Relationship is an exploratory journey Essay

Janie grew up to find herself through each of her relationships. Her subdued lifestyle with her grandmother, her subdued and rather painful existence with her first husband Logan, her disillusionment after her initial enchantment with her second husband Jody, and her unfortunate killing of the husband she so loved, Tea Cake, all help her to recognize her for who she is and by the end of the novel, she is at peace with herself. This inner peace comes about by several twists and turns. She recognizes the various aspects of her own personality through her interactions in each of her relationships. She begins to understand that she might be more than a young girl whose responsibility has to be transferred from the matronly care of her grandmother to matrimonial bond to a unsympathetic husband during her first marriage. She realizes that she is more than an enchanted woman who wants be more than a socially acceptable companion to an ambitious and ruthless man during her second marriage. In her last marital relationship she begins to understand and appreciate her own need to be vivacious, lively and have good times with good company without the need to be apologetic or the need to be unaware of her partner’s shortcomings. In the death of her last husband Tea Cake at her own hand, she realizes that Life does not offer any linear solutions to the problems of relationships. Besides, she also understands that as a person she values her own individual survival is basic for her pursuit of happiness. Her confidence at having endured life’s trials and tests and having coming out not unscathed but with her individuality intact is mistaken for aloofness by her townsfolk. Finally, her revelations to her old friend Pheoby about her life finally give her a sense of fulfillment. Janie grows up in life through her relationships and that is why she has the confidence to tell her friend that â€Å"Ah been a delegate to de big’ssociation of life. Yessuh! De Grand Lodge, de big convention of livin’ is just where Ah been†(10) Janie started off in her childhood with a blind confidence that she was entitled to everything like everyone else. She did not realize she was colored till she saw herself in a photograph and could not recognize herself. When, the rest of the children and the people of the house pointed her out in the photograph, she exclaimed â€Å"Aw, aw! Ah’m colored! †(p. 13) She was taught by her nanny before she was married to Logan Killicks that â€Å"De nigger woman is de mule uh de world so fur as Ah can see. †(p. 20) Her completely subjugated relationship with Logan who was far older than her made her realize that perhaps she wanted more out of life. She wanted to feel a wanting in her heart and her body for a man, a true companion. That is what drove her into the arms of Jody, an ambitious, would-be politician. He was enchanting and had a manner that befitted his yet-to-acquire status. What she did not realize was Jody wanted her to be performing a particular role in his life. There was no fun in Jody because he always looked at life as a mission to be accomplished. She had to tell Jody that he was no fun to be with â€Å"Everybody can’t be lak you, Jody. Somebody is bound tuh want tuh laugh and play†(p. 76) She was so offended by Jodie’s denying her right to be herself, which she began to realize slowly with growing years and experience, she did not even care to be polite to a dying man. In fact Jodie’s death filled her with a sense of relief. Her realization that any relationship can come to the end of its utility and can fill a person with an unmentionable need for it to end came with Jodie’s death. After this growing distancing from Jody and his loftiness, which prevented Janie from living the life as a tribute to all possibility of happiness, Tea Cake entered. â€Å"Janie looked down on him and felt a self-crushing love. So her soul crawled out from its hiding place† (p. 122) Though Tea Cake gave her a brief scare by running away from her with her money, he returned to confess and begin their new life. His vivaciousness and his love for life was something that Janie had always wanted. For her the sweet pain and the all encompassing love she experienced under a pear tree were realized in her years with Tea Cake. But as all good things it also had to come to an end. The fearsome hurricane that they fled, the rabid dog that bit Tea Cake and its ill-effects on his personality and character were all revelations of the uncertainties of life. Janie had to kill Tea Cake in self defense and was acquitted in a trial consisting of all-male, all-white jury – yet another affirmation that Life had its strange ways of indicating its endless possibilities. Now, women forget all those things they don’t want to remember, and remember everything they don’t want to forget. The dream is the truth. Then they act and do things accordingly. †(3) The final place she comes back to is her hometown Eatonville. There, the act of sharing her life’s story with her friend fills her with a sense of completeness. Her relationship with her friend when she interacts very minimally with the townsfolk, allowing them to imagine all kinds of negative things about her, is a final revelation. The narration of the story was a necessity to herself as it was for Pheoby to know the facts. Her growth as a woman and a human being through her four major relationships in life is given a chance to be framed in perspective by her relationship with her friend –somebody with whom she shares no burden of expectation Works cited Hurston, Zora Neale and Jerry Pinkney Their eyes were watching God. Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 1991

Youth Involvement in Disaster Management

Running Head: Youth Involvement in Disaster Akeyo, S. 1 The Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) Youth Involvement in Disaster Management Presentation Paper for the Youth Session at The 5th Annual Caribbean Conference on Comprehensive Disaster Management At the Rose Hall Resort and Spa in Montego Bay, Jamaica By Stephen O. Akeyo, MA, MSA, Ph. D. Student Indiana University, Indiana- USA December 9, 2010. Running Head: Youth Involvement in Disaster Outline I. II. III.IV. V. Abstract Introduction Current Issues Analysis How I look at the Necessity of Youth Involvement Justification for Involving Youth People a. Fostering a sense of local ownership b. Promoting Individual’s right c. Hand-on Experiences VI. Lesson Learned a. Previous Account of Youth Involvement b. What is being done to address Youth Involvement VII. Recommendations for Good Practices 1. Education and Information sharing 2. Tabletop and Drills Exercises 3. Supporting Youth Programs 4.Youth Direct Research Involvement a. Service-Learning Experience i. Being Disaster Ready ii. Community Service 5. Ongoing Research Study VIII. IX. Conclusion References Akeyo, S. 2 Running Head: Youth Involvement in Disaster I. Abstract Akeyo, S. 3 Can young people perform well when they are involved in disaster preparedness and planning roles? Social norms have often failed to incorporate youth in leadership roles and decision making process even during emergency situations.Sadly, when a disaster strikes in any given community, youth and children are found to represent more than a third of disaster victims, yet their response role in a disaster is generally restricted to that of passive victims. The tremendous contributions that young people can make to disaster management are largely untapped. Involving young people in disaster management can help them learn topics that affect their lives while at the same time gaining hands-on experience designed to equip them become tomorrow better leaders.A ny comprehensive disaster management that is designed to incorporate youth in its programs, not only benefits creativity and energy of young people but also in the process strengthens partnerships for resilience. This paper will address current issues affecting disaster management, the role of youth in disaster management, experience and lessons learned from organizations â€Å"such as; the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies; the 2004 Tsunami disaster that impacted the west coast of Sumatra, Indonesia; the 2006 Katrina disaster in New Orleans – U. S.A; and Plan International case study in El-Salvador. This paper will recommend youth involvement in their own community disaster management activities such as table-top exercise tailored into identifying risks; designing community emergency plans as well as their own; exercising a plan; setting up early warning systems; and implementing response; mitigation; and risk reduction plans. Conference participant will be challenged to adopt best practices and be encouraged to conduct further research study and platforms designed to foster youth-adult partnerships for resilience.Running Head: Youth Involvement in Disaster II. Introduction Akeyo, S. 4 Disasters and emergencies such as fires; severe weather; tornadoes; earthquakes; floods; pandemic event; life threatening situation; equipment failure; a cyber-attack or a terrorist attack can strike anywhere at any time with little or no warning. Such disasters and emergencies come with no respect of geographical or national boarders and never occur at convenient times. All emergencies are â€Å"local† phenomenon of which young people and children are a part of.Young people and children must therefore be prepared and trained in all matters pertaining to disaster response. They can use this knowledge to save their own lives and even defend their communities’ livelihood. The world population statistic projection given on World Youth Report in 2002 indicated that youth alone without including children and adult at that time comprised nearly 30 percent of the world's population as it shows in the diagram bellow (UN-New York, 2003): In any disaster, young people and children represents