Office Dakota Products Case Analysis

Office Dakota Products Case Analysis Course: BUSA 5061 Managerial Accounting Students Name: Teresa Willette Professors Name: Dr. Conner/Dr. Pollard Date 3/20/2011 Executive Summary The following analysis is written for Dakota Office Products to evaluate current business operations and recommend future actions necessary to ensure company success. In the analysis of the company we will identify inefficient business practices that have led to the companies first profit loss in its history. We will evaluate the companys current pricing structure, ordering methods, shipping and delivery process, and deficiencies in cash flows. For Dakota Office Products (DOP), its existing costing system was inadequate because it is incapable of accounting for even all of the known costs such as the desktop delivery service as well as hidden costs such as the ten percent DOP paid to maintain its working capital line of credit for accounts receivable. Using the Activity Based Costing(ABC) methodology can be utilized to also improve processes and identify opportunities to improve business effectiveness and efficiency by determining the true or real costs of a given product or service. ABC principles are used to focus management's attention on the total cost to produce a product or service, and as a basis for full cost recovery of a production or service process. Background Information The company under the study, Dakota Office Products, is an established and reputed player under this segment. They were regional distributors for office supplies and the major clientele served by the company included institutional and commercial clients. It dealt with all kind of office supplies starting from all kinds of writing equipment to papers and other office supplies. The company has been able to carve a good name for itself in the industry. The company had also arranged for several distribution centers where the shipments were required to be unloaded and packed into cartons meant to be delivered to the respective customers. In order to increase the utility for its customers, the company had introduced the desk top option for its valued customers. Under this option, the company will use its own fleet to directly deliver the goods at the customers premises. The company charged a small additional amount of upto 2% of the marked price for this additional value added service. This decision was made keeping in mind that such a decision could boost the margins of the company. The company had the policy of marking the sales price by 15% over and above the purchase price. This policy was framed o ensure that the overheads and transportation cost of the materials could be made up from the mark up. The company would then add another mark up to ensure coverage of general expenses and contribution of the company. The mark up decision was taken at the beginning of the year based on the projected cost of the different products of the company. Key Issues The management is faced with major pricing and costing issue for its products. The company has been using the traditional costing method to compute the cost of the product provided to the clients. The company then adds a mark up as per its policy to come up at the selling price of the product. As a result of not following the Activity Based Costing, the company has not been able to cost the products realistically. This has lead to mispricing of the products and resultant overall loss to the company. The fact that an increase in sales has not lead to an increased profits, instead, it has resulted in increased losses has exposed the limitations of the cost accounting system of the company. The company has not been able to increase its profits. This has led the management to believe that the existing cost accounting system has some serious flaws which needs to be rectified on an immediate basis so as to avoid making bad decision leading to losses to the company. The company should now be contemplating the implementation of Activity based costing system so as to ensure proper recording of information which will lead to optimum decision making for the company as a whole thus contributing to the growth of the company through increased profitability. The key issue presented in front of the management is the possible steps to be taken by the management in order to avoid such losses. Critical Thought The issue addressed by the accounting system of Dakota office products invites our attention to the premise of Activity Based costing methodology. We are certain about the fact that the accounting and reporting system at Dakota Office Product is inappropriate and is leading to the company making wrong decision ultimately leading to losses. This was apparent from the record where the company was able to increase its sales without a corresponding increase in the profits for that particular year. Activity based costing system is an approach which seeks to allocate the overhead cost to the products on a scientific and realistic basis. The existing system of allocating cost at Dakota Office products were inadequate in so much so that it was following an unreasonable basis for allocating the cost, which were known and visible, such as the desktop delivery cost. The existing system was suffering from oversight of some of the expenses. ABC costing system seeks to overcome the problem of oversight and make a more reasonable allocation of the costs. The distinctive feature of this method is the fact that the method can provide useful insights to the management as to the activities which are leading to the cost by identifying the cost drivers, rates and the number of activity undertaken. This can also help the management redesign the operational system such that the costs associated with the products are reduced. We must also note that the traditional method of costing adapted by Dakota Office Products are typically designed for companies who are dealing with only a single product, or homogeneous products. However Dakota Office Products have come to a stage that they are dealing in multiple products such as writing instruments to copier to pages, thus it makes the traditional costing method even more impractical to be followed by the company. This company was dealing in numerous products and was also making strides in adapting varied operational methodologies such as the desktop delivery or the sales through e commerce internet sites. The operations of the company are such that it would be apt for the company to establish a cost driver rates and apply those rates in the products of the company. The cost driver rates could also be used by the company while applying the cost overheads to some other products that the company may be planning in the future. The existing system of the company involves use of many activities and the company has been able to regularize the operations of the company and is clear about the operational goals that need to be fulfilled by the company. The company is dealing in an industry where the products are quite heterogeneous in nature and once the products are purchased there is very little scope of application of direct materials or labor. The major cost that is expected to be incurred is the overhead costs which are factual dependent upon the number of activities undertaken to accomplish the task. The cost drivers need to be ascertained before the application of the cost drivers to the number of activities attributable to the product as regards the particular activity. Alternate Solution A noteworthy fact is that the company has posted increased losses in spite of an increase in overall sales of the company. The objective of the exercise is to let the management be aware of the reasons as to why the company has osted losses even after an increase in the sales. Moreover, the management needs to be shown the way by which the company could remedial action so that the managements direction is towards the right direction. The alternate solution available to the company could be enlisted as follows Increase in selling price of the products Review the accounting procedures and implement the change required in accounting proc edures Discontinue the product which reports a loss We will make a brief study of the above alternatives before forming an opinion on any of the alternatives. As the company is operating in a competitive market, so an increase in selling price of the products is expected to have far reaching repercussions in the sense that the company could go on to lose clients and contracts which could lead to even lower sales and higher losses. Moreover, the existing accounting procedure is inappropriate to produce the actual cost of the product. The computation of actual cost of the product is important in the backdrop of the company policy to add a mark up on the cost price of the goods. If the accounting system is inappropriate to calculate the cost of the cost, then it would be inappropriate to add a mark up on the goods based on the cost as produced by the existing accounting procedure. A review of the accounting procedure is duly called for as the existing accounting procedure is not appropriate. The accounting procedure is not apt for a company having multiple products and multiple processes, and very little expenses on the direct materials and labor. Application and implementation of the ABC system will be able to contribute to the accounting procedure adapted by the company. A product which is not able to contribute to the overall profits of the company could be considered to be discontinued. However, the decision of the product to be discontinued lies with the management and the accounting system. As mentioned earlier, the accounting system is not fit, so the company should first implement an ABC costing system in order to make proper decision regarding the costing and pricing of various products as well as the costing of servicing various clients. Implementation Measures and Follow up Dakota was following the traditional method of allocating overheads across the product lines. The overheads were not allocated to the products based on the activity undertaken for the manufacture of the product. This led to mispricing of the product and also led to difficulty in taking optimum decision for the company as a whole. The company had incurred losses in spite of an increase in sales, because the company was selling a product at a loss (which was not detected by the traditional costing system). We need to identify the activities on which the cost is dependant, in order to calculate the cost driver rate. The following are the activities identified Processing of Cartons (Activity 1) Service Involving Desktop Delivery (Activity 2) Order Handling (Activity 3) Data Processing and Entry (Activity 4) Activity 1 Amount of Expenses = Warehouse Personnel Expense (90%) + Items Purchased = 90%*2400000+35000000 = 2160000 + 35000000 = 37160000. Activity Driver (Processing of Carton) = 80000 Cost Driver Rate for Activity 1 = 37160000 / 80000 = $ 464. 5 per carton. Activity 2 Amount of Expenses = Warehouse Personnel Expense (10%) + Delivery Truck Expense = 10%*2400000+200000 = 240000 + 200000 = 440000 Activity Driver (Desktop Delivery) = 2000 Cost Driver Rate for Activity 2 = 440000 / 2000 = $ 220 per carton. Activity 3 Amount of Expenses = Warehouse Expense + Freight = 2000000+450000 = 2450000 Activity Driver (Orders) = 16000+8000 = 24000 Cost Driver Rate for Activity 3 = 2450000 / 24000 = $ 102. 083 per order. Activity 4 Amount of Expenses = Order Entry Expenses = 800000 Activity Driver (Orders Line) = 150000 Cost Driver Rate for Activity 4 = 800000 / 150000 = $ 5. 3 per line. The implementation involves computing the profitability of the two clients A Sales Cost Gross Margin No of Cartons Ordered 464. 5 92900 9290 0 B 1040 103000 00 8500 85000 0 1900 18000 0 Desktop Deliveries 220 Order Handling 102. 083 1224. 996 Data Entry 5. 33 Total Cost 319. 8 94444. 8 959. 4 1095 67. 7 5567. 7 1020 8. 3 0 5500 Contribution 8555. 204 The following are t he main causes of difference in profitability between the two customers Customer B has a desktop deliver of 25 whereas customer A has none. The number of data entry for customer B is 180 whereas it is about 60 for customer A. References Michael H. Granof, David E. Plat, Igor Vaysman. (2000). Using Activity-Based Costing to Manage More Effectively. http://costkiller. net/tribune/Tribu-PDF/Using-Activity-BasedCosting-to-Manage-More-Effectively. pdf Rockford Consulting, retrieved March 21, 2011, from http://rockfordconsulting. com/activitybased-costing%20(ABC). htm Value based management, retrievd March 21, 2011, from http://www. valuebasedmanagement. net/methods_abc. html Dakota Products Case Office Analysis Course: BUSA 5061 Managerial Accounting Students Name: Teresa Willette Professors Name: Dr. Conner/Dr. Pollard Date 3/20/2011

