event. All of them are working towards the same motive which is to lending a helping hand to plant and to care for native trees and shrub to improve the environment they live in. (Tree Day n.d.) Toyota has demonstrated its concern and care for the environment by joining this event. Toyota has been supporting Planet Ark and National Tree Day since 11 years ago. (Toyota Motor Corporation Australia Limited n.d.) Ever since Toyota joins this event, its partnership with Planet Ark and National Tree Day are being appreciated and they are working in a collaborative way. All Toyotas dealers, staffs and brand ambassadors are being encouraged to participate and to support this special day. Their supports can be shown by Toyotas contribution of planting almost 15 millions of trees to reduce the effect of global warming. . (Toyota Motor Corporation Australia Limited n.d.) This action is a good example and role model for society as Toyota would influence the society to contribute to National Tree Day as well. As an automobile manufacturer, Toyota is facing challenges and obligations everyday throughout the whole process of a vehicle starting from the development until the disposal stage. In my opinion, it is not easy to be one of the largest companies. For instance, Toyota has to face pressures given by the government, stakeholders and the society to fulfill and to respond towards their needs for a better product and a better environment. It has been a tough and long journey for Toyota to achieve what they have now because throughout its companys history, they have been criticized and many comments have been given which are against their every action. Though they might not be a hundred percent environmental friendly company, they are actually giving a large proportion of contributions in helping the society to achieve a healthier environment. Which automobile company can be a fully hundred percent based environmental friendly company? I doubt there are any companies who can successfully d o so. All in all, every company including Toyota needs to fulfill their responsibilities towards the society and environment in order to have a better life and world. Our future generations are very much depending on their actions which are taken today. BJS. 2003, March 11. U.S. settles Clean Air Act case against Toyota. Web log post. http://scienceblog.com/1196/u-s-settles-clean-air-act-case-against-toyota/ (accessed August 8, 2010) Blackburn, R. 2009. Car maker develops its own flower species. Drive. http://www.drive.com.au/Editorial/ArticleDetail.aspx?ArticleID=66761vf=1 (accessed August 10,2010) Glaister, D. 2006. California sues car firms for global warming. The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2006/sep/21/usnews.travelsenvironmentalimpact (August 10,2010) Hodges, A. 2009. Toyota Prius Battery Harms Environment. NewsOXY. http://www.newsoxy.com/articles/toyota-prius-battery-harms-environment.html (accessed August 8,2010) Merchant, B. 2009. Toyota Engineers New Flower Species to Absorb Emissions at Prius Factories. TreeHugger. http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/10/toyota-engineers-new-flower-species-absorb-emissions-prius.php (accessed August 10,2010) Prius Outdoes Hummer in Environmental Damage. 2007. EV World, n.d. http://www.evworld.com/news.cfm?newsid=14582 (accessed August 7, 2010) Richard, M.G. 2005. Should we be Worried About Hybrid-Car Batteries? TreeHugger. http://www.treehugger.com/files/2005/06/should_we_be_wo_1.php (accessed August 9, 2010) Toyota Europe. n.d. http://www.toyota-europe.com/corporate/environment/360-approach/end-of-the-road.aspx (accessed August 9, 2010) Toyota Motor Corporation. n.d. http://www.toyota.co.jp/en/index.html (accessed August 7, 2010) Toyota Motor Corporation Australia Limited. n.d. http://treeday.toyota.com.au/tree-day-home (accessed August 23, 2010) Tree Day. 2010. http://treeday.planetark.org/about/ (accessed August 23, 2010)

Incidents And Leaders Interaction Within The Movie History Essay

Incidents And Leaders Interaction Within The Movie History Essay This paper analyses the theories and concepts of leadership of key characters in the movie, Invictus. The key characters analysed are President Nelson Mandela and Francois Pienaar, captain of the South African rugby team. Based on a book written by John Carlin, Playing the Enemy: Nelson Mandela and the Game That Changed a Nation, the movie is directed by award-winning director Clint Eastwood. Starring Morgan Freeman as President Nelson Mandela and Matt Damon plays Francois Pienaar, who is the current captain of the Springboks, the South African rugby team, it was released in the United States in mid-December 2009. 2.0 SYNOPSIS OF MOVIE Storyline The story centres around events before and during the 1995 Rugby World Cup, hosted in South Africa shortly after the fall of apartheid with the release of political prisoner Nelson Mandela. Mandela was held in a prison on Robben Island for close to 27 years. As the new elected President, Mandela vowed to unite the South Africa population which is currently divided into two groups: the white people who originated from Europe and came to South African in the seventeeth century known as Afrikaners and the native black population of the country. The movie basically shows President Mandelas attempt to unite both groups in supporting the countrys rugby team, the Springboks (rugby was traditionally a white sport) and steering the team as it made a historic drive towards winning the 1995 Rugby World Cup Championship. Despite all odds