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Importance of Reading

            Most people view reading is an obligation given the standard academic system as well the requisite basic reading skills. In the context of this paper, reading is mentioned in reference to books and associated library materials. However, apart from reading to acquire knowledge considered vital in self-growth and improvement, reading is associated with numerous benefits. Reading can benefit an individual in reducing stress or anxiety since it helps the mind concentrate and relax. Depending on a person’s preference devotional and self-help books provide inner nourishment essential to counter life stresses. Additionally, reading revitalizes the brain in reference to reasoning, remembrance and strengthening an individual’s memory (Jacobs 2007). This makes the individual sharp and quick to understand in normal life an element increasing self-confidence.

Reading requires time and attention thus keeps individuals especially young people from indulging in less productive or risky behaviors. This is coupled by an expanded imagination and extensive knowledge enabling the reader relate as well as appreciate various aspects of life such as geographical regions, cultures even technological advancements. This also means reading can be a good source of entertainment as one learns to express self by reading literary works such as poems, adventures and fictions. Incase of parents and a child, reading provides a good forum to pass knowledge and bond. Moreover, readers are able to learn values important in life and accomplishing one’s goals by reading works by earlier writers as well as historians (Beebe 2007). An additional consequent for the reader is becoming well versed with significant world events both historically and presently. The knowledge obtained by this form of reading increases tolerance and unifies cultures given readers are able to understand other cultures values.

Challenges in Developing a Reading Culture

            Currently, the reading culture has faced enormous challenges as compared to several decades earlier. The convectional challenges to reading were unavailability of reading materials as well as illiteracy however; the problems were alleviated by a great margin. Presently, the reading culture is faced by decreasing interest due to vast options for acquiring information and entertainment (Jacobs 2007). For instance, a teenager is likely to prefer social networking or video games to reading. Sadly, the options preferred to reading are not equally empowering to an individual in reference to knowledge and understanding. In fact, most of the options are distractions to effective knowledge acquisition given the possibility of addiction and enormous consumption of time (Marshall, 33).

The diverse media forms from television to internet have affected print media conventionally used to induce young people with reading enthusiasm. Print media in form of magazines and newspapers was used to evoke reading interest in young readers. However, its demand and production have decreased in the advent of accessible information on the internet and television networks further impeding development of the reading culture. Furthermore, the internet is preferred due to convenience while reading. For instance when reading a book one requires a pen and paper to scribble comments on the other hand internet make response while reading easier since paper\pen is eliminated. Another challenge is psychological where young people associate reading with the academic system involving examinations. The association leads to most youths avoiding the practice unless mandatory given earlier encounters in the academic system where reading was portrayed as a duty with no exterior incentives. Nonetheless, there are under developed regions where reading still faces a challenge due to illiteracy and unavailability of resources.

Role of School and Parents in Developing the Culture

            Parents and educational institutions are close contact with young readers and thus mandated to develop a reading culture in children and youth. The motivation behind reading is closely associated with the purpose of reading. Consequently, parents and teachers should develop the love for reading in young individuals since it extends beyond academic success. The implication is allowing them to read what interests them amidst the required academic reading. Allowing different texts and readings will nurture other purposes for reading ultimately cultivating a love for reading. Parents specifically should advocate reading by providing materials for children as early as possible. While doing this they should consider the children’s interests and fore knowledge since interest and prior knowledge facilitate understanding.

Parents should follow up by informally enquiring concepts learnt by the children while reading since it indicates they value reading. Additionally, oral language is considered a vital component of early reading habits by children. Parents who encourage children to express knowledge learnt while reading through oral language enhance their children’s learning abilities. On the other hand, schools make silent reading programs more frequent as a means of upholding the reading practice. To overcome the psychological association between reading, academic success and examinations, young people should learn how to choose variant and appropriate texts. Students who are able to choose texts appropriate for their level are able to enjoy reading more. Additionally, parents and teachers should make relevant connections between reading and individual aspects such as life goals, hobbies or talents. This is important in motivating young people to read (George 75). Lastly, it is important to note practices instilled in people while of a tender age are easier to maintain into childhood thus parents encourage independent and extensive reading in children to increase the possibility of them reading while adults.

Solutions and Practices fostering Reading Culture in Young People

            Reading should not be perceived as a substitute for technologically enhanced means of entertainment and knowledge acquisition but should be viewed as having a complimentary role. Typically, young people should be encouraged to create time in course of a day dedicated to reading. Additionally, they should be taught other benefits of reading apart from academic success such as relaxation. Provision of diverse and culturally relevant reading material is important in fostering and creating interest in youth towards reading. Integrating reading texts into interests, hobbies and trends fancied by young people can foster reading culture. For instance, social networking sites pooling persons with the practice of reading. Additionally it will create a positive perception towards reading given young people view reading as a convectional habit. Texts culturally and demographically relevant will also aid in eradicating the fore mentioned notion on reading.

Conclusion

            Indeed the reading culture is deteriorating given the emphasis on a paperless society coupled with a preference for visual/images communication. However, reading encompasses irreplaceable benefits such as mental stimulation, memory improvement and passing on of culture. Erosion in the reading culture is traceable to the home where parents are not emphatic and informative on importance as well as diversity available in reading. On the other hand, teachers accentuate reading for academic success purposes leaving out other associated benefits. However, with provision of culturally and individually relevant reading text as well as from tender age, reading culture can be developed once more.

 

 

Work cited:

Beebe, Lauren. The Pioneer. Decline of American Reading Culture: Literature Struggle in Face of Pop Culture.2008. Web. 13 Dec 2011.

George, Diana, and Trimbur John. Reading Culture: Contexts for Critical Reading and Writing. New York: Longman, 2001. Print.

Jacobs, Allan, The American Scene: An On going Review of Politics and Culture. Bad Reading. 2007. Web. 13 Dec 2011.

Marshall, P D. The Celebrity Culture Reader. New York: Routledge, 2006. Print.

                         

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Technology solution

During the 1996 summer Olympic Games in Atlanta, several security vulnerabilities existed and

Contributed to some of the security crisis that followed. First off there was the crash of the TWA flight 800 just two days before the Olympics. This was security vulnerability because the event had one hundred and ninety seven countries participating from the world and the participants were using planes to travel to Atlanta from their respective countries. In addition, some of the fans from all over the globe who were set to attend the games were also likely to travel through planes. This posed a risk to their well-being when traveling especially since there were rumors that the plane had either been hit with a missile or bombed by terrorist. Due to this accident, new strict security measures were put in place and no other plane crash was reported during the Olympic Games.

The other security vulnerability during the Olympic Games was communication. When the security guard Richard Jewell noticed an attended bag, he alerted the officers who delayed in relaying the information to the right personnel. They started evacuating the immediate areas after several minutes but the bomb exploded before the bomb squad would arrive at the scene. This communication delay resulted in the bomb detonating, killing one person and injuring hundreds before the bomb squad arrived.

The other vulnerability was the influence of the local politician that made the Olympic planners set aside one site that did not require tickets and much screening procedures on entry. This reduced the chance of detecting any bomb or ammunition that the people had on them. It increased the risk of any security catastrophe because any one was eligible to enter and exit the centennial Olympic park that was the free site set aside. In addition, the park was open late into the night, which increased the risk since during the night a person would easily be disguisable and easier to strategically station a bomb. This vulnerability resulted to a person placing a bag with a bomb inside it at the centennial Olympic park and leaving it there without being detected and discovered until much later.

The closed circuit televisions (CCTV’s) are the most common security technology that is utilized. Advanced use of the CCTV technology includes smart video surveillance, which alerts the relevant authority of any suspicious activities and abandoned packages (Syed, & Baiocchi, 2001). In addition, the combination of this technology with radiation detection and threat sensors allow visual tracking of any source of radiological threat. This technology would have addressed the security vulnerability of the bomb left behind to detonate by detecting the abandoned bag and the culprit who left it.

The RFID technology, which is under the U.S visit program, requires countries to produce an ‘e-passport’ that contains an RFID chip that can store biographic information, a digital photo and other biometrics details. This technology allows faster and more secure identification of any suspicious activity and enhances more efficient border and port travel for visitors in the U.S. it also increases the  chances of sharing information among the various domestic and foreign agencies.