Last community group modifed

A Community Group is a group of people who come together to pursue a common cause or interest for the good of their communityIn Kuwait, a few community groups which were formed in the past were mainly strongly linked to the government and their decisions were influenced by the government’s whims. Among the community groups prominent in Kuwait, was Bait Al-Zakah Al-Kuwaiti, which helped the underprivileged people and economically disadvantaged countries, the Kuwaiti Disable Club established in 1971, and the Environmental Public Authority which was a joint venture by government associations and community groups. These groups were the first agencies in Kuwait that was interested in environmental betterment of the society.In 1992, when there was an oil well fire in Kuwait caused by the Iraqi soldiers, volunteers lent their helping hands to the firemen to stop quell the fire. Soon afterwards, the Volunteers Work Centre (VWC) was established. However due to a number of reasons like family   responsibility, priorities after the war, hot environment, lack of knowledge about the importance of voluntary work, educational backwardness of the masses etc, people didn’t come forward in large numbers to offer voluntary services. This is compounded by the fact that the government offered a high standard of living to the people.In recent times, a number of community groups were formed in Kuwait, which was independent and free of government influence. These groups which played an important role in the social reforms of Kuwait are divided into two sections:Section 1: This group were entitled the Volunteers Work Centre, consisting of   (14 groups), such as The Disable Centre. Each group in this section has their own voluntary program and they interacted with other groups to discuss and update their work strategies. Section 2: This section consists of groups who are working independently of the previous section, such as The Diving Centre.This essay will discuss br iefly the group community development in Kuwait with several success stories.Group Community DevelopmentDue to the timely and successful voluntary services provided by the Volunteer Centre, especially in controlling the burning oil fields and because of the support that they have received from the government, different community groups have been established under aegis of the Volunteer Centre. The Voluntary Centre has acted as a unifying factor in brining different community groups under one umbrella.The community groups together with the Volunteer Centre sensitized the masses about the need of voluntary services, and about their works as well through the help of media. In order to sensitize the masses, they mostly choose specific days in the shopping malls, to do their surveys, to educate the people, and to create awareness about the importance of voluntary services. Shopping malls are chosen for publicity and awareness building purpose because most people frequent such malls. The groups also initiated programs in school and University premises to encourage young people to come forward and join voluntary services, since sensitizing the younger generation was easier than older people. The internet too had become an attractive tool for sensitization of masses and to introduce the community groups to the society.Due to sensitization efforts, volunteers started to enrol directly to specific community groups; however, most of the volunteers went directly to the Volunteer Centre and they were assigned to various community groups according to their area of interests. Some of the volunteers had no specific backgrounds in community service or voluntary work, while others had meagre experience and could not decide where they would fit best. For such groups, the Volunteer Centre had specific programs to train them in specific area and then divide them into groups that fit their interests. Besides this, the Volunteer Centre provides volunteers to specific group community when they request for volunteers, or train new members on request.Sometimes when a group is faced with problems which can not be resolved within the group, it seeks the help from other groups through the Volunteer Centre for specialized intervention. The Volunteer Centre, through networking with different community   groups finds specialist from other groups suitable for resolving the issue. For instance, if the Disabled People Centre, which is one of the Volunteer Centre 14 groups, encountered a problem with their website, they can request the Volunteer Centre to provide them specialised manpower from community group with IT expertise to resolve their crisis.   Another example of significant cooperation between the Volunteer Centre groups can be seen from the fact that the Horses Group, after being requested by the Disabled People Centre, has trained horses especially for the disabled people.One of the successful group community under The Volunteer Centre of section one, is Th e Disabled People Centre. This centre was formed in 1999; The organizational structure of the Centre consists of a manager, assistant manager, secretaries and specialists etc. Voluntary work is carried out in a systematic and formal manner. Any request or help sought from the Centre has to be formally registered, along with a written application, which is either approved or disapproved with the consent of members or secretaries. The centre has dress code for volunteers and uniforms are provided by the centre.The Disabled People Centre is divided into several sub-centres. While one sub-centre directly deals with the patients, another organizes the media campaign and look after publicity affairs. Yet another sub-centre solicits and coordinates donation by seeking financial help either from individual donors or aid agencies or as well as request equipments from prospective donors for the disabled people. One sub-section coordinates with other groups (local or overseas), organize compet itions, ceremonies as well as other public relations campaigns.Another successful independent community group of section 2 is The Kuwait divers’ centre which started with two leaders in 1995. The group taught diving to members of other groups and made them understand the importance of diving for the protection of marine environment. The group organised overseas trips to gain first hand experience, so that they could compare the difference between the marine environments of Kuwait with other places. The group runs as a team which consists of two leaders, their assistants, eight core members and 94 volunteers. It seeks to popularise the diving sport and to conserve the environment, particularly the marine environment. The community group is divided into two parts:The training team teaches interested people how to dive. In the process, they expect some of these people to join their team, thus ensuring a sustainable future for the community group. The environmental conservation t eam, which educates the trainers about the need to save and protect our environment, also publishes and distributes educational brochures, and take resort to   other forms of media channels such as TV and radio to educate the broader community.Both the team coordinate with each other under the direct guidance of group leaders and their assistants. The age and the qualifications of the members play an important role in determining the member’s position in the team’s hierarchy. It is part of the Kuwaiti tradition and culture to respect a person positioned above in the hierarchy.The diver centre has accomplished some great task in the field of marine conservation which earned them more attention and recognition. This has helped in their expansion and growth. Till date, they have trained around 780 trainers, discovered wrecked ships in the Persian Gulf, trained members of the Ministry of Interior, published the â€Å"Kuwait Marine Environment Encyclopaedia†, disco vered and mapped good diving spots in Kuwait, and was the first group train the disabled people   in the Middle East.The cooperation between the Kuwait Disabled People Club (different from Disabled People Centre) and the Divers Group has earned great respect and accolade from the society in general, and other community groups in particular. Since the group has demonstrated success with handicapped people, other groups from overseas have expressed their interest in the Kuwaiti diver group’s diving program for the disabled.The successful endeavour by the voluntary groups of Kuwait has earned them great respect (both locally and internationally) and demand for their services has grown manyfold since their inception. Due to the small size of Kuwait, the group’s activities were widely dispersed. For the successful functioning of the community groups, the cooperation of the society is crucial. Cash or cheque donations as well as donations in terms of goods and services by generous Kuwaiti citizens helped these community groups cope with emergency situations with commendable ease.

