Marginalization Effect Essay

Social exclusion (also referred to as marginalisation (British/International), or marginalization (U.S.)) is a concept used in many parts of the world to characterise contemporary forms of social disadvantage and relegation to the fringe of society. It is a term used widely in the United Kingdom and Europe, and was first utilized in France.[1] It is used across disciplines including education, sociology, psychology, politics and economics. Social exclusion refers to processes in which individuals or entire communities of people are systematically blocked from rights, opportunities and resources (e.g. housing, employment, healthcare, civic engagement, democratic participation and due process) that are normally available to members of society and which are key to social integration.[2] The resulting alienation or disenfranchisement is often connected to a person’s social class, educational status, relationships in childhood[3] and living standards. It also applies to some degree to people with a disability, minorities, people of all sexual orientations and gender identities (e.g., the LGBT community), to the elderly, and to youth. Anyone who deviates in any perceived way from the norm of a population may become subject to coarse or subtle forms of social exclusion. The outcome of social exclusion is that affected individuals or communities are prevented from participating fully in the economic, social, and political life of the society in which they live.[4] Material deprivation is the most common result of this exclusion. Ensuing poverty, emotional and psychological trauma, and its resulting diseases may result in catastrophic damage to lives, health, and psyche. Most of the characteristics listed in this article are present together in studies of social exclusion, due to exclusion’s multidimensionality.

Building Community Capacity

The chapter â€Å"Building Community Capacity† discusses models of community organizing stressing the importance of working together. I think the chapter raises important issues for our community because it promotes the ideas of collective work, collective interests and simply being together. The paper is very informative and analytic as it offers scientific interpretation of the issues raise.It is necessary to outline that the author is very persuasive as he uses logical arguments, opinions and suggestions to defend his position that community organizing should be promoted to bring people together, to foster interpersonal relations and to evaluate collective efficacy. I fully agree with the author that common self-interest is the primary reason in building community. Building community is important because people involved are interacting with each other either formally or informally as they are pursuing common interest.I know that often populist goals are incorporated to call people for affirmative action. Moreover, building community suggests developing leadership from relations among the people who are involved in the process. In my opinion, the main positive moments of organizing community are empowerment of the members, equal distribution of power, democratic governance, etc. Apparent strength of the paper is that author promotes participating in voluntary organizations.I think that participating provides members with opportunities to express their interest, abilities, talents, concerns and ambitions. Such people are helping other community members contributing them more valuable than monetary assistance. Volunteerism plays crucial role in community organizing because it is some kind of glue holding community members together and addressing their needs. Voluntary activities assist in nurturing and building new communities. As a result, friends, colleagues, or neighbors are working together pursuing the common interest.The author reviews the main mod els of community organizing (e. g. civic, women-centered, power-based, transformative, etc. ) and I think all of the models are important as they increase people’s understanding of the necessity to cooperate. Models address the issue of capacity building offering distinct approaches how to form social networks. The potential outcomes of the community organizing are sense of collective identity, mutual support, cooperative action, and expanded scope.Nevertheless, I am sure that one community is able to succeed only in several outcomes and will definitely fail to achieve others. In other words, community is unable to achieve mutual support, identity and cooperation at once. For me, sense of collective identity means that people are enabled to â€Å"perceive their shared fate† and it plays important role in developing relations with other community members. Mutual support is the most desirable outcome of community organizing because it makes people put needs of others abo ve their own interest.Our current world is certainly lacks mutual understanding and mutual support. Mutual support is needed when it is necessary to develop trust and understanding among community members. Cooperative action promotes group goals and working together as one community. Community members should share objectives. Finally, I think that expanded scope means that social networks are able to expand their capacity by connecting people and available resources with organizations situated outside community.In conclusion, I would like to stress that the main forces driving people to organize communities still remain desire of power and full control of the built community. In a certain way organizing is bringing new voices to the table. Nevertheless, I think that every person has a sense to belong to something. People are social and they need to belong to a community they are interacting in. While building communities, leaders develop not only managerial and organizational skills ; they enhance knowledge of public policy. However, not every person is able to become true leader.

Do Not Weep Maiden, for War Is Kind

â€Å"Do Not Weep, Maiden, for War is Kind,† was written by the poet Stephen Crane. The poem is a bitter and emotional protest of the horrors of war. It gets much of its strength from using simple but highly descriptive words in contrast with innocence, and also through the use of repetition and sarcasm. The poet portrays bitterness and innocence in the first stanza. It is strongly shown in the lines â€Å"Do not weep, maiden, for war is kind, because your lover threw wild hands towards the sky† (1-2). The maiden is obviously a grieving woman who has received the terrible news of the loss of her lover. It is however the sense of description in the second line which is evoked from the word â€Å"wild† that really describes the awful, vivid moment of death. Constant repetition throughout the poem is also utilized for maximum effect, in particular the deeply sarcastic phrase â€Å"war is kind† and the line â€Å"do not weep† which works well to emphasize the objective of the poem by discouraging the passions of war. The machine of war marches on like a great â€Å"Battle-God† but it is the poor souls who are left behind who suffer. It is the mourning wives, girlfriends and children who are left with nothing but memories of the brave soldiers who have given their lives to the killer machine. The flashiness of war is ridiculed in this poem. Words and phrases such as† booming drums of regiment† (6) and the â€Å"Swift blazing flag of the regiment, eagle with crest of red and gold† (18-19) have a strong, orderly and official glory which is deeply contrasted to that of suffering displayed throughout the poem. The moving tragedy of the story draws to a rapid conclusion with the mother whose humble labor has now produced nothing but a shroud for her son to lie in, along with the other thousand corpses. To further push the point home Crane uses the pronoun of â€Å"your† to directly relate to the reader. In many ways this type of poetry is a type of silent protest of war. It is an expression that has the ability to really get to the heart of the situation as much as a vocal protest. Even if war is an ever present aspect of society, works such as these ensure that its true horrors never fade. By reading such poetry we ensure that even if the brave fallen are gone, they are not forgotten.

Finaince for mangers Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

Finaince for mangers - Essay Example They are considerably relevant and helpful to properly and fully assess the divisional financial and economic performance. After the critical evaluation, the relevant improvements are recommended accordingly. Quality Products Division The quality products division deals in furniture items made by hand and the raw natural materials are made part of it. Due to its quality products, this division has significantly contributed into the exports, especially in the Middle East. However, to critically understand the actual financial position of this division, the financial position and the audit comments are taken into account. Financial position 2007 2008 2009 Gearing (TL/TL+SC) 100% 53.98% 52.65% 52.32% Return on investment [PBIT / (TA – L)] x100% (Loss) 16.24% 18.96% Gross profit (gross profit/turnover) 100% 38.89% 40.43% 41.36% Profit before interest (profit before interest/turnover) 100% (loss) 5.70% 6.37% Profit after interest (PAI/Turnover)100% (Loss) 1.97% 3.34% Overseas Turno ver (overseas turnover/turnover) 100% 53.79% 44.51% 36.59% These are fundamental indicators of financial position of any corporate entity. ... Gross profit and profit before interest, profit after interest figures are slightly improving and on yearly basis, they provide 2 to 3% growth in these figures. With so much potential in the markets, local and foreign markets, this division’s gross profit and profit before tax are not increasing as they should be. In addition, this division has been more stable and in demand in the markets of Middle East, however, its recent decreasing overseas turnover highlights some of worrying signs for this division. This is negatively affecting the gross profit and profit before tax figures as well. Additionally, there are no positive audit comments for this division; the audit management letter clearly highlights that some quality control problems with a new range of adjustable chairs for senior citizens. As this industry considerably depends on the quality, such kind of quality control problems may reduce the number of customers. Additionally, the audit management letter points out tha t in every month 20 boxes of flat-packed chairs and desks are disappearing from the one of the division’s outlets. Improvements Profits can be improved by entering into the contract segment of the industry. This segment accounts for 29% of the entire furniture industry. For achieving that aim, the division is required to more concentrate on quality issues which are recently highlighted in the audit management letter. In addition, the disappearance of chairs and desks must be reduced by introducing some physical controls such as only authorized persons should be allowed to enter into the internal parts of the outlets and each incoming and outgoing shipment of desks

Property law Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Property law - Assignment Example One of the interesting aspects about this problem is that the nature of obligation changed from one tenant to the next. The facts indicate that my client is the tenant of a Victorian Townhouse. The facts also indicate that my client is not the original tenant, and that the lease was assigned to my client three years ago. It may be inferred that perhaps the previous client, the one who actually made the original lease with the landlord, was a residential lessee, as the structure is a home, and the character of the lease changed when the original lessee assigned his or her lease to the current lessor, who is obviously a business lessee, as they are using the space for a bookstore. Therefore, two different parts of the Landlord Tenant Act might apply in this situation. The original lessee, if the original lessee was a residential lessee, would fall under the first part of this Act, and the current lessee, who is a business, would fall under the second part of the Act. This is because th e first part of the Act is titled â€Å"Security of Tenure for Residential Tenants,† and the provisions in this part apply only to residential tenants. The second part of the Act is titled â€Å"Security of Tenure for Business, Professional and Other Tenants,† and it, of course, applies to commercial interests, such as the one in the fact pattern. Therefore, two different analysis will have to be performed – one analysis for the original tenant, and one for the current tenant, who is our client. The fact pattern indicates that, for the original lessee, the original lease was executed in 1997 and included a repair covenant, in which the original lessee was to perform the necessary repair work to keep the building in tenantable condition, and that this included decorations, wall-surfaces, window frames, glazing and casements. Moreover, in the original lease, there was provision for rent review in the 5th, 10th and 15th years of the lease and that the lease may ter minate on the 16th year, by giving six months notice, provided that the lessee materially performed the duties that were required of that tenant under this lease. Therefore, the clause that the original lessee signed with the landlord will come under the Landlord Tenant Act 1954  § 8. This provision states that when a tenant and landlord agree that the tenant is to perform certain repairs on the structure, and these repairs are not made, then the landlord may charge the tenant the reasonable value of the repairs (Landlord Tenant Act 1954  § 8). This does not seem like an overly draconian solution to the problem, if it is determined that there needs to be repairs made and the tenant refuses to make the repairs - the landlord can simply make the necessary repairs himself, which in this case would include shoring up the cracks in the ceiling, and reinforcing the floor joists so that the excess load does not cause further cracks, and could then charge the lessee the necessary charge s that the landlord would incur in getting this done. Yet there is a more draconian provision in the Landlord Tenant Act 1954 when it comes to lessees who refuse to perform the terms of the lease. In this case, the terms of the lease are that the lessee performs the repair work that ensures that the dwelling in tenantable, and, assuming that having cracks in the ceiling make the dwelling untenantable, then a refusal to deal with this issue might be cause for

