Tuesday, January 28, 2020

Human impact on coral reefs

Human impact on coral reefs Human Impact On Coral Reefs In The Last 30 Years Abstract Coral reefs are the homes that provide shelter for approximately one quarter of all known marine species as well as being the most diverse ecosystems. Coral reefs are vulnerable to even the slightest environmental changes. A review of the literature of the last 30 years shows that the frequency of human activity has intensified to a new level where human actions have extended to the coral reefs on a global scale. Humans are actively damaging the coral reef ecosystems on our earth. Coral reefs are overfished, poisoned by chemical pollution, smothered by sediment, and choked by macroalgae growing on nutrient rich sewage and fertilizer runoff. In the meantime, global warming and ocean acidification is a greater contribution to coral reef mortality. The main driving force behind the coral crisis is the continuing increase in human population. These will give a burden to environment, and eventually will impact on marine life, especially the coral reefs. Through the review of the past pape rs, I found that from the least and latest topic of ocean acidification to the largest one (sedimentation and nutrient enrichment), scientists are getting concerned about the problem relate to carbon dioxide which results in climate change and ocean acidification globally, especially in the recent years. Lots of coral reef scientists have risen to this key issue. Introduction â€Å"Coral reefs are evaluated to cover 284,300 square kilometers, with the Indo-Pacific region (including the Red Sea, Indian Ocean, Southeast Asia and the Pacific) accounting for 91.9% of the total. Southeast Asia accounts for 32.3% of that figure, while the Pacific including Australia accounts for 40.8%. Atlantic and Caribbean coral reefs only account for 7.6% of world total†. (Spalding, M., Ravilious, C., and Green, E. (2001). World Atlas of Coral Reefs. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press and UNEP/WCMC) It is reported that Australia, Indonesia, Philippines, Papua New Guinea, Fiji contain almost over half of the worlds reefs. It is now generally acknowledged that coral reefs are among the most threatened global ecosystems, and among the most vital (Costanza et al. 1997; Bryant et al. 1998; Boesch et al. 2000; Reaser et al. 2000; Wilkinson 2000). However, one of the upcoming crises is a major threat of death of corals and large scale damage of coral reefs in all over the world. This crisis is partly a result of the frequency of human activities which are having a negative effect on marine ecosystems, especially on coral reef ecosystems. A study from 1998 showed that coral reefs around the world were affected by human activities (Lauretta B. et al. 1998, Fig. 2). The study showed the relative proportion of reefs at risk in five regions, with Southeast Asia having the highest area at risk. This phenomenon probably is related to the overfishing in this area which leads to coral reefs being at the highest risk compared to the rest of the world. It is known that the current situation is directly or indirectly consistent with human activities. However, the question remains that to what extent has human activity changed the coral reef ecosystems? So in this report, I would use ISI web database to search articles related to coral reefs crisis. Basically, I will try to answer this question. To do this I will discuss the various threats to coral reef, including overfishing and fish live trade issue, pollution-including terrestrial runoff, chemical compounds and sedimentation, and macroalgae overgrowth which is causing by nutr ient enrichment under the seawater, and global warming and ocean acidification which contribute to coral disease and coral mortality. Impacts Of Overfishing It is sure about that overfishing in general is a damaging problem to many coral reefs around the world. In this field, it is shown that scientists did research in the topic of overfishing and fish trade was increasing since 1990. (Figure 3) In recent years, as a result of human interference on coral reefs, coral mortality is higher than ever before. When this occurs, the algae immediately take this opportunity for growth, which results in seedlings of coral not being able to attach to the reef. This type of event highlights the important role of herbivorous fish on the restoration of coral reefs. But if herbivorous coral reef fish are captured in large numbers, ethnic groups are difficult to recover. In this situation, macroalgae continues to overgrow, and inhibits the growth of corals. For example, The Caribbean region has been hit particularly hard, with 40% of absolute coral cover lost since the late 1970s due to overfishing and macroalgae overgrowth (Gardner et al. 2003). So some authors argue that overfishing is an important reason why reef corals have declined in recent years. (Aronson et al. 2006) However, overfishing has also been due to the improvement of global fishing technology, and a variety of advanced equipment is used in the exploitation of fishing. A large number of fish becomes extinct annually. As a result of advanced fishing technology, the worlds annual catch of fish is continuing to rise. Indeed, on one hand, increased fishing will provide sufficient global supply of fish products. However, at the same time, the increase in fisheries production will reduce the global average price of fish in the global market, and this decline will lead to the reduction of fishing profits, which in turn will drive an increase in catches again, ultimately leading to a vicious circle in fisheries. On the other hand, large scale fishing can lead to the sharp decline in fish population. Without predators, algae can overgrow and suppress coral recruitment. Even though, some scientists argue that these algae are not directly killing corals. In fact, they are competing with corals in t he space and intake of light. So without light, corals will die eventually due to corals can not get nutrients to survive. (Figure 4) Pollution A major threat besides the overexploitation of fishery resources is undoubtedly the strong increase in coastal development, and discharge of untreated sewage into the near-shore waters, resulting in enormous amounts of nutrients spreading into the sea and coastal zones (Burke et al., 2002; Wilkinson, 2002; Brown et al., 2006; UNEP, 2006). For example, around 60% of the wastewater discharged into the Caspian Sea is