Murray Bookchin and the Integral Community Essay

Both Locke and Proudhon speak about integrity, integrity as a person with property and skills in a society that no longer recognizes the person. They speak about natural law: the right top freedom and work, the right to function in society as a full person, not as a machine. These rights (and the duties that come with them) are a part of nature, they exist as objective realities, and hence, moral integrity is reached in coming to grips with the reality of these rights and duties: but come to grips not as a part of a state system, but as a person, since these rights predate the state and the modern economic system. Hence, both are subject to natural law, and the repository of the natural law in practical terms is the whole body of the community. Murray Bookchin takes the concept of natural law even further than both Locke or Proudhon. His central concept is that the very existence of the natural whole, the dynamic world of non-human nature, can no longer exist as an â€Å"other,† some useless lump of matter that needs to be exploited for profit. In other words, it is the violation of the natural rights of man that has led to the environmental degradation and exploitation of the modern world. The rule of capital and the central state has destroyed any sense of the rights of man or nature in a real revolutionary sense as outlined above. Instead, they have created wants and needs, and based all of his on a vulgar, pleasure-seeking utilitarianism (Bookchin, 1993, 350). Hence, the crisis we are facing, both the specific crisis of debt and foreclosure in 2009, as well as the deeper crisis of values and rights that have existed since Locke’s time, can be based to systemic causes. This means that it is the system itself that is the problem, and the values crisis is also related to the methods the current system uses to justify itself. But the truth is that natural law functions because man is not essentially different from the natural world around him. Man and nature derive from the same source and are made of the same materials, it is only man that can use technology with substantial theoretical foresight and hence, becomes a very different creature from the non-human nature around him. But this is precisely the problem, since this distinction between human and non-human nature have led to a mentality, a mentality deriving from ancient magic, that the natural world is â€Å"broken† and demands to be fixed by human work. Of course, this is just a mystification for elite rule and domination (Bookchin, 1993, 367-368). The practical effect of all of this is the development of technology that has the creation of needs and wants as its end: the creation of markets and profits. Technology and markets, in other words, have taken on a life of their own over and above the real needs of the community as well as the natural world as a whole (human’s included). These institutions, the market and technology, have long since overstepped their bounds, the bounds that natural law has created for them: the meeting of relatively simple human needs and the creation of rational mechanisms for distribution. When the market and the technological elite broke these natural bounds, the irrational and unnatural ideas of limitless development and hence, limitless profits took over and provided these things with their own world and their own rationale far beyond the much older, rational limits. Hence, the question of moral integrity is a matter of limits, and a matter of the ideas of the market or technology creating a world of their own, alienated form the communities that they were originally meant to serve. Thus, moral integrity is about limits, and the rejoining of technology to the community: in this case, Bookchin and Proudhon are in agreement. While Bookchin stresses the idea of citizenship in an integral community, Proudhon stresses man as a producer, beyond the state and in no need fo it. For Bookchin, a citizen is an integral person by definition: the citizen is someone who can balance the needs to the market, the individual and the person within a integral whole; the community legislating for itself as to what it needs and what will work in specific circumstances.

Lifes as a House Outline Essay

Erikson’s Psychosocial theory – How has the person matured? Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs – Where is he/she on the hierarchy? Albert Ellis’ REBT – What irrational beliefs does the character display? Stress Management – What techniques are used to manage stress? Freud’s Defense Mechanisms – Identify any defense mechanisms being applied to the character’s life. Communication strategies – Does the character use I messages, understanding, probing, etc. Family systems – rules of healthy and unhealthy families – how are they applied here? Addiction – Do you see any addictive qualities? Love and Relationships – How is love expressed? What would you say about the character’s relationships with others? What strategies did the character use? What does the movie illustrate about the importance of family across the generations? What does the move illustrate about healthy and unhealthy family systems? How can this film illustrate the phenomenological/humanistic principle that life has more meaning because it must end? discuss certain themes, concepts and issues and relate them to our studies in psychology. Pick a character in the movie and tell how this particular person learned (for better or worse) new behaviors and/or cognition. Use their experiences, both past and present and their relationships (family, personal, friends) with other people, to convey what made them learn and/or change. Discussion should include topics such as: Developmental stages of life, Conditioning, Motivation, Emotions, Personality, Psychological Disorders He was Goth and suicidal†¦ he was reckless with drugs and sex. He tried to hang himself in the closet. He was disrespectful to his family. But it’s hard to pinpoint what exact disorder he had. I would simply say depression. Possibly bipolar because there were times when he was okay in the movie and then he would go into a rage of reckless behavior. Psychological focus areas: mid-age and adolescent re-invention in response to grief / loss; parenting adolescents; facing death and working out what kind of a legacy to leave Sam goes through new changes in behavior. When the movie begun Sam was a rebellious young teen with negative feelings toward his father. Throughout the plot of the movie Sam goes through experiences with his father as they spend time together over the summer, which brings them closer together and allows them to have a better relationship. Sam’s acting out and unwanted actions were results of his parents divorce and not having a healthy relationship with his father. In Psychology, the basic concept of Nature vs. Nurture is said to Influence Development. Nature, according to Laura A. King (2010), includes â€Å"the individual’s biological inheritance, especially his or her genes† (p. 64). Nurture involves a persons environment and experiences. In her book King (2010) also states â€Å"early experiences are important contributors to development† (p. 266). In the movie you could easily understand the nurture side of Sam’s behavior. Knowing and hearing about what kind of people Sam hangs out with we can kind of understand why he dresses a certain way and why he partakes in certain activities, such as drugs. The people he hangs out with leads us back again to the divorce. Sam chooses to hang out with others like him who fell pain inside. His behaviors are a cry for help. In the movie Sam says â€Å"I like how it feels not to feel†. He does drugs to forget his problems and not feel pain. The emotions that young kids and teens go through when parents get a divorce usually include depression, anger, sadness, and the feeling that maybe they could have done something to have made the situation better. While some children and teens choose to hide their feelings, Sam didn’t. He acted out with disrespect and constant anger.

Personality Profile of Barrack Obama

Barack Obama became the 44th President of the United States of America on the 20th January of the year 2009 (Rollason, 2010). It was undoubtedly a monumental moment as he was the first African American president in the history of America. President Obama, in many ways, has been relatively compared so frequently to prestigiously remembered figure; Martin Luther King Jr (Abramsky, 2009). Critics and supporters alike have labeled Obama as being the once-in-a-lifetime charismatic leader (Abramsky, 2009).While some extremist critics was convinced that he could be a Manchurian candidate in a covert mission to sabotage the American way of life (Abramsky, 2009), most are unable to deny that he exudes the characteristic of leader, profoundly shifting the American psyche and minds alike and shining a beacon of hope to a society that much needed to believe in the American’s dream. Obama displayed the intellects of his genetics’ makeup; his mother and father whom both studied in Ha waii University. He possesses the profiles of his father; ambitiousness, articulateness and also the self confidence in the way he project himself to the world.Wayne (2010) elaborated on the social consciousness which is evidently inherited from his mother, Ann Dunham, as Obama has occasionally demonstrate that he is a listener, consistently seeking common grounds, showed his willingness to compromise, his marked adaptability and flexibility to changes which contribute significantly thereby earning him a place to where he is right now; a stark difference to his father, Barrack Obama Sr. , who was always quoted to be a bossy and possessing an unrelenting personality. In all of the political settings, Obama is quick to master the rules of the game (Abramsky, 2009).He understood the importance of the creation of close-knit group within the high echelons. His comprising manner and cool temperament image often exceeded him; he is cautious to rein in his anger when opponents pressed him, capable of masking his emotions thereby gaining a chance to regroup himself and very much aware and in control of his body language (Wayne, 2010: Abramsky, 2009: Winter, 2011). His most distinct trait was his unmistaken calmness which quickly garnered him the â€Å"No Drama Obama† tittle (Winter, 2011).Winter (2011) later suggested that Obama could be high on the emotional stability. Greenstein (2009) and Renshon (2008) mentioned Obama’s openness to the view of others; getting counsel from former opponents and allies before reaching to a decision, affirming the evidence that he is high to openness to experience (McCrae & Costa, 2008; Wiggins, 1996). Openness to experience is one of the five major clusters of traits or the â€Å"big five† model which also consist of agreeableness, conscientiousness and emotional stability (Winter, 2011).Obama is also prudent in planning and when he set a course, he methodically and systematically follows through it (Abramsky, 200 9). His elaborate and time consuming process in decision-making point that Obama is rather high on conscientiousness (Wayne, 2010: Winter, 2011). The tricky part will be distinguishing the agreeableness and extraversion. Though one might agree, having his life exposed in the world certainly merit him to a certain degree of extraversion but on a contrary, Obama still exudes a certain level of enigma and mystery.Some observers cited him as being â€Å"cold† (Dowling & Warner, 2010). Interestingly, Wayne (2010) describes that as part of Obama’s â€Å"mystic† (p. 11). Overall, Abramsky (2009) stated that Obama’s presidency is no ordinary presidency. Due to the nature of his virtue, personality and historical legacy created by his campaign and his election, it has monolithically change the paradigms of how America view itself and the expectations of the future in its view of restructuring America in events of an economy collapse. Abramsky (2009) further stress ed that overwhelmingly, voters trusted Obama.Wayne (2010) however has a rather encompassing perspective. Wayne (2010) questioned readers whether Obama is a philosopher king; due to the fact that he is politically liberal, possess a distinctive cognitive style and eloquence in delivering speech; or is he simply a polarizing politician judging by the fact that he garners support specifically due to his complexity of his race and the prejudice that surround it. As Max Weber (2009) concluded in his book, â€Å"It takes both passion (polarizing politician) and perspective (philosopher-king)† (p. 28) to be able to ride the waves of a political settings. References: Abramsky, S. (2009): Inside Obama’s Brain, Penguin Group, United States of America: Penguin Books Ltd. Dowling, S. , & Warner, M. B. (2010, November 4). Obama comes across as cold, arrogant, and elitist. Spiegel Online. http://www. spiegel. de/international/world/the-world-from-berlin-obama-comes-a cross-as-cold-a rrogant-and-elitist-a-727235-druck. html [3 March 2013] Greenstein, F. I. (2009). The presidential difference: Leadership style from FDR to Barack Obama (3rd Ed. . Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. Renshon, S. A. (2008). Psychological reflections on Barack Obama and John McCain: Assessing the contours of a new presidential administration. Political Science Quarterly, 123(3), 391–433. Rollason, J. (2010): Barack Obama, Scholastic Ltd, London: Euston House. McCrae, R. R. , & Costa, P. T. , Jr. 2008. The five-factor theory of personality. In O. P. John, R. W. Robins, & L. A. Pervin (Eds. ), Handbook of personality theory and research (3rd Ed. , pp. 114–158).New York: Guilford. Wayne, S. J. 2010. The Impact of Personality on Performance: Barack Obama in Presidency. The American University, http://www. american. edu/spa/ccps/upload/AUS-Wayne-paper. pdf [3 Mar 2013]. Weber, M. (2009): Essays in sociology (pp. 77–128). New York: 2009. Wiggins, J. S. (Ed. ). (1 996). The five-factor model of personality: Theoretical perspectives. New York: Guilford. Winter, D. G. (2011): ‘Philosopher-King or Polarizing Politician? : A Personality Profile of Barack Obama’, Political Psychology, 32: 1059-81.