Sensor networks, which include metal detectors, bar code readers, X-ray scanning technology and explosives detection canines are some of the methods employed in detecting any explosives, fake passports, and any ammunition a person has under their clothes or inside their luggage (Balog, 2002). It is used in malls, airports, stadiums; transport services and many other places .This technology would have been used in detecting the bomb inside the bag when the person who brought it was entering the centennial Olympic park. In addition, the canines would have detected the bomb if they were patrolling inside the park for more security purposes.

Satellite imagery is a technology that consist aerial photograph of the earth or any other planet, which are made by artificial satellite placed in outer spaces. The satellite is placed in a circular sun-synchronous polar orbit at an altitude of 510 km, in order to give high-resolution satellite for fast maneuvering between target images. This enables high performances of this technology, which is the reason it is used for intelligence purposes. This technology would have been employed during the 1996 Olympic Games, to clarify the rumors that the TWA flight 800 did not crash because of missile attack or bomb explosion

Bio detection is a technology that uses biological weapon sensors to monitor the air continuously for any biological aerosols. They use filters to collect any organism in the air that may contain germs for mass wipeout and diseases like anthrax, plague and smallpox. Then the filters are collected every day and taken to the lab for analysis. This technology is employed throughout thirty states to counter biological attack by any terrorist or country against the United States.

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV’s) are remotely piloted or self-piloted aircraft that carry sensors, cameras or any communication equipment. They are used for intelligence purposes in collecting and gathering intelligence from the enemy or for security management. In addition, they are capable of providing attacks in high-risk missions and target a ground and aerial gunnery that stimulates the enemy aircraft or missile.

All this technologies would have greatly reduced the security vulnerabilities experienced during the 1996 summer Olympic Games if they were in existence then. Although a few were in use, they did not have the level of technology that they have today. The RFID would have been used to detect any terrorist or fugitive trying to enter or exit the country. The UAV’s would have intelligently picked any suspicious plane in the sky that posed the threat to other planes.

References

International Conference on Intelligent Multimedia and Distance Education, Syed, M. R., & Baiocchi, O. R. (2001). Intelligent multimedia, computing and communications: Technologies and applications of the future.New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons.

Balog, J. N., United States., Transit Cooperative Research Program., Transit Development Corporation., & National Research Council (U.S.). (2002). Public transportation security. Washington, D.C: NationalAcademy Press.

 

 

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Social media and controversial issues

Technology has greatly changed the world of communication. In the past, it would take days to communicate with somebody from another location. This did not enhance real time communication. Additionally, in the past the people were too resistant to accept the new technology. That is why technology never evolved in the past. Recently, real time communication has been enhanced where people can easily communicate with one another as if they are face to face and yet they are in different locations. This has made the discussion of certain issues that are affecting the world easier. Therefore, communication has turned to become global. All this has been made easier by social media and blogging (Huff post Politics 2011). This social media include face book twitter and other cites that are currently being used for communication. Therefore, social media and blogging allows for real time discussion of controversial issues.

One of the main reasons real time discussion is possible is because social media draws more attention than traditional media. Traditional media is becoming obsolete as the days are passing by. One of the main reasons is that it is cheap and time saving. The traditional methods are very costly and people do not like using them because people do not get updated information. People do not like late news, they like updated information that they can easily access. In addition, people do not like to pay too much money for news. This is because want to use the cheapest and the easiest. Moreover, today’s media has instant response or feedback to comments and question. For example, in face book, one can comment and ask a question relating to the topic being discussed but in newspapers, it is extremely difficult to ask a question or comment.

The increase of new social applications such as You Tube, Facebook, Blogger and Twitter has increased rapidly over the recent years. One of the reasons is because there is instant feedback. All of these applications users are able to communicate instantly to each other as if they are communicating face to face with each other (Parr 2011). The second reason is that these applications are user friendly as compared to the traditional methods. One can be able to play games on the application, listen to music. In addition, almost everybody can access these sites as compared to the past where the traditional media applications were not easily accessible. Another reason for the usage of these applications is that they are cheap. When compared to the other traditional media applications, they are cheaper to use and by far much faster. Thus, their popularity has increased rapidly. These applications make it fun for the users to discuss controversial issues on the applications.

The young generations were the early adopters of this social media. The young generation is being referred to as the dot com generation. This is because the generation was born when the technology was being created. When the technology was created, the young generations were interested in using it. Additionally, the young generation did not like the use of traditional methods because they were difficult to use and yet there were other easy methods in the making. On the other hand, the older generation was extremely resistant to change to the new social media. This is because they did not know how it worked and they thought that it was childish. In addition, the older generation was not literate when it came to the use of technology. For this reason, the younger generation became the early adopters of these new technologies. However, there are other reasons as to why the young generation is the early adopters of these technologies.

Another reason as to why the young generations are the early adopters of this technology is that it was initially created for them. The creators of this technology like Facebook created it for social media for the young generation. For instance, the creators of Facebook created it for the purposes of communicating with friends in the university. It went on to grow and become one of the biggest social media applications in the world. This proves that the new social media were for the young generation thus they became the early adopters of the technology.

Majority of businesses in this world are targeting the young generation since they have become the consumer target for most of the company. For instance, the mobile companies are making phones that have all these applications so that they can fit the young generation. This shows that these applications were created for the purposes of attracting the youth since they are known for using these applications (Carr 2011). This has resulted to politicians and other people posting controversial issues so that they require instant feedback on. Additionally, they have the opportunity to reach out to many people since the youth are the majority. Based on this evidence, the youth are the early adopters of these new social applications.

The online community has been giving much attention to these issues like the traditional news. There are so many reasons that have led to this situation. The first is that the majority of the people use these applications as compared to the old or traditional methods.  According to the statistics, the youth are the majority in population all over the world. Therefore, the news media uses these applications to transmit the news so they will reach a wide range of people. Another reason is that there is instant feedback. The news media use the online methods because they know that they will get instant feedback as compared to the other traditional methods. For instance, if they used the newspapers, obviously it will take long before they get feedback from the readers since they have to send letters to the newsprint. On the other hand, if the news media posted something on twitter most likely they will get instant feedback from the readers.

Another reason is that it is cheaper as and faster as compared to the other traditional methods. This saves money and time since they are the most valuable commodities when it comes to the communication of news. For instance, the printing of newspapers and transporting them to the different readers usually costs a lot of money and time. On the other hand, instant feedback will not take time. However, if the use Facebook or twitter will only require one person to post this issue to the different applications, it will take seconds before the desired readers get to read the issue on the application (Journalism.org 2011). Once the reader reads the issue, he or she can post his or her comments within seconds. In this case, the news media will have more than a hundred comments or feedbacks in less than a minute. This shows that the online applications are cheaper and faster than the traditional methods.

In America today most people, are using the online applications as the primary to find out about news or to respond to the news. This has been because of many reasons. The first one being the speed information takes to travel on online applications as compared to the other traditional sources. For instance, when something happens or any news in America is posted first in the news before it reaches the news media. By the time the traditional methods are being used the news will have already been seen and updated. It is because of this reason; the Americans have resulted into checking the online application methods as there primary sources (Rosenberg, 2011). The other reason is that almost everybody in America has the facilities to access online applications all the times. This makes it even faster because nobody has to move any since he or she can access the online anywhere he or she is and at anytime. Lastly, this method is cheaper as compared to the other methods that are extremely expensive.

Topics on the online applications are more opinionated as compared to the traditional methods. When somebody or the news media post something on the online application they expect people to post comments giving their own opinions on what they think about a certain controversial issue. When this is, compared to the traditional methods, the traditional methods only offer news that are facts and that have happened. In this type of news, it is extremely hard in commenting on the issue. Additionally, it is extremely difficult to offer an opinion since it will take a lot of time and money before the feedback reach out to the desired reader (Parker 2011). Therefore, the online applications news is opinioned because it is easy to make a speculation and get instant feedback on an issue that has not yet happened. Moreover, due to instant feedback it is easy to get as many feedbacks as possible within a short period. It is because of these reasons; the news on the online sources is opinioned as compared to the traditional methods (Political Jack 2011).