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Strategic Change Management (Ansewr 6 questions) - Assignment Example High attrition rate and staff downsizing strategy of Airline company’s crates impact on defence mechanism of Airline staff. Southwest Airlines has applied clarity system as a part of Kurt Lewins Change Management Model to decrease resistance about newly implemented software system. The company has changed existing Microsoft Excel reporting pattern by implementing Hyperion Essbase model of financial budgeting. The company did the change in order to decrease overall reporting cost. The logic model of synergy theory describes sustainable change as participation multi level actors (local and global, top level, mid level and ground level management). This model not only increases communication scope but decreases change resistance also. British Airways used Kurt Lewin’s change management model in order to create positive impact on their business policy. In the unfreeze stage they downsized the workforce in order to decrease hierarchical levels. In the change phase British Airways altered internal system and provided incentives to absorb the shock effect. In the refreeze stage BA integrated customer satisfaction with individual objective of key members of organizational hierarchy. They refurbished uniform of staff and aircraft design as a part of change management process. The market demand for Airline industry has been dented due to sovereign debt crisis and economic recession. Airline industry has lost more than $25bn (Â £16bn) in last ten years (Milmo, Topham, and Roberts, 2012). Companies are competing with each other in order to achieve competitive edge such as low cost service delivery, fast service delivery, expanded destination service, fleet size and many others. For example, Southwest Airlines has achieved the competitive edge of lowest fare in comparison to other players in the market. The new airline group formed by the merger is the sixth largest airline service in the world in terms of

Comparative analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Comparative analysis - Essay Example This way we don't realize if the story is about the voyage of a cruise ship or a conflict between two people or a horror story of an opera house. Just like we don't call our dogs 'dog', but by some other name like 'Richard' or 'Sally', it is considered thoughtless and out-dated to name a love story 'love story'.   Nevertheless, this short story is diverse. The title is 'Sarah Cole; A Kind of Love Story'. Only by observing the title, it isn't that challenging to predict what the story is going to be about; the love between a man not yet known and a woman called Sarah Cole. So I marveled why the author so frankly stated 'love story' and why not just 'love story' but 'a type of love story'.   Perhaps the writer sought to tell the readers without rush that this was a love story, but not an conventional one. This is right to some degree because the sentiment that the narrator feels concerning Sarah and the plot of their love is quite distinct and unique, unlike most other customary lo ve stories.   Like this, the title appears very regular but at the same time, sharp and exclusive. It  is  like calling your dog 'dog'. Amongst all the appealing pet names of numerous syllables, 'dog' incredibly shines.  Determining the title for a book is perhaps the most problematic, let alone vital, task. This is because the title is the entice and we want to bite on fresh plump ones rather than the everyday skinny ones. A orthodox sort of love story is about a fine-looking man who loves a beautiful woman, but Russell Banks' Sarah Cole: A Type of Love Story tells that another type of love story, in which a good-looking man loves an ugly woman, is also conceivable. Though, I found out myself innocently visualization a lovely woman next to the handsome Ron, and it made me more uncomfortable. I, whom I thought unalike from others, was also not free from the bias. Ron is a remarkably handsome guy. He had a gorgeous wife, but his marriage did not last long; they separated. The n he met another woman named Sarah Cole at a bar, who is the mousiest woman that Ron has ever seen (Banks). Fatefully, he  gets  attracted to her. A couple of a handsome man and a homely woman are hard for us to acknowledge rather than the one of an ugly man and a pretty woman, since there is a biased idea that beauty is the most vital property of a woman, thus, answering the questions regarding why the story is titled what it is (Ryu). It is quite obvious that being pretty or good looking and being appealing or attractive are two completely different things. So yes, that was actually why Ron developed those feelings of love for Sarah. This is seen in the way Ron tries to cover up for Sarah by saying "Sarah wasn't mean when she was drunk" when Glenda talks to him about Sarah’s ex-husband (Banks). In contrast however, Sarah has been shown to lacking greatly in self – confidence and more or less, portrayed as a person who is certainly not proud of herself and is very self – conscious about her personality and looks. This is basically the reason why she was reluctant in making the first move towards Ron and later on, continuously fighting herself hard to avoid the feelings she was starting to develop for Ron. She thinks that handsome men would never fall for an ordinary girl like her and that is exactly why she does not respond swiftly or positively at the times when Ron does try to make a move at her. In order to relieve her distress

Childhood Case Study Essay Example for Free

Childhood Case Study Essay When I was a child the world seemed to be a place of joy and happiness to me. There was nothing worth worrying about. Whenever I cried somebody picked me up. When I did not like to sit alone, I was always in somebody’s army. My father was one of my heroes since young. I idolize him as I grow up and to everything like him. I often ask my father to tell me about his childhood experience and he loves telling funny stories or describing unusual situations. When he talks to me about those years, I feel like I see the past through his eyes. I think he was really happy as a child. Normally in my mind, I would compare my father’s childhood and mine. My father and I had very different childhood in terms of social problem, family background, technology and education. Firstly, social problem within my father’s and my own childhood in terms of freedom. As a child, my dad will be playing out the whole day; running, laughing and not worrying. My dad lived in a village where the children from the whole village were a big company. They would all play together without fighting and arguing all the time. Heck, my grandparents didn’t have to worry about my dad that much. They are used to let their children play a lot of hours with freedom without being nervous or stressed about it. They knew their children were safe. I, on the other hand, had a must lesser freedom compared to my father. Back then, I don’t get to go out and play with the other children due to safety reasons. My parents were very afraid of this worlds’ dangers. In fact, there weren’t many children to play with in streets compared to the â€Å"good old days†. I get to go the playground to play once awhile but there were so few to play with. Next, our family background was also very different in terms of social status and financial status. My dad was born a year later after my country’s independence, so technically he was the 1st generation of official Malaysian in Malaysia. My country is also a multiracial country so long story short, my dad had social status issues with other races during his childhood. When he was 10, my dad experienced things that no child should which was the May 13th Incident. The May 13th incident refers to the Sino-Malay sectarian violence in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in which many Malaysian-Chinese died in  1969. I can only imagine how terrifying it was for my dad to live through that incident as a child. I, however, lived peacefully as a Malaysian-Chinese without such incident. During my generation, my social status has already develop stability, my race was recognize as the 3 main races in Malaysia. I also have a good financial support as a child compared to my father. Back then my grandfather was an immigrant from China, owning a small business to raise his family. My father did not receive much financial as a child. During elementary school, my father had to help out with my grandfather’s business. I’m consider very fortunate as my father worked hard to ensure that my childhood did not have to be like his. Then, the advancement of science and technology effect both my dad’s childhood and my own in terms of entertainment. Back then the time where video games were like rocket science and cellphones where as big as bricks. Entertainment in technology wasn’t really available at my dad’s childhood thus explaining the big company of children playing outside all the time, but it didn’t mean it didn’t exist in that time. Back then, my dad really enjoyed listening to the radio. The radio was practically the main source of entertainment in terms of technology; it had music, podcast, news and etc. My dad was considered lucky to even have a colored television in his own home and there was not much to watch as well. I, in my childhood days, had the privilege of watching Disney channel on my decoder with my cartoons. In addition, technology was my source of entertainment with my game consoles and televisions. Which also the cause of me not going out that much as a child. Technology allow my childhood to not need the company of the other, to play with. Communication was also much better thanks to technology. During elementary, affordable cellphones were available where my dad can contact me at any time. The same couldn’t be said for my dad back then, as owning cellphone was considered a luxury. Lastly, people say education is key to every childhood, but in that sense both my father and I had very different education environment and background in our childhood. My dad, back then, lived where education is very scarce. They weren’t many schools near where my dad lived. My grandmother had to cycle my dad to his school to drop off and pick up daily. If that isn’t bad  enough, my father had to have extra classes at the Chinese temple nearby just to learn Mandarin. During my time, my country has already development an effective education system to follow. Many schools were also available during that time. Mandarin is actually implemented into the educational system as a subject taught in public schools. I’m glad that I’m fortunate enough to have these facilities in my grasp in my childhood. Childhood is free from cares. There are no duties and responsibilities on the shoulders of a child. A child eats drinks, sleeps and plays. When he eats a piece of bread, he does not think from where it comes. His father alone knows that. Even when someone dies in the family, a child is not touched. As child lives in a bliss of ignorance and innocence. Despite the differences in our childhood, my dad and I both enjoyed part of our childhood and we will cherish these moments for life.