more than a third of disaster victims.Most humanitarian sector restricts these minors involvement to more of being in a Running Head: Youth Involvement in Disaster Akeyo, S. 5 â€Å"passive victim† role. Providing youth and children the opportunity to be directly involved in disaster preparedness activities enables them to develop skills that prepared them for any threat that may come. There is evidences of spontaneous rescue efforts done by youth and children which were direct result of prior involvement in rescue missions conducted by youth clubs and organizations such as the Boy’s and Girl’s scouts; Pathfinders Club; and many others alike.Involving young people and children in emergency preparedness activities valid ates their capacity to be responsible members of their community who thus are entitled to more respect than what is typically extended to them in these types of situations. Youth involvement in planning, decision making and in the implementation of emergency preparedness programs is critical to the long? term success of sustainable disaster management initiatives and community resilience (UN- DSD, 2009).In the past there have been a number of barriers that hinder youth involvement in disaster management; which includes attitudes concerning the abilities of youth compared to experienced adults, and the up-down mode of societal norms. This paper will suggest that involving young people in emergency preparedness activities will promote an increase in the net community resources in confronting emergencies and enhancing community resilience.Furthermore, involving youth in disaster management process would enable disaster responders, managers, community leader, government agencies as well as humanitarian entities to draw on the full range of community resources when disaster strikes. Therefore, there must be a forum that will allow such collaboration to take place. III. Current Issue Analysis We live in communities that are increasingly becoming vulnerable to natural as well as manmade disasters that cause substantial loss of life, economic damage.Disaster = Natural or Running Head: Youth Involvement in Disaster Akeyo, S. 6 manmade hazard + vulnerability. Risk = (hazard x vulnerability)/capacity. Unfortunately, our communities are not well prepared to deal with such disasters when they come as a result of inadequate knowledge or an ability to mitigate and respond to the disaster in due time. As a result, many people lose their lives and properties or find themselves trapped in disaster high spots which they cannot escape without external intervention.Frequently when a disaster strikes, it forces vulnerable communities to temporarily or permanently evacuate the comfo rt of their homes, neighborhoods, workplace and institutions or confine themselves to their home, leaving them without basic services such as water, gas, electricity, telephones or emergency help. Community vulnerability to disaster can be elaborated better with the bellow (Khan, 2008): Figure – 2. What is Disaster? Vulnerability Disaster Hazard Underlying Causes 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.Limited access to resources Illness and disability Age/Sex Poverty Other Dynamic Pressure Lack of: 1. Institutional training 2. Education/Skills 3. Population growth 4. Urbanization 5. Uncontrolled development 6. Environmental Degradation Unsafe Conditions 1. 2. 3. 4. Dangerous location Dangerous building Low income level Dangerous jobs (police, mines etc. ) Trigger Events 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. Earthquake Tsunamis Floods Cyclones Volcanic -eruptions Drought Landslide War/ Terrorism Technological Accident (Car/Plane etc. Environmental Pollution Disasters accounts for 98 percent of the cu mulative number of people affected by natural disasters and 77 percent of total reported economic damage (WMO, 2007). In the least developing countries (LDC) in particular, climate-related disasters accounted for 89 percent of Running Head: Youth Involvement in Disaster Akeyo, S. 7 the total economic damages (WMO, 2007). Most people in developing countries have limited capacity to assess climate risks and lack available weather information required to plan adaptive responses.These people are more likely to be severely affected by climate-related diseases, such as influenza, diarrhea, cholera, meningitis, dengue, and malaria. Weak infrastructure, poor communication networks, shortage in electricity supply, low public awareness, and insufficient resources in many communities and neighborhoods hinders the provision of timely climate and early warning advice, which can delays response efforts causing an impact to become of significant amount (EM-DAT, 2009). IV.How I look at The Necessit y of Youth Involvement Though disasters are local phenomenon, in these modern days their devastating impact can be felt beyond borders of impacted nations in terms of human, material losses or the flow of refugees. It is therefore important that the disaster reduction efforts be addressed in a multilateral and comprehensive way. These unforeseen disasters require immediate, coordinated and effective response by multiple government agencies, volunteers, relief agencies and private sector in order to meet human needs and speed recovery efforts.Comprehensive disaster management and emergency preparedness should be based on the concept of active young people’s participation in all phases of the disaster cycle. Rather than seeing disaster-affected youth as victims or passive recipients of outside assistance, good disaster management must recognize the value of including them in the planning process. There is no better resource in a community than young people. It may be easier to obtain funding for projects and related disaster preparedness programs, but without sufficient community resources in place, disaster preparedness and risk reduction are not possible.Resource building enhances Running Head: Youth Involvement in Disaster Akeyo, S. 8 community capability and provides positive response to various emergencies; reduce disaster risks, and helps foster confidence, dignity, and resilience. It is a fact that when a disaster strikes, local people are the first to respond, before any other outside agencies arrives to and assist in recovery efforts. Many of these first responders who struggle to save lives with limited resources at their disposal before more help arrives to take assist are energetic young people.Sometimes local elders may know which members of their community are hardest hit, and what kind assistance is appropriate for them, but they will ask young people to give them help. Young people must therefore be included, trained and empowered to carry out disaster prevention, preparation, and planning and response efforts. V. Justification for Involving Young People a. Fostering a Sense of Local Ownership Traditionally disaster management has been dominated by top-down relief efforts that assume children and youth are passive victims with no role in disaster preparedness.Involving youth in disaster preparedness process not only benefits them, their families, and communities, but also contributes to grassroots empowerment which boosts levels of ownership within their overall disaster preparedness plan. Research has indicated that when young people receive preparedness training they are more likely to act wisely and protect themselves against abuse; exploitation and illegal drug trafficking (UNICEF, 2007). b.Fostering Youth’s Ability to Act In life it is very hard to maintain a positive mindset when people have no faith in you. Youth are an enormous pool of energy, talent, and enthusiasm eager to contribute to society. The t ime has come whereby young people’s ability as agents of change must be recognized. There some unique abilities and skills that young people alone can bring to the table, such as Running Head: Youth Involvement in Disaster Akeyo, S. 9 intercultural communication and innovative use of technology (ICRC, 2010).Many have made a difference in their neighborhoods, schools and even at the national level by address safety issues and seek solution for the existing problems (NCPC, 2001). Youth possess unique strengths, which are enhanced by community support and collaboration. Given opportunity to as participants and not observers will to introduce them and get to be part disaster management agencies within their local communities, across their borders and around the world. Compared to adult, many youth are trained in public speaking, ournalism, intercultural music and dance, communication, cultural harmony. Young people already have power; of being united through social networks such as MySpace, twitters, Facebook and they will use it interact in a very short time. Youth can influence easily their peers to be disaster ready. Adult mentors should work closely with youth in an effort to incorporate their ability and talent in disaster management process. c. Promoting Individual’s Rights Although our social norms have such often portrayed young people as dependent and helpless victims in emergencies.In practice, however, the reverse often applies and youth commonly have far more options open to them than do adults. The notion that excluding young people from direct involvement in calamities helps protects their well-being and trauma that adult face is undermining their resilience and coping in the context of adversity. Around the globe young people have proven to be faster in responding and volunteering in relief efforts when disaster strikes (Perren-Klingler, 1996). Young people want to be part of the big picture in making contribution that makes a differen ce and changing lives.It is the right of young people and children to be recognized and be interacted with as dignified humans rather than treating them just as vulnerable and helpless disaster victims who are only objects of charity. They Running Head: Youth