untreated, in Latin America and the Caribbean the figure is close to 80%, and in large parts of Africa and the Indo-Pacific the proportion is as high as 80-90% (UNEP, 2006). Agricultural run-off to the ocean, Nitrogen exports to the marine environment is projected to increase at least 14% globally by 2030 (UNEP, 2006). During the past 30 years, more and more scientists were on to the problems of sedimentation and nutrient enrichment and chemical pollution and oil spills. It is shown that a big number of topics on pollution and nutrient enrichment and so on. (Figure 5 and 6) Basically, the scientists wanted to understand how did sedimentation and nutrient enrichment and chemical pollution and oil spills impact on the corals? There are various mechanisms by which these factors can harm coral reefs. First of all, suspended sediment makes water turbid which allows less sunlight to penetrate the water. With less sunlight, zooxanthellae which live within the corals tissue can not photosynthesize to produce organic nutrients that support the corals to thrive. In addition, it is known that zooxanthellae are sensitive to chemical changes (Parker et al. 2008). In industrial wastewater and farming runoff, there are always chemical compounds which can make zooxanthellae toxic to corals as well as in the case of oil spills. So to protect themselves, corals have to eject the zooxanthellae (Parker et al. 2008). After a period in this situation, corals will die. Furthermore, farming near the coast results in large quantities of sediment and soil going into sea and onto coral reefs. This dirt, silt or sand can make water muddy, smothering the corals (Rogers 1990). In addition, the use of fertilizers for farming is another problem resulting in increased nutrient flow into the ocean. The discharge human sewage leads to the nutrient enrichment in certain areas, especially in the estuary, which may result in rapid growth of algae which as mentioned before they will outcompete corals, cutting off the supply of light as well. Ocean Acidification In this area, it is shown that more and more conservationists were interesting in ocean acidification in recent years (Figure 7). It seems a very new field that scientists have only focused on just 7 years ago. It might be scientists aware of the issue of acidification rising, which is now noticing that acid level rising makes an impact on coral reefs. Ocean acidification is related to the carbon dioxide being released in to the atmosphere and reacting with seawater. The concentration of carbon dioxide in the Earths atmosphere now exceeds 380 ppm, which is more than 80 ppm above the maximum values of the past 740,000 years (Petit et al. 1999; EPICA community members, Nature. 2004). Carbon dioxide reacts with water to form a weak acid H2CO3, which results in acid levels increasing in the oceans of the world. Ocean acidification is a current key problem that all marine animals have to face, especially coral reefs. As previous mentioned that corals get organic nutrients from a mutualistic symbiont zooxanthellae to grow. These algae are sensitive to acid rising in the seawater. If the environmental conditions are changing, corals will eject algae and turn to white, a phenomenon known as coral bleaching. Global Warming With respect to global warming, corals are sensitive to the sudden temperature changing as well, which means the change of temperature is a factor causes their photosynthetic process to break down. When this happens, zooxanthellae become toxic to corals. Then, if they want to protect themselves, the corals have to expel the zooxanthellae. And they will get starved and become bleaching. As is figure 8 shown that another very important threat affecting coral reefs is global warming. The rise in temperature can result coral bleaching. It is usual to see coral bleaching just temperature a little higher than hottest summer temperature (Parker et al. 2008). Large-scale bleaching events seem to be becoming increasingly common (Wellington et al. 2001). If temperature continues to increase, in the future, this means that coral bleaching events may increase their frequency an extent of severity. Even though populations adapt and corals do survive, this pressure increases their susceptibility to disease and reduces their ability to reproduce. Overall From 11393 articles found in the literature search on the topics of coral reefs, one eighth of papers are related to the impact of human activities on coral reefs (Figure 9 and Figure 10). Of course, there should be more factors impacting on coral reefs and have contributed to their mortality. Indeed, the coral reef crisis in all over the world is getting worse and worse, even in the future the coral reef would face further threats. But this does not mean we have no ideas to save them, the figure 11 also shows that marine biologists were concerned about the coral reef crisis more than before, larger possibly because more and more scientists were aware of the importance of coral reefs to the entire marine ecosystems. Protecting coral reef ecosystems probably is an effective pathway to get most species recovered. Conclusion During the past 30 years, marine ecosystems took place some changes. The interference of human activities directly or indirectly gives more and more burden for our earth. The damaged environment makes some species become threatened species or endangered species, even critical endangered species. Even though, coral reefs are not becoming extinct, they are facing high risk which leads them to die. Indeed, the world lost a large scale of coral reefs which all due to the humans since early 20th century. From the review of the literature of the past 3 decades, scientists are focusing now more on climate changes, including global warming and ocean acidification, which results in corals death. Compared to the previous large number and key issues, like fishing and pollution problems, scientists are beginning to find more new factors that influence the coral reefs. From this trend, we can see that there should be more work to do to find a solution to marine scientists. With the population con tinuing to rise, it is difficult to imagine what will happen in the near future. For the humans, perhaps, they have to think about what they can and should do to reduce the dead of corals and the damage of coral reefs. To find a solution to solve the coral reef issues, humans have to give more actively motivations and passions to change the current situations.