Ethics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Ethics - Essay Example When decisions are made that result in the right consequences, then that is ethical; when decisions are made which result in the wrong consequences, then that is acting corruptly (Pollock, 2011). The term deontology draws from the Greek speech for duty and science of logos. In contemporary ethical viewpoint, deontology is one of those types of normative theories concerning which decisions are ethically required, prohibited, or permitted. In other terms, deontology descends within the sphere of moral premises that lead and review our decisions of what we must do (deontic hypotheses), in distinction to aretaic virtue theories) that at least show and assess what type of person we are and must be and within that sphere, deontologists those who pledge to deontological hypotheses of morality stand contrary to consequentialists. There are several inherent problems with using one or the other types of ethics in the sense that each type of ethics focuses on different parameters as a way of de termining ethical standard. Whereas the Teleological ethical systems focuses on the outcomes of consequences of decisions in determining whether they are ethical or not, deontological ethics, on the other hand, focus on the aspect of ethical requirements regarding what should be done and what should not be done. Therefore, the two ethical systems are different in application owing to their ethical bases and orientations. 2. What are some types of conduct that may be legal, but unethical? Advertising claims that will mislead people into buying a product or believing something about the product which is true is unethical though there are no legal constraints over such behavior (Samuelson & Beatty, 2010). In essence, marketing and advertising are areas which are legally recognized though their activities border on immoral actions, which compromise the values of business. Through marketing, the customer is made to believe certain things about the product that may not be true; that is le gal but immoral. The act of betraying a trusted companion or colleague is not illegal yet unethical in the sense that it goes against the values of fairness and human dignity. Basically, betrayal is not outlawed, and the law finds no offense in such acts yet on the practical basis betrayal is inherently immoral and unacceptable as behavior and goes against values. Through betrayal, a person creates unnecessary agony and suffering to the other person or people and violates their right to dignity among other rights making the act unethical. Engaging a competitor or partner in lengthy negotiations regarding a merger or joint venture when in reality there are no plans of doing so or simply for the sake of collecting information is unethical. Such conduct is unethical because it does not augur well with the other party and is aimed at collecting information to be used against the other partner in a competitive manner. However, such actions are perfectly legal and recognized by law as not being against the established statutes. 3. The American model of judicial selection vs. the civil law model of judicial selection. What are some ethical issues that may impact one system or the other, or both systems, for judicial selection or appointment? There are some ethical issues that may impact one system or the other, or both systems, for judicial selection or appointment (the American model of judicial selection and the civil law mod

Leadership in context Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words - 1

Leadership in context - Essay Example Also, it will examine various leadership theories and relate them on how the guest speakers apply them in their organizations. Although there is no single style recommended as the best for all leaders some leaders achieve better performance than others depending on prevailing conditions, individual experience and the nature of other workers. According to John Ackerley, a regional manager of a football association he has a responsibility to provide business skills to the small and medium businesses in the region of west midland. Also, he offers them skills to develop the football association and coordinate the Association at the grass root level. His roles involve interacting with other stakeholders from the top to the bottom. For example, he had to share his values with the chair and the general secretary of the football association. He shares the goals of various projects with leaders of different departments and instructs the heads of different departments such as David Clarke, who is the captain of Great Briton blind club squad. Therefore, according to John anyone can be a leader in various ways. He believes that being a leader involves individual commitment to achieving specific goals. In his perception leadership, requires formal training although for general skills. However, experience is the most important determinant of successful leadership because it defines the specific goals and objectives of a leader. Through his work experience as a coach for seven years, John had the opportunity to interact with people from the diverse background. These were people with different races, age, education background, religion, etc. That helped him to learn how to relate well with diverse characteristics hence he would apply interaction skills in his leadership to coordinate the activities of various groups in the football association. The leadership skills are acquired through training and

Short History of Socialism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Short History of Socialism - Essay Example But if anthropologists wish to engage the contemporary world and come to terms with all its interconnectedness they certainly cannot afford to ignore the role of intellectuals in shaping-and occasionally perhaps inventing-new cultural traditions. Holy's portrayal of the actors who, as the voices of the Scandinavian nation, precipitated that country's 'Velvet Revolution' is the most dramatic of a number of illustrations provided in this volume, several of which deal with Africa. Socialism when analyzed, is found to embrace four main elements. The first of these is the common ownership of the material instruments of production. It is not stated precisely how this common ownership is to be brought about, or exactly what form it is to take (Lichtheim, 1970).. Opinions may and do differ about the practical steps which are to be taken to secure the desired end, and also about the nature of the collective organization in which this ownership is to be vested. But no one can be called a socialist in the modern technical sense who does not accept the doctrine of the common ownership of the material instruments of production. ... It is simply necessary to exercise one's imagination, and to picture to one's self the extension of that which already exists in a comparatively small way (Lichtheim, 1970).. It is said substantially all land and capital, because it is held that it is not necessary that the common ownership should be absolutely all-inclusive. It is a weakness of the extremists to insist on all -- inclusiveness in common ownership, which much damages their cause. What is necessary is that the collective ownership should become dominant in such manner as to control all other ownership and confine it within narrow limits. All the great instruments of production, like telegraphs, telephones, railways, forests, arable lands, and large manufacturing plants, must become collective property; but socialism does not imply that it is necessary to restrict individuals in the acquisition of the instruments of production on a small scale, -- for example, a wheelbarrow or a cart. Socialism, then, presented in the s trongest form, does not proceed so much negatively as constructively. Society is to acquire the instruments of production; but individuals, for the most part, are not to be restrained, except indirectly, by positive social action. Modern socialism is the natural outcome of modern industrial conditions, and its origin is contemporaneous with the origin of those conditions. We must seek its beginnings in the beginnings of modern industry. We can express this thought differently by saying that modern socialism is the product of the industrial revolution. It has grown with this revolution, becoming international as the industrial revolution has spread over the nations of the

Plebeian Sexual Morality Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Plebeian Sexual Morality - Essay Example lopment of sexual values during the identified epoch is characterized by the presence of highly conflicting standards and perspectives regarding critical notions encompassing sociological concepts and cultural understandings. As noted by Clark, the most critical consideration which must be highlighted and outlined with reference to this aspect is linked with acknowledging the fact sexual morality and standards in itself are a matter of conflicting outlooks across communities (42). The author proposes that while exploring this aspect it is significant to understand how and why sexual morality of towards the departure of the eighteenth century and the arrival of the nineteenth century emerged as a notion of complexity. The consequences of the aforementioned factors are viewed through the lens of the sociological issues and problems which surfaced in the period and led to the questioning of the moral norms of communities. These issues can be identified in terms of the rise in individuals engaging in sexual intercourse before marriage and the subsequent increase in unwanted pregnancies and illegitimate children because of the scenario (Clark 42). Consequently, these outcomes can be highlighted as the direct impact of what Clark terms as crisis of sexuality and sexual moral standards (42). The underlying causes of these choices can be explored in depth to identify the key reasons behind the plebeian’s motivation for choosing a distinct way of life. This examination essentially raises two significant questions – was the plebeians’ decision based on principal social issues which can be associated with the period or was the progression of such sexual moral standards based on the personal perspectives and outlooks shared by a community of individuals who shared a similar mindset? Clark answers this question by suggesting that while, it is more likely to believe in the assertion that the establishment of sexuality morality is motivated and essentially shaped by the