Involvement in Disaster Akeyo, S. 10 should be encouraged to use their potential to become agents of change globally. Their ideas and energies can be put into good use. The idea of involving youth and encouraging their participation in risk reduction measures is in line with international commitments which legally bind the signatory states to observe the rights of children and youth (Silbernagl, 2010).Like adults, young people also have a right to participate in decisions and efforts to address disaster management and risk reduction within their communities. Their rights include being trained and supported in understanding and making positive contributions to matter that affect their livelihood. This is in line with articles 6, 12 and 13 of the international legal framework set under the UN Convention of the Rights of the Child, which upholds children’s rights to (Plan, 2005). d. Hands-on Experience Involving young people in disaster planning provides opportunities to reach beyond our traditional â€Å"top-down relief efforts. This becomes a link that equips young people to take on new roles and become active agents of change. Most jobs nowadays require applicants to have some experiences which are technically not taught theoretically in college class rooms. There must an employer who will be willing to offer an opportunity to on the job training. The inexperienced young people likewise need mentors in disaster preparedness process who are willing to work closely with them by involving them in active roles that gives them hands-on experience to eventually fill-in the shoes of their adult mentors when they are no longer available for duty.Adult and youth can learn from each other. Blending experien ces of adult to young people new ideas and innovations works better as playing flat (white) and sharp (black) keys on the piano. There will be always unquestionable wisdom, experience and knowledge which can Running Head: Youth Involvement in Disaster Akeyo, S. 11 only be found from the adult (Old School). However, young people may also have skills such as foreign languages, technology that adults do not have, or are challenged in mastering.Adult mentors must therefore pass-on the touch of qualities in their young mentee. If they can let go of their tight control, be patient, and trust the process, mentoring will become more effortless and enjoyable, and will be responding to recommendations from the research on resilience and on nurturing success stories. It is important that mentors must realize they are making a difference in the lives of young people by creating inside-out social change. This is preparing future leaders, who are disaster resilient, compassionate, and job ready a nd good citizens.Thus, the united effort of young and old will result in strength, while diversity may only hinder the effort of the desired community resilience when disaster strikes. VI. Lesson Learned a. Previous Account of Youth Involvement The contributions young people have made in emergency response within their own communities are easily traced to such incidents as the Indonesia Tsunami of December 26, 2004. Consider the incredible story of Tilly Smith, an 11 year-old from England, vacationing with family when tsunami occurred. This proves how prior lesson she learned about tsunamis in geography class was used to save lives of many.When she noticed strange behavior of the sea on the morning of the tsunami, she convinced over 100 people to leave the beach before the struck minutes later (Randall, 2005). Another example involves a number of young people who actively participated in saving the lives of others, often times putting their own lives in jeopardy, until the internati onal relief workers and emergency responders could arrive. â€Å"These young people all over the affected region took action, helping to distribute aid, assisting with clean-up and rebuilding efforts, looking after those younger than them, and using their creativity to letRunning Head: Youth Involvement in Disaster Akeyo, S. 12 others know about the devastation (ISDR, 2005). During this stressful disaster, a call went out in the Maldives – â€Å"Whoever can help, please come. † Each volunteer was given an age-appropriate task. Many adults stayed away but the young people came forward. When a psychosocial counselor was sent to concentrate on possible problems with young people, she couldn’t find anyone. â€Å"They were all working,† she said (UNICEF, 2007). Another example of youth involvement in a disaster comes from hurricane Katrina.Hurricane Katrina which made landfall on August 29, 2005 and resulted in death of over 1,000 citizens and caused approxim ately 80 percent of flooding to the city of New Orleans within 18 hours (U. S. White House, 2006). Shortly after the disaster occurred, a group of young people for the Vietnamese American Association of Louisiana took an active role in assisting the Vietnamese community with evacuation, relief and recovery efforts (Leong, 2006). They were also able to translate information from formal English sources (i. e. FEMA and American Red Cross) to their non-English speaking family members in order to pass on important messages such as the location of evacuation safe places, relief supplies and food distribution centers, and registration for FEMA assistance. During the recovery period, these young people were instrumental in boosting morale among the younger children and bringing attention to other risks affecting their community. Plan International has mobilized children and youth in El Salvador, Central America, to play a significant role in environmental resources management and disaster r isk reduction.The children and youth have worked with their communities in developing risk maps, designing community emergency plans, setting up early warning systems, and implementing response, mitigation and risk reduction plans, among other activities. Plan International's experience in El Salvador has already been replicated in other Central American countries (UNISDR, 2007). Running Head: Youth Involvement in Disaster b. What has been done to Address Youth Involvement? Akeyo, S. 13 There some few steps done by various disaster management organizations that are significant initiatives in addressing youth involvement in disaster management.One agency that involves youth in local community disaster and emergency preparedness is the U. S. Federal Emergency Management agency (FEMA) which is tasked with planning. This agency provides an in-depth Guide to Citizen Preparedness course on its website (FEMA, 2009). Another major provider of disaster management worldwide is the Internation al Red Cross- Red Crescent Society. This agency is active in mobilizing youth to take active part in disaster situation to help their neighbors across their own streets, across the country, and across the world each year.In developing countries, evidence of youth platforms that address disaster management is taking place. On October 27-29, 2010 in the eastern African country of Kenya, youth held a national wide youth convention to campaign for disaster management initiatives. This conference held in the city of Nairobi was an example active platform that were held to mobilize and build capacity of youth and prepared them to respond to climate change and environmental degradation.Conference participants attest that it was a perfect opportunity that was used well by the organizers to include youth in disaster management and decision making process in the effort to address climate change at local, national, regional, and continental level (Tuwei, 2010). In country of Uganda, youths hav e appealed to decision makers to involve them, at all levels, in the effort to address the climate change under the theme, â€Å"Time for Action†. Director and Head of the Youth Affairs Division at the Commonwealth Secretariat, Dr.Fatiha Serour said, â€Å"International Youth Day gives the world an opportunity to recognize the potential of youth and celebrate their achievements† (Kigonya, 2010). In the Caribbean, the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) Running Head: Youth Involvement in Disaster Akeyo, S. 14 must be commended for introducing and involving 16 member countries for youth disaster management activities during their annual Comprehensive Disaster Management (CDM) Conference in 2009.This initiative of CDEMA will promote youth involvement in various communities they represent and the overall disaster management development in that region. Likewise, Pan International mobilized youth in El-Salvador to play a significant role in environmental r esources management and disaster risk reduction (DRR). This initiative is currently benefiting their community through a joint taskforce of youth-adult in developing risk maps, designing community emergency plans, setting up early warning systems, and implementing response, mitigation, and risk reduction plans, among other activities (Plan International, 2007).In 2010, Plan International facilitated 54 focus groups across Haiti, where young people had the opportunity to discuss the impact of the earthquake on their individual lives, and what they needed most in the recovery process; and to share their hopes and dreams for the future of their country. It is reported that the youth were enthusiastic to be involved in the rebuilding of their country, and wanted to take part in the work being set out towards a prosperous future for Haiti (PLAN, 2010).Lastly, the 2007 national meeting on â€Å"Policy Advocacy for Enhancing Community Resilience to Natural Disasters Focusing on Children a nd Youth† held in Jakarta, Indonesia was held to address the importance of involving young people in the disaster management process (UN-ESCAP, 2007). VII. Recommendation for Good Practices A study done by the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) suggested that social capital was the predictor of more effective human