Monday, January 20, 2020

History of Ian Fleming Essay -- Ian Fleming James Bond Essays

History of Ian Fleming Ian Fleming not just created the character of James Bond; he personified him by living an exciting life. With his suave style and long history of lavished background he was almost born into the part of his later creation. Ian Fleming was born on May 8th, 1908 to his father, Valentine Fleming, and his mother, Beatrice Fleming (Lycett 12). He was the grandson of the famous Scottish banking pioneer, Robert Fleming (Rosenberg 5). Ian also had three brothers named Peter, Richard, and Michael. He hated his brother Peter during most of his childhood. This was due to his brother being very successful in academics and got his fathers attention. Fist fights usually broke out between the two of them (Lycett 15). He loved his mother, but he was always rebelling against her because, he didn't like the thought of her controlling his life (Lycett 28). Ian's father did seem more like a teacher than a father him. He always encouraged Ian to take part in sports such as track. The father even taught him golf (Rosenberg 8). Since his father and his brother were very successful, Ian felt a desire to become successful himself. Ian attended Eton High School and joined the track team there and became and outstanding athlete (Cork 1). But, his stay at Eton was short lived due to some trouble he was in that involved women and a motor vehicle accident (Rosenberg 20). Apparently, Fleming stole his father's vehicle and went to a party where he drank a lot and met women that he later invited to ride with him. One of the women distracted Fleming and he ran into a tree (Lycett 31). During the expulsion of high school, Ian's father died in World War 1 during a battle in France on Sunday 20 May 1917 (. All the inherited money went to Ian's mother. With the stipulation that she would remarry, Ian was pressured into getting money of his own. The widowed mother put him in another school called Tennerhof High School. It was there that he started to gain girlfriends and have an expensive taste of food and automobiles. People who went to Tennerhof with Ian remembered him as being very arrogant and difficult. There were other's that swear he was found to be charming, handsome, witty, and a lively aristocrat. But, Ian was having problems academically. Ian's mother knew a married couple that could help Ian. So he would visit them one day a week... ...n making the book into a movie. They approached Ian with a proposition to make "Dr. No" into a movie. If the movie did well they would produce other "Bond" movies. During the negotiations and production of "Dr. No" Ian completed "Goldfinger", "For Your Eyes Only", "Octa*censored*", and "The Spy Who Loved Me". The movie, "Dr. No" was a huge hit and Ian had the feeling that he finally reached the success that he hoped to achieve over his father and brother. Other movies were made while Ian Fleming continued to write. That is until 1964 when Ian Fleming died of a fatal heart attack while at Royal St. Georges Golf Club. Ian Fleming was a man of many visions, and talents. It wasn't until after his death that James Bond was a British, sexual, and heroic icon. A total of 20 "Bond Films" have been made so far. Even more James Bond books have been written. Ian Fleming will live on with infamy and legend. Work Cited Bruce A. Rosenberg "Ian Fleming". Boston: United Publishing, 1981 Andrew Lycett "Ian Fleming: The Man Behind James Bond" Kansas City: Universal Press, 1995 John Cork "The Life of Ian Fleming (1908-1964)" http://www.mcs.net/idust/www/flem-bio.html