Thesis(Research) Proposal Research Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Thesis( ) - Research Proposal Example While this is the case, no study has been conducted about the Chinese students’ experience of acculturative stress or culture shock in the Canadian environment. This study seeks to fill this knowledge gap. Hypothesis This study hypothesizes that different environmental factors such as accommodation, place, and college type impact on the way Chinese students in Canada adapt to acculturation stress. Objectives 1. To establish the extent to which Chinese international students in Canada suffer from acculturative stress in their first year study. 2. To establish how Chinese international students in Canada suffer from acculturative stress in their first year study. 3. To establish the different environment changes that Chinese international students in Canada experience that lead them to experience acculturative stress. 4. To come up with recommendations that will help Chinese international students in Canada overcome acculturative stress Research Questions 1. To what extent do Ch inese international students in Canada suffer from acculturative stress in their first year study? 2. How do Chinese international students in Canada suffer from acculturative stress in their first year study? 3. ... Based on these insights, the policy makers can develop effective policies to deal with acculturative challenges. The results of the study may be important to Chinese students seeking to study in foreign countries as it may help them understand what to expect and deal effectively with culture shock. Managers, principals and professors of educational institutions may find the results of the study important as they may get an insight into how to help Chinese students in foreign environments adapt fast to new learning environments and cultures. Literature Review Over the past couple of years, the number of students leaving China to study overseas (mainly the U.S.A., U.K., Australia, and Canada) has been growing at an estimated 20% annually (Gu, 2013). A report by China’s Ministry of Education indicated that about 340,000 students from China sought education overseas in 2011 (Xu, 2012). In 2012 alone, according to the United Nations, one in every international student was Chinese. Going by current trends, it is estimated that there are more than 490,000 Chinese students in various educational institutions abroad in 2013 (Xu, 2012). The general trend toward the preference to study abroad among Chinese students is driven by the belief that education outside the boarders of China is more systematic and comprehensive, and that the experience is better than they otherwise would get in China. Other students are motivated by the fact that they do not have to sit for and pass university entry exams when they opt to pursue education in foreign educational institutions (Anonymous, 2013). Like other immigrants, Chinese students studying in foreign countries normally experience acculturative stress and its effects. Acculturative stress is a

The Effectiveness Of UK Anti-Corruption Policy A Research Proposal

The Effectiveness Of UK Anti-Corruption Policy A - Research Proposal Example The article explains that there are several macro-level and cross-country studies, which have focused on the effectiveness of specific anti-corruption strategies (Cooper & Shour, 2012: p126) and on the particular characteristics of countries that have managed to reduce their corruption levels to notably low levels (Burrell et al, 2010: p28). However, it was also noted that most studies of this kind normally provide for correlations, instead of broader causal relationships, especially given the significant differences that occur between different countries and regions. Therefore, in this research study, an attempt will be made to only utilize those evaluations of anti-corruption, which have been carried out at micro-level. This research study will evaluate econometric or observational, quasi-experimental, and experimental studies that have evaluated anti-corruption interventions at the micro-level that had to do with incentives and monitoring, as well as changes to systemic rules in reducing corruption among employees in the public sector in the UK. In searching for relevant literature, the researcher will look for English-language literature that was authored between 2002 and 2013. To do this, a search of major databases like EBSCO, JSTOR, and EconLit, will be carried out, as well as gray sources of literature like ProQuest, Index of Theses, NBER, and IDEAS. In addition, databases and websites of relevant government institutions and organizations will be used, while expert opinions and reference searches will be solicited and conducted respectively.

Dunlap v. Tennessee Valley Authority Research Paper

Dunlap v. Tennessee Valley Authority - Research Paper Example Dunlap felt that the system of scoring was extremely skewed and in favor of white candidates. This discussion investigates the legal issues in the episode and the decision to credit the claim of desperate treatment and neglect the disparate impact claim. Similarly, the discussion will suggest different ways in which Tennessee Valley authority can improve their process of interview. Discussion Legal issues They include David Dunlap, who believes that the process of interviewing in the TVA is discriminating and violates the Title seven of the 1964 Civil Right Act. David feels that he suffered prejudice under both disparate treatment and impact by the interview, which was increasingly subjective. Dunlap believes that the selection criteria favored white people. The committee evaluated all the applicants during the interview, but Dunlap felt that the evaluation process lacked merit and had limited rhyme. For instance, he scored low marks on a safety question than his colleague who has ha d more than two accidents in a span of 11 years, and for Dunlap, he had no accident, (Markusen, 2003). The system of evaluation itself can lead to various legal issues, for instance, the Tennessee Valley Authority’s subjective hiring and evaluation process allowed racial discrimination against Black applicants such as Dunlap. The Court of Appeal verified the claim of disparate treatment, reversed the claim of disparate adverse and verified the award of the district court of damages and fees to David. Why the disparate impact claim failed The theory of disparate claim demands the plaintiff to show that a seemingly impartial employment practice influences one team increasingly harshly than the other and that the practice of employment is unjustified by business requirements. Under the doctrine, discriminatory testimony intent is not necessary. Even though, the district court construed that Tennessee Valley Authority process of interviewing was influenced to exclude black applic ants, the Appeals Court objected, citing inadequate statistical evidence that a protected team was negatively affected, therefore, creating a prima Facie argument. Dunlap could not support his case by just challenging the employed process in his interview; therefore, his case failed. Success of disparate treatment argument The doctrine of disparate treatment demands a plaintiff to show that the employer has favored some people against others based on their race, origin or cultural background. It also requires the plaintiff create a prima Facie condition of racial bias, the employer to demonstrate a number of legitimate nonbiased reasons for his actions and the plaintiff to show some evidence that the articulated accusation was pre-textual. In this theory, a discriminatory proof is crucial. Nevertheless, in different circumstances it may be concluded from the sole disparities in treatment. Discriminatory motive proof may be gathered from the employers’ false explanation for th e actions. To refute a prima Facie argument, a defendant should show a legal nonbiased reason for rejection of plaintiff. In Dunlap’s case, Tennessee Valley Authority demonstrated the selection medium employed during the interview of Dunlap, and indicated that Dunlap’s interview score did not put his last marks into the best ten. The challenge then turned back to Dunlap to show that the process of selection was pretext for biasness. The district court

Accounting Theory and Policy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Accounting Theory and Policy - Essay Example GAAP and IFRS.The main reason for starting the debate was the series of corporate scandals in the U.S. where managers acted opportunistically to circumvent accounting rules to the detriment of investors, a result that accounting standards were supposed to help in preventing. Standards were established to ensure that financial reporting reflected the economic substance, not just the form, of transactions. However, auditors allowed different forms of reporting manipulation provided these were consistent with the interpretation of precise rules-based standards, allowing compliance with the "form" of financial reporting even as it failed to reflect the true economic "substance" of such transactions.Another reason for the debate is the move towards the need for convergence because of the number of accounting standards currently in force, which creates problems related to timeliness, compliance, comparability, and consistency. Accountants find rules-based (also called cookbook or checklist ) standards too detailed and time-consuming, causing delays in reporting, and unable to meet the challenges of a complex and fast-changing financial world. Rather than help accountants exercise professional judgment and objectivity, having too many rules provide specific benchmarks that makes it easy for auditors to fulfil compliance in form but not in substance. Therefore, since principles are more general than detailed rules, FASB is of the opinion that developing principles-based standards would make convergence easier and, at the same time, allow auditors to minimise the tendency of managers to engage in manipulations of reported financial results. Rules-based accounting standards-setting in the U.S. resulted from years of consultations regarding increasingly complex financial transactions. Companies and auditors asked for "bright line" rules, so-called because they contained precise numerical cut-off points supposedly to guide transactions reporting. However, as the example of accounting for capital leases showed, companies found a way to use professional expertise, creative arrangements, and over-liberal judgment to circumvent the rules contained in a 450-page FASB document to clarify the topic. Why do companies restructure transactions even in the face of "bright line" rules The main reason is that managing earnings can be beneficial for managers. Managers have incentives to look after their own best interests, leading them to manipulate transactions if the benefits outweigh the costs such as taxes, penalties from SEC enforcement, and balance sheet reclassifications. Minimising costs would maximise profits and, in most cases, benefits to managers. Auditors also have incentives to earn as much revenues from their services, which may be affected by reporting manipulation, so they sometimes allow debt to be classified as equity (some auditing fees depend on company asset size). By maximising profits, earnings manipulation also allows managers to keep their jobs, avoid shareholder lawsuits, and raise the share price so they can exercise stock options and earn higher salaries. Evidence shows that managers are more likely to manipulate financial reporting if there are precise (rules-based) accounting standards than when standards are flexible, and that auditors are more likely to allow this as long as the rules allow it. When there are no "bright line" rules, but only concepts-based standards, managers are less likely to engage in costly