Social media has made the internet a new space in which to have real conversations and develop ideas. This is because people are able to communicate instantly and give feedback to each other within seconds. On the other hand, a person can be able to send an idea to people and comment on this. This idea will result to other new ideas within the shortest time possible. Additionally, many business are performing businesses are developing ideas from the internet since they are getting instant feedback from their customers. This has resulted to the companies prospering. Another good example of real conversation that has been enhanced by the internet is when family members are communicating with each other and yet they are in different locations. This is where one may be in New York while the other may be in Texas. They can easily have a conversation in the internet with one another.

 

Works Cited

Carr, Austin. Barry Diller, IAC Launch Proust, A social Network For Nostalgic Seniors. Fast Company. July 19, 2011. Web. December 9, 2011.

Huff post Politics. Factually Wrong Morally Wrong. Huff post Politics. December 9, 2011. Web. December 9, 2011.

Journalism.org. Twitter and the Campaign. Journalism.org. December 9, 2011. Web. December 9, 2011.

Parker, Alice. Romeny Campaign Looks to Draw Contrasts with Gingrich. New York Times. December 8, 2011. Web. December 9, 2011.

Parr, Ben. Can Google Sustain Growth Beyond Early Adopters. Mashable Social Media. July !5, 2011. Web. December 9, 2011.

Political Jack. December 9, 2011. Web. December 9, 2011.

Rosenberg, Tina. Keeping the Water Flowing In Rural Areas. New York Times. December 8, 2011. Web. December 9, 2011.

 

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Cynics

            The word cynic originated from a Greek term during the ancient period that was used in referring to a dog. Cynics were referred to as dogs because the place in which they were educated was known as Cynosarges, was a name given for a place of white dogs. However, people associated cynics with dogs as a way of insulting them for disapproving conservative behaviors and hence their choice to stay in the street. However, the cynics used this term to their advantage because they viewed it as a way of being differentiated from other people based on their unique lifestyle.

As a normal individual would wear shoes and live in a normal house, cynics would appear barefoot, sleep on the roads and perform private operations including sexual intercourse in public. This is the reason why they were compared to dogs since such animals perform those same functionalities without feeling any shame. A cynic can be described as an associate of a particular movement created by long-established philosophers in Greece, who trusted quality value to be no more than accomplishing good and self-control.

This was believed to be the only way in succeeding when obtaining high quality. Although the basic significance of the Cynics is principled, they consider the ethical concept more as a way of life instead of a principle that requires explanation. The philosophers of Cynicism believed that the aspirations for accumulation of riches, power and fame should be avoided. This is because they considered living a simpler life more important and fulfilling. In addition, they considered everyone as a part of the universe and hence assumed that anguish was caused by false evaluation of what was significant from what was of less value.

However, the colorfulness witnessed in the cynic life carries definite challenges. For example, the Cynic’s achievement that appears as a theoretical and fictional character obscures the arguments held by people from the historical period. The challenge is caused by being deficient in significant sources. The quote, “We must inquire into whate’er of good or ill within our halls is wrought” (103) explains how the early philosophers, including Ariston of Chios, wanted to get rid of theoretical disciplines in rationale and physics in order to focus their attention to moral values. Philosophers who believe in cynicism bestowed the usual disciplines of instruction. For example, the philosopher known as Antisthenes stated that people who attempted to study a subject such as literature would become perverted because of extraterrestrial influences. As a result, they decided to get rid of theoretical concepts in geometry and music.

The philosophers of cynicism also believed that people are meant to live carefully through feeding on food only for nourishment purposes and wear one garment. For example, in most of their events, most followers of Cynicism followed a vegetarian diet and drank pure water. This explains the statement of the follower known as Diogenes, where he says that the gods were advantaged because they only had little requirements. Followers of cynicism also believe that virtue can be educated to other people.

In this case, the philosopher named Antisthenes claimed that once the value of virtue was learned by a person, it would be impossible for it to get lost. He also stated that an intelligent person deserved to be loved and considered faultless. In addition, Antisthenes warned that people should never put their loyalty and trust in the name of wealth. Therefore, the midway between good value and vice was viewed as being particularly different.

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Middle East and International Relations

Introduction

The Middle East stands out as one of the most volatile region in the context of global politics due to increasing levels of political instability, lack of democracy and uneven economic development. The state of its international religion is worsened by the fact that the region is famously known for hosting terrorist organizations and is a hub for terrorist activities, some of which are even sponsored by the state. Despite this state, the Middle East region has a major role to play in the global economy with regard to the supply of oil. This makes it a potential interest in the studies of international relations. Some of the sources of the regional conflicts include the Arab-Israeli conflicts, the continuing struggle for Palestine to attain statehood and peace process that us being undertaken in the region. The potential effects associated with Islamic revivalism in the Middle East region cannot be ignored when assessing the future of international relations issues in the region. In the light of this view, the objectives of this paper is threefold: to determine the moist dominant theme in the study of Middle East today and in the future, determine whether the Middle East will continue to be a United States foreign policy agenda and whether the European Union will compete against the role of the US in the region; and the reasons to fear or welcome the Middle East future.

The most dominant the in the study of Middle East today and in the future

            One of the most likely dominant themes in the study of Middle East at present and the future is with regard to Islamic revivalism, which is an instance of a defensive social and political movement that has the main objective of resisting western influence, foreign manipulation and domestic disquiet. Islamic revival started during the 1970s as an attempt to revive the Islamic religion within the Islamic world. Despite the fact that this manifestations are widely evident, the Islamic revival is not considered a monolithic movement and cannot be reduced to militant fundamentalism that aims to capture the interest of the media. It is notable that most of the global historical powers such as Japanese, Chinese and Europeans have had successful attempts in regaining their global influence; this is not the case for Muslims. Therefore, Muslims from the Middle East region are aiming at regaining their global influence through ensuring that their culture and identity is preserved and that the Muslim states do not succumb to the western hegemony. The underlying motivations for Islamic revivalism and their potential outcomes have played an integral role in shaping the current and the future trends in Middle East international relations. In fact, there is increasing tension in region that exists between nationalism and religion. In the Islamic world, there is underlying dissatisfaction associated with the offerings of the materialistic society that is mostly consumer oriented, and the increasing failures of the countries governments to provide their citizens with more than just a combination of technological fixes that results to the inefficiency of the socio-economic and political institutions in the region.

The issue of Islamic revivalism is not considered an enemy to the west. In fact, it does not wholly comprise of a religious movement or nor does it serve to instill some fear and attain expansion. The Islamic revivalism is aiming at the restoration of an old civilization and not the creation of a new empire. The significant issue when it comes to Islamic revivalism is its comparative perspective, something that is mainly attributed to the differences in the global religious revivalism that has the capability of critiquing the liberal democratic frameworks. As a result, it creates diverse tendencies and perspectives of Islamic revivalism and their different goals and objectives. The core issue in relation to Islamic revivalism is that the fact that the movement is powerful and multifaceted and has an effect on the daily lives of the Muslims in the Middle East. There is a significant diversity within the numerous Islamic groups, which serves to indicate the local, national and economic goals of the movement. It can be argued that extremism and terrorism were born out of the aspect of Islamic revivalism. This is mainly due to the widely accepted view that terrorists perceive the United States as a potential threat to the cultural values and identity of the Islamic religion, and they view it as it was their holy mission to protect their religion and undertake whatever steps that are necessary including terrorism to ensure that Islam as a religion is not corrupted under the influence of terrorism. In the light of this view, it is arguably evident that cases associated with attacks on Islamic states and foreign manipulation is an undermining of the religion and the political ideologies that the religion embraces. The Middle East has been in the forefront of Islamic revivalism and this is attempts to explain their constant conflicts with the United States, who are perceived as the advocates of westernization.

Whether the Middle East will continue to be a foreign policy agenda

The United States foreign policy agenda in the Middle East is something that is bound to continue. For instance, Iraq is increasing assuming the attention of the United States under the various administrations. The Middle East policy agenda clearly states that provided violence and instability will be prevalent in Iraq; the United States will deploy a proactive democracy agenda. The basic argument is that the current happenings and future events will dictate the trends of the foreign policy agenda of the United States in the Middle East. The continuity of the foreign policy agenda in the Middle East is mainly due to increasing cases of violence witnessed at Gaza and West Bank, renewed political instability in Lebanon, regional instability and the increasing regional influence of Iraq. From the United States perspective, it is embarking to pursue a policy that will result to a breakthrough on most of the outstanding issues facing the Middle East. Some of the Middle East states are of a different opinion and cite that foreign influence of the United States is an intervention to the normal running of the domestic affairs. These divergent views will be cyclic provided the Islamic fundamentalism maintains its stand against the western influence within the domestic political and socio-cultural sphere.