Sunday, January 12, 2020

Neglect of the Elderly Essay

The neglect of the elderly is an extremely important issue in today’s society. The United States especially seem to treat their senior citizens with a severe lack of respect. In most foreign countries, the elderly are treated with the utmost respect. They are looked upon as the wisest person in their family. In today’s society, it seems as if people are more concerned with their own lives than the lives of those who raised them. This is why something needs to be done. Elderly neglect is a severe problem; one that does not seem to be getting any better. So what do we do when our parents get to the age when they have difficulty taking care of themselves? It seems that the most popular solution is to put them in an adult care facility and let them be someone else’s problem. When babies are born, they cannot take care of themselves. Do parents send them to a baby care facility and let strangers take care of them? No, because that would be preposterous. We care for our children because they cannot are for themselves. Then why is it that when the elderly get to the point that they cannot take care of themselves, we send them off to be someone else’s burden? This makes absolutely no sense. We as their children should be the ones taking care of them. We can ensure that they get the care they need. We would treat them with love and respect, something that they will not get in a facility. Adult homes, senior citizen centers, and assisted living facilities are all businesses. They are controlled by money. When money is tight, so is the care given to the senior citizens. The financial restraints result in the seniors not getting the attention they so desperately need. Some seniors cannot use the restroom without assistance, which sometimes results in them having to sit in their own filth until someone can help them. Imagine not being able to use the restroom by yourself and no one will help you. You end up soiling yourself and you have to sit in your own disgust until the underpaid, overworked employee slopes into your room to unwillingly help clean you up. Is that how anyone should be treated? No, absolutely not. Adult care facilities also suffer from a high turnover rate, which breeds poor employees. These unqualified individuals hold the lives of our elderly in their hands. A prime example would be fast food employees. When you put an underdeveloped person in a high stress, low paying job, you are not going to get top notch service. You are going to find people with bad attitudes that give poor service. Over-stressed and under-qualified caregivers end up giving this same type of service. This issue also tends to lead to elderly abuse, which is another major issue. But why do these people abuse the elderly? Even more puzzling is why do family members abuse the elderly? It was stated that â€Å"most perpetrators of abuse are caregivers who have some history of mental illness or substance abuse, and who are economically dependent on the older adult that they are supposed to be caring for† (Garrett, 2013, para.3). Why do we as a society treat these seasoned individuals with such a lack of respect? I can only imagine that part of the problem is the frustration of the system in place at these businesses. The disgruntled workers take out their frustrations on the seniors. This lack of caring also results in the seniors not being fed properly, which can ultimately lead to severe medical conditions or death. The facilities are not the main problem. The main issue is that people have lost respect for one another. Everyone is so wrapped up in their own lives that they could care less about anyone else. Elderly neglect would improve if we as a society would recognize the importance of supporting and cherishing all things, old and new. Reference Garrett, M. (2013, April 27). Elder abuse. Psychology Today. Retrieved July 24, 2013, from http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/iage/201304/elder-abuse

Friday, January 3, 2020

Transgenderin India - Gender Inequality Point Of View ..

TRANSGENDER IN INDIA - GENDER INEQUALITY POINT OF VIEW MR. ABILASH CHANDRAN Asst. Professor. Department of Social Work, Christ College (Autonomous) Irinjalakuda, Thrissur, Kerala, India. abilashmsw@gmail.com 9544214227 MS. KEERTHANA VIJAYAKUMAR Master of Social Work 3rd Semester, Department of Social Work, Christ College (Autonomous) Irinjalakuda, Thrissur, Kerala, India keerthanaviyyur@gmail.com 70250489 Paper abstract: Gender inequality perspectives of the third gender/ transgender in India is a study related to the gender inequality problems facing by third gender or transgender in India. The main objectives of this study is to project the inequalities faced by transgendes in Family, Education, relationship, social roles,†¦show more content†¦Their discrimination has been a perennial issue and has only proven to be more spurious with time. The discrimination the members of the transgender community face based on their class and gender make them one of the most disempowered groups in Indian Society. Transgender is generally described as a person whose gender identity, gender expression or behaviour does not conform to their biological sex. 2. DEFINING TRANSGENDER: Transgender a person whose self-identified gender does not correspond to the gender assigned to them at birth. Their gender identity may not conform to conventional binary notions of male and female, but rather as a third gender. The term transgender is not indicative of sexual orientation, hormonal makeup, physical anatomy, or how one is perceived in daily life. The term ‘transgender’ refers to signify individuals who go beyond rigid, binary gender constructions. Such resistance is facilitated through the breaking and blurring of culturally prevalent stereotypical gender roles. Third Genders are mostly castrated males who have a long history that dates back to 9th Century B.C. Transgender have a recorded history of more than 4,000 years. Asian countries have centuries-old histories of existence of gender-variant males who in the moderns times are labelled as transgender women . India has a history of people with