Sector Matrix Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Sector Matrix Analysis - Essay Example Center of discussion in this paper is sector matrix analysis as one of the frameworks that are useful in analyzing the demand and the supply linkages. To maintain the return on capital, most of the organizations usually struggle to reduce the cost of manufacturing process and to enhance the cost recovering technique. In sector matrix framework, the firm is usually viewed as one that consolidates al the income through a variety of activities that usually occur through the firm. The objective of a sector matrix framework is to analyze the business and actually understand how a complex structure of supply and demand side can actually interrelate and shape the policy of the businesses responses. The side of the demand is very different when compared to Porter’s value chain strategy. In the matrix framework analysis, the household demands for the products, which are finished, are the ones of interest. In addition to that, all the products and services that are usually complementary and are substitutable are added to the list so that they can become part of consumption for the buyer. This form of analysis usually creates a matrix that consists of vertical and horizontal relations unlike the industry chain analysis. In using sector matrix framework, if the manager is to increase the output of the organization, then the organization must be in a position to satisfy the consumer with their products or services and given at a low cost. In the value chain analysis of Porter (1985), the production function is used to determine the output and the input of the organization. The product process is the combination of inputs to provide a specific output. The output here is either in terms of a service offered or in terms of the product (Williams et al. 1994). A matrix framework analysis is created based on some assumptions. Firstly, on the side of the demand, rather than limiting the expenditure on a product that is new by an individual customer, the definition of the te rm is expanded to also include all the expenditure of the household that include all the expenditure of the household. The other assumption that is used to create the sector matrix of analysis is broadening the definition of the supply side. The concept that is used here is to broaden the definition so that the financial range can consist of a variety of activities that should cut across all the sectors of the industry. This is unlike the value chain approach where the definition of a business is limited and is defined by a common product that uses a similar technology. At a national or regional level, the space that is defined in the motoring matrix is usually controlled by the demand of the household and firms from the motoring sector. This sector maintains the cost recovery from a variety of supply side duties. On the side of the supply, the cost recovery that is usually obtained sustains the organizations surpluses that are often reapplied to merge the activities, which occur wi thin the industry sector and additionally across the industry sector. To explain sector matrix analysis, there are two examples that both used the sector matrix to sustain in the market. An instance is the

Community Service Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Community Service - Essay Example After liaising with the Imam, we agreed that the best time to do the cleaning was on Sunday at two o'clock. This was after the lunchtime prayers. With the help of my friends, I tried to clean everything in the mosque. Although the mosque was in relatively good condition when I started, I noticed that there were certain things needed to be improved. With the help of my parents and the savings I had, I managed to complete this task successfully. In the end, after I had made the renovations I thought would benefit the mosque, I organized a small party for all the worshippers. By engaging in this activity, I was able to gain firsthand experience in working with people. This is the main objective of this course whose main emphasis on experiential learning through community service. Engaging in community service helps an individual contribute to the society by offering the expertise and knowledge he has. This course emphasizes the need to offer such services without expecting payment or an y form of personal benefit. Community service is aimed at benefiting the larger society. I believe I managed to achieve these objectives by carrying participating in this activity. In the end, engaging in this activity was satisfying and made me feel appreciated by the community as the whole. Helping to clean the mosque helped to promote peace since a dirty environment can be a source of stress. Everyone at the mosque showed respect, and this was very inspiring to me and gave me the drive to do more in future.

The words context Essay Example for Free

The words context Essay When addressing this question its important that I explain what I understand by the words context and truth. My view of the word context is something (such as time or setting) that surrounds a particular event and that can alter its meaning. Truth is what happened in reality. There are two types of truth.  The first one is my truth: its what I believe its true. For example I might say that if we laugh a lot throughout the day well sleep better. That is my truth only, since someone else might not believe that. Whether or not the rest of the people believe this, the truth will always be mine. In this case I think that context does not influence what I believe in; therefore in this case context doesnt affect truth. The second type of truth is universal truth. This is the truth that everyone in the world believes in. In my opinion there are few if none universal truths since not everyone agrees on something and these truths all depend on the context. For example consider this statement. 10 out of 10 people die. According to scientists that statement is true to them. Its thought to be a universal truth. However in the world there will be someone who believes that we dont die. Maybe even in some region on Earth various people believe that we never die. We also have to take into account the period that the statement was written in. Maybe in the next centuries with advances in medicine, people will live forever therefore if this statement was written in that time it would be completely false! As we can see time is a very important aspect when stating if something is true. The most famous examples of this is the fact that people in the 15th century believed that the world was flat, it was the truth, due to the fact that the sea was flat and after a certain distance boats would suddenly disappear, and they also believed that the sun orbited around the Earth. Galileo and Copernicus with more information later proved that the Earth orbited around the sun but still some people disagree with both these scientists. Here we can see how peoples perception of truth about something changes with new information. Well theres something which is always or should always be true. That is the law. Consider this: if the law says: If you murder someone youll be sentenced to death the truth is If you murder someone youll be sentenced to death and most people will argue for this law. What if you kill someone in self-defense? Youre still murdering someone. In this case you will not be sentenced to death since the context has changed the truth of what happened. As we can see theres no real truth not even in the laws of a country. What about in History? In History theres no real truth since in my opinion in this subject context is all. But if theres no truth then there shouldnt be History, there should only be various myths and stories told by the conquerors of the various nations and continents. How many times have we listened to the same story but told by various different people? Then how do we know which one is telling the truth? People have different perceptions of things therefore each one of them has their own truth. A single truth for everyone doesnt exist. Consider this for example: Im at school and Im playing around with some friends and I punch one of them. At that instance a teacher sees me punching him. The truth according to her is that I was fighting and I punched him. The truth according to me is that I was playing with him and accidentally punched him. We have to look at the context behind what happened to establish a truth. As well as in History, in Literature context is also very important to establish what happened. When analyzing a literature work its important to focus on things such as where its set and in what period its set in order to understand why some of those things happened. If were reading a book that focus on racism in the south USA we have to take into account that its set in 1950 where racism was a big issue in the USA. Of course that most things that happen during the story wont be true to nowadays and we also have to take into account that probably those racist events wouldnt have happened in a country like Portugal. On the other hand if we move from literature to numbers, logically 2 plus 2 will always equal 4 and 2 times 2 will always equal 4 as well, in any part of the world at any period during time no matter what the context is. Not reallyIt depends on what youre talking about, the context. Consider this for example: (In Physics 20C=293K and 40C =313K). If today I have 20 (apples) and tomorrow I have 40 (apples) then tomorrow Ill have twice as many (apples). If the temperature yesterday was 20 (C) and the temperature today is 40 (C) the temperature is not twice as more since 313K is not twice 293K. As we can see its important to look at the context and see what were talking about! After thoroughly thinking about this issue Ive reached some very interesting conclusions. In general context is all theres no doubt about that, which means theres no truth, which in turn means that History shouldnt exist and it also means that 20 x 2 does not equal 40. However that doesnt apply to my personal truth of some things in life since I believe that my truth is not always affected by the context.