Nursing Organizational change Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Nursing Organizational change - Essay Example That is until the recent economic down turn. Comanche has a couple of major problems at this time, that will require major change. They are running in the red like many hospitals but this has not happened to them before and they have a very traditional history and the Senior team is older and very traditional in their approaches. This is also true of the second layer or Senior Directors. They have had one lay off this year and the new fiscal year began in July. The end o July figures showed that they were in the black by $134,000. Some of the middle level directors and managers have been replaced by attrition by more forward thinking staff. However, most of them have been there a year and there has been little change and these new leaders are becoming very frustrated. This paper will discuss the change needed at Comanche Regional Hospital Kotter (1996) tells us that there are eight stages of change. Those stages are establishing a sense of urgency, creating the guiding coalition, developing a vision and strategy, communicating the change vision, empowering a broad base of people to take action, generating short-term wins, consolidating gains, and producing even more change and institutionalizing the new approaches in the culture. The change initiative that will need to go through these stages is a reduction of length of stay which will improve hospital throughput. There are many issues related to length of stay so for the sake of a shorter paper, discharging patients by noon will be chosen. Establishing a sense of urgency is the first of the eight stages of change that are proposed by Kotter (1996). For Comanche Memorial Hospital, this will not be a simple task. This is a group of senior leaders that just does not get riled up about most things. . This has filtered down through the rest of the organization and has created a sense of complacency. The CFO in this case understands the need for the change so the initial plan here would be to illicit his help in putting together some realistic but important numbers together to show what can be gained by improving this process. Convincing of the whole administrative group is crucial (Kotter, 2008). only then can we proceed. This same process will then need to go to the director level and an incentive program here will work very well to establish urgency. Creating a guiding coalition in this case should be happening with the creation of the first sense of urgency. Many times, according to Kotter (1996), the guiding coalition is given credit to one person but in the case of this hospital, that guiding coalition must be the C suite and the Senior Directors. They must be convinced and added to this group are the informal leaders of patient care. This group must be credible though and must contain people who are movers because to have a stagnant committee will only teach the lesson that complacency is OK after all when the lesson needs to be, the train in moving on, get aboard. This coalition must have four kinds of power to be successful. Those include position power which means that there are enough of the key players on board to make a difference (pg. 57), and expertise which is that there are people in the group that have experience relevant to the problem. Credibility is high only if the

Child abuse Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Child abuse - Research Paper Example Neglect means â€Å"failure to provide for a child’s basic needs† (Joint Commission Resources, 2002, p. 6). Physical abuse include inflicting harm or injury to a child via burning, biting, or punching whereas physical neglect means failure to provide the child with basic necessities like food and shelter (Joint Commission Resources, 2002, p. 6). Emotional abuse include verbal or non-verbal actions that can cause a child to suffer from emotional, behavioural, or mental injury. Other than incest, sexual abuse includes rape cases, sexual intercourse, or touching the child’s genital areas (Dickey, 2013). This Convention serves as the â€Å"first legally binding international instrument to incorporate the full range of human rights—civil, cultural, economic, political and social rights† (Unicef, 2005). This Convention aims to educate the people about the child’s right to live, become educated, receive medical care assistance, and be protected from abusive people and exploitation (Rasooldeen, 2011; Unicef, 2005). In Islam, each child has a â€Å"right to life and equal life chances† (Islamweb, 2013). In fact, part of the 3rd commandment in Islam highlighted the need to preserve the child’s life. On top of the Islamic rule, Saudi has ratified the said Convention in 1996 (Rasooldeen, 2011). However, it is sad to say that child abuse remain rampant in Saudi Arabia (Dickey, 2013). Despite the Islamic rule about child protection and signing of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, child abuse still exists in Saudi Arabia. Therefore, people in this country should continuously fight for children’s rights to live in a safe environment. Dickey, C. (2013, February 8). The Daily Beast. Retrieved February 21, 2013, from Saudi Arabia’s Child-Rape Case: Female Activists Fight to Prevent Abuse:

Burke Litwin 1992 Essay Example for Free

Burke Litwin 1992 Essay Change is depicted in terms of both process and content, with particular emphasis on transformational as compared with transactional factors. Transformational change occurs as a response to the external environment and directly affects organizational mission and strategy, the organiz. ations leadership, atid culture, lit ttirn, tfie transactional factors are affected—strtictute. systems, management practices, and climate. These transformational and transactional factors together affect motivation, which, in turn, affects peifornumce. In support of the models potential validity, theory and research as wellaspraetke are cited. Orgatiization change is a kind of chaos (Gleick. 1987). The number of variables changing at the same lime, the magnitude of environmental change, and the frequent resistance of human systetns cteate a whole confluence of ptocesses that are extremely difficult to predict and almost impossible to control. Nevertheless, there are consistent patterns that exist—linkages among classes of events that have been demonstrated repeatedly in the research literature and can be seen in actual organizations. The enormous and pervasive impact of culture and beliefs— to the point where it causes organizations to do fundamentally unsound things ftom a business point of view^would be such an observed phenotnenon. To build a most likely model describing the causes of organizational performance and change, we must explore two important lines of thinking. First, we must understand more thoroughly how organizations function (i. e. , what leads to what). Second, given our tiiodel of causation, we must understand how organizations might be deliberately changed. The linkage typically is in the direction of theory and research to practice: that is. to ground our consultation in what is known, what is theoretically and empirically sound. Creation of the tnodel to be presented in this article was not quite in that knowledge-to-practice direction, however. With respect to theory, we sttongly believe in the open system framework, especially represented by Katz and Kahn (1978). Thus, any organizational model that we might develop would stem from an input-throughput-output, with a feedback loop, format. The tnodei presented hete is definitely of that genre. In other wotds. the fundamental framework for the model evolved from theory. The components of the model and what causes what and in what order, on the other hand, have evolved frotn our practice. To risk stating what is often not politic to admit in academic circles, we admit that the ultimate development of our causal model evolved from practice, not extensive theory or tesearch. What we are attempting with this article, therefore, is a theoretical and empirical justification of what we clearly believe works. To be candid, we acknowledge that our attempt is not unlike attribution theory—we are explaining our beliefs and actions ex post facto: This seemed to have worked; I wonder if the literature supports our action. Our consulting efforts over a period of about 5 years with British Airways taught us a lot^—what changes seemed to have worked and what activities clearly did not. It was from these experiences that our model took form. As a case example, we refer to the work at British Airways later in this article. For a more recent overview of that change effort, . see Goodstein and Burke (1991).