Thursday, December 26, 2019

Lonely Characters on Of Mice and Men - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 3 Words: 933 Downloads: 5 Date added: 2019/06/14 Category Literature Essay Level High school Tags: Of Mice And Men Essay Did you like this example? Mother Teresa Said that the most terrible poverty in loneliness, and the feeling of being unloved. In his novel, Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck explores the topic of loneliness expressed by several different characters. Taking place on and isolated ranch near a town called Soledad (spanish for solitude), George and lennie are workers who travel each other and look out for one another. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Lonely Characters on Of Mice and Men" essay for you Create order The stand in stark contrast to the many other characters who live lives of loneliness without anyone to care for or who cares for them. Steinbeck uses the characters of Crooks, Curleyrs wife, Candy to show what life is like for people who, unlike George and Lennie, are truly isolated or alone in this world. The character Crooks, is an example of a lonely character in the story because he uses so much evidence that makes whoever is reading the story believe he is a lonely and is without nobody. Crooks, as the only character of color, and doesnt really have people that know him because of his color. He has hidden or backed off of any groups or having friends because of racism. Crooks has reduced himself to nothing. There was no personality no ego, ?nothing.(81) There is no personality in the point of view of people who dont know him. People dont know him and thatrs why they say he has no personality because hers not social with no one and that disassembles who he really is as a person. Crookes keeping back out of attention Range.(96) Crooks is a character that seems to be alone and quite distant from other people, and doesnt like to be the center of attention at all because maybe he seems self conscious about his skin tone. Overall, he is character that has a lonely personality and isnt t alked to or mentioned a lot during the story, that might indicate that he is a character thatrs not really known or that no one knows him. Curleyrs wife is a big important factor to the point that people are lonely in this story. She is probably the loneliest character in the story because she is the only female,I get lonely she said, ?you can talk to people but I cant talk to anybody but curley.(87), and because she is a women she is limited by her husband Curly what she can and not do. One big thing she cannot do is talk and socialize to the men/workers, which is why she might feel lonely most of the time . She communicates her feelings to another character and she tells him that she would love to talk to somebody but cannot since her husband doesnt let her do whatever she wants, Think I dont like to talk to somebody ever once in a while?(77), she obviously seems like she wants attention and needs it because of how desperate she is. Even though Curleyrs wife doesnt in particular have a name, I feel like that has a meaning behind that too. I think the meaning behind that was to show that she wasnt much of an important character as far as having the title of just Curleyrs wife. Candy, the old man, is old and lonely, and throughout the story it seems to be like that for a while now. Candy mentions how hes had a dog for a long time, that might indicate that thats the only companion has only had, throughout his life. So in the part of the book in where Candy is pressured to give up his dog for dead, he doesnt want to do it because I feel like he was gonna be even more lonelier without the dog, ?Candy looked unhappy No he said softly. No, I couldnt do that . I had ?im too long. (45) When he did give him up, Carlson, shot the dog from far away. But, they heard it from the distance, and when it happened, they all looked straight at Candy, For a moment he continued to stare at the ceiling. The he rolled over slowly and faced the wall and laid silent. He probably regrets the way the dog died, later on he tells george that he should of shot the dog and not somebody else. Continuing along the story he disrupts George and Lennie when they start talking about how they are going to live on a small piece of land and have animals to care for. He starts by saying, Spose I went in with you guys. Thats three hundred and fifty bucks Id put in. I aint much good, but I could cook and tend the chickens and hoe the garden some. Howd that be? This supports how lonely he is because when George and Lennie talked about their future, there was a huge chance for Candy to not be lonely for once in his life. Steinbeck made such a big deal about loneliness because we dont realize how many people are lonely in this world and maybe wanted us to self reflect on our lives compared to the lives that lonely people live. He might of been saying that lonely people struggle more than people with others to share it with. Comparing the life of the characters in the book to people today is much different because back when the great depression was being introduced, more and more people traveled alone. And today, its not common to see that. Overall loneliness is a stressful topic to talk about, just the thought of it makes people be more grateful for having someone in their life to share it with.

Wednesday, December 18, 2019

Comparing the Philosophy of Life in Christianity and...