functioning, stronger institutions and community resilience (Diaz, 2008).Furthermore, strengthening individual, community and private sectors in disaster preparedness has both and strategic value (Flynn, 2010). Therefore, Running Head: Youth Involvement in Disaster Akeyo, S. 15 good practices that can help include young people in the emergency management process can be successfully achieved by following these recommendations: 1. Education and Information Sharing Generally, young people are not aware of what emergency response leaders and relief agencies may expect them to do or know when a disaster occurs. Such information is critical to successful emerg ency preparation and disaster response and recovery efforts.Information sharing is a principal component of an effective emergency management strategy to help a community improve its level of preparedness, response capabilities, and resilience. Youth forums, conferences and workshop are the best example of information sharing. Participants can pass relevant information to their peers, by sharing of knowledge or information and training obtained. Relevant information shared with young people on disaster risks will unify communities and promote a culture of disaster readiness and collaboration at all levels that include disaster experts, responders and other stakeholders (ISDR, 2005).However, all information collected must be analyzed for accuracy, authenticity and urgency before incriminated to the targeted individuals. Local communities should provide disaster and emergency preparation and response training programs to all citizens; especially youth designed community training progr ams promote citizens to take personal responsibility in preparing for and responding to a disaster. Sufficient staff should be trained in working with youth and children so that they may understand and recognize the importance of their participation in disaster response, relief and recovery efforts.Disaster training for children and youth should include age-appropriate lessons in preparing for emergencies, response behaviors, CPR and basic first aid, water safety, and basic child care. Educational leaders can develop school-based curriculums that address these topics. Running Head: Youth Involvement in Disaster Akeyo, S. 16 Furthermore, NGOs and church-based organizations can also be used to help provide disaster preparedness training to young people as well. Training youth and children in disaster preparedness activities before an emergency occurs helps them to survive and provide assistance to others. . Tabletop and Drill Exercises Planning is the key! Necessity of planning can be illustrated by the famous a story of four people named Everybody, Somebody, Anybody and Nobody. â€Å"There was an important job to be done and Everybody was invited to do it. Everybody was sure that Somebody would do it. Infact, Anybody could have done it, but Nobody did it. Somebody got angry about that, because it was Everybody's job. Everybody thought Anybody could do it, but Nobody realized that. Everybody wouldn't do it.It ended up that Everybody blamed Somebody when Nobody did what Anybody could have done† (Unknown Author). The tabletop exercise is essentially a group brainstorming session centered on a scenario narrative and problem statements or messages that are presented to key players in emergency response. Tabletop exercise can be utilized to increase youth awareness of risks that surround them, (Strength, weaknesses and Opportunity and Threats) and how they can better prepared to deal with them before disaster happens.This will help not only the young people bu t also the emergency coordinators in examining response capabilities, and evaluate coordination with other agencies e. g. Law enforcement, emergency responders, establish closer working relationships and within local and outside coordination. Tabletop exercise can also be used to acquaint the young people on the policies, procedures, roles, communication and responsibilities before, during, or after the simulated event. Youth mentors must work with the youth to decide whether do a full-scale exercise that involves local first responders and professional moderators or just aRunning Head: Youth Involvement in Disaster Akeyo, S. 17 simple affair conducted by in-house disaster planners and youth in training. The scenario can also be discussed on how much gloom and doom you want your tabletop exercise should look like (i. e. Involving injured people, property destruction etc. ). This will help both the adult and their mentee to test how quickly they can pull together key players. This ex ercise process will provide a less stressful, more time effective method when the actual emergency happens. 3.Supporting Youth Programs Every community, emergency managers and responders should work with new as well as existing youth organizations to address the local issues, concerns and proposal for success. If community has several youth groups, it can be helpful to assign each on with specific roles and responsibilities which will make them expert in their trained response role. Emergency personnel must develop such caring relationships not only between adultyoung people but also between youth-youth, emergency responder-emergency responder, and emergency personnel-community.Teachers and mentor should reflect personally on their beliefs about resilience, and also, as a staff, exchange experiences-both personal and literary- about overcoming the odds (Resiliency In Action, Inc. , 2007). Such relationship and opportunities for active youth involvement: small group process, cooperat ive learning, peer helping, cross-age mentoring, and community service makes participants feel to belong to â€Å"a family,† â€Å"a home,† â€Å"a community. 4. Youth Direct Involvement a. Service-learning Experience i. Being Disaster ReadyIt is very important to know that, if one cannot take care of them self, it will be impossible to take care of others. Youth can be given individual training that will help them be Running Head: Youth Involvement in Disaster Akeyo, S. 18 mentally and emotionally prepared to act promptly and to develop in them the ability to take care for themselves, and applying practical survival skills as needed. Individual training must include being informed of disasters that are most likely to occur in their community, be helped to develop and practice their response plan and get survival kits.In most situations, disasters impact is felt by the whole family. Youth can be trained on how to they can be involved in their own family’s emerg ency plan. Youth must know how to work as a team of their respective families in learning basic emergency skills and how to react when faced with fires, floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, explosions, warning signals, fallout protection, terrorism attacks, and other emergency situations. ii. Community Service Youth can be trained according to their capabilities to take active role in the community response plan.Such activities as, volunteering to provide health care and first aid services in reception centers, homeless shelters, food bank, care for elderly in nursing homes, helping at respite centers or child care facilities, can be good experiences for the youth. They can also be involved in evacuation of casualty from the scene of the event, transportation of ill, injured, infirm to reception or medical facilities. Service-learning experiences engage young responders in the educational process, using what they learn in the classroom to solve real-disaster scenarios.Such a practice will promote confidence and experience in their over role performances and in adherence procedures and policy. By rendering disaster management services to the community, youth will eventually improve skills necessary for civic action: leadership, communication, decision-making, problem solving, teamwork, relationship building, planning and organizing, concern for others. They also increase their knowledge about their communities and gain confidence, interest andRunning Head: Youth Involvement in Disaster Akeyo, S. 19 motivation and in working for their communities. Moreover, young people engaged in disaster management activities gain skills in leadership, problem solving. b. Ongoing Research Study Disaster management is an applied science that needs constant scientific research, theory testing and updates. Young research should be identified and be involved in meaningful research design and implementation of research roles especially in issues that affect their lives.They should be emp owered to collect data and report on information to raise awareness of a problem and/or advocate for change in the condition underlying the community need (for example, youth analyze a community’s emergency preparedness plan and offer suggestions for how to improve the plan). This learning opportunity will enable young researcher to provide their insights, talents and perspectives in their own environment, appropriate to their level of development and expertise. For better results, emergency managers must therefore partner ith these young researchers, students as well as other professionals worldwide across multiple disciplinary perspectives of emergency management to develop and promote solutions that bridge the theoretical and practical applications of comprehensive emergency management. A wellintegrated youth-adult research study will lead to innovative tools and applications that empower the local, national and international communities, create a context for partnerships, and generate research findings that can be used for future disaster management interventions and improvements in ongoing practices. VIII. ConclusionThis initiative to involve youth and to promote youth engagement is not an easy task. While youth have historically been recipients of basic personal safety education in emergency preparedness, they have not been