The European Union also places its strategic importance in the resolution of the Arab Israeli conflict and states that this is needed for addressing the issues that are facing the Middle East. The EU foreign policy objective is two-fold: to establish a Palestinian state that is democratic and independent and its peace establishment with Israel. This goal is convergent with the goals of the United States in the peace building efforts aimed at solving the conflict between the Arabs and Israeli. The EU is of the opinion that peace in the Middle East needs a widespread regional solution and supports the peace talks aimed at establishing peace between Israel and Syria and Lebanon. Despite the fact that peace in the Middle East is a priority for the Middle East, it distances itself with intervention strategies adapted by the United States.

Reasons to fear or welcome the Middle East in Future

The stability of the Middle East is paramount, owing to the fact that it has a massive geo-political and economic influence, especially with regard to the supply of oil; which is a core requirement in driving the global economy. In addition, stability in the United States implies that the allies of the region will have a more inclined policy towards the United States. This is one of the potential reasons to welcome the Middle East. However, the significant fear is the manner in which the United States regulates its foreign policy and influence in the region. The United States may have good intentions, but Islamic states may be of a different viewpoint that the US is meddling and interfering with the operations of independent Islamic states. This divergent policy serves as a motivation for terrorist activities. Another area of concern is whether a stable Middle East will be devoid of uneven socio-cultural and economic development. Therefore, it is important for the United States to adopt a foreign policy agenda that is more inclined towards supporting the peace establishment process instead of adopting an imposed policy.

  

Works Cited

Jack, Covarrubias and Lansford Tom. Strategic interests in the Middle East: opposition and           support for US foreign policy. New York: Ash Gate Publishing, 2008.

 

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Public administration

Introduction

Non-profit organizations are established with the primary objective of offering service to the public for a mutual benefit instead of accumulating the profits for the owners of the organization (Stephan, 2011). The effectiveness of a non-profit organization is determined by the capability and the capacity of the organization to achieve its goals and objectives. The concept of organizational effectiveness is a core requirement especially for the case of non-profit teams due to the fact that the individuals who donate their funds for such teams have a keen interest in ascertaining whether the non-profit team is effective in achieving its established goals and objectives. Richard et al (2009) is the opinion that the concept of team/organizational effectiveness serves to reflect the internal organizational performance, which is closely related to efficient internal operations. In addition, the competency in terms of communication and ethics can be used as criteria for ascertaining the effectiveness of a non-profit team since it makes significant contributions towards the achievement of the organizational goals and objective. Ethics forms the basis of organizational effectiveness; which is a core requirement for non-profit organizations due to the fact that they are supposed to uphold the integrity and honesty in their organizational operations. Basing on this view, one of the most effective non-profit organizations is the W.K. Kellogg Foundation- www.wkkf.org/ (W.K. Kellogg Foundation, 2011).

Overview of the W.K Kellogg Foundation

The W.K. Kellogg Foundation was established during 1930 by the Will Keith Kellogg of breakfast cereal under the Kellogg Company. The vision of the W.K. Kellogg Foundation states that it envisions a nation that aims at marshalling its resources towards assuring that every child has a future that us equitable and promising, which will ensure the establishment of a nation that has all the children thriving. The mission of the W.K. Kellogg Foundation is to support the children families and communities in their objectives of strengthening and creating conditions that helps children who are vulnerable to success as individuals who can in turn be significant contributors to the community and the larger society. The mission and vision of W.K Kellogg Foundation draws upon its values, which includes believing in helping individuals to help themselves through the feasible use of knowledge and resources in order to enhance their quality of life and that of coming generations; believing that all individuals have the innate capacity and capability to embrace change in their individual lives, their communities and organizations, as such, the foundation respects the values and collective interests of individuals, their strengths and cultures (W.K. Kellogg Foundation, 2011). In addition, the team believes that innovation of though and action results to positive change among the formal and informal organizational set ups. The foundation also places significant value on the integrity associated with purpose and actions and holds the belief that it is vital to the affairs of every individual. The W.K. Kellogg Foundation was initially established with the primary purpose of administering the funds that are to be used to promote welfare, health and education of children and youth. As a guiding principle of the team, the original founder stated that the team can use the funds in any manner provided that it is spent in a way that it serves to promote health, happiness and the overall well-being of the children.

The W.K. Kellogg Foundation mainly receives its funding from the W.K Kellogg Foundation Trust that was established by Mr. Kellogg. Apart from its diversified portfolio, the trust has been allocated a substantial equity within the Kellogg Company. Despite the fact that the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and Kellogg Company have has a long stable relationship, the foundation team uses its own board of trustees that operate independently. The income for the foundation is accrued mainly from the investments initiated under the trust. Over time, the programs undertaken by the foundation have been subject to change, while ensuring that they are ground-breaking and quick to respond to the changing requirements by the society. At present, the W.K Kellogg Foundation is ranked among one of the largest private foundations in the globe that has been involved in awarding grants in the US, Caribbean, Latin America and Southern Africa (W.K. Kellogg Foundation, 2011).

The Grant-makers for effective organizations is of the opinion that the effectiveness of the non-profit organizations is their ability and capacity of the team to accomplish its mission using an integrated approach that entails effective management, strong governance and constant commitment towards the achievement of results. Just like any other organization, non-profit organizations are characterized by being dynamic due to the fact that their organizational capacity is constantly evolving and multifaceted. In the light of this view, the mission, vision and strategy of the W.K Kellogg Foundation are the core driving forces that play an integral role in the establishment of its purpose and direction. The main reasons for its existence draw upon program delivery and optimal impact. This implies that strategic relationships, effective resource development and efficient execution of internal operations and management are core mechanisms that guarantee the effectiveness of the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. All these have played an integral role in ensuring its health and performance. An attribute that contributes towards the organizational effectiveness of the W.K. Kellogg Foundation is its persistent strives towards the improvement of its performance, which is embodied under its values. Since there are no financial bottom lines that can be used for performance appraisal of non-profit organizations, effective capacity building is the only option that can be used in assessing the performance of an organization. The multifaceted nature of its organizational strategies is evident due to the fact that W.K Kellogg focuses on education and health of children, security of families, advocating for racial equity and civic engagement. The foundation also engages in partnership with other likeminded organizations in order to accomplish its mission and vision, which further contributes towards its organizational effectiveness (W.K. Kellogg Foundation, 2011).

It is arguably evident that W.K. Kellogg Foundation is effective by all the standards that can be used to measure the effectiveness of non-profit organizations. The proxy measures are mostly used in determining its effectiveness. This draws upon the number of people that the team serves, and the types and the sizes of the population segments that the team serves, and the foundation supplies in order to meet the demands of the population segments. For instance, as a guiding principle, the foundation team allocates approximately 80 percent of its annual funding to the United States, the foundation uses half of the domestic grants to the states of New Mexico, Mississippi and Michigan, which are considered as priority states that have the greatest need whereby the local knowledge can be used in the achievement of the greatest impacts. The remaining funds are usually allocated on a national basis that are distributed among the urban, suburban and the rural communities. This is an effective strategy that the team uses to achieve its goals and objectives. The values and organizational ethics are also used for measuring the effectiveness of the W.K Kellogg Foundation; this is due to the fact that the team’s expenditures are aligned towards ensuring the wellbeing of the child and safeguarding their interests. The organizational values serve as the guiding principles through which the team undertakes their strategies. Its effectiveness can also be ascertained due to the fact that the foundation ranks seventh as the largest philanthropic foundation in the United States. During 2005, the W.K Kellogg Foundation had assets totaling to USD 7.3 billion. The foundation has engaged in numerous projects since its establishment through its involvement in programs associated with early childhood and education. Examples include the Birth to Five Policy Alliance and Cal Poly Pomona in California, which have been successful in the course of their implementation.

Effective funds appropriation and spending are some of the core attributes that enhances the organizational effectiveness of the W.K Kellogg Foundation. Funds are appropriated in accordance with the needs and not availability. In addition, they must be spent in a manner that facilitates the achievement of the team’s goals and objective. This is a core requirement that ensures the continued existence and success of the team since its establishment during 1930.