and initial resistance, the black natives of South Africa soon began to show interest in the Springboks. As the team wins more and more games, they continue to receive rising support from both the Afrikaners and the black natives. The team achieved unexpected success in the 1995 Rugby World Cup final, defeating the strongest opponent in the tournament, New Zealand, which brought cheer not only to the Afrikaners but also to the black natives all over the country as they celebrated the teams victory. This inevitably began to bridge the divide between the two groups that had been there for centuries due to apartheid. The title Invictus is translated from the Latin as undefeated or unconquered, and is the title of a poem by English poet William Ernest Henley (1849-1903). The ending saw the recitation of verses from the poem: Out of the night that covers me, Black as the pit from pole to pole, I thank whatever gods may be For my unconquerable soul. In the fell clutch of circumstance I have not winced nor cried aloud. Under the bludgeonings of chance my head is bloody, but unbowed. Beyond this place of wrath and tears Looms but the Horror of the shade, And yet the menace of the years Finds and shall find me unafraid. It matters not how strait the gate, How charged with punishments the scroll, I am the master of my fate: I am the captain of my soul. Leaders in the movie There are clearly two distinguished leaders in the movie: President Nelson Mandela despite having to face other pressing issues to build the country in his first term as president, Mandela is committed to his pledge to reunite the people of South Africa. He tries to achieve this through sports, namely rugby in which the country is hosting in the following year. Francois Pienaar, captain of the Springboks (South African Rugby team). Pienaar faces a tough challenge from President Mandela to drive his team to win the 1995 Rugby World Cup Championship, something he never thought possible before. Role of leaders Newly-elected President Nelson Mandela plays a leading role as the person who tries to unite the divided groups of white Afrikaners and the black South African natives with the end of apartheid. He believes that it can be achieved through rugby, which is the number one sport for the white Afrikaners. With his strong belief in the power of the game, Mandela went against the wishes of his own staff and follows his instincts to pursue his target. Mandela calmly leads by example, displaying great leadership skills through his quiet reflective confidence in contemplating decisions, his commitment to achieve whatever he sets out to do and the way he touches other peoples lives and emotions with his personal communication style. Meanwhile, Francois Pienaar admires President Mandelas aspirations to unite the people of South Africa and was inspired by his dedication and perseverance to achieve his goal. Through his leadership and commitment, Pienaar steadily builds his teams confidence and began to win more and more matches, and eventually brought his team to victory against the strongest opponent, New Zealand, in the final match of the 1995 Rugby World Cup. 3.0 LEADERSHIP ASPECTS Incidents within the movie involving the leaders One incident shows a sporting organization where all committee members are black natives, and they agree to pass a motion to change the name, colour and logo of the rugby team to suit a different and blacker South Africa. Currently, the rugby team represents the pride of the Afrikaners and is despised by the black natives as they see it as a symbol of apartheid. However, President Mandela who arrives at the meeting just after the voting process asks the committee members to rethink their decisions in the context of unity for the country and the good of the population. In the end, he manages to gather 13 votes on his side which is enough for him to keep the Springboks. Mandelas style of participative leadership is very admirable. He always encourages those working under him to think differently about surrounding issues.   A good example would be the one concerning his personal security group. Instead of being suspicious about the loyalty and commitment of his white security staff, he directed the security head, a black Soth African native, to work together with their highly experienced counterparts and learn from them. He also treats the white security staff well even though some of them were against him when he was in prison. Days before the final match, Pienaar as captain of the rugby squad claims that the team needs a break. They head to Robben Island with their girlfriends to take their minds off the game. There, Pienaar visited the jail where Mandela was held. Standing inside Mandelas actual jail cell, Pienaar is dismayed to discover how small the cell is and with nothing to sleep on except a thin sheet on the bare ground. Yet the man who was held in this cell for nearly 26 years can easily forgive those who put him in prison, and has great plans to unite the people of the country. Incidents and leaders interaction within the context of the movie President Mandela invites Pienaar to tea for their first meeting. Mandela believes that he can achieve the unity that he planned for through rugby and needed Pienaars assistance to get the support of the Afrikaners. Pienaar was charmed by Mandelas personal style and warmth upon his arrival at the Government House. He also observed that Mandela treated everyone around him with great respect, even the lady who served them tea. During the brief meeting, Mandela