included in community wide preparedness activities. However, that may be changing. Ever rising emergencies and disasters are a reality that all must face Running Head: Youth Involvement in Disaster Akeyo, S. 20 together. It is important to recognize that youth engagement initiatives, collaboration and partnerships in disaster management have multiple payoffs that save lives and promotes resilience in difficult times.Moreover, involving young people who are involved in disaster preparedness will bring a revolutionary change in society. The youth of today will become leaders and parents of tomorrow, which will ensure that they pa ss this knowledge to their children. Making disaster preparedness a societal practice can as a result be passed on from generation to generation. Youth involvement in disaster management will therefore succeed only if they are given. Adult mentor may run up against complex, messy, and difficult problems while molding the youth. Sometimes they may even be discouraged and give up the task.Likewise, the young may think the older mentors’ ideas or approaches are not proper and primitive which may result into conflicts. The truth is, every good outcome requires hard work, a sustained commitment to working as a team, and a willingness to listen and learn from each other. Developing trusting relationships between young people and adults does not happen overnight; but with sustained engagement and guidance, young and old can work shoulder by shoulder to prepare and respond to disaster when it happens (Pearson, 2010). R

Persuasive Essay On Foster Care - 921 Words

Have you ever been in foster care? Foster care is very hectic. It will eventually get better once you are adopted, but if you don’t like who you are getting adopted by then it’s not ok. When I was in foster care I was staying with this one family. They were nice but they had 3 other foster kids that they were taking care of also. I was in foster care for about a half a year. It wasn’t the best feeling not being around people I love and knew. I eventually got somewhat comfortable around my foster parents but it was still not the same as being around my family. When I was in foster care there was so many people involved. Judge, social worker, foster parents, grandma, and more. Most of the time I spent in my foster home. I would go†¦show more content†¦The family came to pick me up and they acted like they were nice and they loved kids but I was like hahaha†¦.no, they took me to there house and took me up to my room that I was staying in. When I got there, there was another girl in the room and she was asleep. Her name was ashley. I remember that she was the only kid in the house that actually wanted to be my friend. I didnt go to school I was homeschooled for a little while until I got used to being away from my family then they enrolled me in school. I was in 3rd grade and it was my first year at this school I had Mr. Knew. I made it throught the year and basically my whole summer was going back and forth to court and it was the most stressful summer because I also had to make some decisions, and I didnt know if they were the right ones. It was almost a year and a half. We had got a date and time of when we were supposed to be at the courthouse. My grandma was trying to adopt me so she could get me out of foster care and in with my family. We had to go through so much things to get to the point that were at. We went through so many steps and waited forever it seemed like. It was our last visit to the courthouse and I wasnt really paying attention but the only words that I heard the judge say was â€Å"Anisa Munoz, I would like to congratulate you on your success of adoption† I was so excited and so was everyone else. We had to go back to my foster parentsShow MoreRelatedPersuasive Essay About Foster Care2053 Words   |  9 Pagestoday, approximately 400,000 children and youth are in foster care at any given time and each year about 20,000 of these students emancipate (i.e., age out) of foster care† (â€Å"Students in Foster Care†). There are many children in this world who are separated fr om their parents. Placed somewhere by the government. They are being placed somewhere not familiar to them or somewhere far from where they lived before. Many people are not aware that foster children need help in their education and one of theRead MoreThe Criminalization Of Prostitution Does More Harm Than Good When Often Women1275 Words   |  6 Pagesand regulate prostitution instead. I thought overall my essay turned out pretty good; prostitution was an interesting topic to research and write about. I think my essay could have been a bit better because I was a bit pressed for time these past few weeks with finals, and I didn’t get the chance to have another person read the final product. I think that if I were to revise it again, I would have another person take a look at the final essay and give me some feedback about the strength of my overallRead MoreObesity : A Huge Problem1138 Words   |  5 PagesDylan Smith Lindsay Simpson Comp II September 14, 2014 Compare and Contrast Essay Obesity has become a huge problem in the United States, and has affected almost everyone’s lives in some way. 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In David Foster Wallace’s speech, â€Å"This is Water,† he informed the audience of the importance for everyone to know they have a natural default setting, which is the automatic way that a person feels they are the center of the universe and that negative situations are other people’s fault. He also discussed the importance of trying not to act in this naturalRead MorePersuasive Essay: Pro-choice Abortion871 Words   |  4 PagesDestinee Riggs Professor Camila Alvarez ENC1101 T 6:35-9:00pm 485 words Persuasive Essay: Pro-choice Abortion In 1973 in the United States in the Roe V. Wade decision, the supreme court ruled that women, in consultation with their physician, have a constitutionally protected right to have an abortion in the early stages of pregnancy- that is, before viability- free from government interference. (Guttmacher Institute) This did not spark the controversy of the topic, however. Can you rememberRead MoreThe Autobiography Of Malcolm X As Told By Alex Haley1442 Words   |  6 Pagesmutilated. This lead to the emotional breakdown of Malcolm’s mother and in turn she was institutionalized. Malcolm and his siblings were separated and placed in foster homes, and from then, his life began a path of drugs, sex, and crime. It was not until he was imprisoned in 1946, that he decided to make some changes for the better. This essay will assess and discuss those changes whether negative or positive, on a micro, mezzo, and macro level. It will also cover some of the effects of racial prejudiceRead More Malcolm X : A Man Who Changed American History1453 Words   |  6 Pagesmutilated. This lead to the emotional breakdown of Malcolm’s mother and in turn she was institutionalized. Malcolm and his siblings were separated and placed in foster homes, and from then, his life began a path of drugs, sex, and crime. It was not until he was imprisoned in 1946, that he decided to make some changes for the better. This essay will assess and discuss those changes whether negative or positive, on a micro, mezzo, and macro level. It will also cover some of the effects of racial prejudiceRead MoreWhy Do People Shop at PRIMARK Regularly? 1337 Words   |  6 PagesBefore I came to the UK, I had never heard of Primark before. Some students from last year recommended me to buy socks, stockings and accessories there and they used â€Å"cost-effective† to describe it, but this â€Å"word-of-mouth† still not persuasive enough to motivate me to take an action. The first time I went to Primark was last September. I passed by the Primark flagship store on Oxford Street, I was extremely surprised at the crowd in front of the outlet because almost everyone bought loads of things

Essay about Critical Book Review - 1170 Words

Critical Book Review Healing the Wounds of Sexual Addiction Michelle Beel Liberty University Psych 307 Summary Dr. Mark Lasser’s book â€Å"Healing the Wounds of Sexual Addiction† gives insight to those who suffer from sexual addiction and to the families, friends and other people in their lives. Dr. Mark Lasser has chosen to write this book, to share with others his personal struggle and victory with sexual addiction. Dr. Lasser has written this book from a Christian view, to give other individuals hope in a difficult and growing disease, which is taking control and destroying our families. Lasser defines sexual addiction as â€Å"a sickness involving any type of uncontrollable sexual activity, and because the addict cannot control his†¦show more content†¦Mark Lasser’s book â€Å"Healing the Wounds of Sexual Addiction† there are 4 major themes being explored, Part One: What is Sexual Addiction? Here Dr. Lasser explains what sexual addiction is, and what the three building blocks of sexual addiction are â€Å"Sexual Fantasy, Pornography, and Mas turbation†. (Lasser, 2004, pp 28)Lasser expands on the different types of sexual addiction, and give us understanding of the different characteristic of the addiction. Major theme part 2: â€Å"The Roots of Sexual Addiction†, here Lassser gives the roots of sexual addiction and explains the reasonsShow MoreRelatedEssay on Critical Book Review1166 Words   |  5 Pagesï » ¿ Critical Book Review Healing the Wounds of Sexual Addiction Michelle Beel Liberty University Psych 307 Summary Dr. Mark Lasser’s book â€Å"Healing the Wounds of Sexual Addiction† gives insight to those who suffer from sexual addiction and to the families, friends and other people in their lives. Dr. Mark Lasser has chosen to write this book, to share with others his personal struggle and victory with sexual addiction. 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The Declaration Of Independence, By Thomas Jefferson, And...