International Market Strategy Of Nike

International Market Strategy Of Nike Nike is a global company based in United States which employed more than 30000 people across the globe. This paper will talk about Nikes global presence and how Nike has achieved success in past years. We will discuss some facts and figures. This essay will employ literature review to support the evidences in case of dynamic capabilities of Nike and its competitive abilities. Nike is currently facing competition with Reebok and Adidas therefore it should take remain with its strategy of consistency so that the customers will not be puzzled and should take advantage of its brand name. Nike has been involved in never stopping controversies due to sweat shops but due to its preventable actions it gained publicity and today Nike is a stable brand name all over the world. Introduction: This essay will critically evaluate Nikes current international strategy and help to identify Nikes current strengths, weaknesses, opportunity and threats. This essay will also consider the political, legal and cultural issues which Nike can face while implementing any strategies in international markets. This strategy will also consider the threats of entering into a new market and supply of sufficient funds and labour in terms of applying the strategy. Taking any strategy into consideration will also involve an impact analysis and risk, therefore, any potential consequences and levels of risk involved and how to overcome those risks will be covered in the next section. Another section will talk about the never ending controversies which Nike has been facing due to its manufacturing factories in low labour countries. What strategies Nike is applying to overcome this situation and some recommendation for Nike. Finally, the essay will analyse the competition in the selected market, strategy adapted by the competitors and how Nike uses its brand power strategies to anticipate such threats. Nike- A Truly Global Company: Nike is the world market leader in athletic shoes and apparel and operates in more than 200 countries. Europe, Asia, North and Latin America are the main markets in which Nike sells its products, which makes it a truly global organisation. According to Mintel, 20%of the U.S. athletic market is controlled by Nike. The main products of Nike include footwear, sports equipment, men and women clothing and accessories. Nike is established in 1972 by former university of Oregon star Phil Knight which is now one of the richest people in America. Instead of manufacturing Nike designs and markets its products, while contracting for their manufacture from 600 factories scattered all around the globe, that employ around 650,000 people. (L. Hill, 2009) Nike has seen many ups and downs in the market and understands the value co-creation with customers. Nike has customers around the globe and it remains informed and connected with its customers which gives Nike a new source of value. Nike understands the use of involving customers into the business and therefore offers internet sites where customers can share their interactions and experiences, can give their suggestions. Nike can build trust and relationships with Nike community, can learn directly from customers and provide customers what they want which enhances the brand. Qualitative and Quantitative Performance Measures: Let us consider the overall financial performance of Nike across the globe. For the year ended 30/11/2008, revenues rose 11% to $10.02B. Net income rose 4% to $1234.8B (www.nikebiz.com). These financial figures are reflection of great success of Nike in global market as these are taken after assuming the price rise in U.S. and all the changes in the currency exchange rates have taken into consideration. As, it is clear from the figures provided, the revenues have increased tremendously in the year 2008, implies a higher sale of footwear in all the international markets which is obviously a good point to note, because in the period of recession where all the economies are going down, an increase of 11% cannot be neglected. Improved hedge rates year after year leads to higher gross margin which are reflected in the net income which has increased by 4%. (www.forbes.com) Table 1: Financial data Sales Profits Market Value Employees Assets $ 13.2 Billion $ 1.1 Billion $23 Billion 250000 $8.6 Billion Table 1 above gives the insights of financial structure of Nike plc, as it is clear from the figures in table 1 that Nike is strong in financial terms due to which it can increase its business globally. Company has enough capital to implement any international market strategy for example advertising in international markets, providing better services to customers, invest in the new planning etc. Table 2 below indicates that the company is moderately efficient in doing the business. The current ratio of -3 implies that company has sufficient liquid capital to enforce new marketing strategies and extending its business. Invest in promotional activities will also be a good idea. A gearing ratio of barely 2% suggests that company has spare debt capacity which is another benefit because Nike can apply for a loan if it will be needed, however the current condition of the company is adequately equipped in financial and capital viewpoint. Net profit margin of 8.1% suggests that Nike is competent in converting sales to profit margin. Table 2: Ratios On the next page: Net P/E ROA ROE Current Div/Yield Earning/Share Gearing Profit Ratio Margin ($) 8.1% 18.1 14.3 23.2 -3 1.3 4.4 0.2 Growth rate of Nike is indicated in the table 3 below which shows constant steady sales over the past years. A growth rate of 15% in one year and 7% over the last 7 years suggests that Nike is a big player in the market and is constantly playing at the same position. Its sales are increasing day by day due to the market strategy it applies, and the popularity it gained by sponsoring celebrity such as Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods. Just Do It the marketing phrase of Nike is buzz in the town and its swoosh logo gives it that different identity. Table 3: Growth Rates 1 Year 7 Years Dividend % 37% 9.03% Revenue % 15% 7% Earnings per share % 26.8% 17.5% Dynamic Capabilities of Nike Plant and equipment are the assets whose performance can be measured but Noto (2007) argued that brand name, reputation, particular technology and corporate culture with accumulated consumer information are some of the intangible assets which cannot be measured but are invaluable for a firms competitive advantage. Moller et al. (2002) supported the argument and said that a tightly coordinated supply and channel net are the prerequisite to establish a position in the field and keen demand of the customer reflects the strong brands example of both are Nike and Dell. The most effective way to manage and upgrade existing capabilities and resources and to convert the key weakness into strengths is- to outsource. Noto (2007) said that most of the automobile companies have become increasingly selective to choose the activities to perform internally. He also explained that in the athletic shoes and clothing Nike has contracted out many functions such as manufacturing and logistics which Noto argued as a clever step to negate the impact of key weaknesses. Nike undertakes marketing, product design and overall system integration itself but outsourced the other units to be economical. Moller et al. (2002) suggest that Nike with other big companies such as Benetton, Dell and IKEA has a well specified supplier and distribution system which made them efficient in terms of rapid growth opportunity, time compression, production and access to a wider customer base. Eisenhardt et al. (2000) suggests that for the long term competitive advantage Nike could also use dynamic capabilities to enhance existing resource configuration. Anti-globalisation Campaigns against Nike For all of the successes Nike has gained, it has repeatedly accused due to lots of issues for more than a decade. Many a times Nike stores have been targeted by anti globalisation protestors. News organisations such as CBS and several non government organisations such as Global Exchange based in San Francisco criticised the working conditions in foreign factories that supply Nike. According to Gelder (2006), in the race of globalisation, Nike, Coca-Cola and McDonalds are some of the brands which have become the representative of the massive power of large corporations for the anti globalisation movement. A brand is perceived differently in different culture or markets so it could be very catchy for an organisation to build a global brand. An organisation should be aware about the external environments in which it functions and should be very sensitive about its internal culture. It is very unreasonable to say that one strategy will fit globally because the rules and regulations and circumstances are different in different countries (Moore, 2003). And to position a brand competently in a different country needs a great skill to understand all the circumstances. A new but forthcoming field of research in international market strategy can be represented by low-income markets. Most companies are unaware of the potential of these markets and therefore these markets remain unexplored. To better understand customer needs and market characteristics it is very important to develop established ties and alliances with traditional and non-traditional partners in that economy. (Hill, 2009) Although Nike is a U.S. established company but all of its manufacturing is done in low wage countries like Vietnam. Nike is accused of manufacturing its shoes under the sweatshop condition in Asian countries which make a large hue and cry among the media. CBS 48 hours news report that these sweatshops are conducting their activities in unpleasant and unhealthy conditions. Young workers are paid low wages to work long hours and are exposed continuously to toxic substances in factories which can lead to serious health impairment. A foundation financed by labour unions and low-wage countries in 1996 said that Air Jordans popular range of Nike sneakers were made by 11 year olds who are working for 14 cents per hour in Indonesia. A newsletter published by Global exchange argued that most of the shoes of Nike are manufactured in countries like China and Indonesia which has governments that forbid independent unions and set the minimum wages so low that does not provide basic necessity of one person. Douglas and Wind (1987) suggested that a careful analysis of the forces driving towards globalisation and the obstacles to this approach will help the company to assess where the most attractive opportunities and the companys differential advantage in exploiting these, appear to lie based on the strengths and weaknesses. Keeping that in mind, Nike has answered all these questions time to time with new strategies and cleared all the issues and moved efficiently to correct them. Nike has handled the negative publicity over the sweatshops very expeditiously. Nike came in front and took this social responsibility to make a code of conduct to improve the working condition and to improve the conditions of workers and it has amended it time to time. It was advantageous for Nike as well as it remains in the news and gave the publicity to Nike in a way. As Levitt (1983) said a global producers patronage expands exponentially, when he offers his low cost internationally. Levitt suggested that customers with local preferences are also attracted towards the lesser prices offered by global producers. So, it can be said that the strategy of standardisation does not only responds to the worldwide homogenised markets but also expands markets with aggressive lower pricing. Therefore, to establish good public relations Nike took some more steps. It commissioned Ernst Young, an independent organisation to audit its subcontractors overseas factories (Rourke, 2000). When four Indonesian subcontractors are refused to abide by the companys standard for wage levels and working condition, Nike terminated its relationship with them. Stout (1997) argued that this made a positive image of Nike in media and enhanced its public image in Asian countries. Later, Nike adopted a standard according to which a person with 17 years of age or more can work and workers have to prove their age by submitting 3 documents certifying their age (Lee, 2000). Hill (2009) suggests when a company expand itself globally it also consider its consumers benefits, consumers must be served with high quality and low priced products. Some consumers however, prefer those products which caused less harm to others or which are produced in their own country and this is called ethical factor. Consumers can get the best combination of price, quality and ethical factors if provided by relevant information. And Nike consumers get all the benefits from paying low wages to Asian workers. Levitt (1983) suggested that low price regardless of feature preferences and heavy promotion regardless of price, always attracts and influence customers. Macro- Environmental factors Now, PESTLE framework will help us to analyse the macro- environmental factors affecting Nikes international marketing strategies and its business performance. Firstly, the government action certainly will have a great influence. Being a sportswear industry Nike is highly labour intensive and majority of manufacturing is held in low wage countries. As Nike is operating in 4 different continents, the government legislations will be different for different countries. Nike should strictly follow the rules such as minimum wage and child labour; it will make Nike a more socially responsible organisation. A great impact on market strategy will be done by environmental factors. So, Nike should consider in which market to sell, how to reduce pollution and ensure fair terms of trade which are observed by suppliers. A key to implement international strategy could be the demographics and socio-cultural influences. In 2000, in the western economies a great issue of ageing affected the buyers choice as it could lead to change the demand from sportswear to comfort wear shoes. Now-a-days, growing health awareness will result in the demand of sports and fitness commodities (Moore, 2003). Another factor affecting marketing strategy could be the technology, which is improving everyday and never predictable. For marketing and selling Nike is already using Internet web mode, any future marketing strategy should consider telecommunications and information technology advancements as they can go on twitter, face book as these websites are mostly accessed by youngsters which could be the fan of Nike. Finally, if Nike wants to think about some acquisitions or merger, it should take into account the investigation by Competition Commission which could block its activities taking into consideration the government policies. Because as Duguid (2005) suggests that such kind of business acquisition will be against interest of consumers and can lead to monopoly. Nike should not forget suppliers of raw materials like rubber, leather and cotton etc. because shortage of supply can play a big role in setting the pricing policies and applying the market strategies. Nike should establish good relations with suppliers because they can affect business strategies. As Nike operates its business globally, any strategy can have different implication on different culture so it should consider the adaptability, feasibility and suitability by the local people of that country. Competition and Recommendation: Nike faces direct competition from Umbro, Reebok, Puma, and Adidas, which are in a way, the rivals of Nike because they sell the same products and target the same customer groups. The current acquisition of Reebok by Adidas makes this competition more intense. The deal creates a much bigger Adidas a company of $12 billion against $14 billion of Nike. (Carr, 2005) However, both the brands Adidas and Reebok are very different in their culture; Reebok is more lifestyle brand than Adidas. Obviously, this deal will increase the amount of money spent on advertising from both the companies. But, in the past years, Nike succeeded because it didnt confuse its customers and even after acquisitions with skateboard it support its own brand and expand its parent reach without confusing customers. Karpin and Voola (2008) believe that consistency is the key aspect of brand management in the international context. Burghausen and Fan (2002) also supported him by arguing that consistency should not lead to complacency, and management should only make changes when a relevant opportunity is identified. Nike has the ability to influence a DIBC (Dynamic International Branding Capability) to shape the market opportunities around the brand. DIBC is the ability to manage the international branding process as a dynamic capability. So Nike should follow this strategy in future and try to remain dominant over its rivals through the marketing strategy. Nike has always come up with some innovative ideas. The differentiation strategy of Nike is quite competitive so Nike should ensure any international marketing strategy it applies should enhance its superior brand name. Implementation of brand differentiation strategy is allowed by Nikes brand name which is a tangible but important factor to ensure future success and maintain its current leadership and market share. Differentiation is one of the bases which allow Nike to gain competitive advantage. In general, Nike has used all the marketing campaigns possible in the past but it should consider the availability of resources in the different country. As Douglas and Wind (1987) suggested that one standardised strategy may be hampered due do the differences in the marketing infrastructure from one country to another. These may for example include differences in the availability and reach of various promotional media, in the availability of certain distribution channels, or retail institutions or in the existence and efficiency of the communication and transportation network. Such factors therefore may require considerable adaptation of strategy of local market conditions. The type of media available as well as their reach and effectiveness differ from country to country. For instance TV advertising, while a major medium in US, Japan and Australia, is not permitted in Scandinavian countries. Where TV advertising is permitted it may reach only a limited number of households, due to limited ownership of TVs as for example in South Africa, Nigeria or Indonesia. Similarly, in countries with high level of illiteracy the effectiveness of print media is severely limited. (Douglas and Wind, 1987) According to Levitt (1983), through supplying global markets Nike could achieve considerable economies of scale in production and marketing. He suggested that for high quality of products most of the people around the world are ready to compromise their preferences in product features, functions and design. Conclusion: Finally, Nike is a traditional product centric organisation but product was the end point of the consumer experience in past but, today it is the starting point. So, Nike should adopt a strategy to build customer relationship on a scale and scope as never before.