The society usually depends on the non-profit organizations for offering critical services, advocating for public policy and stimulating innovation; as such, the leaders in the non-profit segment usually share universal concerns that are aligned towards making effective use of the limited resources during the period of increasing need; increasing accountability for the organization to its donors and regulators and staying on course in order to ensure that the goals and objectives are achieved in the ever increasing dynamic world. Basing on this view, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation is relying on its organizational effectiveness to address such like concerns. The basic argument is that enhancing organizational capacity building plays an integral role in leveraging the impacts of the philanthropic resources at their disposal. The W.K Kellogg Foundation is embarking on efforts aimed at strengthening its organizational management and governance through the use of leadership development, evaluation strategies, effective program design and strategic planning and management. This has helped the W.K Kellogg Foundation realized relatively greater impacts from their programs.

Reasons for the effectiveness of the W.K. Kellogg Foundation

Organizational effectiveness can be used to mean the degree to which the non-profit team has achieved its established goals and objectives and its corresponding performance during the process of striving to achieve the goals. Ascertaining the organizational effectiveness for non-profit organizations usually draws upon the size, the scope of operations and the diversity of its services. There is minimal research and consensus regarding the practices that are required to achieve effectiveness at the organizational level. Researchers are of the opinion that the goals and mission for the non-profit organizations are usually different from the goals and objective of profit-oriented organizations. There are a number of theories that can be deployed in order to ascertain the organizational effectiveness. The goals approach is the simplest platform for measuring the effectiveness of an organization and is based on the view that all organizations have established goals and objectives, which can be used as criteria for determining the effectiveness of organizations. The limitation of this approach is that goals usually lack specificity and prioritization. Basing on the goals approach, it is arguably evident that the W.K Kellogg foundation has been successful in the achievement of its established goals and objectives. Since its establishment, the W.K Kellogg Foundation has been constantly involved in programs and issuance of grants to facilitate early childhood and education, which are in line with its goals of ensuring that each child has an opportunity to make his/her future better.

Another criteria that can be used to ascertain the effectiveness of a non-profit organization is through the use of System Resource Approach, which argues that the effectiveness of an organization is based on its ability to exploit its environment to its advantage so that it can result to the organization gaining access to resources that can be used in the accomplishment of its goals and objectives. For the case of profit-oriented organizations, financial appraisals and performances are used in ascertaining their effectiveness. For the case of non-profit organizations, financial performance is of more significance for the case of the top management. With regard to these criteria for organizational performance, the W.K Kellogg Foundation makes use of its equity in the Kellogg Company as a main source of its funding. In addition, its independent board of trustees makes significant contributions towards its decision-making and course of internal operations adopted by the organization.

Another method that can be used to assess the organizational effectiveness of the W.K Kellogg Foundation is the use of Multiple Constituency Approach, which is also similar to the reputational approach. This method is a modification of the goals approach that takes into consideration the diverse stakeholders that are found within the non-profit organization. Examples of stakeholders for the non-profit organization can include the employees, grantees the sponsor, its board of directors and the accreditation authorities. Under this approach, each of the stakeholders within the non-profit organization makes use of different criteria to assess the effectiveness of the organization. The outcome of this approach is that the measure used for ascertaining the effectiveness of the organization is multi-tiered and relatively complex. Deploying this approach to ascertain the effectiveness of W.K Kellogg Foundation requires an analysis of the performance evaluation from all the involved stakeholders. This implies that there is need to assess the effectiveness of its organizational structure, the team characteristics and activities and its role structures, norms, cohesiveness and conflict management. Using this framework, it requires an analysis of the relationship that exists between the vision of W.K Kellogg Foundation and its scope of impact and the performance expectations. An effective organization creates a largest amount of change within the society whilst ensuring that its internal operations are effective enough to facilitate the achievement of the greatest impacts of its program on the society. Organizational effectiveness can also be ascertained after an analysis of the relationship that exists between the strategy and the ownership and responsibility and its markets. Ownership and responsibility denotes the entity that the nonprofit organization is responsible to while the markets denote the people that the organization has an impact on. The strategy usually denotes the decisions that are undertaken after an assessment of the available alternatives. In addition, the relationship that exists between the means that are used for acquiring money, how the revenue drives the organizations and the incentives that motivate the employees are vital in assessing the effectiveness of a non-profit organization. Applying this framework in the context of the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, the generation of the funds is considered as the means while the attainment of the social change is viewed as the result.

The effectiveness of the W.K Kellogg also draws on the aspect of decentralized management, which is viewed as an instance of collaborative management that is deployed within the organization to facilitate the management of day-to-day operations, change management, management of crisis and innovation. Decentralized management is facilitated by the fact that the different functional units of the organization exercise autonomy during decision-making, provided that that they meet the criteria that are needed to facilitates the achievement of the goals and objectives of the larger organization. The involvement of staff in change management and innovation makes significant contribution towards the effectiveness of the W.K Kellogg Foundation. The effectiveness of the management structure of the foundation is enhanced by the aspect of formalization, which is viewed as the formal rules that have been documented and are used as a critical part of the evaluation process and guidelines for decision making. The worker autonomy is also an important organizational attribute that can be used to ascertain the effectiveness of W.K Kellogg Foundation. Worker autonomy is characterized by the freedom that has been allocated to the board of directors and the supervisors when overseeing the execution of their programs and monitoring the use of the organizational resources. Worker autonomy is reinforced by the fact that the board of trustees and directors of the foundation are independent. This is usually helpful in the organization due to the fact that the employees are constantly seeking personal development and are involved in risk-taking opportunities. Another organizational attribute that can be used in ascertaining the effectiveness of the W.K Kellogg Foundation is coordination, which is viewed as the degree of teamwork that is needed to ensure effective planning and implementation of the strategic plans. Within the W.K Kellogg Foundations, the relationship between the employees is characterized by team coordination, whereby the board of directors and the staff participate collaboratively and operate as a team in order to enhance its organizational effectiveness. Another attribute of the W.K Kellogg Foundation that can be used to ascertain its effectiveness is organizational control, which refers to the degree to which power supersedes the program implementation, planning and monitoring of resource utilization. The nature of organizational control within the foundation is characterized as ‘loose’ control characterized by high levels of employee performance and professionalism. This has enhanced the effectiveness of the organization in speedy adaptation to the changing and diverse demands imposed by the population that the organization impacts. Empowerment is also an important attribute of the W.K Kellogg Foundation that increases its effectiveness. Empowerment within the organizational context entails distributing authority and power to the various interest groups; this is of significance in the foundation due to the fact that it comprise of a highly professional staff. It is important to take into consideration the fact that the board of directors has the responsibility of evaluating the effectiveness of the non-profit organization. The Board of Directors and the management have consented on critical indicators to be used in assessing its effectiveness. The indicators are based on the organizational mission, vision, values and the strategic priorities, whilst ensuring that they take into account the needs of the larger community, other comparable organizations environment that the organization operates.

Using a comparative approach to determine the organizational effectiveness of W.K Kellogg, its performance has been incremental since its establishment and that it ranks among the most top performing philanthropic foundations in the world in terms of its asset base, impacts of its programs and the scope of its operations. The governing board for the foundation also makes significant contribution towards its effectiveness. The basic argument is that there is a positive relationship between the effectiveness of the board and the entire organizational effectiveness. This is due to the fact that W.K Kellogg foundation makes use of correct management practices in terms of the contributions associated with the strategic planning processes. Best management practices and strategic planning processes enhance the responsiveness of the organization, which in turn makes significant contributions towards increasing the effectiveness of the organization. The extremely responsive nature of the W.K Kellogg Foundation can be used as an effective indicator of its organizational effectiveness. Network effectiveness is also an important organizational attribute that can be deployed to conclude that the W.K Kellogg Foundation is effective. This is due to the fact that non-profit organizations usually function as an integral element of the networks of service delivery. This is evident in the diversification of the activities of the foundation and the geographical distribution of its service delivery to its target populations.