skillfully challenges Pienaar to think positively about winning the upcoming Rugby World Cup Championship. He shared his vision on the importance of winning the championship to South Africa to unite the people via a World Cup victory. Pienaar who was impressed with the presidents quiet leadership, personal commitment and motivation to achieve the vision soon began to see the odds of winning the cup as a possibility, thus inspires him to lead this team to train harder that before. Leaders behaviour and characteristics In this movie, Mandela skillfully demonstrates his people-oriented leadership style. For instance, even on his first day in office as the newly-elected President of South Africa, he showed great courtesy to all his staff, blacks and whites, by greeting and smiling at everybody whom he passed by on his way to his suite. This earned him great respect from all staff, especially the white Afrikaners who thought they would be sacked once a black leader assumed office. Mandela also decided to maintain the former white staff and builds an administrative team of both groups. The same also applies to his security staff. In order to lead by example and to achieve the unity he had long planned for, he believes that his team must reflect his vision. 4.0 DESCRIPTION AND DISCUSSION OF LEADERSHIP BEHAVIOUR Leadership behaviour Leadership styles are important to successfully lead teams in organisations. There are various styles of leadership that can be observed and are practised by leaders in todays organisations, but theories mostly centre these two: The first group displays task-oriented behaviours, whereby the leader only manages the daily activities of his subordinates towards accomplishing a task which was predetermined. The second set involves people-oriented behaviour, also known as participative leadership. Leaders in this group normally provide a supportive role by encouraging his subordinates to get involved in decision making on the project that they are working on. This results in a positive work environment which increases productivity of the team as they feel that they are part of the decision making process and thus own the project.   Evidently, both sets of behaviours are important to create a balance in successful leadership. President Mandela excellently displayed both task-oriented and participative leadership styles in his quest to build the nation. He sought the help and participation of Pienaar to transform the image of the Springboks in the eyes of the black natives. Through Pienaars leadership, the team members successfully won the hearts of the black natives and garner their support which steered the team to victory. Change agent capabilities Basically, a change agent is someone who can motivate others around him to produce higher degree of output, to do more and to achieve better things in their lives. Change agents require emotional intelligence to ensure people are totally engaged in a project. People who are highly supportive of the purpose and are highly committed to achieve the objectives of the project will contribute to better productivity and chances of meeting the goals and objectives are maximised. A change agent needs to have high competencies in soft skills, namely excellent people and communication skills, to encourage peoples involvement and minimise resistance. He or she must be able to reach out to the inner values and beliefs of the people involved in the project in order to implement change with the people. Clearly, President Mandela has demonstrated his capabilities in becoming the change agent for South Africas unity and progress. President Mandela demonstrates these managerial traits effectively through leading by example and motivating people through his great respect for others and personal humility. His quietly confident manner and strong commitment in conveying his visions and aspirations also encourage others around him to do amazing things that they never thought they are capable of doing before. Able to support, able to develop new ideas and recognize achievement Despite the hostility shown towards his support for the Springboks, President Mandela stood his ground and diligently and courageously attended the rugby matches. He even made an effort to memorise the names of all the players and greeted them personally by their name before the matches and during practices. In order to promote foreign investment in building South Africas economy with is also laden with issues, Mandela administrative team tries to ensure that President Mandela receives wide press coverage whenever he meets with other world leaders to discuss bilateral relationships. 5.0 IDENTIFICATION AND EXPLANATION OF INCIDENTS Executive summary of the two incidents selected. President Mandela read the new concerning the upheaval in management of the Springboks team after he assumes the new position. He started to devise how to unite the people of South Africa and saw rugby as the vehicle that might work to bridge the divide. He understands that most Afrikaners are afraid of losing their identity when a black leader becomes president of the country and that the Springboks rugby team is traditionally very important to the white population. He then decides to use the Springboks as a means to unite the population and the upcoming Rugby World Cup Championship as the event that will bring them together. Later when Mandela came to know that a sports committee which comprise all black members voted to change the identity of the rugby team by changing the name, logo