Comparing the Philosophy of Life in Christianity and Chinese Buddhism Chinese Philosophy not only is the fruit of thinking of the Chinese nation, but also is the important component part of world culture. In Chinese philosophy, there are three main parts: Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism. Among them, Chinese Buddhism, which came from India, experienced a course of sinicization under the influence of Chinese traditional culture represented mainly by Confucianism and Taoism , so it keeps the general features of Buddhism ,and also formed its Chinese characteristics. The changes of Chinese Buddhism from going out of this world to being in this world and building pure land in this world fully manifested the humanistic spirit†¦show more content†¦In this way , in actual life, there are often conflicts and struggles between goodness and evil in human nature. So Christianity stresses that human beings should believe in God, and depend on Gods power to ensure tending towards goodness, and entering the paradise after their death. Buddhism, starting from its basic teaching arising through causation (Pratityasamutpada), believes that all things are naturally formed from causes and condition (Hetupratyaya), man is also the combination from Five Classifications (Pancaskandha), under given conditions and the result of ignorance (Avidya). As for man is the result of ignorance, its a bit similar to Christian original sin . but influenced by Confucius goodness of human nature and Taoist return to nature and true , Chinese Buddhism specially emphasizes the inner basis of free from world , and stresses that human nature, which is naturally pure and enlightened but dirty and befuddled because of being hoodwinked by desire. Only when man could see mind and enlighten nature by practicing Buddhism, then he is free from world and become Buddha. Comparative speaking, both Christianity and Buddhism have the tendency of paying close attention to what happensShow MoreRelatedWestern and Non Western Divinity 774 Words   |  3 Pagesconcepts of western and non-western religious philosophies. For example, the Kyoto school of philosophers attempted to combine the phenomenology of Husserl with the insights of Zen Buddhism. Largely, most of the philosophers belonging to this school of thought were heavily influenced by the German philosophers, specifically the works of Kant, Hegel, Nietzsche, and Heidegger. In addition, many engaged their cultural resources to help them formulate their philosophy. However, while their work was not specificallyRead MoreConfucianism, Hinduism, Buddhism, And Platonism1045 Words   |  5 PagesEssay One Brian Munoz Philosophy 10/23/15 What Are We - What are we? In this essay, I’ll be comparing and contrasting the four views of human nature that we have studied so far – Confucianism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Platonism – critically examining their similarities and differences. Also, I’ll be explaining which one I think provides the most plausible understanding of what we are. First, I will introduce each of the four views of human nature by defining them. Then, I will elaborate and thoroughlyRead MoreEast Asian Concept Of Human Nature1715 Words   |  7 Pageshuman nature Introduction The Eastern Asia region is diverse. It include: Buddhism, Confucianism, Islam, Taoism, Shinto and Christianity. Confucianism and Buddhism and Taoism have dominated most parts of the region with some states governing system being based on these religions. Chinese government, constitution and the administration policies have been based on the ethics of Confucian traditions and ethics as well as philosophy. Similar to the governing ethics in these region nations, the understandingRead MoreBrief Summary On Christianity And Buddhism1812 Words   |  8 PagesBrief summary of beliefs: Christianity and Buddhism are two religions that have a rich history and millions of devoted followers throughout the world. Christianity is one of the most influential religions in history based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ approximately 2,000 years ago. â€Å"This religion is based on the belief that the is one supreme, eternal, infinite God, the Creator of the heaven and earth.† Those who are good will be rewarded by Christ in heaven and those who are unscrupulousRead MoreThe Japanese Political System Essay1057 Words   |  5 Pages The Confucian thoughts entered Japan with the first great wave of Chinese inspiration between the 6th and 9th centuries, they included the Confucian classics, the emphasis on history, the five basic human relationships, and many other features of the Confucian system. Confucianism tended to be overshadowed by Buddhism until the appearance of the centralized Tokugawa system in the 17th century. However, as an organized philosophy , Confucianism didn’t survive the great transition of the late 19thRead MoreWorld History AP8768 Words   |  36 Pages †¢ The Greeks did not build an empire but did expand through the establishment of colonies around the Mediterranean and Black seas. †¢ The most distinctive feature of Greek political culture lay in the extent of popular participation in political life that occurred within the city-states. This participation was based on the unique ideas of â€Å"citizenship,† of free people running the affairs of state, and of equality for all citizens before the law. Political participation in Greek city-states wasRead MoreComparing Empires Rome and China3033 Words   |  13 PagesComparing Empires: Roman and Chinese Consolidating the Roman and Chinese Empires 1. both empires defined themselves in universal terms 2. both invested heavily in public works 3. both claimed supernatural sanctions a. deceased Roman emperors as gods (imperial cult) i. persecution of Christians for nonparticipation in cult b. Chinese emperor as Son of Heaven i. rule by Mandate of Heaven ii. dependent on just rule iii. heavy ritual duties to maintain relationship between earth and heaven iv. moralRead MoreAp World History Units 1-3 Study Guide Essay4374 Words   |  18 Pagesembalming to preserve the body for its life after death * Egypt 14. Which metal was most important in transforming agricultural societies into large urban civilizations? * Iron 15. In which society did women enjoy the most freedom and opportunity? * Egypt 16. In tribes which, as early as 3000 BCE, began to spread their language and agricultural techniques throughout Africa were the * Bantu 17. The Chinese philosophy that promoted strict social and politicalRead MoreElements and Dimensions of Culture in Taiwan5062 Words   |  20 Pageswho would wish to conduct their businesses in the country. Major elements and dimensions of culture in Taiwan The religion in the country highly affects the business culture in the country. The main religions in the country are Confucianism and Buddhism. These two religions affect the consumers in Taiwan since they have to subscribe within the beliefs provided. The Taiwanese follows these beliefs to the latter meaning that an individual who wants to associate to them must also respect the provisionsRead MoreJoseph Needham s Impact On The Historiography Of Chinese Science And Technology3648 Words   |  15 PagesThis paper examines Joseph Needham’s impact on the historiography of Chinese Science and Technology (ST), arguing that his great achievements were marred by an East/West comparative approach, and that subsequent historians have only partly overcome these restrictions. His multi-volume Science and Civilization in China (1954-ongoing) single handedly thrust China into the Western-dominated historiography. Organized along the disciplinary lines of modern science, Needham sought t o document every scientific