Personality And Employee Behaviour

Personality And Employee Behaviour The author through this essay would be elaborating on the relationship between the personality of an individual with that of the various factors which determine the employee behaviour in an organizational setting. For this purpose the essay first talks about both organizational behaviour and personality in brief and moves onto discussing the various theories relating to personality (Big Five Factor Model and Myers Briggers Type Indicator) along with the criticism that they have undergone over the years. The author would then be linking various employee behaviour with that of the personality of an individual and based on the research done by various authors and in the end would be presenting managerial implications which would be beneficial for the well-being of an organization. Keywords: Organizational Citizenship Behaviour Personality, Big Five Factor Model, Myers Briggs Type Indicator, job attitude, job motivation. Introduction In the span of the last two decades, organizational citizenship behaviour (OCB) has been the foremost topic researchers have studied (Allen and Rush, 1998; MacKenzie, Podsakoff, and Fetter, 1991; Organ, 1997). Many researchers have pursued the study of OCBs on the notion that OCBs helps boost organizational effectiveness (Organ, D. 1988; Podsakoff and Mackenzie, 1994, 1997; Walz and Niehoff, 1996). This notion was a clear part of Organs (1988) definition of OCB. According to Organ, D. (1988) Organizational Citizenship Behaviour was defined as, Individual behaviour that is discretionary, not directly or explicitly recognized by the formal reward system and that in the aggregate promotes effective functioning of the organization. Singh, A. and Singh, A., (2009). Does Personality Predict Organisational Citizenship Behaviour among Managerial Personnel. Journal of the Indian Academy of Applied Psychology, Vol. 35, No. 2, pp. 291-298. An examination of past studies has identified organizational citizenship behaviour as a significant aspect of job performance (Motowidlo and Van Scotter, 1994; Motowidlo, Borman, and Van Scotter, 1997). It discusses behaviours that pro ­mote the changing nature of the organizational and social network and psycho ­logical climate that surrounds the technical tasks (Gan, Y. and Cheung, F., 2010). These behaviours encompass help and cooperation with others and persistent enthusiasm. Organiza ­tional citizenship behaviour could be split into two parts namely, job dedication and interpersonal facilitation (Van Scotter and Motowidlo, 1996). Job dedication includes conforming, disciplining, and motivating behaviours that promote the organizations best interest. Interpersonal facili ­tation refers to a series of interpersonal behaviours to help maintain the or ­ganizations interpersonal environment, such as inclined to help co-workers/participation in teamwork and cooperation. (Van Scotter and Motowidlo, 1996) (Gan, Y. and Cheung, F., (2010). From proactive personality to organizational citizenship behaviour: Mediating role of Harmony. Psychological Reports, Vol. 106, No. 3, pp. 755-765) The five-factor model of personality (FFM) or big five has led research in the field of personality in the past two decades, and has provided a significant degree of convergence in the trait factor analytic psychology (Robertson and Callinan, 1998). The five factors categorised as neuroticism, extraversion, openness to experience, agreeableness, and conscientiousness (Costa and McCrae, 1992). Clear measurement frameworks have been provided by these factors to personality psychology and are responsible for the revival of interest in personality in organizational psychology (Singh, A. and Singh, A., 2009). In the early 1990s, new prospects for research in the field of Organiza ­tional citizenship behaviour were brought about by the emergence of Big-Five in the field of personality. Researchers and practicing managers can gain the most valuable explanation of organizational citizenship behaviours through an employees individual disposition (Organ, D. 1990). Through their work, researchers have investigated the predisposition and Organiza ­tional citizenship behaviour relationship (Organ, 1990; Organ, 1994). Singh, A. and Singh, A., (2009). Does Personality Predict Organisational Citizenship Behaviour among Managerial Personnel. Journal of the Indian Academy of Applied Psychology, Vol. 35, No. 2, pp. 291-298. Organizational Citizenship Behavior (OCB) Organ (1988, p. 4) defined OCB as the individual behavior that is discretionary, not directly or explicitly recognized by the formal reward system, and that in the aggregate promotes the effective functioning of the organization. By discretionary, Organ (1988, p. 4) described OCB as the type of behavior that is not a part of the job description, but rather a matter of personal choice, such that its omission is not generally understood as punishable. Most of the studies examining the structure of OCB have agreed that it is a multidimensional concept (e.g. Graham1989; Moorman and Blakely, 1995; Organ, 1988; Podsakoff, MacKenzie, Moorman, and Fetter, 1990). Graham (1989), for example, proposed a four-dimension model of OCB consisting of: interpersonal helping, individual initiative, personal industry, and loyal boosterism. Interpersonal helping involves helping co-workers in their jobs when such help is needed. Individual initiative is communicating to others in the work place to improve individual and group performance. Personal industry includes the performance of specific tasks above and beyond the call of duty. Finally, loyal boosterism involves the promotion of the organizational image to outsiders (Moorman and Blakely, 1995). (Gan, Y. and Cheung, F., (2010). From proactive personality to organizational citizenship behaviour: Mediating role of Harmony. Psychological Reports, Vol. 106, No. 3, pp. 755-765) Proactive Personality and Organizational Citizenship Behaviour In recent years proactive personality has captured the attention of researchers among personality predictors of organizational citizenship behaviour. The notion of proactive personality as a stable disposition was introduced after the proactive components of organizational behaviour were explored (Bateman, T. and Crant, J., 1993). The belief of being able to create and change the environment and actually taking an initiative in doing so, is a characteristic people bearing strong proactive personalities have. By negotiating selecting, improvising, ma ­nipulating, and evoking the environment, proactive individ ­uals are able to influence their environments (Buss, D., 1987 as cited by Gan, Y. and Cheung, F., 2010). Proactive personality and organizational citizenship behaviour are closely related to each other. As cited by Gan, Y. and Cheung, F., (2010) this relationship was tested by Crant, J. (1995) with a sample of real estate salespersons. When work social desirability, experience, and factors of personality like extraversion and conscientiousness were controlled, an additional 8% variance in job perfor ­mance was accounted for, due to proactive personality. Hierarchical regression results in the same research indicated that proactive personality accounted for more variance than Big Five personality factors. Therefore, it was suggested that this personality variable had the strongest positive predictive value for job performance, especially organizational citizenship behaviour (Thompson, 2005). (Gan, Y. and Cheung, F., (2010). From proactive personality to organizational citizenship behaviour: Mediating role of Harmony. Psychological Reports, Vol. 106, No. 3, pp. 755-765) Contexts as Moderators in Organizational Behaviour Research The concept of proactive personality was proposed Bateman, T. and Crant, J. (1993). During their research observed that the predictive value of proactive person ­ality might differ in weak and strong contexts. Johns, G. (2006, p. 387) defined contexts as, Situations [that] vary in their capacity to abet or constrain human agency. The expression of individual differences tends to get constrained due to perceived strong situations with obvious norms and rigid roles. For the expression of such differences, weak situations permit more opportunity or latitude. Social structure is a classification of discrete context, in which behaviour may be influenced directly by specific situational variables or it may moderate relationships between variables. While western cultural contexts are more similar to weak contexts, Asian cultures may represent strong contexts (Mowday and Sutton, 1993 as cited by Gan, Y. and Cheung, F., 2010). The predictive value of proac ­tive personality for organizational citizenship behavior might be stron ­ger, under weak contexts, (Gan, Y. and Cheung, F., 2010). For example, a review of some studies showed that (Shang, J. and Gan, Y. (2009) and Chan, D. (2006) consisted samples from Asian cultures, a type of strong context while on the other hand, western studies show that their samples mostly worked in the sales industry, a typically weak context. Thus the general association of proactive personality and behaviour may not be sig ­nificant, in this context. Thus, in such cases moderators or a context have significant prominence. Although proactive personality is superficially encouraged in organizations, human resources practitioners note the other side of the coin: proactivity refers to neglecting or violating rules and disciplines and implies the intention to change the current environment. Thus, a new idea being put into practice or proposed may threaten or pose a disturban ce to an organization (Jiang, L., 2007 as cited by Gan, Y. and Cheung, F., 2010). He further claimed that employees confor ­mity and altruism is the bridge from proactivity to organizational citizenship behaviour. In the event of this idea being translated into a research hypothesis, it would be theorized that personality traits moderate the relation of proactive personality and organizational citizenship behaviour. (Gan, Y. and Cheung, F., (2010). From proactive personality to organizational citizenship behaviour: Mediating role of Harmony. Psychological Reports, Vol. 106, No. 3, pp. 755-765) The Big Five Personality Model Personality has been examined from a variety of theoretical perspective and in the past researchers in the field of personality assessment had to face a wide array of scales with little guidance. One staring place for a shared taxonomy is the natural language of personality description. This work began with the extraction of all personality relevant from the dictionary and guiding them with lexical hypothesis. After such extractions took place in various languages Allport and Odbert (1936) (as cited in Pervin, L., and John, O., 1999, pp. 103) conducted a seminal lexical study of the personality relevant terms in English that could be used to distinguish the behaviour of one person from the other. Using both semantic and empirical clustering procedures as well as his own reviews of the personological literature available at that time, Citadell reduced the 4500 traits to a mere 35 variables. What personality psychology needed was a descriptive model or taxonomy which would permit researchers to study specified areas rather than examining various domains of personality. After decades of research the field approached consensus on a general taxonomy of personality traits, the Big Five personality dimensions. (Pervin, L., and John, O., 1999). These factors are typically labelled as: Extraversion or Surgency (talkative, assertive, energetic) Agreeableness (good natured, cooperative, trustful) Conscientiousness (orderly, responsible, dependable) Emotional Stability versus Neuroticism (calm, not neurotic, not easily upset) Intellect or Openness (intellectual, imaginative, independent-minded) The Big Five personality model provided a starting point for vigorous research in-order to explicate the taxonomy in various dimensions. Hofstee, Kliers, Raad, Golberg, and Ostendorf (1997) compared the big five factor structures of personality traits across various languages and found out that the Big Five factors recur across languages in a relative but not in a strict sense. Trull and Geary (1997) also compared the Big Five structure across American and Chinese samples and found that the scores of the construct were not significantly different which is in line with the research of Yik and Bond (1993). Borkenau and Ostendorf (1998) found out that five factor model ignores the strength of individual behaviour and is not wedded to the trait approach. Saucier and Goldberg (1998) suggested that future research needs to be done to supplement the Big Five to extend variable selection outside those personality traits which have been conventionally defined and opened a new dimension for future research. Digman (1997) found two higher order factors in the Big Five which he termed as alpha and beta linking alpha with socialization and beta with personal growth while DeYoung (2006) termed these as stability (alpha) and Plasticity (beta). Critics have argued that the Big Five does not provide a complete theory of personality. The Big Five was never intended as a comprehensive personality theory and was developed to account for structural relations among personality traits. Thus like most structural models it provides an account of personality that is primarily descriptive rather than explanatory (Pervin, L., and John, O., 1999). McAdams (1992) highlighted six important limitations of FFM and stated that it can only be viewed as one important model in personality but not the integrative model of personality. The use of factor analysis as a methodology has also come under the scanner and has been found that findings through this methodology have been less than adequate as statistical procedures are mechanical truth generators while psychological results require a psychological interpretation (Block, 1995). A frequent objection has also been that five dimensions cannot possibly capture all of the variations in human personality owing to which Rushton and Irwing (2008) found that General Factor Personality (GFP) occupies the apex of the hierarchical structure of personality followed by Big Two factors of Alpha (Emotional Stability, Conscientiousness, Agreeableness) and Beta (Extraversion, Openness) with the Big Five at the third level. In order to make FFM an integrative personality Denissen and Penke (2008) conceptualized the Five Factor Model as stable individual differences in peoples motivational reactions to circumscribed classes of environmental stimuli resulting in a theoretical framework which would bridge the traditional divide between structure and process oriented approaches in-order for FFM to truly become a scientific model of personality. Thus research in diverse areas such as behaviour genetics, molecular genetics, personality stability change and accuracy and bias in interpersonal perception will be instrumental in building and refining a comprehensive theoretical account of the Big Five (Pervin, L., and John, O., 1999). Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) The MBTI is based on the theories of psychologist Carl Jung and helps in measuring an individuals personality preferences over four dimensions and is often used by psychologists in career counselling and group dynamics analysis (Ludford and Terveen, 2003) The four dimensions are outlined as follows (Robbins, S., Judge, T. and Sanghi, S., 2009): Extraversion / Introversion: Extrovert individuals are outgoing, sociable and assertive while introverts are quiet and shy Sensing / Intuition: Sensing types are practical and prefer routine and order while intuitive rely on unconscious processes. Thinking / Feeling: Thinking types use reason and logic to handle problems whereas feelings rely on their personal values and emotions. Judging / Perceiving: Judging types want control and prefer their world to be ordered and structured while perceiving types are flexible and spontaneous. These classifications together describe 16 personality types. The MBTI is widely practiced by organizations including Apple Computers, ATT, Citigroup, GE, Tata Motors and many hospitals and educational institutions and even defence services (Robbins, S., Judge, T. and Sanghi, S., 2009). MBTI is a tool that can be used to achieve effective communication with other people by knowing their preferences and then communicate in a way they understand. In spite of the popularity of MBTI as a personality assessment model, it has had its share of criticism. MBTI based on Jungians model does not offer any scientific, experimental proof to support the existence, sequence, orientation or manifestation of these functions. As the accuracy of the MBTI depends on honesty of the person being tested and MBTI not using any scale to assess the exaggerated or socially desirable responses is susceptible to fake responses (Furnham, A., 1990). It is also criticised for forcing a person into either one type o r another with no in between types available. The best that can be said is that MBTI can be a valuable tool for increasing self-awareness and providing career guidance but as results are unrelated to job performance managers shouldnt use it as a selection test for job candidates (Robbins, S., Judge, T. and Sanghi, S., 2009). Linking Personality with Determinants of Employee Behaviour The author would now elaborate on the research that has been done on personality and how it affects the employee behaviour in an organization. Personality forms the most important factor in an individuals behaviour and is complex to understand individuals as a whole. Individuals should be considered as a à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¾closed boxà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¸ and in-order to benefit from humans in an efficient and productive way, human resource managers should try to understand the personalities of their employees (Aksu et. al., 2009). In an organization when self-managed work groups are formed the most important question that is asked is on what basis should employees be selected, Thoms, P., Moore, K. and Scott, K., (1996) found that traits like Neuroticism, Extraversion, Agreeableness and Conscientiousness were significantly related to self-efficacy for participating in self-managed work groups. By examining the link of Big Five personality traits with the ability to show self-control moderated the anger-aggression link it was found that conscientiousness was negatively related with anger and moderated the link between anger and aggression whereas agreeableness was positively related with anger only when the levels of Conscientiousness was low. (Campbell, et. al. 2007) and different people of personality traits showed different types of interpersonal stress coping responses. In extreme cases where these conflicts result to loneliness it has been found that loneliness is negatively impacted by Extraversion and Agreeableness while high levels of Neuroticism can lead to loneliness (Atak, H., 2009). Transformational leadership in an organization has the potential of motivating the employees and establishing high rates of job performance and it has been found that leaders associated a transformational leadership with being extraverted, intuitive and perceiving preferences while subordinates associate rate sensing preference with transformational leadership (Hautala, T., 2006). During new product development (NPD) in an organization it has been found that leader openness has a significant direct as well as indirect influence on NPD project performance through teamwork under high uncertainty but not under low uncertainty conditions. In-order for an organization to achieve success it is very critical to have motivated employees and when the link of personality and motivation was analysed it was found that extraverts reported to being attracted to Herzberg motivation factors in workplace and neuroticism rated importance of hygiene factors (Furnham, A., Forde, L. and Ferrari, K., 1999 ). Job performance is an important criterion for an organizational setup and organizations have always been on the lookout for measures which can enhance the job performance of its employees. Barrick, M. and Mount, M. (1991) which was the most cited article of 1990s, investigated the relationship between big five personality dimensions with job performance criteria for various occupational groups and also stated that the framework can be extended to various subfields of personnel psychology such as personnel selection, performance appraisal and training and development. Wang, M. and Erdheim, J. (2007) stated that extraversion was significantly related to learning goal orientation and proving goal orientation while Neuroticism was marginally related to proving goal orientation and significantly related to avoiding goal orientation. Their results further confirm that personality has a significant impact on performance motivation (Barrick, M. and Mount, M., 1991) and clarify the personality performance relation. Sawyerr, O., Srinivas, S. and Wang, S. (2009) in the service context found that there is a negative relationship between openness to new experience and service performance leading to lower ratings by their supervisors, with no other personality variable having a significant relationship with service performance. They also stated that Conscientiousness and internal LOC were negatively associated and agreeableness and emotional stability were positively related with absenteeism. They also found a positive association between internal LOC as well as openness to new experience to turnover and a negative association with emotional stability and intent to turnover. Along with the personality and job performance relationship another relationship which holds a lot of importance for the organizations is the personality-job attitude relationship. Burnett, M., Williamson, I. and Bartol, K. (2009) established that conscientiousness and extraversion can be an important moderator of the interactive effect of procedural fairness and outcome favourability on job attitude. Bernard, N., Dollinger S. and Ramaniah, N. (2002) stated that the imposter phenomenon was related to people with high Neuroticism and low Conscientiousness in an organization. Erdheim, J., Wang, M. and Zickar, M. (2006) explored the linkages between the personality factors and organizational commitment and stated that Extraversion was significantly related to affective commitment, continuance commitment, and normative commitment; neuroticism, conscientiousness, and openness to experience were all significantly related to continuance commitment and agreeableness was significantly related to normative commitment. It has also been found that and Over-commitment and depressive symptoms were associated with high levels of neuroticism and effort reward imbalance (Vearing, A. and Mak, A., 2007). Personality of an individual also relates to the tendency of choosing a certain career strategy and has been found that more extroverted individuals utilized a host of career management strategies than their more introverted intended counterparts and also found that conflict frequency is negatively related to individual well-being especially when individuals are low in agreeableness, extraversion or emotional stability. Thus we see that personality has been a hot topic for research amongst the researchers and there has been an extensive study on how personality affects an employees behaviour in an organizational setting but due to the word limit as well as accessibility constraint the author would have not been able to include all the factors which are affected by personality. Managerial Implications On the basis of the theoretical framework stated above, the author would like to suggest various strategies which followed in-order can be adopted and applied in organizations to overcome the negative implications of personality on the various factors of employee behaviour in an organizational context. Traits of a particular culture should be looked at as advantages by managers especially in the hospitality industry and they should tap this potential in an appropriate manner to gain a competitive edge. Organizations can achieve this goal by aligning their actions with the selection of appropriate people, compliant with company image, tourism sector realities, and customer needs and expectations and in turn benefit from the personality test. (Aksu, et. al., 2009) In advance of the decision whether to have self-managed work groups, organizations should focus on the personality of individuals before selecting candidates to work on this type of structure. (Thoms, P., Moore, K. and Scott, K., 1996). Managers need to be very critical while providing a negative feedback as people with lower conscientiousness would not be able to regulate their anger and choose to aversive drink choice and people with higher agreeableness may be more sensitive to destructive interpersonal tactics and express more anger but would be able to control that anger and choose to more socially acceptable responses (Campbell, et. al. 2007). Managers should be vigilant and identify neuroticism at early stage among employees and help people refrain from entering a lonely state and thus saving them from taking a drastic step. (Atak, H., 2009). Among organizations with differences in the work related factors in which different people seek out and value them, it would be very helpful to pay attention to trait variables in selection to ensure better person environment fit. An apt way for organizations to deal with different groups of people is employing diverse performance schemes for them. To achieve the highest level of performance from individuals, motivators must encourage the extrovert with potential rewards and prompt the introvert with judicial use of punitive threat (Furnham, A., Forde, L. and Ferrari, K., 1999). By implementing the process of assessing leaders from the self-rating as well as subordinates perspective, it would help enhance the mutual understanding of a leader-subordinate relationship which would also assist the leaders to be realistic when rating themselves, thus benefiting organisations. (Hautala, T., 2006). Organizations by examining the relationship between personality with service performance, absenteeism and turnover would be able to develop recruitment and selection strategies, work redesign programs and training that would ultimately benefit the organization by reducing employee costs and enhancing their wellbeing (Sawyerr, O., Srinivas, S. and Wang, S., 2009). Traits like extraversion and neuroticism are the strongest predictors of goal orientation. Rather than focusing on choosing only conscientiousness, organizations should employ selection methods that measure these traits too. In order to induce work motivation and attain high levels of goal orientation, organizations should focus on post entry work experiences and should also adopt selection procedures based on personality measures (Wang, M. and Erdheim, J., 2007). Organizations can greatly reduce the turnover rate of employees and improve the working conditions by linking what the employees are looking forward to in an organization (Burnett, M., Williamson, I. and Bartol, K., 2009) In an organisation, as managers have the onus of identifying imposter phenomenon in the employees, it is important for them to identify such traits in the earlier stages. By focusing on depression and anxiety problems with employees and also working on their lack of self-discipline, managers should assist employees providing them the right kind of treatment (Bernard, N., Dollinger S. and Ramaniah, N., 2002) Organizations can effectively deal with employees experiencing elevated risk for being depressed by providing stress prevention and management programs, by investing in increasing supervisor and co-worker support, by using social activities to increase co-worker support and should also focus on decreasing extrinsic efforts and increasing rewards (Vearing, A. and Mak, A., 2007). Conclusion It is evident from the above discussion that progress has been made in the field of personality psychology in terms of advancement of research methodologies and techniques of data analysis as well as in awareness of the range of variables that need to be considered to understand complex personality functioning. Over the years, research in the field of personality has evolved and an increasing number of researchers in an effort to generalize and increase the practical applicability of these personality theories are challenging the past theories. With the advent of globalisation and organizations interacting with culturally diverse populace, the traditional approaches which were used by organizations to manage any problem are out-dated in todays dynamic work culture. It is thus necessary for organizations to recognise the fact that in-order to keep abreast with competition and achieve customer satisfaction; their primary objectives should encompass gratifying their employees and this journey begins with the interpretation of their personalities and using in an ethical way for the betterment of the organization. With a vast amount of research being undertaken on personality and wide range of variables being interpreted to understand the complexities of the personality domain, it is obligatory on the part of organizations to keep themselves updated so as to facilitate their employees to serve customers better. Thus organizations need to place high level of importance on understanding the personality of its employees as personality impacts variables such as employee behaviour, job performance, job attitude, motivation etc. which are the vital functions from an organizational perspective and all these variables directly or indirectly affect the bottom-line of the organization.