What Caused The Korean War History Essay

What Caused The Korean War History Essay The North Korean leader, Kim Il Sung invaded South Korea on 25th June 1950, with about 89,000 of his troops and tanks achieving total tactical and strategic surprise against only 38,000 South Korean soldiers. They were fully armed with heavy weapons and equipment supplied by Stalin and the Soviet Union.  [1]   The war that started in 1950 which lasted for three years can be analysed under two aspects: political and ideological. Analysing ideologically, communist within the region of China, Soviet Union and North Korea, desired to secure the Korean Peninsula to be a part of communist bloc. Politically, the West and the USSR growing tensions and the emergence of the cold war intensified the stability that stemmed from a divided Korea. This essay will examine the causes of the Korean war including factors such as the historical, ideological differences and the primary causes of the war which are believed to be the division of Korea in 1945, the character of both leaders, kim II Sung and Sungman Rhee, as well as the influences of International actors, in particular capitalist West (namely the US) and the communist East (namely the Soviet Union but to a lesser degree, China), and the difference in policies of the United States and the Soviet Union toward North and South Korea. In order to understand the causes of the war in Korea, it is essential to look at the history of the country. When in the 1880s Korea opened its gates to the western world, pro-Chinese, pro-Japanese, pro-Russian and pro-American factions all emerged, It is also to be kept in mind that Japan ruled Korea for more than 40 years from 1904 to 1945 until the USA and Soviet Union agreed to expels the Japanese territory by the USA taking over the southern region of Korean to the 38th parallel whilst the Soviet Union would occupy the northern part.  [2]   In 1910, when Japanese ruled Korea and established a rough direct over its people, It was then that the elite class such as businessmen, landowners and manufacturers were not irritated but merely continued to do their jobs as the circumstances facilitated them. Conversely, the lower and workers class emerged in opposition and demanded urgent reforms in the country. The Japanese plan was to defend home islands by maintaining control of Korean Peninsula which resulted in political and cultural repression, there was also growth of Communism and Conservative nationalism at that time. As soon as World War II ended the tension was clear, one of the most important features of the post-world war was the appearance of a clear and obvious global competition for spheres of influence between the Soviet Union and the USA. The division of the country by 38th parallel by US and USSR had implicit the continuation of the civil tension as the people were divided politically and ideologically.  [3]  The Koreans were not trusted to rule Korea independently. The region being separated by the USA and USSR was the reason that the country had to remain separated into two halves as both super power countries had their own way to set up the legitimacy and execution of the political and economic issues of the country. These changes having being occurred in the region came to the situation that the regions could not be joined again as a single territory.  [4]   William Stueck argues convincingly;Soviet-US occupation of Korea, especially without precise agreements on its nature and duration, greatly reduced Koreas prospects for a smooth transition toward independence and unityà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦[and furthermore] the division of the independence movement into Communist and anti-Communist groups compounded the potential problems in constructing a unified, indigenous government.  [5]   This division was possibly the most significant event in the history of Korea, as, if the country had not been separated by force by the outside powers, arguably there would not have been a Korean War. Of course, this is debateable as, when the Japanese surrendered, the possibility of a civil conflict due to those inequities and imbalances Koreans had suffered historically, was in fact defeated by the involvement of the Soviet Union and the USA.  [6]   The division had many consequences on the economy, one of the most pressing issues was the economic crisis between the two territories following a mass departure of around 2 million Koreans from the North to the South, today the South Korean population is double that of North Korea. This mass exodus was due to the fact that resources were also divided, the North gained in natural resources, whereas the South now had two-thirds of the workforce and the country was in crisis, Therefore, civil tension continued between varying ideologies in the two territories throughout. Furthermore, this division affected the cultures of both Koreas especially in regard to military, political, ideology and foreign alliances. On both sides the tension caused by division meant that the military became important.  [7]   The USA established a military government in South Korea whereas Soviet Union did so in North Korea. The region rule by the Americans was given to 24th corps US Army headed by General John R. Hudge whereas; the Soviet Union gave this responsibility to the 25th Army, the 1st Front of Soviet Far Eastern Front Forces (under Col. General Ivan M. Chistiakov). The masses of Korea opposed the military rule in their respective countries, which caused a high level of dissatisfaction, especially in the South. Furthermore, the US Army was unprepared for the mission to rule South Korea as compared to the Soviet Union.  [8]   The Moscow agreement was a great shock to the Korean people, who expected independence. They directly launched a nationwide movement opposing the trusteeship. The communist initially opposed trusteeship, but quickly changed their attitude later under a directive from the Russians. After Moscow conference divisions deepened between North and South, resulted in an economic, political and social unrest in South. The USA support was wavering and hesitate to support South who wanted a change in their political and economic position. However, the Soviet determination for North was to dominate through Communism. The USA still kept on safeguarding its own interest and tried every way in which Communist party could be stopped to come into power if Korea was reunited.  [9]   The United States policy toward Korea was non-ideological, at that time, the US considered Korea nothing more than a secondary objective to the security and defence of Japan. Korea continued to be a secondary objective because partly of the great distance between the two countries and partly because the US thinks that Korea is a minor strategic value.  [10]   On the other hand, the Soviet Union had a historical interest in Korea, North Korea was vital to the ideological interests, and strategic objectives of the Soviet Union to safeguard the rights obtained in Manchuria in return for the declaration of war against Japan in the final days of World War II, This was all the more so because of their need to cope with the American influence in South Korea, and the growing communist influence in China. Therefore the policy of the Soviet Union toward North Korea was constantly strong from the start.  [11]   With the rise of Marxism- Leninism in Russia in 1917 and the emergence of the struggle between Nationalists and Communists in China in the 1920s, Korean exiles inevitably took sides, with traditionalists of a Confucian stripe looking to the Nationalist Chinese, Liberals of a capitalist, democratic bent appealing to the Unites States, and radicals casting their eyes toward the Soviet Union and/or the communist Chinese.  [12]   Americans entered South Korea to keep Japan disarmed, but it was clear that they were unaware of the development they had to make in the region. The United Commission as forced by the USA voted for elections in Korea, the communist bloc of the region boycotted the elections and Syngman Rhee was declared as the President of South Korea.  [13]  It can be argued that the UN intervention is a fledging organisation which been forced into action. There was a little credibility due to alignment with the US. South Korea was not fully prepared for the war because the South Korean leader had not been much aware of the war issues as compared to North Korean leader Kim II Sung who appeared to be in power assisted by Colonel Alexandre Ignatiev and General Ternetiv Shytykov who were a part of the Soviet occupying force. Communism was quickly spread throughout the country by the police oppression, pressure and violence.  [14]   There was no attempt to examine closely the communist ideology of the leftists, to discover how far they were the creatures of Moscow, and how far they were merely vague socialists and nationalists who found traditional landlordism repugnant. No allowance was made for the prestige earned by the communists dominant role in armed resistance to the Japaneseà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Given time and encouragement, [the KPR]..might have offered South Korea its best prospect of building a genuine democracy.  [15]   The failure then, ultimately of the US in Korea, was to side with reactionary, conservative factions who were inextricably linked to the period of Japanese colonial rule. In their view, they found it easier to deal with the ones that have had been for the same tasks and orders at the times when Japanese used to rule the nation, as opposed to helping to organise and mustering a viable future leadership from the many leftist factions, which though often divided among themselves nevertheless had the genuine support of a significantly large section of the Korean population. But if this was a US failure then it was also a failure of the Soviets as both countries chose to exclude the Korean leaders from any representation of the country, aimed at setting up a five-year trusteeship for the nation in question, prior to free elections being held. In the meantime, it was decided that the US and USSR, respectively, would take responsibility for governing the two halves of the country: in the s outh General Hodge led a US military government, and in the north the Soviets oversaw a communist-style rule.  [16]   It was decided in 1946, that the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea (DPRK) would start to shape her military in order to protect her interdependence, this idea was urgently shaped into reality and at the end of that year they had created two divisions. North Korea kept on doing reforms in the army so that the South could find no way to harm it. By 1949, the military was equipped with a tank brigade, engineers, signals, anti-aircraft artillery, and one more infantry division. They were also on the initial stage to create their navy and air force, furthermore they sent two infantry divisions to fight in Manchuria against the Chinese Nationalists specifically in order to gain experience needed to be ready for any offensive attack against South Korea.  [17]   The main aim of the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea was to safeguard the workers republic and the acts and the efforts of the Workers Party as well as the creation of forces was the reason why the government remained active. In the meantime, Kim II Sung kept on getting stronger and appeared as the Premier of DPRK in 1948 and was nominated as the Chairman of North Korean Workers Party in 1949.  [18]  He was Known as great leader in North Korea. Conversely, Rhee appeared as a leader of South Korea who was anti-communist. He wanted the China civil war to end in favour of the Nationalists. Among his concern was to wash away the Communist and demolish any Communist power or influence in Korea before the situation get worse and developed into a civil conflict. He, as with the Americans, believed that the Communists in Korea were a puppet of the Soviets; therefore, he believed that some kind of police intervention was needed to limit their influence. As his thoughts involved any actions that kept the communists away, he ideologically influenced the minds of people and made certain reforms to forcefully strengthen the country which drew an ideological line between North and South Korea.  [19]   The USA did not seem to back any actions or thoughts of Rhee as they were aware of the fact that Rhee attempts to attack the Northern part, the circumstances would not appear in favour of either. The USA could not be seen to be supporting any attack against the North as it would be regarded as an attack against the Soviet Union. South Korea was somehow in control of Rhee and he kept on using the force against the communists especially after 1946 elections.  [20]  South Korea was blamed for the start of the conflict. Rhee prompted border clashes prior to the invasion from the North such as that he executed some of the Northern civilian because they were spying and this was the ignition of the war. This idea that South Korea began the war was also insisted by Cummings who said that Rhee deliberately went for such actions so that the USA would support and intervene which will allow Rhee and his forces to invade North Korea.  [21]  On the other hand some argue that it was indeed North Korea who began the war and therefore had to plan the situation before hand and did such actions to initiate the war. Nonetheless this does not mean that Kim II Sung from North Korea was the one who necessarily caused the war. In May 1950, the strengths and weakness of North Korea and South Korea described as follows: It says that North Korea had organised areas with strong military and efficient divisions. North Korea had the potential that if guerrilla war started, it would be able to defeat the other side. Conversely, the South Korea did not have much potential to fight against the North as it was politically bent into conflicts and was equally losing its economic grip. Moreover, the military was far less efficient than that of the North. Tension along the 38th parallel had been serious since 1947 but was worse on some cases. It was assumed that any time the civil war could begin nevertheless the tactics that were to be used in the war were still unknown.  [22]   To understand the reasons for the escalating hostility between the super powers countries over Korea, related in developments in China. As the year 1949 was marked with the independence of Peoples Republic of China, it was then that the communist leader Mao Zedong appeared as victory over Nationalists forces on the country.  [23]  The Chinese were fully supporting the Communists in North Korea, Furthermore, tens of thousands of North Korea troops were receiving their military training and equipment from China. Mao Zedong also attempted to insist for a reunite of Korea in which communist will rule and the whole region will appear as a strong communist bloc of the region. South Korea and the USA were totally aware of the developments and were really concerned about the strong communist being spread in the area.  [24]  It worth mentioning here that North Korea assisted Maos communist during civil war. From UN perspective, UN refused to accept Legitimacy of communist rule and sus pended Chinas membership. As the communists gained strength in the region, the Americans and South Korea feared that this will end in a complete failure of the Nationalists. For this reason, Taiwan was used as a final weapon to weaken the communists. It is evident that the inhabitation and alteration in Taiwan were clearly tied to the Korean issue as the Nationalists could only be strengthened in that way. The Nationalists on Taiwan heartedly supported South Korea and showed full opposition to the emergence of communists strengths. The USA feared that having communists spread in the region means that the full control of region will be under the Soviet Union or China power, For the Americans, the advantage they feared which could be gained by Stalin in case the Taiwan was occupied or won by communist and therefore made them decide better defensive action for the stabilisation of South Korea.  [25]   In terms of President Truman involvement and the USA, it is obvious that they were awkward as they had not completely closed the chapter of World War II and still feared the Communist lobby to overrule them. As McCarthyism spread and communism kept on making its roots stronger across the world. This fear was also felt in Trumans government and they were afraid of the spread of communist around the world. As Mao Tse-tung gained power in China and the Soviet Union went for nuclear tests in 1949, the USA was even worried about communism and altered their foreign policy which was deeply dependent on the developments of Asia.  [26]   The Soviet Union did not cooperate with the USA and did not answer any attempts that the USA military governments in South Korea made. For this reason, the problem of solving the dispute between the North and South Korea was moved to the back row. The Americans tried to discuss and come up with an agreement to solve the economic and refugee problems and establish political measures for the future of Korea. The first priority of both super power governments was to have their own problems solved.  [27]   Developments in Asia were the reason that the USA feared the world to a large extent depended on the South Asia politics and the decisions that the countries in South Asia made. North Korean invasion made the USA redesign their thoughts about Asia. The American foreign experts thought that the Soviet Union has somehow lost some power in the region and it is China that gained power gradually and become a danger in South east Asia.  [28]   Americans at that point realised significance importance to remain in the scenario. It argued that Domino principle of Stalins communism had to be stopped in the region and if not urgently brought to a halt, communism will influence the Western Europe and therefore will be a great danger to invade Europe as well. Analysing all the circumstances, it was decided that the USA start aiding South Korea which was formally announced by President Truman on 27th of June 1950.  [29]   In Conclusion, it is illustrated that no one can ignore the differences in the ideology and political affiliation of North and South Korea; this was not necessarily the basis for the conflict in Korea. It is evident that the attempt of North Korea to invade the South ignited war, but the attempts of South before invasion could not be simply ignored. The situation that created instability from 1945 to 1950 was because of South Koreas attempts to stop communism from being spread at any cost. Before being invaded, Korea as a country had many social and political issues that needed to be dealt with sincerity. The activates and policies of the two super power are the reason that Korea could not be reunited afterwards. The United States did not wish to see South Korea incorporated within the communist sphere but would make the defence of South Korea a priority. It was the Soviet Union that supported Kim II Sung to act against South Korea from April 1950 to June 1950. It was perceived by Russia that it will result in support of North Korea from inside the Southern part and that the USA might not be able to handle the issue. China was involved deeply before June 1950 and Kim II Sung told Mao Tse-tung that it would be necessary for China to intervene. The Korean War was both a civil and an international war. The two Korean states failed to resolve the issue. 38th parallel kept on bearing tensions ignited by both North and South Korea for many years which finally made North Korea to start war against South in which the Soviet Union completely supported North Korea. Kim II Sung and Syngman Rhee equally heated the issue and remained the centre of wrong activities from 1948 to 1950.  [30]   The Korean issue could not be tied to just one actor; it had many actors that acted for their own benefit with non-playing role for the benefit of united Korea. It is understood that the international powers played their role as per the wishes of Kim and Rhee but more specifically all the super powers deep inside wanted their own interests to be safeguarded behind the curtains of Korea. The Soviet Union and the USA never purely identified that reunited Korea as the major cause but their failure to understand the issue and act accordingly brought the situation to such an extent where war continuously emerged. North and South Korea both are to be blamed for making matters worse as well as the super powers that did not understand the conflict from its soil. After Chinese military intervention, the USA was more concerned about communism being spread. Korea was a victim of her own leaders and of the mutual suspicions and hatreds of the superpowers in the Cold War. Finally, it is very vital that this essay has shown the international and historical context of the conflict. However, due to the conflicting ideas from revisionists and traditionalists it is difficult to establish a clear blame here. Although, North and South leaders were not passive in this war, they had a very strong military and political role to play. Both Kim and Rhee managed to use their international actors. James Matray argues that ultimately Soviet- American failure to co-operate prevented Koreas peaceful reunification  [31]  which is a major factor to cause the war.