Socialisation Is A Fundamental Sociological Concept Sociology Essay

Socialisation Is A Fundamental Sociological Concept Sociology Essay Socialisation is a fundamental sociological concept as it is the way we learn to be a functioning part of the society we are in, how to become a member of the group. Socialisation starts from the moment we are born and there are many arguments that help to show how such socialisation is a continuous process. It continues throughout our lives to help us fit into and be accepted into the many groups within society that we encounter during our lifetime or to just adjust to the changes in our existing community. Although an Important social topic that affects all members of society at one time, widespread mainstream literature concerning gender socialisation is difficult to come by. As mentioned, socialisation starts from the day we are born, the very start, so to help understand socialisation as a whole, developing an understanding of some of its parts is helpful. For this piece of work I shall be focusing on gender socialisation and the impact it has on an individuals socialisation into society. The concept of gender socialisation helps us to understand how the notion of gender, what is expected of individuals as males and females in society and how much it matters. Throughout examining literature for this topic I hope to gain a better understanding of what academic sociologist have to say on this topic. The aim is to try to Identify important factors that impact gender socialisation and what literature is current on a similar topic. Has there been a change in attitude to such gendered socialisation and the idea or construction of gender? What are these and how are these developing; I.e. gendered parenting/modern schooling? I also would like to explore nature vs. nurture/boy vs. girl/male vs. female. What are these titles and how are they explained in a sociological way. I hope to gain a greater concept of gender theories and what is already known about my chosen topic. To help to develop my understanding of sociological explanations for gender socialisation I have approached several academic texts to help guide and aid my understanding. The first book that I revised is The Paradoxes of Gender (1999) by Judith Lorber. Written by Feminist and sociologist Lorber I found that this book challenges the basic idea we may hold of gender and its construction. Lorber argues that gender is a social fact constructed wholly by socialisation. Lorber also notes that gender is also a social institution, comparable to religion, the economy and the family as with it follows consequences and social significance. As a feminist Lorbers work focuses on the need for gender and how it is an inevitable fact that is important not only for the identity of an individual but also for societys construction. While I initially focused on Lorbers Text for a main point of reference I also followed up with works such as Women, Men and Society (1999) Renzetti and Curran, The Gender T rap (2012) Emily W Kane. These texts form the primary reading for this lit review. I supplemented these with more classical theory books such as Marx, Weber, Durkheim and Classical Sociological theory (2006) What is gender socialisation? There are many different theories of how gender socialisation happens and how/when it occurs. To help understand gender socialisation, an attempt at a definition is helpful. In its simplest form gender socialisation is how an individual learns and accepts the expected gender norms and values of the culture and society they are born into. Through this education they begin to develop a sense of identity and their ideas of gender become internalised and guide their behaviour. The Paradoxes of Gender (1994) attempts to explore all areas of Gender and the influences they have on gender identity and wider gender influences. To help with gender socialisation there are ideas within the wider concept that help to make up a persons gender socialisation. Lorber sees Gender norms as a set of rules appropriate for males and females; they are a set of expectations these expectations help to dictate how men and women are labelled, and therefore how they should behave. The rules and expectations follow on to become internalised and help to forma gender identity, which leads us to the second point highlighted to help gain an understanding of gender socialisation; Gender identity. Sociologists make a clear distinction between gender and sex. A persons sex is biological determined and gender is culturally learnt. Gender identity goes beyond just recognising the physical biological gender characteristics belonging to male and female and identifying them from each other. Gender identity is in fact an internal personal conception of how an individual view themselves as male or female. Gender cannot be equated with biol ogical and physiological differences between human males and females. The building blocks of gender are socially constructed. (Lorber 1994:17) How gender socialisation impacts Individuals life choices. Gender socialisation impacts all areas of social life and therefore does in fact make it an important topic of study. The way an individual is socialised in terms of their gender has an overall impact on daily life including that of social self, self-concept and the way we conduct personal relationships with others and the perceptions we make. Family, friends, social peers and outside uncontrollable sources are all agents through which socialisation occurs. Religion, mass media education and pop culture are becoming ever increasingly influential over socialisation and how an individual views themselves in respect to their gender. Boys and girls are treated different right from birth, this treatment is often primarily from members of their own environment, such as their parents, siblings and extended families, and the way they are treated helps them to learn the distinction between being male or female. Most parents create a gendered world for their new-born by naming, birth announcem ents and dress. Childrens relationships with same-gendered and different-gendered caretakers structure their self-identifications and personalities (Lorber 1994:25).Similar to The Paradoxes of Gender (2004), Men, Women and Society (2002) also addresses the many aspects of what we see as gender. One of the most interesting research topics explored in this book is the concept of how outside choices influence a childs gender socialisation. This is quite often transmitted through simple gestures such as the selection of gender based toys or giving a child a gender based task Research does show that children express gender based toy preferences as early as one year of age, but their toy choices may have been inspired even earlier by parental encouragement (Renzetti and Curran1999;74). These seemingly insignificant acts do in fact play a large part in the socialisation of children, and as a result how they develop their gender identity, and therefore their ender socialisation. A common th eme throughout all the literature based around gender, explore varying influences on what is gender and how it constructed. Nature vs Nurture vs gender identity. An influential and on-going debate amongst sociologists is the argument of the importance of nature vs. nurture in terms of gender socialisation. This ever evolving debate attempts to discover how a biological identity differs over individuals social surroundings to develop a gender identity. A biological and genetic gender identity fuels the nature area of debate whereas society and external influences help to form the idea of nurture. Many argue that to efficiently form an active gender identity, there must be a significant influence from either nature or nurture, but the question continues as to which is more influential, if either. In the Journal article The Nature of Gender Udry attempts to distinguish between what is sex; and what is gender. Gender is the relationship between biological sex and behaviour; a theory of gender explains the relationship. A gendered behaviour is the one that defines sex (Udry 1994;561). This idea and the theme of this article help to highlight my in itial argument about discussing how gender is a social construction. Sex is a given but a persons gender can be perceived differently dependant on how they behaviour. My project will attempt to further this idea by looking into how this behaviour is shaped and learnt. Children start to come into contact with such norms that define what it is to be masculine or feminine. What is acceptable or unacceptable behaviour is placed upon them in both conscious and unconscious ways. Young boys are taught not to show high emotion, to be strong and powerful whereas girls are showed how to be forgiving, docile and ladylike. If a child shows to be going against such expected norms then there is the chance that they can expected to be ostracised from their community or culture, or treated badly. In exceptional circumstances some cultures limit access to basic human rights such as nutrition health care. The treatment of genders in some cultures can also help to reinforce a separate gender identity, for examples in many third world cultures, girls have both different legal and ethical access to education so therefore go on to expect to be treated differently from boys, all based on their gender identity. Toy selection and clothing although seemingly innocent can i n fact play a crucial part in gender socialisation. Clothing plays a significant part in gender socialisation. As children become mobile, certain types of clothing encourage certain or discourage particular behaviours or activities (Renzetti and Curran 2002; 70) by this Renzetti and Curran refer to the idea that the way a child is dressed can influence their expected gender identity. For example a female child dressed in a soft, flowing or lace detailed dress would be expected to behave more soft and gentle compared to a male child in Denim jeans who would be accepted for rough and tumble behaviour. The Psychological and Biological explanations for gender. To develop a greater understanding of sociological explanations for gender socialisation it is also important to compare and contrast the arguments raised to those of another discipline. As Urdy notes it is important to consider new schools of thinking as social science stems from such thoughts. It is also impossible to study gender without noting the biological differences of human beings. Gender has biological foundations (Udry 1994 ; 571) One of the most prominent theories about gender acknowledgement comes from the school of psychology. Sigmund Freuds work focused on the importance of childhood and the experience that children experience that children gain throughout it, especially in relation to their gender. Freud noted that gender development is an unconscious experience that occurs through forming a bond with a parental figure. Although this project will focus on primarily the sociological explanations for gender socialisation many texts touch upon further academic disciplines who discuss the construction of gender. It is therefore important to include such references into my project, due to the reference through the literature I have reviewed. Societys expectations. Societys expectations of male and female positions within society have also changed over time. Throughout this project I hope to investigate the suggestion that societies tolerant of the changing gender of identity of females has become more positive. A rise in females in the workplace, taking on stereotypical male occupations (fire fighter, police force, and, engineer) and asserting dominance in regards to their position throughout society. Family socialisation can be seen to encourage female children to display characteristically male but male children are often scorned from displaying any stereotypical female behaviour. Girls are accepted even if they prefer to play with male orientated toys, if they were trousers or show an interest in rough and tumble but if a male child played with baby dolls or wore a dress may experience more negative reaction from society. Parents, through primary socialisation, can be seen to be more likely to encourage their daughters to these masculine qu alities then allow their sons to display feminine qualities (Van Volkon 2003) Here Van Volkon gives weight to the importance primary socialisation, through their family can have on a child. The role of women is seen to be changing in contemporary society, but does this mean that the main social gender identity is getting left behind? Conclusion. Looking at gender sociologically helps to reveal societal and cultural proportions of something that is generally thought of as biologically fixed. It helps us to understand how individuals are in a new viewpoint and to help raise and in the end answer new issues and debates surrounding gender. Throughout this project I hope to uncover answers to sociologically questions such as is gender culturally learnt? I am also interested in uncovering how important, or how much influence the family have on gender socialisation, especially in relation to children and childhood. To help with this the work of Emily Kane in The Gender Trap (2012) has proved useful. By conducting Interviews and observations of families, parents and children this literature helps to give empirical backing to the texts I have read throughout this review. Gender socialisation and how it is understood is an ongoing sociological question. Above is a brief overview of what literature I have found useful to attempt to study the subject of gender socialisation. As society can be seen as every changing I am interested in what such change, if any has on the construction and notion of gender. As understood throughout the literature reviewed modern institutions, such as education and the family, have great influence on society and how its individuals are taught how to fit in. Ideas and the construction of gender are constant with more radical forms of socialisation occurring i.e. gender neutral parenting and its societal impact. Not all the literature I have come across has proved useful to my project research, but this has allowed me to learn mistakes that previous research uncovered and helped to give my research direction and fresh thinking for future research. Throughout wider reading, I have concluded that using more contemporary sources and academic texts helped to give my research weight and productive reference. Introduction. The aim of this paper is to examine the influence that family has on gender development and the socialisation process. It will focus on how family influence can affect the construction of gender identity in children from birth through to the first year in primary schooling, around 5-6 years of age and also how the process of socialisation impacts parents. I shall attempt to examine both primary and secondary influences that can shape the gender identity of a family. The first part of this paper shall look at how becoming a parent can force an individual to have an influence on the gender identity of another and how this process may change their existing gender identity. Secondly this paper shall attempt to examine how the primary socialisation process impacts female children compared with male children. Society and its actors view the world through a series of lenses: those lenses can include class, race, age and gender. Society is full of stereotypes and the expectations that come with them. Social actors have little choice but to be subjected to learning these expectations and to submit to the influence they have on their personal identity. From childhood to adulthood our identity is constantly being reinforced as to what our culture and society wants and sees as acceptable. These stereotypes are expected of everyone but in fact may not be fair to all members of society. As they move through childhood, children