Chris Layton Mrs. Brown English 101- Honors English 12 2 October 2015 Every person has their own characterization of freedom. Depending on time, place, religion, and race, this meaning varies. Eventually it comes back to one specific point, all men, regardless of anything, created equally, and therefore have the right to be free. The â€Å"Declaration of Independence,† written by Thomas Jefferson, and Martin Luther King Jr.’s â€Å"I Have a Dream† speech both address the problem of not being free. Even though Thomas and Luther were alive 150 years apart and had very different lives, they both faced the same issue of human equality that drove them to write some of the most influential works in American history. Although they bear some superficial similarities, the difference between the Declaration of Independence and â€Å"I Have a Dream† speech are pronounced. Thomas Jefferson, and a group of other rich white men, thought it was necessary for the colonies to separate from Great Britain so they created the Dec laration of Independence. The decided to make the Declaration of Independence to overthrow the government that was in power of the colonist because it was becoming too powerful and destructive. Jefferson states, all men are created equally and all have the natural rights of life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness. In Jefferson’s thoughts, we all have such rights that are given to us by nature so these rights are called our â€Å"unalienable rights† of the people. For the protection ofShow MoreRelatedEquality And The American Dream1068 Words   |  5 Pagesagainst inequality. On July 4, 1776 Thomas Jefferson wrote the most important document in the history of our nation. The Declaration of Independence was the official document that claimed that their new name the United States of America and they would succeed from unfair British control. 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Martin Luther King Jr’s a â€Å"letter of Birmingham Jail,† and Thomas Jefferson in the Declaration of Independence both advocate the claim for freedom. Both of these historical figures make this apparent by arguing for the protest against tradition, a change across unjust laws, although they differ between the kinds of change to be enforced. Martin Luther King Junior’s a letter from a Birmingham Jail was him expressing his motivationRead Moreï » ¿An Analysis of Letter from a Birmingham Jail1204 Words   |  5 PagesLetter from Birmingham Jail was written by Martin Luther King Jr. As he states in the title, in a Birmingham, Alabama jail. Martin Luther King Jr. was jailed because he participated on a nonviolent protest of segregation in public places such as lunch counters and public restrooms. During his jail time, Martin Luther King Jr. read a criticism about a protest made by a group of white ministers, accusing King of being an outsider, of using extreme measures that incite hatred and violence, that hisRead MoreDeclaration of Independence and Letter from Birmingham Jail Essay1102 Words   |  5 PagesThomas Jefferson and Martin Luther King Jr. are two American men who were key leaders during very controversial periods in U.S. history, and they were instrumental in movements that forever changed American soc iety. Although their generations, cultures, backgrounds, and motives were quite different, their cause was relatively the same. It was a cause that stood against injustice, oppression, and sought the freedom of all men. Their beliefs and struggles were evident in their writings. Two of theRead MoreThe Declaration Of Independence By Martin Luther King Jr. Essay1334 Words   |  6 Pages2 What is our role as a citizen? 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Independence Day is a representation of what the United Stated now is. The government and President work for the people not the other way around. The Civil Rights movement resulted in our modern change of rights for all races. Independence usually that comes at a cost in order to truly be achieved and helpful to the people. The Constitution was made to help mankind achieve new possibilities. Read MoreMartin Luther King Jr1194 Words   |  5 Pagesï » ¿ Simmons 1 Gabrielle Simmons Mrs. Fitzgerald Social Studies 8A 4/27/10 Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King Jr. is a well known and an inspiring man to all cultures of the world. King was and still is one of the most influential heroes. King s views and believes helped African Americans through the 50 s and 60 s to the rights and liberties that was their right. King faced many obstacles on his journey, things like jail and even assassination attempts. Despite these obstacles,

A Revisionist perspective of the election of Thoma Essay Example For Students

A Revisionist perspective of the election of Thoma Essay s JeffersonConsensus historians paint Thomas Jefferson as the great father of democracy, referring to his election to the presidency as the revolution of 1800. In actuality, Thomas Jefferson was an inconsistent man, who was philosophically against the Federalists, but who did not bring about any significant political or ideological changes during his presidency. Recently, revisionist historians have begun to question the notion of Jefferson as the representative of the common man. Many of these historians now agree that Jeffersons life was wrought with contradictions, and that his policies, as a president, actually reflected a synthesis of the Federalist and Republican ideologies. We are all republicans, we are all federalists, Jefferson stated in his first inaugural address. Many Americans were shocked to hear those words come out of the same mouth that had supported the bloody conflicts of the French Revolution years before. Jeffersons many political theories, and personal letters, sometimes reflected an interest in the common man and democracy, while his actual practices were drastically different. Politically, the Jeffersonian party was insecure and inconsistent. After being elected president, Jefferson did nothing to increase the level of democracy in the government. Traditionally, the Jeffersonian movement and the Republican Party have been seen as anti-capitalist, promoting the interests of the common man, and favoring a strict interpretation of the constitution. The Hamiltonian movement and the Federalist Party represented the elite capitalist class, favoring a concentration of power in the State, and a loose interpretation of the constitution. Revisionist historians have argued against this view. They argue that the Jeffersonian and Hamiltonian movements are not significantly different, but rather each represents different factions of elites. There are numerous examples that show the accuracy of this revisionist view. In the election of 1800, the federalists were forced to vote for one of the two Republicans running. Many of them favored Burr, as the less extreme of the t wo, until Hamilton convinced them of Jeffersons moderate intents. He Jefferson is as likely as any man I know to temporize- to calculate what will be likely to promote his own reputation and advantage; and the probable result of such a temper is the preservation of the systems, though originally opposed, which, being once established, could not be overturned without danger to the person who did it. The revisionist perspective that Thomas Jefferson did not represent the masses, but merely a different faction of elites, has much supporting evidence. Jeffersons interests in the common farmer were second to those of the Southern landowner. Jefferson deviated even from this prospective, crossing the line on many issues into what would seem Federalist actions. One historian, Peter S. Onuf, went so far as to dub it Jeffersonian Federalism. One example of this is the Louisiana Purchase. Jefferson deviated from his strict interpretation of the constitution in order to purchase Louisiana, whi ch would benefit land speculators and Northern capitalists, telling the Senate to ratify it with as little debate as possible, and particularly so far as respects the constitutional difficulty. Morton Borden points out in his essay, Thomas Jefferson: political compromiser, that Jefferson took a decisively Federalist approach to the military as well, contrary to what many Federalists thought would happen. In less than three months after being elected, Jefferson attacked the Barbary pirates without asking permission from Congress. Many of Jeffersons political compromises were reflected in his economic decisions. One of the main contradictions of the Jefferson administration was its adoption of Federalist economic policies. Jefferson had no clear economic plan; he theorized about the adoption of a laissez-faire policy, and the destruction of the Hamiltonian system, but did nothing about this as president. Jefferson, by and large, maintained the Federalist system throughout his presidency. One of the first things Jefferson did was to abolish the hated excise taxes on whiskey. In order to do this, he had to find another way to acquire funds. Thus he justified increasing protective tariffs. This rendered the abolition of the whiskey tax merely cosmetic, as the direct tax was reduced, but the prices of all commodities were raised. Jefferson also had the national bank destroyed, but re-instituted it in 1816 in order to raise national funds. His partys legislature

Organisation Behaviour Ans Sociology of Work Essay Example