Tuesday, December 10, 2019

Rebuilding Companies as Communities

Question: Discuss about the Rebuilding Companies as Communities. Answer: Introduction: A community is a socially organized group of people having something in common for example the norms or identity which gives them the sense of togetherness. It is based on this idea of the community that Henry Mintzberg bases his argument as he brings out the concepts in the article Rebuilding Companies as Communities. He begins by identifying the cause to the collapse of many business entities as being due to the over-valuation of leadership at the expense of communityship.' To further elaborate the point, he uses Obamas presidential campaign, Toyota, Pixar and Semco as some of the operations whose success is credited back to the vibrancy of the communityship kind of cooperation. In his analysis, Henry does not entirely discredit leadership, though, he stands for having the leadership positions given just but enough credit in the success of any organization. He also points out the disadvantages brought about by the uncontrolled leadership positions like that of the Chief Executive Officer (CEO). This positions holders may at times do adopt strategies that devalue their employees equating them to human resources. Such policies like firing employees when the company does not attain its targets or offering themselves obscene packages at the expense of the organization. He claims that some holders of these positions barely understand what is actually on the ground and compares them to a person standing on top of a pyramid in Egypt. He still emphasizes on the middle-level accreditation by using From Top-Down to Middle-Out as an example. This type is where the organizations directions begin from the middle-level managers who are closer to the employees then spreads out to the rest of the firm. The strengths/weakness of arguments and assumptions As a starting point, Mintzberg acknowledges the importance of not only leadership but directional modes of administration. This mode is where the top most leaders in the organization provide directives to the rest of the organization. On the other hand, Mintzberg gives less credit to use of performance outcome data and instead prefers an information diet fed from hearsay, speculation, and gossips. He goes on to say this informal sources of information can be richer in content even though they are less reliable. Secondly, Mintzbergs concepts go contrary to what the performance belief has always been. Business experts advice that the company can transform its operations positively if it effectively inculcates performance management and measuring in its day to day activities. Research methods and limitations There are four typically applicable research methods namely correlational research, observational research, the quasi-experiments and the true experiments shows that he did apply observation as his primary means of data research. Through this method, the researcher used observation and recording of the information then later making a report out of it. The method he used for research also has its limitations which render the practice not to be fully active. One of the limits is that the method is limited to present time information only. All the historical events are not observable. Instead, they can only be got from second-hand sources like interviewing older employees at the firm or from past recorded sources like the company records. The second limitation is that the data collected cannot include personal opinions of the specimen under study (the employees). The exact presence of the viewer and the event under study are most of the time not certain. This uncertainty may act as a direct disadvantage to the observation method. Finally, the subjects under study may change their habits due to the knowledge that they are under study. Their reaction may then affect the overall results. Applicability of approach The managerial concept presented by Mintzberg is highly applicable in many organizations around the world. As a matter of fact, it is by the methods appropriate in reviving poorly performing entities or sub-branches within the same organization. All institutions have different managerial levels in its hierarchical structure. At the middle level lies some leaders together with another low-level employee. Mintzberg argued that these middle-level positions had the greatest influence on the overall performance of the entire entity. Proper organization of ideas, policies, and strategies at these intermediate managerial levels leads to the efficient outcome at the firm. The idea is applicable because it is also much easier to meet the majority of the employees at the business from these levels. Impact on concepts of organizational commitment and organizational decision-making Employees pay, career development, and job security are some of the obligations the business has on its employees (Toga, Khayundi and Mjoli 2014). By meeting these requirements, the organization expects its workers to reciprocate through increased commitments at work and consequently influence them to stay in the organization (Toga, Khayundi and Mjoli 2014; Smith 2011). Recent research has shown that any positive relationships between the employees and the organization ultimately leads increase in job performance. The leadership qualities and functions like decision making offer essential insights and directions to all the operations of the organization. In-depth research also revealed that the leader needs to possess the confidence quality in them to help in gathering information and the final decision-making process (Toga, Khayundi and Mjoli 2014). The manager needs to be informed by the kind of decisions to make to maintain the stakeholder's interest as it is considered that proper leadership and management is the exact success formula for any organization. Mintzbergs views vs. the four perspectives of organizational