are influenced by those that they interact with and are taught right from birth what it is to be a successful member of society. To understand the sociological concept concerned with the construction of gender, it is important to comprehend first of all the factors that influence ones gender construction. The continuing aim of this paper is to show that it is possible to identify different areas of gender socialization, which vary in their impact on children and those around them, which are essential to build up a gender identity. The best way to understand the concept of gender is to gain a basic knowledge of the concept it. From a structural perspective, gender is seen as the division of individuals within a society into contrasting and complementary social categories; boys and girls into men and women. In this conceptualisation, gendering in the process and a gendered social order can be seen to be the product of some kind of social construction (Lorber, 1994). Gender based norms can be defined as what we expect from males and females within society whereas gender stereotypes can be seen as how a society generalizes these expectations. Gender based stereotypes are generally first thought of being taught in the home, which are later reinforced by peer interactions, education and schooling, as well as widespread media contact. It can be seen that the family unit does in fact have the largest influence on a childs gender development. Their family members, parents in particular, overtly and covertly teach their child gender roles and reinforce the ideas of gender that they hold about themselves. Both socialisation, primary and secondary, cultural expectations and given biological attributes are all seen to influence an individuals gender identity and as a result has a significant effect on their personal identity. Vuorinen Tuunala, (1997) noted that Socialisation is the process, through which the child becomes an individual respecting his or hers environments laws, norms and customs. (pg45) From this, socialisation can be seen as a fundamental sociological concept and therefore is an important area of analysis. It is the way that individuals learn to be a functioning part of society and how to become an accepted member of the social group in which they are living amongst. Socialisation starts from the moment we are born and it is seen as a continuous process. It carries on throughout our lives, to help us fit and be accepted into the many groups within society that we encounter during our lifetime or to simply adjust to the changes in our existing community. The educational function that Murdock refers to, can also be termed socialisation. The family has the responsibility of transmitting a societys way of life, norms and values to the younger members. This function is an important one as, wi thout culture, the society could not survive, and too much deviation from the norm would disrupt the stability of the society. Classical sociology has also be long concerned with the process known as socialisation. Talcott Parsons (1959) has written about the functions of the family and identified two functions that he perceives as being basic and irreducible. For Parsons, the family provided primary socialisation of children and as a result, produced the stabilisation of the personalities within adults amongst wider society. [Haralambos Holborn, 2000, p.509] How children become socialised into different characters can be based on their sex. Through this more focused form of socialisation, boys and girls are repeatedly taught what it means to be male or female and what gender roles will be expected of them is termed gender socialisation (Giddens, 1993). Although it is an important social topic that affects all members of society at one time, widespread mainstream literature concerning gender socialisation is difficult to come by. There are many different theories of how gender socialisation happens and how or when it occurs. The two main theories I shall touch upon within this paper are social learning theory and as a follow on to this, social identification theory. These two theories are concerned with the development of gender identity and attempt to explain how the environment around an individual can influence their personal and social gender identity. Social learning theory proposes, established by Bandura (1971) that both gender identity and gender role are learned through a process including observation, imitation, punishment and reinforcement. On the other hand, social identification theory developed by Tajfel and Turner (1979) as a response to Bandura is based upon the notion that an individual portrays certain behaviours or an identity that reflects the social group to which they belong, to help them adapt and adopt the ways of the group. In its simplest form, gender socialisation is how individuals learn and accept the expected gender norms and values of the culture and society they are born into. Through this education they begin to develop a sense of identity and their ideas of gender become internalised and guide their behaviour. The mass media, wide spread social norms, environmental factors such as living conditions and even language distribute the stereotypes which influence social behaviour and therefore what is expected from gender in society. These external factors contribute to categorizing members of society and placing social label upon them. Examples of labels can include race, class and most importantly for this paper, gender. A shared stereotype is when an expected behaviour or conformity is mutual and accepted by all members of the social group, the way that individuals interpret this label determines how well they are accepted into their social group. Such gender stereotypes can be seen as a set of rules appropriate for males and females. These rules help to guide how males and females are labelled by their social group and indicate how they should behave, expectations become internalised and form an individuals gender identity. Separate stereotypes are linked to male and female members of society, with no two overlapping. Men are seen to be strong and emotionless whilst women are expected to show their emotions and are seen as submissive and gentle. For example, if a woman is seen to cry at an emotional moment in a movie, in a public cinema for instance, no individual around her would glance or question it, but if a male viewer was seen to cry openly and express such intense emotion, he may be exposed to ridicule or judgement. How fair this situation may be is often debated. For this paper the question of how such judgements occur will attempt to be answered. Why have social actors been encouraged to accept such stereotypes as a given? Why do individuals therefore find themselves accepting these roles for themselves? To understand gender identity it is important to make a distinction between sex and gender. Sex involves the biological and physical differences between men and women, whilst gender is culturally and socially learnt. Terminology such as male and female are sex based categories; however masculine and feminine are gendered categories. An individuals sex is a biological fact that is the same in any culture or society, nonetheless sex categorisation means, in terms of gender role as man or woman, can be viewed extremely differently across cultures ( WHO 2013). These gender roles can have a lasting impact in an individuals public and private identity. Although often used interchangeably, sex and gender are clearly different characteristics. Gender involves social customs, attributes and behaviours whereas sex can be seen as a more personal demonstration of such characteristics. In its simplest form sex is biological and gender is sociological. Gender role is seen sociologically as the characteristics and behaviours that society can attribute to the sexes. What it means to be a real man, in any society requires a male to be both recognised biologically as a man plus what the culture of that society defines as masculine characteristics and behaviours, likewise a real woman needs biological female attributes and feminine characteristics. Such stereotypical features are clearly defined for each sex, with those who break such guidelines being seen as deviant, outcasts in their given society. This paper will look further into what are expected gender behaviours and the sociological explanations for these expected personas. Gendered differences can depend on the given society and the cultural values, economic system, history and family structures that it holds, and are thoroughly maintained through these mediums. As a result of this a continuous loop-back effect between so called gendered institutions and the social construction of gender within individuals can be seen to exist (West and Zimmerman 1987) Gender identity goes beyond just recognising the physical biological gender characteristics belonging to male and female and identifying them from each other. Gender identity is in fact an internal and personal conception of how individuals view themselves as male or female and therefore how they conduct their actions within society. Gender cannot be equated with biological and physiological differences between human males and females. The building blocks of gender are socially constructed (Lorber 1994:17). As a social group, communities are embedded with gender, all members experience gender constructed experiences throughout their childhood, adolescence and eventually adulthood. These experiences are reproduced in and through those that they interact with. To what extent individuals accept the expected gender roles they are shown is debateable although no matter how much or how little they see themselves as masculine or feminine, gender can still influence their day to day existence. British sociology saw the only significant form of stratification within any given society was that of class. The term gender wasnt mentioned in early sociological thought, with any reference to difference between men and women categorised and referred to as sex. Sex being considered as an important and influential sociological concept only came into consideration with the emerging and developing feminist perspectives of the 1970s. Feminists had to fight through traditional theories to change existing thought on the concept of differences and inequalities brought about by an individuals gender and sex identity. Socialisation is a fundamental sociological concept and can be applied to many areas of society that are seen as important to sociological study. As highlighted earlier, socialisation is defined as the way in which an individual learns to become part of a group, including wider civilization, as well as their small immediate environment and community. Socialisation begins the moment an individual is born, and they encounter different degrees of the process throughout all their life stages in order to help them adapt to each and every social group they encounter. Socialisation also helps to equip a social actor with the tools they need to cope and bend with any changes that may occur within their existing social group. Given the importance of socialisation within the discipline of sociology as a whole, concentrating on a focused area of socialisation can help with building a general knowledge that can be applied to further study of sociology and its topics. Gender is something that is experienced and encountered by all members of any given society and there are many different theories about what exactly affects an individuals gender socialisation, but this paper shall focus on early socialisation and the influence family life can have in the socialisation process. Parental influence on gender identity A childs initial experiences come from their parents; therefore as a result their first experience with gender identity also comes from their close family environment. With the advancement in technology, expectant parents can learn the sex of their unborn child as early as 14-16 weeks into a pregnancy (nhs.co.uk). From that moment the words its a boy/girl! leave the technicians mouth, gender expectations begin. The most innocent of tasks such as buying a babys first blanket is gendered. A pretty pink flowered one for your baby girl is associated with the expectation that she will be soft and delicate, whereas purchasing a vivid blue truck covered blanket for the soon to be baby boy, can be seen to set him up to be strong and tough. Associating such gender traits in a simple act may seem extreme but it is just the start of teaching a child what is expected from their gender. The process of gender socialization can be seen to begin in the context of the family (McHale et al., 2003). The family unit is the environment that a child is introduced to the world in and what their developing gender demands. Although many factors are seen to have an influence on the socialisation of a child and teaching them what is expected from their gender, parents are seen to act as the principle source of socialisation, the primary socialising agents of a childs gender roles. (Block, 1983; Witt, 1997). Studies have shown that gendered treatment of children is evident in the first 24 hours after birth. Children internalize what they see from their parents behaviour and by the age of two, they have a compressive awareness of the difference in sex roles. Ruble and martin (1998) studied preschool children whose socialisation had only occurred at home (primary) and saw that children showed awareness of stereotyped gender traits. They could recognise males as having a higher power them females, but also associated negative connotations with a male figure, such as anger or unfriendliness, whereas they saw women as having less significant social standing but associated with positive traits such as kindness and approachableness. Children also demonstrated to discover gender identity through their own gendered perception. For instance, when asked to assign a sex or gender to a neutral doll, a girl would use female associations similar to them, whereas a boy child would make the doll into a male and demonstrate traits that are associated to societys masculine gendered attributes. Parents are seen to encourage such gendered behaviour by adhering to sex-based toys and games for their children, which have a heavy influence in the construction of gender identity and stereotypes. While both mothers and fathers contribute to the gender stereotyping of their children, fathers have been found to reinforce gender stereotypes more often than mothers do (Ruble, 1988). Lytton and Romney (1991) conducted a meta-analysis of 172 parents and their treatment of the boy versus girl children they were raising. Within this study, Lytton and Romney discovered that out of multiple identified socialisation areas; the only area that showed mothers and fathers treating children differently was giving them activities based on their separate genders. Giving boys and girls activities initially based on their sex, resulted in an enforcement of gender roles and becoming gender orientated. Encouraging their daughters to play house or with dolls and prams, or by allowing their sons to play with trucks or building blocks, parents may both knowingly and unknowingly be encouraging their childs future gendered persona. Perhaps due to an influence of western culture norms, Lytton and Romney saw that parents scold and punish boys more severely in the advent of misbehaving or going out of their gendered expectations, then that they do with female children. This idea shall be further explored in a later section of this paper. A further study, this time by Cowan and Hoffman (1986), saw that a childs first words are also seen as gendered. For instance, being taught to assign a different name to each of their parents, mother for female carer and father for male carer, demonstrates how parental influence takes place. Hoffman also noted that the