Lessons for a manager learn from the characteristics and activities of the foundation and how they might contribute to this team’s success if adopted in a business setting

The significance of effective management practises is one of the lessons that managers can apply in the business context. Effective management is primarily concerned with ensuring that the execution of business operations of an organisation is in an efficient manner, using minimal resources in order to facilitate the realisation of business requirement. Typically, it is an example of a management strategy that aims at the conversion of the business resources into profitable outputs with the aim of customer satisfaction. The effective operations manager plays an integral role in ensuring the success of the organization. This poses the need for operations manager to have quality leadership attributes that are needed for effective functioning of the organization and profitability.

Motivation is a significant requirement for effective leadership within the current organization. This is because motivation is required for organizational tasks to be executed effectively. Motivation is also a key requirement for ensuring that people within the organization are empowered, this is especially effective for organizational members who have already accepted their responsibilities in the achievement of both individual and organizational goals and objectives. In the modern organizational context, most members of a team usually want to exercise their influence during the processes associated with decision making processes that are related with their fields of technical knowhow. Organizational managers and leaders can therefore achieve this through ensuring that they establish a working environment that is open and characterised by intense information sharing and communication among the members of the organization. Managers must use the participative leadership style, which is based on the transformational theory, whereby the core concept of leadership focuses on change and a visionary leadership with the goal of enhancing both individual and organizational performance. Democratic leadership usually entails a participative approach to leadership whereby the followers are also given a chance to develop their leadership skills through the use shared leadership and participative decision making. The staff are also involved in the problem solving process, and in the process, they become effective leaders of their own. Democratic leadership is effective in cases whereby there is need for follower motivation and the need for each to develop one’s leadership abilities. Effective leaders and managers therefore have the obligation of ensuring that the staffs participate in the critical decision making processes; this helps to increase their commitment towards the success of the organization because they feel that they are part of the organizational success. Such a management approach needs prioritizing the organizational goals and objectives and not letting personal interests and goals come in between the execution of the organizational tasks. Furthermore, it is important for the manager to take into account the significance of setting up a strong cohesive team through the creation of positive relationships among the members of a team. This can be achieved through the use of leadership skills that take into consideration the various needs of the members of an organization.

The aspect of flexibility and confidence are also a core requirement for effective management in the present organizational context. This is vital in the development of effective solutions to the dynamic challenges that most present organizations are facing. Flexibility refers to the capacity of the management to function effectively irrespective of the diverse global cultures and geographical locations. Flexibility also involves the organizational capacity to effectively manage change and the increasing uncertainties of the present business context. With regard to the aspect of cultural flexibility, the effective management must have the capacity and capability to extend beyond the cultural boundaries and develop leadership and management strategies that are required for ensuring that the organization is successful at the global platform. The organizational management must take into consideration the view that there is no one leadership strategy that suits all the different cultural contexts; as such, the management should be able to adjust their strategies in a manner that it effectively meets the demands posed by a given segment of the market.

Another lesson that managers can learn from the leadership and management of the foundation is that the effective decision making is a core requirement for the success of the organization. The rational approach of making decisions is a vital tool for managers and leaders in the business context. The rational decision making methodology entails the use of sequential criteria and procedures in order to achieve established set of goals and objectives. Under this method, the recognition of the problem, the criteria to be used in decision making, allocating the weights to the criteria and the selection of optimal alternatives that can used in maximizing utility. It is essential for the managers to engage in tasks that can optimally transform the output of the organization with regard to both capital and human resources, which are needed to guarantee profitability and organizational effectiveness of the organization. Effective communication is also a significant leadership trait that managers must have in order to be effective when undertaking their responsibilities. An effective operations manager integrates technical skills with improved interpersonal relationships in order to maintain a competent and satisfying staff that is capable of achieving the organizations goals and objectives. It is important for the manager to know how to deploy communication methods with diverse people at all organizational levels. Measuring performance of the team members is also an important leadership characteristic that operations managers must have. Managers are supposed to set goals for their staff and deploy a leadership style that helps the staff to achieve their goals.

Generally, managers require effective leadership skills in order to manage processes and procedures efficiently. Therefore, they must have the capability to empower and motivate their staff, have effective communication and decision-making skills and possess flexibility and confidence. Leadership is important in the success of any organization; this implies that appropriate leadership framework should be established in order to facilitate the realization of the organization’s goals and mission. In the context of present organizations, a transformational approach to leadership is more appropriate in ensuring that the organizational members work with a common purpose of achieving the organizational goals and objectives. The development of organizational culture should base on the need to align the organizational activities with the goals and objectives of the organization. Constantly reminding of the organizational staffs the importance of successful organization is a vital step in maintaining organizational culture, this is due to the fact that it creates a feeling that the success of the staff are also part of the success, and that the success of the organization is also their success. Therefore, it is the moral responsibility a manager to demonstrate high integrity and upholding of the organizational values and ethical standards and empowerment of the staff towards the realization of the mission and vision for the organization.

Another lesson that can be derived from the effectiveness of the W.K Kellogg Foundation is the role that organizational ethics plays in steering success for the organization. Ethics is an important component of the organizational cultural that plays a vital role in the realization of the mission and vision for the organization. Basically, organizational ethics refers to the ethical standards, principles and values that are used for the governing of the conduct of the members of a particular organization and the outcomes of the decisions undertaken by the organization (Richard et al, 2009). In addition, organizational ethics normally outlines the manner in which an organization responds to the inside and outside stimuli in an ethical manner. The fundamental elements that constitute an ethical organization include written code of organizational ethics and standards; training of the organizational members regarding the outlined ethics and standards; offering appropriate advice during ethical situations; and the availability of reporting systems that are confidential. It is usually the responsibility of organizational leaders to establish an ethical organization; this is because the restoration of an ethical climate within the organization is a core requirement in the solution of most of the issues that affect the organizational development and organizational behavior (Richard et al, 2009). The mission, vision and the values statement of an organization are established with the primary objective of fostering a morally acceptable organizational behavior, which is a core obligation of the organization’s top management team, staff at all levels of the organization and any volunteer who may wish to be involved in the organization’s operations. As such, organizational members have the obligation of adhering to the code of ethics and standards during the undertaking of any organizational activity. Closely related to the aspect of organizational ethics is the concept of organizational culture, which can be defined as the values and norms that organizational members share and plays an integral role in influencing both internal and external interactions. The most effective organizational culture typology should consent to an organizational culture is inherent to four core element; which are mission, adaptability, involvement and consistency. Mission entails outlining the strategic direction and the goals and objective; adaptability entails change implementation; involvement entails organizational empowerment; while consistency entails the core organizational values. It is arguably evident that the four elements of the organizational culture will foster organizational performance (Richard et al, 2009). Measuring organizational performance regarding with respect to maintaining an ethical standards is vital for any organization. Some of the frameworks that can be used to evaluate ethical organizational performance include employee adaptability to the code of ethics, client comments regarding service delivery, commitment of the top management in ensuring adherence to the ethical standards and employee commitment towards the realization of organizational performance. Adaptability can be evaluated by use of instances of code violations and employee perception of the established code of ethics and standards for the organization. Client comments serve as a direct effect of analyzing ethical performance for the organization; positive comments imply good ethical performance and vice versa. Top management commitment and employee commitment towards ethical performance is important in fostering high levels of ethical standards within the organization. Ethical standards are an important element of any organization; it is therefore the responsibility of the top management and lower level staff member to demonstrate high levels of ethical commitments in order to streamline the organizational culture to its mission, goals and objectives (Richard et al, 2009).

Organizational change and innovation is also a significant lesson that managers can learn from the characteristics and activities of the W.K Kellogg Foundation. Organizational change cannot be avoided; it is one the significant critical success factors that an organization has to incorporate in its policies. Organizational change aims at motivating the employees to accept the changes which have to be implemented in the present business context. Organizational change can include various concepts such as: operational changes, which principally entails a change in the manner through which the business executes its business processes; Technological changes, changes in the organizational culture and strategic changes. In order to foster change in an organization, a critical analysis of the present business situation is required, so as to provide a framework for the justification of the implementation of change. Organizational culture and behavior play an important role in fostering change. This therefore implies that whatever causes the implementation of the change, organizational culture and behavior should be incorporated to the change strategy. Effective organizational change should incorporate concepts such as: leadership is a key requirement for sustaining change in an organization; having a clearly stated vision and a plan of approach; availability of viable alternatives; evaluation of appropriate technology and fostering organizational culture change. The extent to which these concepts are applied depends on the scope and limitations of the change to be implemented and the level of complexity of the organization (Richard et al, 2009).