Organisation Behaviour Ans Sociology of Work Essay The two sections of interest from the OBS module are observations into the concepts of organisational culture and scientific management of work design. I will look at the challenges posed to the theories of these areas and use my interaction with my employer (Tesco) to provide concise first person examples. Organisational culture can be seen as a backbone of a company, however as the tangible aspects of it are barely visible it can be hard to derive theories from practice. Looking at the meaning of organisational culture: The culture of an organisation is made up of traditions, habits, ways of organising and patterns of relationships at work(C Molander Winterton 1994), further explained it is the feeling created with an organisation, the climate and energy within the people of the workplace and its environment. It shows focus on the values and norms of how things are done and approached in organisations, the patterns of order and task completion. The are three levels of culture according to Shein (1992), cultural artifacts, values and basic assumptions, with cultural artefacts being the only tangible, visible one, embedding such things as traditions, logos and the type of people within it. The values aspect depicts the group thought and their expectation of the future, this being a covert aspect as it can only be unearthed through detailed investigation. Basic assumptions being even more covert as it entails looking into the actual psyche of the individual, what they believe of the world, (is there such thing as a universal, timeless human truth or reality or do we live in dynamic worlds that are largely of our own making? ) (Joana Brewis 2007, p. 348). There are two underlining approaches to organisational culture that researchers in this field categorise, one is that culture is something that an organisation has and the other is that culture is something that the organisation is. We will write a custom essay sample on Organisation Behaviour Ans Sociology of Work specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Organisation Behaviour Ans Sociology of Work specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Organisation Behaviour Ans Sociology of Work specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer The has approach explains that culture is derived from a set plan, changed and moulded by the managers to a specific degree of freedom and control to achieve the one best way of functioning, Peters and Waterman (1982). This is a mainstream approach and is used by many large companies that try to create a good environment and effective culture. The is approach explains that culture is organic, organisations culture builds from the individuality of the people and physical forces within it, as a process over time, without conscious plan. The first challenge posed for the two theories is distinguishing them within the organisation. The mainstream approach is the most recognised and researched approach, most large companies would desire to use this approach and develop the culture from scratch so that it functions solely for the organisations needs. However even when it does do its best at achieving this, the natural problems that an organisation can encounter may hinder the cultural equilibrium. My evidence comes from my employment with a huge supermarket chain Tesco, as a year long employee of this company and working on many different departments throughout the lower end of the chain. Tesco carries out the has belief similarly, with employing many ways to counter the need for control of culture. A set list of required behaviour titled as expectations is presented to the employee where they have to agree to the terms set. This is an official outlined code of conduct, that categorises the culture of the organisation and expects the employee to abide and follow. This can be seen as a form of cultural engineering (Jackson and Carter,2000, p. p 27-28), narrowing down the range of decisions an employee can choose to reach the required goal. This is also seen as the corporate culture, the official way of doing things, but as in all organisations, there is also the organisational culture, the way things are actually done, this may differ greatly depending on how much control is put upon the employees by the company. Tesco corporately shows great enthusiasm in employing control to create a stable culture where motivation and organisational performance thrives, however many factors can affect the competency of this. In my experience, the relationship with the manager and other employees has a great impact on the shaping of culture and how much it stays constant. If a good relationship with the manager is created, in terms of the expectations from each other such as working at the times asked and working at the times wanted, then no segregation is present, however if problems arise between managers and employees as whole, then a Them and us approach is seen. This is where the employees see the managers as a ifferent entity working for a different goal that is opposite to the one of the employees. This challenge can be seen as a form of sub-culture developing, where the forced beliefs of the organisation no longer play a leading role in the employees psyche but a separate route of thought is created, potentially damaging the company in forms of lesser productivity as of employee de-motivation. Sub-cultures however can be managed, looked at critically to see how they can be brought together to crea te a coherent, functional entity. Brown, 1998, p. 72). Actual theories deriving from the has approach have been extensive, many researchers believe they have found the right way of doing things to get the best organisational performance. Concrete research has been created on the types organisational cultures that exist within modern companies and how, they in their own right, function. Deal and Kennedy (1988) and Handy (1993) developed a comprehensive description of theyre four key categories that fit to range of organisations. First category is named The power culture depicting a type of organisation where the owner is the central source of power, that delegates to lower managers but giving them freedom to their own decisions, to compete for the completion of a task. This is a tough culture where high labour turnover may be present through low moral. The role culture is a type of an organisation that functions on the basis of standardised policies and job descriptions. Tasks of employees would involve only what is required of them, as they were selected solely for the purpose of the job description. This type of culture creates stability for the employer and employees, with constant supply of workers for the tasks in hand for the employer and the safety at the company for the employee, being valued and nurtured to climb up the career ladder. Third culture is The task culture, where the central point of function is the team, required to work together on a project where the completion of the job is the ultimate goal. The final culture is The cluster/person culture is centred around the individual, with freedom to do what the individual wants, to carry out the tasks that perceived to be most important. This culture is largely cited in consulting agencies. Tesco can be seen as a role culture, the tasks of the general employee would be constrained to the guidelines given, each department with its own standardised way of functioning, ultimately set out by the directors. As the link of communication between the directors and the employees are the managers, it can be easy to not fulfil the required guidelines of the directors through misdirection from the manager. Misguidance or no guidance at all would break up the process, giving much emphasis on the importance of a good manager and relationship with that manager for this type of culture to work. As to what the the one best way of cultural organisation is, I turn to Peters and Waterman (1982), they published the most well known and widely spread empirical text on this issue, values of which are still vigorously used in organisations today. The text sets out the eight tenets for an organisation to follow, having A bias for action, being Close to the customer, having Autonomy and entrepreneurship, Productivity through people, being Hands-on, value driven, Stick to the knitting- produce what is good at, Simple form, lean staff flat structure and flexible staff, Simultaneous loose-tight properties- discretion and centralised values. This sets out a standard for a good culture, when carried out effectively, it can be indefinitely seen that the values work and contribute. However such a concise regime of culture can also be damaging, strong cultures can start overlooking their own values or creating a pedantic approach, attention to detail .. turns into an obsession with minutia, rewarding innovation turns to gratuitous invention (Trice and Beyer, 1993, p380). This breakdown can be seen in many large companies including Tesco; as the largest retailer in Britain with profits over four billion pounds, it can be assumed that the culture at Tesco is strong. Underling values of culture have been tried and tested and would include most of the tenets outlined, however it can be seen across the years in the patterns of employment at Tesco that this tight regime to concise values of culture sometimes integrates negative values. At times when demand is high, such as festive periods, they employ a large number of temporary staff, however sometimes they forget to mention that they are temporary. The staff train up and achieve as much as could be expected of them, better than employees that have been working there for longer, showing that their culture functions effectively in nurturing employees. However when festive periods end, demands lowers and temporary contracts run out. Tesco have the right to get rid of all temporary staff in concession to efficiency policies. In doing so they loose out in their own created good employees, almost indirectly create a small negative part of their one best culture. The contradicting approach, and sometimes the reason that the has approach fails is the is approach. It states that leaders do not create culture, it emerges from the collective social interaction of groups and communities (Meek, 1988, p. 459),- the different types of people combine with their own values and assumptions to create their own innovative, coherent culture. As I have explained