and colour of the Springboks to reflect a new and blacker South Africa, he personally hurried to attend the meeting and asked the committee members to rethink their decisions and explain the implicati ons that their decisions might bring onto the unity of the South African population. He managed to get a small following of 13 votes on his side; however, the small majority was enough to keep the Springboks intact. He then forges ahead with his plan to unite the black and white population through rugby. Pienaar also does his part to support President Mandelas commitment to unite the people of South Africa and instill pride in his teammates towards aunited country. In his first attempt to get the message across, Pienaar tries to make his team actually sing the South African national anthem by giving them copies of the anthems lyrics. However, his teammates show clear disinterest and merely scrunch up their copies. Later, they are forced by the President to take occasional breaks from rugby and go out into the poorer areas of South Africa and teach rugby to the natives as a way to inculcate interest of the game to the black natives. At first, only Chester who is the teams sole black player is welcomed by the black children but eventually, after many attempts, the whole team is accepted by the rural population. The team then willingly help introduce the sport to a new generation of children and instil national pride, regardless of race. Involvement of the selected leaders within the incident In the first incident, President Mandela takes it upon himself to make sure that the Springboks are able to maintain their name, logo and colours despite disagreement from the black sports committee members. He stood his ground and clearly conveyed the message across that what he did was for the good of the countrys unity. In the second incident, Pienaar tried to change the attitude of the team players towards embracing their national anthem. Even though he was not successful on his first attempt, the fact that he went on to sing the anthem displayed his willingness to lead by example, hoping that the others will follow suit. Making decision within team, group and individual setting A strategic leader has a team of decision makers to help him reach a consensus when making important decisions. This process of decision-making improves the quality of the decisions, especially when developing crucial planning and policies affecting the country. A strategic leader needs a competent team to support his role. Coupled with his knowledge and skills, a strategic leader can lead a team of high performing individuals to create and develop strategic vision and plans utilising available resources and implementing national policies. Due to the complexity of todays world economy and global issues, a strategic leader of a nation requires the assistance of a forward-looking team of executives to forge ahead with his plans to achieve his vision. Charismatic and transformational roles There are very few leaders who are capable of transformational leadership. However, this is not considered unfortunate as a leaders ultimate job is to keep the organization productive and the people engaged. In certain instances, too much transformation can be chaotic and lead nowhere. In this movie, Mandela was one of the few who can be categorized as a successful transformational leader. He was able to encourage people to believe in themselves so that the organisation can achieve greater heights. For instance, in his first meeting with Pienaar, Mandela explains that a leaders job is to get followers to believe that they are capable of doing more than they think possible. This thinking then leads to the rugby teams victory in winning the World Cup Championship. Leaders with these types of behaviours and attitudes tend to draw followers as people are naturally attracted to those who display strength and inspire belief in others. These charismatic qualities enable effective leadership. 6.0 Critically analyze each of the two and more incidents and consider other options the leaders could have considered and made. Participative leadership, delegation and empowerment Participative leadership style, which is known to be the best type of corporate leadership style in organisations today, allows employees to get involved in decision-making process to a certain extent. This democratic style of employee management creates healthy relationship between management and employees as both sides feel that their involvement is sought in the process of achieving the organizations goals and objectives. This leadership technique also promotes the development of future leaders via their participation in determining a common goal for the organization. As involvement of team members are required in decision making, hidden talents can be unearthed and their leadership qualities polished further. In the first incident, President Mandela asserts his decision to let the Springboks keep their identity but at the same time asks the committee members to reconsider their decision. Although he managed to persuade a small minority (13 votes) to agree with him, the number is sufficient and he looks upon it as a small win, not a total defeat. This displays his participative leadership style whereby instead of using his power and influence to change the committees decision, he asked them to rethink their decision and get them to vote again. For the second incident involving Pienaar, as captain of the team he tried to persuade the other members to sing along the national