Mary Rowlandson :: essays research papers

History Mary Rowlandson was an Indian captive, and also an American writer. She was born in England approximately 1637-1638. She immigrated to Lancaster, Massachusetts with her parents. Joseph Rowlandson became a minister in 1654 and two years later he married Mary. They together had four children, one whom died as an infant, but the others were Joseph, Mary, and Sarah. On February 20, 1676, Mary and her three children were taken captive in their home during a raid of the Native Americans uprising known as King Philip’s War along with 23 other people. Her children were the ages 14, 10 and 6. Sarah was 6; she died in captivity due to her wounds. She also lost her sister, brother-in-law, nieces and nephews. Of the 23 people who were captured in the raid, thirteen of them were Rowlandson family members. Mary was sold as a slave and her two children went to other masters. Mary Rowlandson was ransomed at ₤20 just three months after she was captured. She was returned to Princeton, Massachusetts on May 2, 1676. Soon after that, her two surviving children were returned. Joseph Rowlandson died in 1691 at the age of forty-seven. It was said that Mary died shortly after her husband’s death but come to find out just nine months after the death of her husband, Mary married Connecticut leader, Capt. Samuel Talcott. There were no more known details of her life except for a court testimony in 1707. Mary White Rowlandson Talcott died at the age of seventy-three on January 5, 1711. Works   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The narrative that Rowlandson wrote was originally titled â€Å"The Sovereignty & Goodness of God, Together with the Faithfulness of His Promise Displayed: Being a Narrative of the Captivity and Restauration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson Commended by her to all that Desire to Know the Lord’s Doings to, and Dealings with Her. Especially to her Dear Children and Relations.† In 1682, the title was dropped and republished the narrative under the title â€Å"Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson† which is best known as today. This book is separated into â€Å"removes.† The first three â€Å"removes† focus on her desperate efforts to care for her dying daughter. The rest of the â€Å"removes† focus on the difficulties she faced while being kidnapped and held captive.

The Human Brain Essay -- Health, Diseases, Brain Damage

The human brain is a big, intricate—yet delicate, structure in the human body. It is the key structure in cognitive function. Any damage to the brain does not only â€Å"erase† memories but also may â€Å"deceive† the brain to erroneously remember a new object as being familiar (2010). The innovative researchers at Cambridge University investigated this phenomenon in their research on The Paradoxial False Memory for Objects after Brain Damage. The publication began by stating the widely acceptable premise that medial temporal lobe damage results in the inability to remember new experiences soon after they are learned. They indicated that the general belief is that this occurs because the ability to remember such information becomes compromised after a short period of time. They therefore deduced based on this premise that such information or experiences are either lost or become inaccessible to the extent that when such experiences are presented and re-experienced, they appear as if they are new or never have been learned. They therefore set out to explore this premise by using the generally used model of memory impairment, the â€Å"the standard object recognition memory model.† According to James Hampton, a well-renowned Professor of Cognitive Psychology at City University London, â€Å"recognition is the process of matching a perceptual representation of the stimulus item [into] stored representations of previously [exposed] stimuli† (2003). This stored information is known as structural representations based on the visual-spatial nature of the retained information (Moss and Hampton, 2003). â€Å"Object recognition memory is the ability to discriminate the familiarity of previously encountered objects† (Gaskins et al., 2009). The standard object ... ...indings from the simulation were valid because animals that suffered damage to the perirhinal cortex saw novel objects as familiar. Based on the support of these simulations and their laboratory findings, I agree with the notion â€Å"that object recognition memory impairments does not result from damage to the memory system. Rather brain damage that results in such impairments only compromises only a [precise] type of complex stimulus representation† (McTighe et al., 2010). Such may be the case of individuals with cortical brain damage such amnesia and Alzheimer’s disease based the combination of perirhinal lesions and object recognition impairments similar to the findings in this research. However in order to evaluation between and the paradoxical phenomenon, more research is needed and further representation-hierarchical simulation testing must be performed on humans. The Human Brain Essay -- Health, Diseases, Brain Damage The human brain is a big, intricate—yet delicate, structure in the human body. It is the key structure in cognitive function. Any damage to the brain does not only â€Å"erase† memories but also may â€Å"deceive† the brain to erroneously remember a new object as being familiar (2010). The innovative researchers at Cambridge University investigated this phenomenon in their research on The Paradoxial False Memory for Objects after Brain Damage. The publication began by stating the widely acceptable premise that medial temporal lobe damage results in the inability to remember new experiences soon after they are learned. They indicated that the general belief is that this occurs because the ability to remember such information becomes compromised after a short period of time. They therefore deduced based on this premise that such information or experiences are either lost or become inaccessible to the extent that when such experiences are presented and re-experienced, they appear as if they are new or never have been learned. They therefore set out to explore this premise by using the generally used model of memory impairment, the â€Å"the standard object recognition memory model.† According to James Hampton, a well-renowned Professor of Cognitive Psychology at City University London, â€Å"recognition is the process of matching a perceptual representation of the stimulus item [into] stored representations of previously [exposed] stimuli† (2003). This stored information is known as structural representations based on the visual-spatial nature of the retained information (Moss and Hampton, 2003). â€Å"Object recognition memory is the ability to discriminate the familiarity of previously encountered objects† (Gaskins et al., 2009). The standard object ... ...indings from the simulation were valid because animals that suffered damage to the perirhinal cortex saw novel objects as familiar. Based on the support of these simulations and their laboratory findings, I agree with the notion â€Å"that object recognition memory impairments does not result from damage to the memory system. Rather brain damage that results in such impairments only compromises only a [precise] type of complex stimulus representation† (McTighe et al., 2010). Such may be the case of individuals with cortical brain damage such amnesia and Alzheimer’s disease based the combination of perirhinal lesions and object recognition impairments similar to the findings in this research. However in order to evaluation between and the paradoxical phenomenon, more research is needed and further representation-hierarchical simulation testing must be performed on humans.