The significance of strategic planning process and management is also another lesson that a manager can learn from the activities and characteristics of W.K Kellogg Foundation. Strategic management involves the transformation of organizational resources into elements that can enhance the performance of the organization, mostly in their external business environments. Some of the effective approaches to strategic management include the specification of the organizational vision and mission, development of well-planned policies and effective allocation of resources in order to facilitate the realization of the stipulated goals and objectives of the organization. Organizations are in dire need of strategic planning primarily because of the unpredictable trend of the global organizational operations. Strategy formation typically entails option generation, which involves the establishment possible plan of approaches. Strategic formation is a sequential process, which begins by conducting a situation analysis for the organization, an evaluation of the status for the business enterprise and carrying out analysis of the competitors in the market place, which encompasses an analysis of both external and internal entities that affect the business enterprise. Having carried an analysis, objectives are set in accordance with the long term and short term business requirements. Vision statements are also drafted, financial goals and strategic business objectives are set up. It is important that the proposed objectives put into consideration the results of situational analysis, as a result, facilitate the establishment of strategic plan. The strategic plan should outline the process of the realization of the proposed objectives. Strategic evaluation on the other hand investigates the effectiveness of the strategic plan. Strategy evaluation also entails the use of criteria such as suitability, feasibility and the acceptability of the plan. Strategic implementation of the plan entails the putting of the proposed strategic plan into action. Strategic planning depends on strategic evaluation, after the choice of effective plan of approach that clearly outlines the goals and objectives of the contemporary strategic management. Some of the activities undertaken during strategic implementation include change management, evaluation of the limitations of the plan of approach and eventually analyzing the benefits or drawbacks realized after implementation. It is also important to analyze economic factors such as returns on investments, the effects that the plan has on overall productivity of the organization. 

References

Richard et al (2009). Measuring Organizational Performance: Towards Methodological Best         Practice. Journal of Management , 123.

Stephan, T. (2011). Kellogg’s Bet on ‘Racial Healing’ . Retrieved December 15, 2011, from           WSJ.com:            http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703315404575250643359879372.html

W.K. Kellogg Foundation. (2011). W.K. Kellogg Foundation. Retrieved December 15, 2011,        from http://www.wkkf.org/

 

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Research in Sociology

Part IDB5

Researching violence against women is similar to any other investigations dealing with sensitive topics because it needs the inclusion of confidentiality issues, disclosure of problems, need for adequate and informed consents within the research. Some methodologies employed include qualitative and quantitative research approaches (Ellsberg, & Heise, 2005). Quantitative approaches include cross-sectional surveys, cohort studies and the case-control technique while qualitative approaches include the rapid assessment technique and in-depth qualitative studies.

Violence against women could be studied through employing the interpretative framework through offering attempts that determine the attached behaviors of women as well as trying to understand the reality of constructed behaviors (Campbell, Adams, Wasco, Ahrens, & Sefl, 2009). Information can be gathered through the social interaction method in order to understand and interpret desired factors well. In case of the critical framework, violence against women could be studied though understanding ways in which scientific, interpretative and critical frameworks are being attached in forecasting theoretical issues.

In this research, critical sociology needs to be changed because it rejects the idea of value-freedom and advocates that all research relating to women violence is politically or value driven. Research is influenced by values allied with gender issues thus this framework may cause dangers such as overgeneralization, gender blindness as well as research interference (Rogers, 2000). Different types of information that could be obtained using this research process vary accordingly. This is because neutrality is not easily achieved by the fact that sociologists are also included in the social world that they are always studying since social patterns keep changing constantly. Thus, information produced over the periods may vary due to biasness and complexity of human behaviors.

Part 222: CJ; DB5

            Some tips that would aid with effective research findings and proposed solutions to specific audiences are the lecturing aspect as well as provision of ethical guidelines to local individuals. Researchers argue that it is vital to alert women in the up front, as this gives them the opportunity to opt in tackling violence related questions (Ellsberg, 2006). Moreover, collaboration between researchers and activists creates an effective research presentation since it offers a good way through which proposed solutions are grounded in local needs and perspectives. In audience determination, I would largely target individuals affected by violence cases, largely leaning to women.

Informal questions offer the best presentation method because it takes advantage of every valid opportunity in collecting required information. In addition, the method is convenient in testing ideas prior to the study thus making the investigation more precise (Skinner, Hester, & Malos, 2005). Therefore, choosing this method is effective because it enables the researcher in identifying solutions to fundamental questions posed to the audience. Additionally, it provides a valuable benchmark for investigating generalizations noted across diverse social groups. The research statement will be presented in a way that will enable one to convey the intended message to the audience in the proposed study through lecture format method. The rationale for choosing this method is that it provides first hand information, which is reliable in nature.

This method of presentation is good for involved stakeholders and student because an initial positive impression is likely to linger as the reviewer reads the research statement. The presentation of the lecture method will aid the stakeholders in identifying issues related to the research topic and the solutions of addressing them clearly. Additional tips that should be given to the student’s audience will involve an engagement in the formulation of research questions towards enabling them in expressing their research interests. Devices that should be used in imparting interest within the audience should be the use of visual aids such as diagrams, photographs or videos that will make the presentation more involving to the audience (Skinner, Hester, & Malos, 2005).

References

Campbell, R., Adams, A., Wasco, S., Ahrens, C., & Sefl, T. (2009). Training

Interviewers for Research on Sexual Violence. Violence against Women, 15(5), 595-617.

Ellsberg, M. & Heise, L., (2005). Researching violence against women: A practical guide for

researchers and activists. Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization.

Ellsberg, M. (2006). Violence against women: A global public health crisis.

Scandinavian Journal of Public Health, 34(1), 1-4.

Frost, N., Nolas, S., Brooks-Gordon, B., Esin, C., Holt, A., Mehdizadeh, L., & Shinebourne, P.

(2010). Pluralism in qualitative research: the impact of different researchers and qualitative approaches on the analysis of qualitative data. Qualitative Research, 10(4), 441-460.

Rogers, A. G. (2000). When Methods Matter: Qualitative Research Issues in

Psychology. Harvard Educational Review, 70(1), 75-85.

Skinner, T., Hester, M., & Malos, E. (2005). Researching gender violence: Feminist

            methodology in action. Cullompton, UK: Willan.

 

 

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Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God

Edward in his sermon “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” depicts the depravity of man in his believe that all men are born pathetic creatures and in God’s eyes they are insignificant. According to him, man’s strongest point counts as nothing in God’s power. His elaboration of how man is helplessly under the mercies of God is quit profound. His argument is that God’s will is what determines man’s fate rather than his efforts and doing. There is no power whatsoever that surpasses God’s power; man is solely depended on God and is vulnerable to His wrath against human wickedness.

On the other hand, God is sovereign and all-powerful and is in control of everything in the universe. He punishes the wicked men into the agony of hell. God has the power to cast evil men into hell so easily through His sovereign powers.

The author brings out the sovereignty of God in a very clear way when he says that even the strongest cannot resist his word and that none can deliver out of his hands what he decides to punish or cast into hell. In his writing, Edwards depicts hell as a place of infinite punishment for the sins of men. Hell is the home of the devil and is likened to a hungry lion to symbolize danger.

I think Edward succeeded in frightening his listeners about hell in his writings from his angle of discussion. First, he deliberately shows how vulnerable man is. By making the listener feel helpless; he has used a tactic that will see many want to avoid hell in all means. The feeling of vulnerability is intended for that specific purpose. In addition, the devil is poised as a waiting monster in search of a victim persistently.

Puritans and the Edwards’ doctrines compare in a few aspects concerning God’s intentions of hell. The Puritans believed that man could only do those things that God has said. Like the doctrine of Edwards, the Puritans held the opinion that there is nothing men can do to avoid the agony of hell. The two doctrines insist that the decision rests solely on God’s will. The Puritans further hold that God knows the number of people that will go to hell and that no man knows his fate. Edwards on his side thinks that God is under no obligation to keep any man out of hell and that he has not made any promise about eternal life or deliverance from eternal death. The reason why a human being still stands is because God is not ready to take them yet, both doctrines agree.