Porters Five Forces Analysis Aids Marketing Essay

Porters Five Forces Analysis Aids Marketing Essay Introduction Porters Five Forces Analysis aids a business in cross checking a competitive environment. It has similarities with other tools for environmental analysis, such as PEST analysis, but is more likely to focus on the single or a stand alone, business rather than a single product or range of products, before Michael E Porter devised the five forces model there was a way of think which implied that due to competition the rate of return in an industry would be constant across all firms and industries, this way of thinking contrasted a number of studies which has identified that different industries were in fact able to maintain different levels of profit which was due to the way a industry was structured. different industries can sustain different levels of profitability (Porter, M (23/04/10). Competitive Strategy: Techniques for Analyzing Industries and Competitors) Michael E Porter presented a structure that replicates an industry as being influenced by five forces. These five forcers are barriers to entry, supplier power, threats of substitutes, buyer power and degree of rivalry with in the industry. Based on this analysis, a company can develop a competitive strategy for gaining and sustaining competitive advantages over rival firms and thereby generating above-average return on investments. (Niederhut-Bollmann, C, Theuvsen, L,. (23/04/2010). Strategic management in turbulent markets) Porters Five Forces provide a simple framework to analysis an industry structure and view its potential for profitability. It works by looking at the strength of five important forces that affect competition. Rivalry With reference to economics, competition among companies will forces over all profits to zero (Iupindia, D. (24/4/10). Journal of Applied Economics), but because there is no-such thing as perfect competition firms in any industry will continue to attempt to achieve a competitive advantage over rival companies, to help a company achieve an advantage over its competitors it can use a number of competitive moves such as: Changing the prices of its service or product, Improving product differentiation, using the most appropriate channels of distribution or developing relationships with suppliers. (Porter, Michael E.. (24/4/10). THE FIVE COMPETITIVE FORCES THAT SHAPE STRATEGY ) When classifying the intensity of a companys rivalry there a number of different unique points which help to identify how competitive that industry is. If there are a number of large firms in an industry these firms are competing for the same customers and resources (Porter, Michael E. (25/4/10). How competitive forces shape strategy). This rivalry increases if the companies in the industry all have equal market share. Slow market growth will also cause an increase in rivalry as firms are forced to compete for limited market share in contrast an industry which is growing rapidly will have higher revenue and a bigger market share due to the fact that there are so many emerging consumers. Added to the slow market growth and the number of firms in an industry, low product differentiation can also affect the amount of rivalry in an industry a perfect example is the Smartphone industry, all the phone are the same and offering the same benefits to the consumer. But by offering or creating a brand identity a company can restrict the amount of rivalry in the industry again a example is in the Smartphone industry Apple has been able to create a successful brand which differentiates them from there competitors. When an industry is producing higher profits it entices new entrants into the market this in turn increase the amount of rivalry. At a certain point in the product life cycle an industry will have too many competitors and the industry can become crowed, with all these business producing the same product the market becomes saturated creating a position of too many products and not enough buyers Threat of Substitutes The Threat of Substitutes means other products which are in other industries affecting the product which is being produced. If a substitute product is limiting the ability of the industry to raise prices it falls in to the category of a substitute. For example BHP Billiton is a mining company which extracts minerals from the ground such as iron ore another mining company which extracts oil from the ocean would be a substitute. While the threat of substitute normaly affects an industry via a completive price strategy it can also pose a threat in areas such as technology and resources. Buyer Power When an industry has a strong buyer power it suggests that the consumers have an impact on the companies. These buyers are able to set prices and dictate to the industries what they want; this is prevalent in industries where there are many suppliers and only one buyer for example in the car manufacturing industry there are many makers of cars and they all need tires but there are only a few companies that make tiers. Supplier Power If an industry requires raw materials such as metal, labor or commodities it creates a relationship with a company that supplies the specific need and want that the industry is looking for. If the supplier are powerful and have a large market share they are able to influence the producing industry a perfect example of this is BHP Billiton. BHP Billiton is able to sell its raw materials such as iron ore to countries such as china at higher price which allows the company to capture some of the profits which are had by the metal industry. Barriers to Entry New firms entering an industry affect competition Barriers to entry benefit existing companies already operating in an industry because  they  protect  an established companys  revenues and profits from being whittled away by  new competitors.( J Cramer. (01/05/2010). Barriers To Entry. Available) Barriers can be exploited and used to improve the competitive advantage of the company. These barriers can be caused by the Government who regulate some industries by allowing monopolies for example Telstra who have a monopoly over the telecommunication business, legal patents which are used by companies who have a entrepreneurial idea, having specific assets such as technology which is required to produce a particular product and having cost effective economies of scale which is the point where the cost of producing a unit is at a minimum. Porter five forcers can also be used to determine the attractiveness of an industry or market as measured by the long-term return on investment of a average firm which depends largely on the five factors Michael E Porter developed, these factors influence Profitability, The intensity of competition among existing competitors, the existence of potential competitors who will enter if profits are high, substitute products that will attract customers if prices become high, the bargaining power of the customer and the bargaining power of suppliers (Aaker, D (23/04/10). Strategic Market Management) As BHP Billiton has a lot of financial strength which has been created though well planed cash flow and balance sheets, a variety of products and customers, as well as access to global assets and an always expanding stage of prospects, they are able to determine how a buyers must act an example of this is when BHP Billiton dictated iron-ore prices to steelmakers (Sarah-Jane Tasker. (23/04/2010). Giant iron ore producers are dictating price, says Beijing) In 2009 BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto Signed a Joint Venture which allowed the two companies to control and encompasses all current and future Western Australian iron ore assets and liabilities, this has decreased the amount of competition in the mining industry, as well as eliminating the threat of potential entrants, the joint venture has also allowed the two companies to increased there barging power in terms of exporting the iron-ore, at the same time cutting the bargaining power of those customers, as there is not substitutes for minerals BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto will be able to continue to create a profit in the industry. There are some arguments which view the Porters five force model as out of date and touch with the twenty-first century way of conducting business. Dagmar Recklies who has extensive experience in the strategic analysis of markets, companies and business models also a wide knowledge in the development and implementation of concepts for strategic planning writes that Porters ideas have become more and more subject of critique under the impression of the developing Internet economy during the last decade. Critics point out that economic conditions have changed fundamentally since that time. The rise of the Internet and of various e-business applications has strongly influenced nearly all industries. (Recklies, D. (2/5/10). Beyond Porter A Critique of the Critique of Porter) As Michael E Porter is viewed as one of the most influential people in the strategic management way of thinking; his models have grown and are being used by managers and business all around the world, even though his models are based on the economic situations in the eighties his theories are still relent even in a time where a majority of business is done on line. I believe internet competition in any industry has increased. The internet allows business to trade and stay competitive not only locally but global. Many products and even some service operate solely online for example using the porters five force model and applying it to the internet and companies which use only internet it is possible to explain how a business can remain completive. Buyer power Customers are able to have a better buyer power when there are more choices in an industry, as with business operating via the internet offering a wider choice of goods and services at lower cost play to how a customer wants to purchase, an example of this is eBay there are millions of different products at lower then retail cost meaning that consumers have a wide choice of products. Supplier power Supplier power is the opposite to buyer power where by buyers have less choices in an industry in relation to the internet and purchasing products on the internet companies such as Google dominate the internet, other companies use this website as a vehicle to recommend there product to the consumer while paying Google for the opportunity to advertise via there site. Threat of substitutes As stated early the threat of substitute is high when there are many product options. The internet allows a consumer to shop around and purchase there product form other countries or business where the cost of manufacturing is cheaper. Barriers to entry The threat of a new entrant into the market which you are competing in is high, it is very easy for a local business to setup an internet website and start selling there product. Even though there is high competition on the internet there is always an opportunity for a business to sell or offer a new product or service. Rivalry In relation to business operating via the internet there is extensive amount of rivalry which will effect how a modern day internet business is able to gain a competitive advantage but by viewing the above factors it will allow the particular business to view the correct direction and strength to successful attain a profit Porters Five Forces Model can help demonstrate the attractiveness of starting an on-line business. A business person should use the model to identify competition, make a plan, and implement the process. (Bennett, J. (2/5/2010). Porters Five Forces Model And Internet Competition) As stated in the article by J, Bennett porters five force model is still applicable to the way companies do business on the internet you still need to assess you Buyer Power, Supplier power, what threats you product or service has and what the barriers to entry are Even through Dagmar Recklies states that: these models cannot explain or analyze todays dynamic changes and have the power to transform whole industries (Recklies, D. (2/5/10). Beyond Porter A Critique of the Critique of Porter) what needs to be understood is that the business running on the internet are still business and they are still subjected to industry competition and that porters five force model will still help a company to analysis how competitive there industry is. There are a number of other models which would help a company determine how competitive the industry is that they are competing in. The Ansoff Matrix proposes that a company will mature whether it markets new or existing products in a new or existing market. If done correctly the Ansoff Matrix will be able to guide a company by suggesting a growth strategy such as; Market penetration, product development, market development and diversification. Market Penetration This strategy consists of developing companies products to an existing market. This strategy will help a company achieve objectives such as; maintaining or increasing the market share on current products, become a market leader, it can help remove competitors from a market and increase the amount existing customers use Product development The Product development strategy can be used to introduce a new product into existing markets for example developing needs and wants so it can appeal to the particular existing market. Market development This strategy is used to help a company trade an old product in a new market for example selling a product over seas, lowering prices which will attract new customers or distributing a product via a different channel. Diversification Diversification is a growth strategy where by a business markets new products in new market this strategy is very riskey due to the fact the business is moving into a market that it has little or no experience in For a business to adopt a diversification strategy, therefore, it must have a clear idea about what it expects to gain from the strategy and an honest assessment of the risks. . (Chapman, A. (2/5/2010). business plans and marketing strategy) Compared to the Porters five force model the Ansoff matrix can be a useful extension to encompass the degree of risk a company will experience by venturing into a new/expanding market (Bennett, R. Vignali, C. (1996). Dancall Telecom A/S in the UK mobile telephone market) it also deals with the possibility that an industry could be attractive because certain companies are in it, such as the Smartphone industry looks like a positive industry to be in but this is only due to Apple being so dominant. The Ansoff Growth matrix is used as a tool that helps businesses decide their product and market growth strategy where as Porters Five Forces is designed as a tool to help managers view a industries opportunities and threats allowing for a completive advantage to be formed. Conclusion In conclusion Porters Five Forces Analysis is a significant model for reviewing the possible for profitability in an industry. It works by looking at the strength of five important forces that affect competition, Supplier Power which is the power of suppliers to drive up the prices of inputs, Buyer Power which is the power customers to drive down prices, Competitive Rivalry which is able to evaluate the strengths of business in a industry, The Threat of Substitution helps reference the amount of different products and services that can be used in place of your own and finally The Threat of New Entry which refers to the ease with which new competitors can enter the market. If a company applies this model it will assist the business in viewing and identifying the strengths and directions in which they need to head to sustain profit in there given industry Literature and References: Porter, M (10/1980). Competitive Strategy: Techniques for Analyzing Industries and Competitors . NY, USA: Free Press. 34-56. Aaker, D (2008). Strategic Market Management. 9th ed. New Caledonia: Jonh Wiley Sons, Inc. 67-68 Sarah-Jane Tasker. (2010). Giant iron ore producers are dictating price, says Beijing. Available: http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/giant-iron-ore-producers-are-dictating-price-says-beijing/story-e6frg8zx-1225854289070. Last accessed 23/04/2010. Niederhut-Bollmann, C, Theuvsen, L,. (2008). Strategic management in turbulent markets. The case of the German and Croatian brewing industries. 1 (2), 64. Porter, Michael E.. (Jan2008). THE FIVE COMPETITIVE FORCES THAT SHAPE STRATEGY.. Harvard Business Review. Vol. 86 (16), 78-93. J Cramer. (2010). Barriers To Entry. Available: http://www.investopedia.com/terms/b/barrierstoentry.asp. Last accessed 1/05/2010. Recklies, D. (2008). Beyond Porter A Critique of the Critique of Porter. Available: http://www.themanager.org/strategy/BeyondPorter.htm. Last accessed 01/05/2010. Recklies, D. Recklies, O. (2000). Who We Are. Available: http://www.themanager.org/rmpenglish/self.htm. Last accessed 2/05/2010. Bennett, J. (2010). Porters Five Forces Model And Internet Competition . Available: http://ezinearticles.com/?Porters-Five-Forces-Model-And-Internet-Competitionid=446461. Last accessed 2/05/2010. Chapman, A. (2008). business plans and marketing strategy. Available: http://www.businessballs.com/freebusinessplansandmarketingtemplates.htm#ansoff%20product%20market%20matrix. Last accessed 2/05/2010. Bennett, R. Vignali, C. (1996). Dancall Telecom A/S in the UK mobile telephone market.(European Marketing Management Issues: A Case Study Selection).. Management Decision . 24 (8), 6-11. Wierenga B., Knowledge Based Systems in Marketing, Purpose, Performance, Perceptions and Perspectives,Management Report Series, no. 112, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Dept. of Business Management,1992. Iupindia, D. (2010). Journal of Applied Economics. IUP. 9 (2), 1-24. Porter, Michael E. (1980). How competitive forces shape strategy.. Harvard Business Journal. 2 (17), 34-50. Coyne, K.P. and Sujit Balakrishnan (1996),Bringing discipline to strategy, The McKinsey Quarterly, No.4. Porter, M.E. (1980) Competitive Strategy, Free Press, New York, 1980. SEC Form 20-F, BHP Billiton Limited and BHP Billiton plc, for FY 2007 (PDF). BHP Billiton. 2007-09-26. p.  274. http://www.bhpbilliton.com/bbContentRepository/20fstatement2007.pdf. Retrieved 2008-04-09. BHP wont be drawn on a Rio sweetener. FT.com (Financial Times). 2007-11-28. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/fe0b3904-9d88-11dc-9f68-0000779fd2ac.html. Retrieved 2007-11-28. Pump Industry Analyst. (2010). BHP Billiton plans iron ore mining expansion in Western Australia.. Iron Ore Mining. 1 (2), 3-4. Richardson, M. Evans, C. (2007). Strategy in Action Applying Ansoffs Matrix.. British Journal of Administrative Management; . 59 (3), 1-3.