Exploring Schizophrenia Essay example -- Research Paper Mental Disorde

Exploring Schizophrenia "Schizophrenia is a cruel disease. The lives of those affected are often chronicles of constricted experiences, muted emotions, missed opportunities, unfulfilled expectations. It leads to a twilight existence, a twentieth-century underground man...It is in fact the single biggest blemish on the face of contemporary American medicine and social services; when the social history of our era is written, the plight of persons with schizophrenia will be recorded as having been a national scandal." E. Fuller Torrey, M.D., Surviving Schizophrenia I personally don't know anyone with schizophrenia, or at least I don't think I do. Perhaps I don't realize that my neighbor is walking through life with a secret, like the homosexual who, afraid of society's unfounded prejudice, confusion, and doubts over issues not talked about, remains silent. For this reason, my interest in schizophrenia developed: not because I have been affected by the disorder in a direct (or even indirect) way, but precisely because I haven't. I haven't because mental disorders are not something discussed over coffee. In our society schizophrenia isn't everybody's problem, and so most are content not to think – and consequently not to do – anything about it. My concern with schizophrenia stemmed from the unknown; thus it was fitting that my search to discover facts about it steadily uncovered more gray areas. What are the causes of schizophrenia? No one knows for certain. The symptoms? They vary. What about treatments? They too have varied throughout history and current treatment differs from case to case. Faced with the frustration of unanswered queries, I began to wonder why I chose this topic. However, that is the nature of scienc... ...: Longman Publishers USA, 1997. Keefe, Richard & Philip Harvey. Understanding Schizophrenia. New York: The Free Press, 1994. Mortensen PB, Pedersen CB, Westergaard T, et al. "Effects of family history and place and season of birth on the risk of schizophrenia." New England Journal of Medicine 340 (1999): 603-8. O'Brien, Patrick. The Disordered Mind. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1978. Rund, Bjorn Rishovd. How do neuroleptics affect cognitive dysfunctions in schizophrenia? Nordic Journal of Psychiatry 53.2 (1999): 121-125. Stephenson, Joan. "Schizophrenia researchers striving for early detection and intervention." Journal of the American Medical Association 281.20 (05/26/99): 1877. Swartzendruber, Phil. "Mainstreaming the marginalized." Printed in The Record (April 2, 1998). http://www.goshen.edu/record/1997-98/April2-1998/mainstream.html. Exploring Schizophrenia Essay example -- Research Paper Mental Disorde Exploring Schizophrenia "Schizophrenia is a cruel disease. The lives of those affected are often chronicles of constricted experiences, muted emotions, missed opportunities, unfulfilled expectations. It leads to a twilight existence, a twentieth-century underground man...It is in fact the single biggest blemish on the face of contemporary American medicine and social services; when the social history of our era is written, the plight of persons with schizophrenia will be recorded as having been a national scandal." E. Fuller Torrey, M.D., Surviving Schizophrenia I personally don't know anyone with schizophrenia, or at least I don't think I do. Perhaps I don't realize that my neighbor is walking through life with a secret, like the homosexual who, afraid of society's unfounded prejudice, confusion, and doubts over issues not talked about, remains silent. For this reason, my interest in schizophrenia developed: not because I have been affected by the disorder in a direct (or even indirect) way, but precisely because I haven't. I haven't because mental disorders are not something discussed over coffee. In our society schizophrenia isn't everybody's problem, and so most are content not to think – and consequently not to do – anything about it. My concern with schizophrenia stemmed from the unknown; thus it was fitting that my search to discover facts about it steadily uncovered more gray areas. What are the causes of schizophrenia? No one knows for certain. The symptoms? They vary. What about treatments? They too have varied throughout history and current treatment differs from case to case. Faced with the frustration of unanswered queries, I began to wonder why I chose this topic. However, that is the nature of scienc... ...: Longman Publishers USA, 1997. Keefe, Richard & Philip Harvey. Understanding Schizophrenia. New York: The Free Press, 1994. Mortensen PB, Pedersen CB, Westergaard T, et al. "Effects of family history and place and season of birth on the risk of schizophrenia." New England Journal of Medicine 340 (1999): 603-8. O'Brien, Patrick. The Disordered Mind. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1978. Rund, Bjorn Rishovd. How do neuroleptics affect cognitive dysfunctions in schizophrenia? Nordic Journal of Psychiatry 53.2 (1999): 121-125. Stephenson, Joan. "Schizophrenia researchers striving for early detection and intervention." Journal of the American Medical Association 281.20 (05/26/99): 1877. Swartzendruber, Phil. "Mainstreaming the marginalized." Printed in The Record (April 2, 1998). http://www.goshen.edu/record/1997-98/April2-1998/mainstream.html.