in some examples of Tescos functions, this natural process of people evolving their own culture within a has approach culture shows presence of the is culture. However as the company is the culture, this includes all aspects of company functions as a contribution to the overall culture. In comparison to the Has theory, Is theorists look at established cultures and evaluate its continuous innovation and how well it does at learning the truce and coping with demands of employed life. (Mills and Murgatroyd, 1991, p 62). The natural progression of a culture is seen in empirical study by Collinson (1988), the investigation concentrated on the way that employees at a lorry truck factory dealt with the mundane lives of a low skilled, low paid and unvalued worker. It showed how the employees developed a joking and teasing atmosphere in their day to day working environment to evoke a sense of pride, as to not frail their macho persona. Collinson claims that this was not a way of showing a resistance to the oppressive system and it did not allow for a basis of belonging, but only showed how they developed a culture to cope, he backs this up with the fact that the workers voted to accept the redundancy payout, with out counteraction, after the factory announce it was closing down. The challenge posed to this conclusion is comprised of my observation of Tescos employees, specifically the temporaries and part time workers. As these types of workers may not consider them selves to be fully emerged in the organisations culture they latch onto any kind of sense of belonging that may be created. One of them being the type of banter cited in Collinsons investigation, thus proclaiming that if there were part time workers in the truck making factory that they may have valued it more as a sense of belonging. The second section of Organisational Behaviour that I will be looking at is the design of work, specifically the classical, scientific and Fordist approaches to creating the structure for employees to be more effective and efficient in. Structure can be concisely but simply defined as the sum total of the ways in which it divides its labour into distinct tasks and then achieves coordination of organisation and structure (Minsberg, 1979, p2). The way in which the factors of revenue and profit creation (employees and environment) are put together to achieve the one best way of operating. This is the classical approach to organisational structure that has been most investigated by Frederick Taylor and Henri Fayol. These classical theorists tried to find a way of replacing the old uncontrolled structures that worked on the rule of thumb to provide a more methodical and systematic approach to work design. Henri Fayol developed fourteen key principles explaining this, which he derived from his experience in turning around a near bankrupt company. (Fayols Principles of Administration) These principles have been summarised by Huczynski and Buchanan (2001, p. 02) into five basic proclamations, that also exist within Tescos structure as I shall examine. First of the principles being Functional division of work- a team for each of Tescos functions exists to work and concentrate on only their own departments and section of work. The next imperative posed is Hierarchical relationships- a clear chain of command exists at Tesco, with team leaders being the lower supervisors of em ployees through to department, store and regional managers. Bureaucratic forms of control- clearly evident at Tesco with the amount of regulations and policies sent down from the head office to set out the set guidance and rules. Narrow supervisory span- as there are is a large amount of managers on shop floor at once it could be seen there is a large supervisory span, however normally only the manager and the team leader would be in control of that departments employees. Finally Closely prescribed roles the roles in each department are filled by a specific type of employee to fit that role, and is constant throughout. The main concern for Fayols theory is that it has little information on the way that the set out principles can integrate. The hierarchical relationships at Tesco can be loose, when the general employee is looking to communicate vertically up the ladder of command, any department or higher member of another department can be contacted. For example this may happen if a label is missing from the shelf, a shelf stacker can go to either a member of Price Integrity or Stock Control, or any manager and team leader of any department to follow up this query. Under Fayol principle of a narrow supervisory span and hierarchical relationships this may not be possible, the shelf stacker would have to look for his manager or team leader to communicate the problem, loosing time and effectiveness of staff. Classical theorists went further to develop this new approach at looking at the operations of a company more critically and how the structure of it relates to the output and performance. Frederic Taylor developed the scientific approach which demonstrates three principles of increasing productivity and efficiency. Frederick W. Taylor, 1911). First principle mentioned is the separation of design and planning work from actually doing it, this involves creating a structure for each function and operation before actually carrying out the operation. Taylors second principle detailed division of labour, sets out the need to have departments that control their own functions and set of employees. The final principle based on observation of working pra ctices, this means to identify the best form of practice, and derive laws and policies to manage this. Taylor also emphasised on monitoring the results of such operations, so that precise management analysis can be made and structure improved where needed. Taylor greatly focused on the need to improve Americas industry efficiency as he thought that insufficiency was present through out the country, in forms of uncontrolled labour and its ultimate output, and to tackle this companies would have to provide Detailed instruction and supervision of each worker in the performance of that workers discrete task (Montgomery, 1989 ). At Tesco, this principle is used, along with many others of Taylors theories, however integration of these principles poses a challenge to the theory. If only a certain route of tasks is trained to that set of employees, then if the employees decide to change roles within the company or try to complete work outside their capabilities, then problems may occur. I gave the example of a missing label on a Tesco shelf, with Tayolors approach of a singular role, the shelf stacker would indeed have to go to a different department or manager to solve his problem. However Ive noticed that Tesco try to provide each employee with as much information about other departments and tasks so that they can solve any problems for them selves. Tesco also allows cross department shifts, so if a department is running low on staff at a certain period, the employees from other departments can quickly fill the gap. This is a innovation to Taylors scientific approach, allowing the organisation to be more flexible when needed. Taylors scientific management can be seen demonstrated in practice and on a large mass production scale by Henry Ford, who used a scientific method of designing production structures, specifically his production line. Incorporating high division of labour rigidly controlled by hierarchical command and detailed guidance. Also simplifying the employees tasks so that they function quicker with out room for thought. Challenge is posed by theorists Harry Braverman The Degradation of Work in the Twentieth Century. Tesco can provide a wide rage of examples of deskilling, for example till workers can be replaced by self service tills, only partially in most stores, but recently fully, as a convenience Tesco store has been opened in England with out any till operators at all. (Daily Mail 22 October 2009) (1974) arguing that through fragmentation rationalisation mechanisation had created a way of making employees more disposable, and easily replaceable. Organisations underlying need to improve on efficiency as the best way of profit maximisation, leads to creating cheaper ways of carrying operations and tasks, ultimately leading to deskilling and separation of mental and manual labour. Reference Books: Knights, D and Willmott. H, (1949, first published in 1916) Introducing Organizational Behaviour Management, London. Molander, C. Winterton, J. (1993/4), Managing Human Resources, Routledge , London. Frederick, W. Taylor, (1911), The Principles of Scientific Management ,New York. H, Braverman (1974), Labor and Monopoly Capital: The Degradation of Work in the Twentieth Century. New York. Schein, E. H. (1992). Organizational culture and leadership. San Francisco. Peters, Thomas J. Waterman, Robert H. , (1982), In search of excellence: Lessons from Americas best-run companies, New York. Jackson, N, P, Carter, (2000), Rethinking Organisational Behaviour, Essex. Brown, A, (1998) Organizational Culture,Trans-Atlantic Pubns. Deal, T Kennedy, A (1988), Corporate cultures: The rites and rituals of corporate life, Lodon. Harrison, M Beyer, M, (1993), The cultures of work organizations, Eglewood Cliffs. Meek, L (1988), Organizational Culture: Origins and Weaknesses, Austra lia. Mintzberg, H, (1979) The structuring of organizations: A synthesis of the research, Englewood Cliffs. Huczynski, A. Buchanan, D. (2001), Organizational Behaviour: An Introductory Text (Instructor’s Manual),Prentice Hall. F, W. Taylor, The principles of scientific management, (1998) Norcross. Web: The principles of Scietific managent, (last modified, 2009) http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/The_Principles_of_Scientific_Management Tesco opes first fully self-service store, (2009) http://www. thisismoney. co. uk/news/article. html? in_article_id=492247in_page_id=2