The Enlightenment Essay -- History Historical French Essays

The Enlightenment Throughout Europe and the new American colonies in the 18th century there was a great movement in thought. This trend that preceded the French Revolution is known as the Enlightenment. Revolutionary writers and thinkers thought that the past held only darkness and ignorance, they began to question everything. Enlightened thought entered, or intruded, into all aspects of life in the 1700s. Governments were drastically reformed, art and literature changed in scope, religion was threatened, the study of science spread, nature was seen in a new light, and humanity evolved greatly. This new way of thinking was propelled by curiosity and observations of society and nature. The Enlightenment was a desire for human affairs to be guided by rationality rather than by faith, superstition, or revelation; a belief in the power of human reason to change society and liberate the individual from the restraints of custom or arbitrary authority; all backed up by a world view increasingly validated by science rather than by religion or tradition. 1 Several individuals have been credited and blamed for leading and contributing to the Enlightenment. These thinkers not only changed their views, but also spread revolutionary ideas to others. These philosophes, Evangelists of science, felt that it was their duty to open peoples’ eyes to new thought. They used every media available to them including word of mouth, pamphlets, letters, journals and books. Philosophes were tired of people accepting anything they were told, consequently a large opponent of the Enlightenment Era was the Church. Knowledge gained through observation of nature slowly replaced blindly accepted religious explanations. The Enlightenment wa... ...am, they could harness it with the steam engine. Thus, emerged the Industrial Revolution, which would never have been possible had humans not owned the knowledge gained from the Enlightenment. Literature Cited 1. Dorinda Outram, The Enlightenment (New York, Press Syndicate of the University of Cambridge ,1995), 3. 2. Donald Kagan, Steven Ozment and Frank M. Turner, The Western Heritage, Second Brief Edition, Volume II: Since 1648 (Upper Saddle River, NJ, Prentice Hall, 1996), 397. 3. Outram, 58. 4. Kagan, 401. 5. Britannica Online, â€Å"The Enlightenment†, wysiwyg://176/http://www.britannica.com/†¦ article/5/0,5716,108605+8+106072,00.html, 21. 6. Roy Porter, The Enlightenment, (London, The MacMillan Press Ltd., 1990), 3. 7. Kagan, 403. 8. Outram, 62. 9. Jonathon Weiner, Time, Love, Memory (New York, Vintage Books, 1999), 5.

Two Scavengers in a Truck,Two Beautiful People in Mercedes and Nothings

Two Scavengers in a Truck,Two Beautiful People in Mercedes and Nothings Changed Compare and contrast of two poems from different cultures- ‘Two Scavengers in a Truck, Two beautiful People in Mercedes’ and ‘Nothings Changed’. ‘Two Scavengers in a Truck, Two Beautiful People in Mercedes’ by Lawrence Ferlinghetti, is a poem about four very different people brought together by traffic lights turning red. The poet is protesting against the inequalities within a democracy. ‘Nothings Changed’ by Tatamkhulu Afrika, is a poem which is also protesting, but about the way black people are treated in a place where the poet used to live, in District Six, in South Africa, where apartheid took place. In the poem ‘Two Scavengers in a Truck, Two Beautiful People in Mercedes’, the poet compares four people. The four people are brought together by the traffic light turning red. The poem is set in downtown San Francisco at 9 O’clock in the morning. First he describes the two garbage men in their truck. He compares them with a very elegant couple in their Mercedes, who have a very different lifestyle. The poet describes the two garbage men as- ‘two scavengers up since four a.m. grungy from their route’ This phrase creates the image of vultures swooping around San Francisco early while everyone is asleep, because vultures are often described as scavengers. The word ‘grungy’ also makes it clear to the reader that the garbage men are dirty and grubby. The writer tells us that the garbage men have been up since four a.m. This tells us that they are hard workers. In contrast, the poet describes the couple in the Mercedes as- ‘The man in a hip three piece linen suit with shoulder length blond hair and sun... ...manner, and the writer clearly wants to make himself heard. The poet, Tatamkhulu Afrika also talks about his own personal experiences, but on the other hand Lawrence Ferlinghetti, just writes about people he might have seen on the street. I personally preferred ‘Nothings Changed’ by Tatamkhulu Afrika, although I really liked ‘Two Scavengers in a Truck, Two Beautiful People in Mercedes’ by Lawrence Ferlinghetti, I thought ‘Nothings Changed’ was more thought provoking and I think I learnt more about the poet from it, because he was not afraid to express his feelings and opinions. However, I agree with both of the poets on their opinions. I think that everyone should be treated equally and no one should be made to feel like they are worse than someone else, just because they do not have a sophisticated car or because they are a different race or colour.