Another difference between the Puritans and the Edward’s doctrine was while as Edward emphasized on the undeserved favor by God to man and the innate depravity, the Puritans choose to act a righteous life and live up to God’s standards. The Puritans believed in a perfect community based on shared value, while Edward believed in the mercies of God and His grace to man from birth is undeserving of God’s love.

Edwards’s dismissal due to his public announcement of the names of children from influential families found reading a midwifery book suggest that he was pro-grace and anti-perfection . The church allowed all people to become members but they would not partake the Holy Communion. Edward changed the covenant and allowed non-covenant members to partake communion. He went on and reduced the church congregation. This built a tremendous unrest that ended his practice as a preacher. Hence the great awakening of the England church was a planned reprisal against Edwards Jonathan in what historians see as a move to settle scores.

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Whose Job is Secure?

Changing work designs in the new economy have led to increased job insecurity. Both old and new economies have experienced the effects of job insecurities, which are twofold in nature. The first effect concerns the way employees support themselves in insecure jobs and the second one outlines the manner in which workers support themselves once jobs have been lost. This seeks a clarification on the issue of whose job is insecure in given economies. Sweet and Meiksins (2008) point out that nowadays, workers are given job protection unlike that which was noted in the earlier phases of industrialization. Thus, workers during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries came up with collective ethnic as well as class-based approaches for mitigating personal risks in the employment sector.

After the industrialization revolution period, many workers demanded job security in order to protect their jobs. Notably, most families that joined working institutions during the industrialization period were encouraged to maintain their jobs but were prevented from joining unions or collaborating with their employers. There were no laws regarding job security or insurances. However, later when the government invented welfare programs such as social security programs and laws during the old economy were employed towards protecting workers. These laws and governmental programs have been widely applicable in the new economy in helping employees with employment safeguards.

Job insecurity can cause problems such as depression, stress, and nervousness because once an individual loses their job other problems arise such as who should cater for needs like bills payments. Workers with secure and insured jobs are able to benefit once job loss is noted. This is because the government or private insurance can help them pay bills as they find a solution to the present dilemma by seeking for other jobs in a different working sector. Many research studies have been carried out regarding job security thus psychologists, sociologists as well as economists have tried to identify workers with secure jobs and the way they benefit from such. Pitt-Catsouphes, Kossek and Sweet (2006) reveal that once layoffs are planned, it is better for an individual to instill job security through seeking additional training towards creating an improvement or increasing an individual’s working experience. This acts positively in leading the employers towards reducing the number of layoffs or helping laid-off employees.

 

The Impact of Mass Layoffs on Unemployment: United States 1996-2004

Number of Claimants

3,000,000

0

A chart indicating mass layoffs in the United States from 1996-2004

 

The preceding chart indicates the effects of mass layoffs to workers in the United States during the years 1996 to 2004. Employers have diverse reasons for reducing the number of employees in a working environment. Sometimes, this is attributed to the need of reducing monetary costs, downscaling due to consumer marketing or prevailing business conditions; note that these are the main factors contributing to layoffs in many companies. This is because of the need to maintain a manageable number of workers who can produce quality work without incurring any costs. Although, some factors influence job security in a positive manner such as better individual skills or the need for more production in a company, they also infuse workers safeguards in the working sector. Economists suggest that many people achieve job security in times of economic expansion but during economic recession, the same is reduced. Thus, unemployment levels are considered as indicators of job security in the economy, with variations noted in different States.

 

References

Pitt-Catsouphes, M., Kossek, E. E., & Sweet, S. A. (2006). The work and family handbook:

Multi-disciplinary perspectives, methods, and approaches. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Sweet, S. A., & Meiksins, P. (2008). Changing contours of work: Jobs and opportunities in the

            new economy. Thousand Oaks, CA: Pine Forge Press.

 

 

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Paine’s Opinions on America’s Relationship with Britain

Introduction

Thomas Paine was an American philosopher and revolutionary who was opposed to the rule of America by Britain. Paine was one of the founding fathers of the United States and this was the more reason why he fought against the occupation of America by Britain. Paine participated in the American Revolution by moving to the British American colonies in 1774. His pamphlet, Common Sense that was produced in 1776 was his first move in his fight for the independence of America.

Discussion

Among Paine’s arguments why Britain could not rule America was because Britain was an island and it was a huge absurdity for an island to rule a continent. Paine was also against American rule because America had been influenced not only by Britain but also by all of the other European nations; therefore, it was not fit for it to be called a British nation. Paine argued that Britain was indeed the mother country for America and this was the more reason why it should not rule it. This is because, ethically no mother was supposed to harm her child so brutally as Britain did to America. The presence of America under the helm of the British influence would mean that if Britain were involved in any wars, America would be dragged into them whether it liked it or not (Paine, Sidney & Jack 150).

Moreover, America would be prevented from practicing international commerce at which it was getting better and better. Paine also argued that the distance that existed between the two nations would make the process of legislation and governing almost impossible. This is because, if a decision were to be made, Britain’s colonies would receive the decision after months or maybe even years. The new world, which was the name given to America before the Reformation, was discovered by the Puritans who believed that they had been given a safe haven by God to enable them run away from the persecution of the British. Paine also believed that Britain acquired and viewed America as just one of its conquests and colonies and America together with other colony’s best interests were not anywhere near its priorities.

He did not support the argument that America should remain under the rule of the British since it had flourished thus far saying that a baby needs to learn how to eat other types of foods even though it was doing good while feeding on their mother’s milk. The baby could not depend on their mother forever for food. He argued that the policies and arrangements that Britain had formulated in America were not guaranteed to be successful in America’s future. Paine’s central argument is one that states that good relations between America and Britain could not exist. This is because all the colonies, including America, are supposed to remain subservient to the crown and as a result are going to be mistreated. For instance, Paine highlights the Stamp Act of 1765, where taxes were imposed on a variety of printed materials. However, America’s protest against the tax was responded to be a positive action of revoking the tax but shortly after, about two years later, Britain imposed other taxes on various goods in the colonies.

In the argument for the people and human equality, he states that, arguing supported by the teachings of the Bible, a monarchy is an unfair institution and one that oppresses the people. He argues that the monarchy is abhorred by the Bible. In his belief that America should be independent, he argues supported by Biblical evidence. Paine argues that the kings have the roles of making very critical decisions regarding their nations while giving away places to those they deem fit. This in plain terms is just to spoil their nations and the colonies that they hold in the case of Britain. Monarchies and kings have caused major problems in the past and this is even referenced in the bible.

The king’s role is also to receive large sums of money as payment for his minimal role while the real work is done by his subjects who worship him day and night and pledge allegiance to his name. Paine’s argument was also centered on the fact that the colonies would be able to represent themselves in the leadership of the whole nation if Britain were to remain in power. He formulates a system of leadership where, every colony and Britain as the mother country would have a chance to produce a king. The king would come from every nation and all nations would go on a cycle until all the colonies had produced a king.

Paine believes that America, no matter what happens shall at one point be independent. He argues for this point quite passionately and defends his views stating that the rift that separates the people in the colonies and the British King is quite large. Another point that Paine stresses is how inevitable the oppression of the British shall be. This is because, the oppression that America faced while under the British, shall ever be remembered by the people of America. Moreover, even if America and Britain reconcile, the effects and the problems that have developed between the two colonies and the king shall eventually repeat themselves. For instance, Britain shall find new avenues of levying taxes, and its parliament shall interfere with the lives of the people in their colonies (Paine & Van der Weyde 78).

Conclusion

In conclusion, Paine attacks the structure of the British government claiming how corrupt it is and how inappropriate it would be to have it as a leader. America’s relationship with the other nations of Europe also comes into focus with the argument being one that would be encouraged. He paints the picture where America and all the other European countries have strong ties politically and commercially leaving Britain out of this loop. He states that this kind of relationship could not be formed if Britain remains as the mother country of America. Moreover, no other colony shall be allowed to either trade or choose the friends they want to keep. He declares that if the colonies unite and fight for their democracy and independence, they are bound to have better futures and their development is going to expand in greater ways than they would while being a colony.

 

Works Cited

Paine, Thomas, Sidney Hook & Jack Fruchtman. Common sense, Rights of man, and other essential writings of Thomas Paine. New York, NY: Signet Classic, 2003. Print.

Paine, Thomas & Van der Weyde William Manley. Common sense. Denver, CO: Mundus Publishing, 1928. Print.

 

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