anthem. However, when the team crushed the paper given to them, he did not reprimand them but went on to sing the anthem. He tried to lead by example, hoping that the team would follow suit once they see him doing so. In encouraging the team to work harder towards achieving their goal of winning the World Cup Championship, Pienaar was seen motivating his team members so that they can all work towards one purpose and perform their best in every match. Pienaar also uses participative leadership to inculcate team spirit and camaraderie. Power and influence Power refers to the capacity a person has to influence the decision of another person so that the person acts according to his wishes. The more power a person has, the higher his influence on the whole system is. Meanwhile, influence causes a change in the attitude or behaviour of others and is more of a process which guides the peoples activities towards appropriate directions in meeting management objectives that have been set. As the President of the country, Mandela has both power and influence. However, he skillfully uses his power and influence to generate respect and support from the people. Pienaar also steadily works his way up to gain trust and respect from his fellow teammates. By commanding their trust and respect, he was capable of transforming the perception of the rugby team and instill pride and higher commitment from them. Managerial traits and skills President Mandela and Pienaar both demonstrate high level of management skills and leadership traits which help them gain support from a population which are initially plagued by centuries of racial divide. Mandela inspirational leadership motivates Pienaar to perform better than he ever thought he could. Through Mandelas quiet self-confidence and charisma, Pienaar was overwhelmed and personally look upon him as a great leader. Based on this motivation, Pienaar encouraged his rugby team to work harder and strive for victory. Leading change Mandelas first meeting with Francois Pienaar displays some important leadership lessons. When Piennar was asked by Mandela on his leadership philosophy, he answers that he believes in leading by example. Mandela concurs with him that leading by example is crucial. In response to another question on how Pienaar inspires people, he affirms that people are inspired through the heart and by what they see. Strategic leadership Strategic leadership refers to leaders who successfully influence large groups of people in organisations to act as required based on established organisational structure, allocated resources and communicated objectives and vision. They are generally functional in a highly complex environment which is influenced by external factors beyond their control. Strategic leaders have to digest information quickly and make correct decisions based on whatever is available to them at the point in time. As such, consequences of their decision affect more people in the organisation and tend to commit more resources. Sometimes, the decisions and initiatives can only implicate long-term plans and may take years to prepare and execute. Ethical issues In this movie, President Mandela transforms the perception of the black natives on rugby which has always been a white sport. Traditionally, the black natives despise the Springboks which they perceive as representing apartheid. By changing the values through this game, Mandela fruitfully changed the tradition of the population as all of them showed great unison in supporting the rugby team as they made their way to victory. Another example of good value that is displayed in this movie is when President Mandela took over the office of President. Although the white Afrikaner staff thought that they will be asked to leave their jobs when a black leader becomes president of the country, they are surprised when President Mandela asked them to continue working as usual and keep them as part of his administrative team. Although Mandela was subjected to a lot of grievances during the apartheid era, he shows strength of character when he does not display vindictiveness towards the white population. Yet he is able to forgive them and concentrate on uniting the racial divide. 7.0 CONCLUSION In summary, the movie Invictus is full of great examples of leadership skills and values. President Mandela exhibited excellent leadership and management skills in bringing unity to the country through sports and Pienaar successfully executed his part to garner the nations support to an overwhelming victory. Clearly, participative leadership and empowerment through consensus and general consultation brings better results compared to exertion of power and influence to move a population. The excellent examples depicted throughout the movie indicate the strength of characters of both President Nelson Mandela and Francois Pienaar. Their strengths shone through when presented by challenges upon challenges as they work their way to realising a united South African population. Charismatic leaders with strong commitment and high confidence can transform the impossible into a possibility and create huge success for the organisation. President Mandela displays his charisma as he successfully attracts followers, who initially disagree with his principles, into participating in activities towards achieving his vision. He effectively nurtures their emotions and encourages their hearts to work towards building the unity and accept differences among them as strengths and think positively for a better South Africa.