My Philosophy of Teaching Essay -- Educational Educating Teaching Essa

Philosophy of Education As Malcom Forbes once said, â€Å"Education’s purpose is to replace an empty mind with an open one.† As a future teacher and educator, I heartily agree with the quote from Mr. Forbes, a successful businessman. Because I have been a student in school since I was five years old, I have had many opportunities to look at my education and assess what I have truly learned. Honestly, I can say that the most important part of my past and current education has been being exposed to the many ideas and concepts of our world today. Aside from learning about the all important â€Å"classic† subjects, I have been fortunate enough to be educated by individuals who truly wanted to teach me, as well as other students, to make a difference in the world. Due to the condition our world is in today, I feel it is extremely important to teach my future students about such issues as racism, gender inequality, war, legal matters and environmental issues, just to name a few. In order to be a successful person in the world today, it is imperative that all citizens are aware of the many non-educational issues surrounding them. It is vital that every person is capable of making rational decisions on his or her own. These ideas and skills are not something that parents alone can teach their children, simply because so many children do not have parents that are involved in their lives. Therefore, it is the school’s responsibility to teach the students about all areas of life. Every student, regardless of background, race, sex, and ethnicity will be educated on how the become a more worldly person. No one, thanks to a free public education, will be denied the right to learn. Because I hold these views, it is clear that I embrace a So... ...e, as well as observation hours and lessons to teach. Yet I know that deep down inside, I am making a good decision for my life. Teachers may not make the most money or have the most respected profession, but it is a job that is always needed. Teachers have helped encourage so many of the world’s brightest people; so many people have admitted that they wouldn’t be where they are today without the support from that one special teacher. I want to be that special teacher, the one who goes the extra mile for her students and pushes them to be the best they can be. But most importantly, I want to be able to teach my students to be worldly and independent. For Robert Hutchins once said, â€Å"It must be remembered that the purpose of education is not to fill the minds of students with facts†¦it is to teach them to think, if that is possible, and to always think for themselves†.