effectiveness Almost all organizational theories have the specific objective of making the organization more efficient. In the olden days, organizational effectiveness was determined by the extent to which the organization achieved its stated objectives (Shelton and Gartland). This perspective was limited in that there was no threshold of measuring the success. In the modern day, organizational effectiveness is monitored by the following aspects (Shelton and Gartland). Open systems perspective, internal subsystem effectiveness, organizational learning perspective, high-performance work practices perspective and stakeholder perspective. In a comparison of Mintzbergs view to the four views, there are more similarities than differences. To begin with, the concept presented in the organizational learning perspective resonates well with Mintzbergs idea of having the firms strategies developed at the middle-level managerial position. The position is strategically placed in between hierarchy of the enterprise. At this point, the lower level employees get reached too easily while at the same time, directives from the senior positions flow and get acted upon from the point. Therefore, in case the organization has relevant information that needs even distribution within itself, then the middle-level group certainly can carry out the task efficiently. The other important similarity is in line with the internal subsystems effectiveness. An efficient organization is one where there are higher production levels by use of minimal labor, energy, and materials. If the internal subsystems are effectively cooperative, then the organization can register impressive records on organizational efficiency. Mintzberg advocates for operating the organization in the community style whereby it is run from Top-Down to Middle-Out. Organizational Commitment. Every organization has a set strategy controlled by principles that direct its operations and the general management (Ananga and Magesh, 2016; Chimomona 2016). In its operations lies its employees who uphold a certain feeling of responsibility and strength towards the mission clearly defined in the organizations goals statement. Chimomona (2016) stresses that this responsibility brings the commitment that the employee has to the organization which profoundly determines whether the employee will maintain their position at the firm and support towards the attainment of the goals. This commitment is achievable only if there is cooperation between the organization and its employees. The employee engagement can be achieved by the organization serving its employees positively as well. For instance, the remuneration should be adequate and equitable to the amount of service that the workers provide. The firm can also add in other incentives like making arrangements for the employees to have educational improvements. Organizational decision-making Briggs and Little (2008) identifies leaders are the organizations decision makers. The efforts that they put in place to pursue the vision and goals of the organization involves the direction for prioritizing efforts and resources. They should also take full responsibility for the organizations activities, and therefore they need competent decision-making skills (Passarelli 2010). In case the organization uses the top position kind of leadership, then it will be challenging for an organization to achieve its goals quickly. Most of the time, these leaders do not know what exactly is happening on the ground. The middle-level managers in such organizations are reluctant of entirely undertaking their roles resulting in a poorly performing organization. The quality of decision made by the organizational leaders is an increasingly important aspect which determines the failure or success of the organization Kekana (n.d). In the current complex world filled with ever increasing levels of informational connectivity, scarce resources like the finances and the highly required need to meet the expectations of the stakeholders are some of the fields that call for the quality in decision-making skills. References Anagha K and Magesh R, 'Employee Motivation To Innovate And Resources Management: The Mediating Role Of Organisational Commitment' (2016) 9 International Journal of Management Concepts and Philosophy Briggs C and Little P, 'Impacts Of Organizational Culture And Personality Traits On Decision-Making In Technical Organizations' (2008) 11 Systems Engineering Chinomona E, 'ORGANISATIONAL CITIZENSHIP BEHAVIOUR AND EMPLOYEE PERCEPTION OF EQUITY ONORGANISATIONAL COMMITMENT' (2016) 14 Corporate Ownership and Control Dadallage J, 'Experiencing Organisational And Personal Change Management For Continuous Organisational Effectiveness' (2015) 5 Sri Lanka Journal of Development Administration Gryzi?ska-Sawicka N, 'Possibilities And Limitations Of Research Methods Of The Social Structure In The Roman Iron Age In Poland' (2015) 20 Folia Praehistorica Posnaniensia Kekana M, The Impact Of Frequent Organizational Restructuring On Employees' Psychological Contracts In A Government Department Passarelli G, 'Employees Skills And Organisational Commitment' (2010) 4 International Business Research Shelton C, Gartland M and Stack M, 'The Impact Of Organisational Culture And Person-Organisation Fit On Job Satisfaction And Organisational Commitment In China And The USA' (2011) 1 International Journal of Management Development Smith I, 'Organisational Quality And Organisational Change' (2011) 32 Library Management The Impact Of Organisational Culture On Organisational Commitment (1st edn, 2009) Toga R, Khayundi D and Mjoli T, 'The Impact Of Organisational Commitment And Demographic Variables On Organisational Citizenship Behaviour' [2014] Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences Zgrzywa-Ziemak A, 'The Impact Of Organisational Learning On Organisational Performance' (2015) 23 Management and Business Administration. Central Europe