Leadership, Power and Politics

Conflict,   Management and leadership Conflict is a natural outcome originating due to individual and group interaction. It is a ‘friction’ produced due to emotions and behaviors of people working closely rubbing against each other. When people from various backgrounds and beliefs work together, consciously or unconsciously they try to pass their own principles in work aspects creates conflict. However, conflict is not always destructive or regressive. When well managed and directed, it has great utility in substantially improving an organization’s functional and production aspects, along with helping individuals to evolve a joint   philosophy of work and cooperation. However, poorly managed conflict situation impairs the organizational outcome, creating stress, introducing   dissatisfaction and reducing efficiency. Characteristics of Conflict The round the clock work schedules, trans-national nature of jobs, and strain in today’s world have worked together to make conflict an unavoidable part in life of people. Work related stress, with pressures of deadline, critical levels of responsibility, problems of resource allocation and management, setting, defining and achieving challenging goals, and all the time trying to coordinate with different individuals give rise to perfect conditions for   conflict to emerge within organizations (Bergman and Volkema, 1989). But before any attempt to resolve conflict it is important to understand the characteristics of conflict that an organization generally faces. According to Baron (1990), a study of various organizational parameters indicated towards five characteristics of conflict . These are 1. Conflict due to contrasting or opposing field of interests between or among individuals or groups. 2. Recognition of these opposing interests by the interested parties 3. Conflict centers on a perception by each side that its opposing party would injure its interests 4. Conflict is not a stage, rather a process and it results from the way individual and groups define their relations through the past interaction 5. Actions and efforts by each party with the intention of negating other’s goals. Conflict management and leadership Leadership has a great role to play in conflict resolution. A leader with qualities with excellent communication, understanding and negotiation can be instrumental in bringing the positive outcome through the issues involved in the conflict. As the business and corporate management has realized, leadership greatly helps to alleviate conflict situation due to its inspirational value. Leadership essentially about encouraging   people to pool themselves together towards achieving common goals and objectives (Rosenbach and Taylor, 1998, 1. Leadership further empowers individuals, helps them to rise above their rank and position within the organization to associate themselves and their colleagues with specific works, duties and responsibilities and enables them to identify and set their own directions, work on commitment and take challenges.   (Day and Halpin, 2004, 3). Its not surprising then that companies are ready to invest hugely in leadership development program, as a guaranteed way to emerge ahead than their competitors. Within every social, institutional or organizational structure, a leader is always looked upon the person with abilities to broach reconciliation and resolution in situation of conflict. Leadership entails elements of power and authority that are critical to acquire influence. There are five power bases for a leader, as identified by French and Raven (1959). They are 1. Legitimate power: the power that comes by virtue of the position and command to control behavior. 2. Coercive power: It is the leader’s control over persuasion and ability to take symbolic punitive actions in case of dissent 3. Reward power: It is the leader’s control over granting rewards 4. Expert power: These are the specialties that a leader attains due to knowledge and experience and that he is expected to possess and use in conflict resolution 5. Referent power: This is the power over over subordinate or group members to identify the leader Leaders may opt for one, some or   a combination or all of these power bases to attain conflict management and resolution by influencing the psychological and social dimension of conflict, trust, and authority (Johnson and Short, 1994 :Leadership (Power and Politics) Leadership is not a characteristic that exists in isolation. As it is defined, leadership implies establishing coordination, orientation, cooperation, and collaboration among the followers to accomplish designated objectives and goals. It is   possible when leaders can inspire their followers with respect, admiration, discipline, confidence in the abilities of the leader while being helped to envision themselves as empowered individuals (Brown and Lord, 2004, 2). A good leader has the ability to take over even most complex, demanding and otherwise impossible condition by exhibiting personal integrity, ethical and moral traits and values that other can relate to and aspire to imbibe in their own conduct (Laurie, 2000, 53). Here it is important to distinguish personal charisma from leadership, as personal charisma, being an person specific phenomena, can awe people but hardly give them impetus to follow in the footsteps of the leader. Leadership is also means natural acquisition of power and potential to change its equation affect over the leaders and their followers. There inherent dangers associated with power, and for most of the people, the timeless adage-‘power corrupts’ suits justly. Power contains a temptation that is hard to resist and has potential to become the ultimate goal for a person rather the tool that was designated in helping to achieve the goals.   But a genuine leader understands this irony of power and therefore believes that power should be shared with others so that it can grow. The real power of leaders is their   ability to inspire others with a sense of power and confidence (Champy and Nohria, 1999, 165). According to Reigel’s (1979) theory of development, the relevant categories to leadership practices and conflict management are: 1. Optimism-faith in goodness of humanity. It works on the principle of faith in inherent goodness of humanity with a sense that goals and objective are achievable. 2. Interconnectedness-responsibility for the whole. The principle is extension of sense of responsibility to greater issues affecting the world that connects individual with the entire humanity. 3. The contradictory nature of things. It teaches about recognizing and respecting that contradiction occurs in people, their experience and circumstances. 4. Life is characterized by crises. Recognition that crises and conflicts are inbuilt of component of life and progress is achieved by incorporating them in the philosophy towards life. 5. Kinship with others. It stresses on building associations and help in realizing that every one is important and deserves equal respect from others. 6. The opposition. It teaches about taking opposition as contradiction, instead of viewing it in negative perspective. 7. Acknowledging other’s contribution. It stresses on frank and appreciative acknowledgment of success and achievements of others Reference Baron, R. A. (1990). Conflict in organizations. In K. R. Murphy & F. E. Saal (Eds.), Psychology in organizations: Integrating science and practice (pp. 197–216). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum Bergmann T. J., and   Volkema R. J. ( 1989). â€Å"Understanding and managing interpersonal conflict at work: Its issues, interactive processes, and consequences†. In M. A. Rahim (Ed.), Managing Conflict : An inter-disciplinary approach (pp. 7-19). New York: Praeger Brown DJ and   Lord, RG,   2004, Leadership Processes and Follower Self-Identity,   Lawrence Erlbaum Mahwah, NJ. Champy J, Nohria N, 1999, The Arc of Ambition: Defining the Leadership Journey, Perseus Books (Current Publisher: Perseus PublishingCambridge, MA. Day DV and Halpin SM, 2004, Leader Development for Transforming Organizations: Growing Leaders for Tomorrow,   (edit) David V. Day, Stanley M. Halpin, Stephen J. Zaccaro, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates,   Mahwah, NJ. French, Jr., J.R.P., & Raven, B. (1959). The bases social power. In Dorwin Cartwright (edit.), Studies in social power (pp. 150-157). Ann Arbor, MI: Researc Center for Group Dynamics, Institute for Social Research, The University of Michigan Johnson, P.E and Short, P.M (1994). Exploring the Links among Teacher Empowerment, Leader Power and Conflict. Education. Volume: 114. Issue: 4. Page Number: 581+. Laurie DL, 2000, The Real Work of Leaders: A Report from the Front Lines of Management, Perseus Books (Current Publisher: Perseus Publishing, Cambridge, MA Riegel KF. Foundations of Dialectical Psychology. New York: Academic Press, 1979. Rosenbach WE and Taylor RL, 1998, Contemporary Issues in Leadership, (edit) William E. Rosenbach, Robert L. Taylor, Westview Press,Boulder, CO.                   Leadership, Power and Politics Leadership is the process of influencing others to act to accomplish specific objectives. Leaders are the key movers of an organization and they are able to inspire and motivate their members to work towards the attainment of goals. In the past, leadership have been thought of as a quality that only the elite managers possess, however reality is, each one of us possess and may develop our leadership skills. Being a leader is not an easy job, it takes creativity, innovativeness, discipline, passion and an open mind. It is said that leaders emerge in times of change and turmoil; it is a fact that when the going gets tough, leaders are there to get things done. Opportunities for change however must be sought out and seized by the leader. It is a necessary element in the exercise of leadership, for leadership is at its best when there is an opportunity to grow, innovate and to improve. A leader can accomplish this by treating every job as an adventure, by deciding that each day is an opportunity to learn something new or to discover better ways of accomplishing things, the leader is more able to initiate changes that would be for the greater good of the group. When a leader seeks meaningful challenges, it allows the leader to work with passion and commitment that is personally gratifying and hence is able to effectively work for the group. With that, the leader also find and create meaningful challenges for others, when members feel that they are valued and trusted by their leaders to be able to accomplish realistic and challenging goals, they become more committed and become better workers. This means that the leader provides his/her members too become intrinsically motivated to rise to the challenge. As a leader, it is important that he/she make the workplace fun, happy people are more productive and they like going to work everyday because it is a happy place. as such, when an organization is so used to doing things in the same way, it leads to complacency and even deterioration, thus a leader must be able to question the status quo, this would mean that as a leader he/she must actively look for systems or programs that have outlived its usefulness and be creative enough to provide new ideas. Renewing teams in any organization is necessary in order to breathe new life to the team, a shuffling of departments or the movement of positions would reenergize the team and possibly generate new ideas and opportunities. Lastly, the leader should adopt an open approach to searching for opportunities. It is an acceptance of the leader that he/she does not have the monopoly of ideas and it is necessary to be aware of what is happening outside and inside the organization. Being an effective leader also takes the ability to experiment and takes risks and to learn from mistakes. Leaders if for some twist of fate have always been thought of as someone who can transform any organization form the brink of death to greater heights. But in reality, it is the scientific and objective leader who is able to appreciate the importance of carrying out mini experiments of new processes that would in the end be more cost-effective than to rush and implement a program or process that have not been tested. Experiments are for introducing new products while creating or developing models in specific departments of new processes will give the leader an objective assessment of the possibility of success or failure of the new process. The leader is not the sole experimenter, he/she must encourage other to experiment also, but at times it is faced with fear and apprehension, thus the leader should assure the members that it is safe to experiment. When a person is so set in his/her ways then it is difficult to initiate change, the leader therefore must be able to break the mind set of its people, to become more open to new ideas and change. An enormous change may be anxiety provoking for members, the leader thus should break up the changes into small challenges that members can accomplish one at a time. People work better if they know that their ideas and feelings are respected and that if what they are doing is of their own choice, a leader should give each person the opportunity to make their own choices. A leader must learn how to say yes to the ideas and opinions of its members, by saying yes more frequently than but or no, it would be easier for the leader to also solicit the cooperation of its people. A leader is not a Greek hero who has supernatural powers, he/she can make mistakes and a true leader has the grace and humility to accept his/her mistakes and to learn from it. Lastly, a leader should also be able to evaluate the effectiveness of the new programs or changes that he/she has carried out in the company and this exercise should be a collaborative effort with input from the different members of the organization. Knowing what may cause the failure of an innovation would go a long way in improving that product or process. It is true that leaders emerge out of the difficulties or major changes in an organization, and being a leader is no easy job, and one can always make use of information that would help enhance or develop our leadership skills. I found this as the advantage of the concepts, it provides true-to-life examples of how a leader is able to seize opportunities for change and why it is important to experiment and learn from mistakes. The disadvantages of the concepts however is that it is too abstract and sometimes it is difficult to relate to a job as mundane as selling cigarettes and that most of the examples involve large organizations wherein leaders are often the head of the department or the organization. Although the chapters do provide pointers on what an ordinary person could do to become a leader and it is a practical guide. The chapters present the concept as a series of things to do or things to learn, and not all could be applied at the same time to a single organization. In my experience as a cigarette store owner, I am limited by the products that sell the most; I may provide my customers with new brands or novel cigarettes but since smokers tend to stick to one brand. I may be able to innovate probably in giving freebies to loyal customers or be creative by using bonus coupons that they could exchange for premium brands. Moreover, I do not have a staff and hence my leadership skills are not harnessed. On the other hand I work part time in a gasoline station and work with other people but again a gasoline station is one of the most normal and stable organization there is. Thus, unless if the gasoline station gets sold or merged with another store, then maybe it would be time for me to rise to that challenge. On the other hand, learning about leadership has been exciting and very challenging, it tells me that I can be a leader someday; it also made me become aware of some of my personal characteristics that is akin to leaders. I would like to share to others what I have learned about leadership, sometimes we do not know that we possess the ability to be leaders if other people don’t acknowledge it, I would also tell them of the things that a good leader should be able to accomplish. That said, there are different leadership styles which a person may favor and use in different situations. Leadership styles include autocratic leadership, bureaucratic leadership charismatic leadership, participative leadership, Laissez-faire leadership, relations-oriented leadership, servant leadership, task-oriented leadership, transactional leadership and transformational leadership. Personally, I think that participative leadership is the best among the styles because although the leader has the final say in the decisions concerning issues on organizational change; it allows the members of the organization to contribute their ideas and thoughts. This communicate that the leader value and respects its members and thus increase job satisfaction of members and cultivates a culture of collaboration and cooperation that every organization needs to get things done. Reference Kouzes, J. & Posner, B. (2002). The Leadership Challenge.   California: Jossey-Bass