The Use of Deconstruction in Public Policy Formation Essay -- Problem

Deconstruction is a poststructural theory that has been applied with good results to such areas as Anthropology, Architecture, Critical Legal Studies, Graphic Design, and Literary Criticism. Our purpose is to introduce it into the practice of consulting in general, and public policy formation in particular. Several features of the recent work of Jacques Derrida (the Philosopher responsible for deconstruction) are relevant to our design of a Problem Tour. Problem A deconstructive approach to problem solving puts in question the concept of "problem" and the notion of "solution." "Problema can signify projection or protection, that which one poses or throws in front of oneself, either as the projection of a project, of a task to accomplish, or as the protection created by a substitute, a prosthesis that we put forth in order to represent, replace, shelter, or dissimulate ourselves, or so as to hide something unavowable--like a shield (problema also means shield, clothing as barrier or guard-barrier) behind which one guards oneself in secret or in shelter in case of danger. Every border is problematic in these two senses" (Derrida, 1993: 11-12). An allegorical definition of the effect of problem as shield is the scene in which the ghost of Hamlet's father, a "revenant," appears in full armor on the ramparts of Elsinor. The definition involves the fusion of a series of terms: advice, advise, adviser, advisory, visor. "To feel ourselves seen by a look which it will always be impossible to cross, that is the visor effect on the basis of which we inherit from the law. Since we do not see the one who sees us, and who makes the law, who delivers the injunction; since we do not see the one who orders 'swear,' we cannot identify i... ...ames the essence of tragedy. This dynamic continues today, and is the reason for the "urgency" of the emerAgency. WORKS CITED Benitez-Rojo, Antonio (1996), THE REPEATING ISLAND: THE CARIBBEAN AND THE POSTMODERN PERSPECTIVE, 2nd Ed., Trans. James E. Maraniss (Duke). Derrida, Jacques (1993), APORIAS, trans. Thomas Dutoit (Stanford). ____________ (1994), SPECTRES OF MARXS: THE STATE OF THE DEBT, THE WORK OF MOURNING, AND THE NEW INTERNATIONAL, trans. Peggy Kamuf (Routledge). ____________ (1997), POLITICS OF FRIENDSHIP, trans. George Collins (Verso). Peters, F. E. (1967), GREEK PHILOSOPHICAL TERMS: A HISTORICAL LEXICON (New York University). Poundstone, William (1992), PRISONER'S DILEMMA: JOHN VON NEUMANN, GAME THEORY, AND THE PUZZLE OF THE BOMB (Doubleday) Ventura, Michael, "Hear That Long Snake Moan," in SHADOW DANCING IN THE USA (Tarcher, 1985).

Importance of Muhammad for the Success of the Arab Conquests Essay

When considering the question of the Prophet’s success in the Arab Conquests there are various factors that must be taken into consideration. These factors shape the success, give reason for the rapidity of the spread and illustrate why Arabia was so responsive to his message. Factors such as the state of Arabia and its pagan tribes, recent historic events and the dissatisfaction of the peoples, shape this drastic and historic change in the area. Arabia was in a constant state of war due mainly to the power struggle between the Sasanian and Byzantine empires; the emperors spoke different languages and believed in other religions than their peoples. There was little loyalty and it did not much matter to the folks under which rule they lived. The lack of community, a sense of unity between the various tribes in Arabia and multiple wars were predominant factors that made way for the imminent success of Muhammad in the Arab Conquests. From the time of the Prophet’s first re velation in 610 to the death day of the Prophet in 632, Arabia had undergone a drastic and, for such time limitations, incredible changes. Starting with the geographical aspects it must be elaborated in context how the state of Arabia, the birthplace of Muhammad, was functioning and what its beliefs were pre-Islam. It must also be mentioned that in comparison to the rest of the Middle East, Arabia was considered fairly primal. It lacked any form of government or state policies as every clan was totally independent and had its own rules and leaders, called Shaykh. Such leaders acted as mediators to disputes and needs of the tribe. The tribes mostly lived off pasturage as opposed to agriculture, excluding the harams that were implemented on travel routes, in oasis and in junctures to neighbouring areas. These served as a common point for economic, social and political trade, as well as worship. Arabia was home to various pagan tribes, including the Banu Hashim into which the prophet was born, spread over the area in no apparent kind of structure. Thus, it is fair to say that Arabia was a socially and culturally less developed area than the rest of the Middle East. Secondly, Arabia was subject to numerous power struggles, which fragmented it severely. From local tribal wars, to clashes between Yemeni, Nabatean and Roman kingdoms (sixth century BC – 271 AD ) to finally the main exhaustion of the region in the early seventh century – wars  between Sasanian and Byzantine empires. Only the rise of Mecca in the late sixth century as a centre for economic trade and pilgrimage, could establish a semi treaty between the leading tribe called Quraysh, Byzantines and Bedouins to ensure safe passage of goods, which was beneficial to all. Mecca won recognition as a commercial and political influence in Arabia. However, most of Arabia was still home to incompatible Bedouin communities, which opposed each other in political, social and religious views. This resulted in many conflicts and portrayed, once again, Arabia as a torn and unstable area. Having illustrated the state of Arabia, it portrays â€Å"a world waiting for a guide† around the time of the rise of Islam. A new form of existence, social trend and way of life was to be largely appreciated by rivalling tribes. The main documents of Islam, which emerged or deal at the time of the Prophet, include the Qur’an, a divine revelation of God’s words through the angel Gabriel to Muhammad himself around 610 and the hadiths, traditions and sayings of and about the Prophet. In 613 Muhammad first started to publicly preach and attracted early converts of mostly socially and economically weakened classes to whom this monotheistic message offered salvation from the falling order in Mecca. The sheer force of Muhammad’s inspiration and beauty of speech, as he was illiterate, seemed to persuade people as well as raise universal opposition. Muhammad and his followers shortly became a threat to the Quraysh clan whose pagan religions were challenged by his message, that there was one God only. Muhammad was still able to preach, protected by his uncle Abu Talib and his tribe the Banu Hashim and flourished as a leader of the community. The Quraysh declared Muhammad as a madman and discredited his preaching, boycotting his motions. When it became apparent that his word was no longer considered reliable and that he was not gaining more converts, Muhammad was in search of a political base that could shelter him and his followers from the attacks of ridicule and harassments. This base would act as a home for the community. The Prophet’s forceful and leading persona was attractive to solve Medina’s anarchic feuding. The year 622, after the pledge of al-‘Aqaba to defend Muhammad, is known as the most dramatic event in Muslim history and the first year in the Islamic calendar. This year marks the hijra, the migration and the entry  into a community of Muslims. Due to no existing leadership or effective rule in Medina and through the portrait of an â€Å"Arab Elite† most communities wanted to pertain to, as this included fiscal and job protection advantages, remaining pagans learned Arabic and soon converted to Islam. Jewish clans that rejected the Qur’an and Muhammad as a Messenger of God were either executed or forced to exile, their properties taken into claim. Not only had Muhammad, in 10 years, managed to attract a large amount of converts, but he had also created a base for his Brotherhood, called the umma. Here, the fellow Muslims shared the same beliefs and they were given clear structure by the five pillars of Islam. The Zakat, almsgivings, were a way for everybody to assume responsibility for their brothers within the community and support the less fortunate. In addition, Muhammad changed social norms by giving the patriarchal family a greater importance and rewarding women and children with more rights. Furthermore, he implemented rules for fair business transactions. Thus, Medina was an exemplary state, which prided itself with patriarchal values and a confederation for political and economic legislations. The Umma brotherhood integrated individuals, clans, cities, disparate peoples and ethnic groups into a community under a common law and political authority. Creating this Muslim community, consisting of the early followers muhajeruun and Medinan converts ansar, and a monotheist religion alongside Judaism and Christianity was a vital accomplishment, which marked Muhammad as a man of great influence and importance for the Arab Conquests. Having established a foundation for Islam, Muhammad proceeded with spreading Islam throughout Arabia. At the battle of Badr in 624, the Prophet’s army attacked an important Meccan caravan and claimed victory. The battle described as â€Å" a sign of divine favour† , earned Muhammad a renowned reputation around Arabia and marked an important defeat of Mecca since the hijra. This was succeeded by two more battles, Uhud in 625 and Khandaq in 627, which both had rather positive outcomes in extending his influence and eliminating further Jewish clans. Finally, at al-Hudaybiya, in 628, while Meccans intercepted Medinan pilgrims, a truce between Muhammad and the Quraysh was established enabling Muslims to pilgrim to the Ka’ba. This was  the first sign of recognition of defeat by the Meccans. Merely two years later, in 630, Muhammad gained complete rule over Mecca without resistance and managed to claim the Ka’ba as the holiest shrine of Islam. Through his divine revelations, his preachings and his persuading character, Muhammad was all around respected and worshiped as the Messenger of God. He made his â€Å"religious visions operate in the body of a whole society† enabling a complete social habitual change in Arabia. Through tactic moves such as the hijra, the building of the first Muslim confederation in Medina and the Islamization of larger parts of Arabia he laid out the first step for Islam. Needless to say that without his effective leadership, it seems unthinkable that the communities of Arabia would have been able to act in such unison. Muhammad did not only perform as a religious messenger but also as a political leader, unifying the tribes and clans under one belief and a set of rules. He formed such a powerful bond between the umma that even after his death in 632, the Muslim Caliphates continued to spread Islam and conquered virtually the entire Middle East, parts of southern Spain, India and Northern Africa. Muhammad’s enormous influence in the success of the Arab Conquests and as the Messenger of God in the rise of Islam is indisputable. Bibliography 1.A History of Islamic Societies – Ira M. Lapidus 1988 2.A History of the Arab Peoples – Albert Hourani 1991 3.The Arab Conquests – Kennedy 4.What do we know about Muhammad – Patricia Crone 10 June 2008 5.Muhammad and Jenghiz Khan – Khazanov 1993