Young Goodman Brown Looses Faith in The Woods Essay -- Young Goodman B

Young Goodman Brown Looses Faith in The Woods    In the story "Young Goodman Brown," written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, the author introduces evil images to tempt and delude Young Goodman Brown as he made his way through the woods. Goodman Brown, by the end of his journey, understands there is an evil side to human nature and believes that man is doomed by "original sin."    The main character, Goodman Brown is introduced as a well-mannered man who is happily married to Faith. Initially, the language such as "sunset" and "pink ribbons" symbolizes light and a positive environment in Salem Village, where the story takes place. Then, as Goodman Brown journeys through the woods, changes in the environment make him change the way in which he sees the world and people around him.    From the time he decides to go to the woods at night, this peaceful panorama presented in his hometown changes. Evil images like "devil, lonely thick boughs, "1 add an obscure and negative side to the story. He had taken a dreary road, darkened by all the gloomiest trees of the forest, which barely stood aside to let the narrow path creep through and closed immediately behind (p. 62).    This example reflects the change in environment for Goodman Brown after he left the positive world of the village. He felt he was passing through an unseen multitude since he could not know if there was someone concealed by the trees. This situation makes him question: "What if the devil himself should be at my very elbow" (p. 62). Goodman Brown, who wasn't aware of the existence of an evil side to the world, is being introduced to it through the natural objects in the woods, which provided a warning sign of the evil to come.    S... ...ream" (p. 70). Now the natural world and even his wife and fellow Puritans reveal a concept of evil to him. This makes him lose his faith in his religion and his own people. "My faith is gone! ... There is no god on earth; and sin is but a name. Come devil; for to thee is this world given" (p. 67). Whenever the minister talked about the sacred truths of religion, with the bible in his hands: "...then did Goodman Brown turn pale, dreading lest the roof should thunder down upon the gray blasphemer and his hearers" (p.70). His new attitude towards life in the village is a measure of his acceptance of the idea that man is doomed by "original sin."   Work Cited Nathaniel Hawthorne, "Young Goodman Brown," in Literature: Reading and Writing the Human Experience, eds. Richard Abcarian, Marvin Klotz, Peter Richardson, 7th ed. (New York: St. Martin's Press, 1998), p.62.

Kamala das an introduction Essay

Kamala Das (Has also written under the pseudonyms Madhavikutty and Kamala Suraiyya) Indian poet, short story writer, novelist, playwright, essayist, nonfiction writer, children’s writer, and autobiographer. The following entry presents an overview of Das’s career through 2000. Das is one of the best-known contemporary Indian women writers. Writing in two languages, English and Malayalam, Das has authored many autobiographical works and novels, several well-received collections of poetry in English, numerous volumes of short stories, and essays on a broad spectrum of subjects. Since the publication of her first collection of poetry, Summer in Calcutta (1965), Das has been considered an important voice of her generation who exemplifies a break from the past by writing in a distinctly Indian persona rather than adopting the techniques of the English modernists. Das’s provocative poems are known for their unflinchingly honest explorations of the self and female sexuality, urban life, women’s roles in traditional Indian society, issues of postcolonial identity, and the political and personal struggles of marginalized people. Das’s work in English has been widely anthologized in India, Australia, and the West, and she has received many awards and honors, including the P.E.N. Philippines Asian Poetry Prize (1963), Kerala Sahitya Academy Award for her writing in Malayalam (1969), Chiman Lal Award for fearless journalism (1971), the ASAN World Prize (1985), and the Sahitya Akademi Award for her poetry in English (1985). In 1984, she was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature. Biographical Information Das was born into an aristocratic Nair Hindu family in Malabar (now Kerala), India, on March 31, 1934. Her maternal grandfather and great-grandfather were Rajas, a caste of Hindu nobility. Her love of poetry began at an early age through the influence of her maternal great-uncle, Narayan Menon, a prominent writer, and her mother, Balamani Amma, a well-known Malayali poet. Das was also deeply affected by the poetry of the sacred writings kept by  the matriarchal community of Nairs. Das’s father, a successful managing director for a British automobile firm, was descended from peasant stock and favored Gandhian principles of austerity. The combination of â€Å"royal† and â€Å"peasant† identities, along with the atmosphere of colonialism and its pervasive racism, produced feelings of inadequacy and alienation for Das. Educated in Calcutta and Malabar, Das began writing at age six and had her first poem published by P.E.N. India at age fourteen. She did not receive a university education. She was married in 1949 to Madhava Das, an employee of the Reserve Bank of India who later worked for the United Nations. She was sixteen years old when the first of her three sons was born; at eighteen, she began to write obsessively. Although Das and Madhava were romantically incompatible according to Das’s 1976 autobiography, My Story, which describes his homosexual liaisons and her extramarital affairs, Madhava supported her writing. His career took them to Calcutta, New Delhi, and Bombay, where Das’s poetry was influenced by metropolitan life as well as by her emotional experiences. In addition to writing poetry, fiction, and autobiography, Das served as editor of the poetry section of The Illustrated Weekly of India from 1971 to 1972 and 1978 to 1979. In 1981 Das and her husband retired to Kerala. Das ran as an Independent for the Indian Parliament in 1984. After her husband died, Das converted to Islam and changed her name to Kamala Suraiyya. She currently lives in Kerala, where she writes a syndicated column on culture and politics. Major Works Das published six volumes of poetry between 1965 and 1985. Drawing upon religious and domestic imagery to explore a sense of identity, Das tells of intensely personal experiences, including her growth into womanhood, her unsuccessful quest for love in and outside of marriage, and her life in matriarchal rural South India after inheriting her ancestral home. Since the publication of Summer in Calcutta, Das has been a controversial figure, known for her unusual imagery and candor. In poems such as â€Å"The Dance of the Eunuchs† and â€Å"The Freaks,† Das draws upon the exotic to discuss her sexuality and her quest for fulfillment. In â€Å"An Introduction,† Das makes public traditionally private experiences, suggesting that women’s personal  feelings of longing and loss are part of the collective experience of womanhood. In the collection The Descendants (1967), the poem â€Å"The Maggots† frames the pain of lost love with ancient Hindu myths, while the poem â€Å"The Looking-Glass† suggests that the very things society labels taboo are the things that women are supposed to give. In The Old Playhouse and Other Poems (1973), poems such as â€Å"Substitute,† â€Å"Gino,† and â€Å"The Suicide† examine physical love’s failure to provide fulfillment, escape from the self, and exorcism of the past, whereas poems such as â€Å"The Inheritance† address the integrity of the artistic self in the face of religious fanaticism. In Tonight, This Savage Rite: The Love Poems of Kamala Das and Pritish Nandy (1979), Das invokes Krishna in her explorations of the tensions between physical love and spiritual transcendence. The Anamalai Poems (1985), a series of short poems written after Das was defeated in the 1984 parliamentary elections, reworks the classical Tamil akam (â€Å"interior†) poems that contrast the grandeur and permanence of nature with the transience of human history. Poems such as â€Å"Delhi 1984† and â€Å"Smoke in Colombo† evoke the massacre of the Sikhs and the civil war in Sri Lanka. In My Story, originally published in serial format, Das provides details of her extramarital affairs and her unhappy marriage to Madhava Das. She is also the author of a novel, The Alphabet of Lust (1977), and several volumes of short stories in English. Under the name Madhavi Kutty, Das has published many books in the Malayalam language. Critical Reception Critical response to Das’s poetry has been intimately connected to critical perception of her personality and politics; her provocative poetry has seldom produced lukewarm reactions. While reviewers of Das’s early poetry have praised its fierce originality, bold images, exploration of female sexuality, and intensely personal voice, they lamented that it lacked attention to structure and craftsmanship. Scholars such as Devindra Kohli, Eunice de Souza, and Sunil Kumar have found powerful feminist images in Das’s poetry, focusing on critiques of marriage, motherhood, women’s relationships to their bodies and power over their sexuality, and the roles women are offered in traditional Indian society. Many critics have analyzed Das as a â€Å"confessional† poet, writing in the tradition of Sylvia Plath, Anne Sexton, and Denise Levertov. Some scholars, such as Vimala Rao, Iqbar Kaur, and Vrinda Naur, have deemed Das’s poetry, autobiography, and essays frustratingly inconsistent, self-indulgent, and equivocal, although they, too, have praised her compelling images and original voice. Such commentators have suggested that Das is both overexposed and overrated. Other scholars, such as P. P. Raveendran, have connected the emphasis on the self in Das’s work to larger historical and cultural contexts and complicated, shifting postcolonial identities. Indian critics have disagreed about the significance of Das’s choice to write of her experiences as an Indian woman in English; some scholars suggest that, in her shunning of traditional aesthetic form, she has created a new language for the expression of colonial contradictions. Despite disagreement over the aesthetic qualities and consistency of Das’s body of poetry, scholars agree that Das is an important figure whose bold and honest voice has re-energized Indian writing in English.

Death Penalty for Children Essay

The death penalty issue has always been one of the most important issues of the contemporary system of justice. Years ago the majority of the criminals were male over 20 years old, but nowadays the situation has changed. Not only adults are sentenced but children who are under 18 years old nowadays they commit murders and other terrible crimes. However, a child is always a child and if he commits a crime it is not because he has a good life in fact, it is not the guilt of the children, they don’t have the fortune of having anybody who loves, supports and leads them in the correct direction. Under these conditions a child should never be sentenced to death because they still have a chance to change and re-evaluate their life. A child is not mentally capable of comprehending the crime he or she commits, other people can easily influence children and their psychic process is not stable yet. The majority of the negative manifestations are acquired from parent’s behavior and the child’s social environment. If the child has only aggressive and violent examples in his social environment, he won’t accept the guide of his parents or teachers then the child’s personality deforms. A child is not a criminal adult and should never be treated like that, it is more important to prevent children for committing crimes and remember that children simply reflect what the family and the society have put into their heads. Taking everything into account, children should grow up in a healthy environment with love and respect for the live of themselves and others, this is the way to prevent more crimes. Governments and society must understand that a child is reflection of a happy home, then they should start to improve their behavior to improve their homes and the world.