Regulating Prostitution Essay -- Prostitutes Ethics Morals Sex Essays

Regulating Prostitution Historically, although prostitution has been viewed as a threat to the moral order and a danger to public health, the state has tended to legislate for the regulation of prostitution, rather than introducing measures focussed on its elimination. Even early Christian societies did not seek to eliminate prostitution, with the Church fathers justifying this stance by asserting that "Sewers are necessary to guarantee the wholesomeness of palaces." (quoted by de Beauvoir, 1974, 618). St Augustine was adamant that prostitution should be recognised as a necessary social evil, arguing, Suppress prostitution and capricious lusts will overthrow society. (cited in Roberts, 1992, 61). His stance was predicated on a belief in men’s sexual appetites necessitating access to sexual outlets outside of marriage. In order to prevent them committing adultery and threatening their marriages, society should facilitate men’s access to prostitutes. It follows from St Augustine’s argument that two separate classes of women were required - good, virtuous, sexually faithful wives to service men’s procreative needs within marriage, and prostitutes who would cater to their desires and pleasures outside of marriage. Such thinking views prostitution as a necessary social evil, and reinforces the madonna/whore dichotomy. Given the fact that men’s demand for prostitution services has not abated through the ages, the historic response has been to continue to seek its regulation and control rather than its eradication. For instance, in medieval England and Europe the preferred way of regulating prostitution was to restrict prostitutes to working in certain districts and/or requiring that they dress in particular, identifiable, styles. Thus in Paris, prostitutes were confined to working in brothels in particular areas of the town and were required to wear armbands, dye their hair, "or in other ways distinguish themselves from respectable society matrons" (Bullough and Bullough, 1987, 125). Women who violated such codes of behaviour could find themselves expelled from that district, literally being run out of town. Confining the sex industry to specifically designated areas was also seen as economically advantageous in that it enabled municipal councils to share in the profits (Roberts, 1992, 90). By the 17th century the practice of visiting prostitutes was so wid... ...ciety and an Analysis of the Causes and Effects of the Suppression of Prostitution. London, Souvenir Press. Beyer, G. (1999). Change for the Better. Auckland, Random House. Bishop, C. (1931). Women and Crime. London, Chatto and Windus. Boyle, F. M., M. P. Dunne, et al. (1997). "Psychological distress among female sex workers." Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health 21(6): 643-646. Brock, D. R. (1998). Making Trouble, Making Work: Prostitution as a Social Problem. Toronto, University of Toronto Press. Brockett, L. and A. Murray (1994). Thai sex workers in Sydney. Sex Work and Sex Workers in Australia. R. Perkins, G. Prestage, R. Sharp and F. Lovejoy (editors). Sydney, University of New South Wales Press. Brookes, B. (1993). "A weakness for strong subjects: the women's movement and sexuality." New Zealand Journal of History 27(2): 140-156. Brothels Task Force (2001). Report of the Brothels Task Force. Sydney, New South Wales Government. Brown, A. and D. Barrett (2002). Knowledge of Evil: Child Prostitution and Child Sexual Abuse in Twentieth-Century England. Cullompton, Devon, Willan Publishing. Brown, K. (1994). "Lesbian sex workers." Broadsheet (202): 32-35.