Elections, Bourgeois Democracy, and Development Essays

Elections, Bourgeois Democracy, and Development Essays Elections, Bourgeois Democracy, and Development Essay Elections, Bourgeois Democracy, and Development Essay Those who make peaceful change impossible, make violent change inevitable. To a very large extent, elections and electoral practices shape the fate of the modern nation state. The reason for this is not difficult to establish. Elections provide the medium, by which the deferent interest groups within the modern nation state can stake and resolve their claims to power through peaceful means. Elections therefore determine the manner and methods by which changes In the social order may be brought about. Where this method fails, individuals and groups may be left to their win means including assassinations, coup datasets, revolutions, insurgency and bush wars to press their claim to power. It is this fact more than any thing else that makes the subject of elections and electoral practices In Nigeria so crucial today. As we are aware, the controversial elections of 1965 produced the coup detat of January 1966. Again the flawed elections of 1983 produced the military coup of December 31, 1983. Finally, Bandages flawed elections of 1993 produced the Abaca palace coup of that year and paved the way to his memorable dictatorship. As we look now awards 2007 against the background of the failed elections of 2003 and 2004 the question naturally arises as to whether our country can arrive there in one piece or survive it in whatever form thereafter. In order to answer this question or suggest ways In which it can be answered so that we can arrive there, as one country with a renewed faith in the democratic process, there Is a need to examine the nature of elections and its place in furthering democracy and development in a bourgeois social order such as ours. 2. Elections. Bourgeois Democracy and Development Almost everywhere, the enlightened self-interest of the ruling class dictated that autocracy be replaced first by the classical form of democracy and that next, the classical form itself be replaced by Its liberal form within the context of representative democracy. This is not to say that members of the ruling class voluntarily, willingly and at their own initiative conceded the right of elections. Even in the Greek city state with which the classical idea of democracy is most closely associated, only free men could participate In the debates and therefore Influence the mode of governance of the city. Thus slaves were not allowed to participate In the debates as the Greek city was divided between the nobility and subjects and freemen and slaves. The emergence of bourgeois society, not only produced struggles to redefine the meaning but also the practice of democracy. From the bourgeois point of view, democracy becomes: OF 29 arriving at political, legislative and administrative decisions. It is a method by which the individual acquires the power to participate in decisions by means of a competitive struggle for the peoples vote.. It is the competition for votes that is the distinguishing character of the democratic method.. Further, democracy ensures: Meaningful and extensive competition among individuals and organized groups (especially political parties, either directly or indirectly, for the major positions of governmental power, a highly inclusive level of political participation in the selection of leaders and policies, least through regular and fair elections, such that no major (adult) social group is excluded, and a level of civil and political liberties freedom of expression, freedom of the press, freedom to form and Join organizations sufficient to ensure the integrity of political competition and articulation (Diamond, 1988:4) It can be seen that that the concept of elections or the vote and the processes associated with it are seen to lie at the heart of a system of representative democracy. The other elements are the guarantee of civil and political liberties and the existence of an institutional arrangement or government whose function it is to maintain the aforementioned elements throu gh, among other things, the rule of law. This is not the place to undertake a critique of the theoretical postulations and hence practical implications and applications of the bourgeois concept of democracy (we eave undertaken such a critique elsewhere Away, 1995). What is important is that elections play a crucial role in the bourgeois understanding of democracy and that the stability of the bourgeois order is premised upon the credibility of its elections. Further, this understanding has provided the benchmarks against which democratic and hence electoral practices have been measured in all bourgeois contexts in the world (Dye and Ziegler, 1971). As an index of the culture of politics in a context, these benchmarks also indicate that the integrity of the electoral process has major implications for the level of economic ND social development that are possible or attainable in that context (Family, Jay and Webby, 2003). As Aka (2001: 1-6) has pointed out, that both the failure of development and the failure to put development on the agenda in Africa are largely attributable to political conditions. One of these more salient conditions is the conception of politics as Warfare by the politically active segment of the ruling class. The implication of this however is that there is a recursive relationship between political practices as engendered by the political system and development. A political ultra that is defined by violence makes development impossible because by its very nature, such a political culture is destructive of the need and motivation for achievement. A culture of elections that is marked by violence and warfare is thus totally anathema to the possibilities of development. As Kooky (2003:vii) has pointed out in Do the Votes Count? Final Report of the 2003 General Elections in Nigeria: Elections are a complex set of activities with different variables that act and feed on one another. It can be defined as a formal act of collective decision that occurs in a treat of connected antecedent and subsequent behavior. It involves the participation of the people in the act of electing their leaders and their own participation in governance. Elections are not necessarily about Election Day activities although it forms an important component. It encompasses activities before, during and after elections. It includes the legal and constitutional framework of elections, the registration of political parties, party campaigns, the activities of the electronic and print media in terms of access; it includes campaign financing, the activities of the security agencies and the government in power. It includes the authenticity and genuineness of the voters register; it includes the independence or lack of it of electoral agencies and organs. It includes the liberalism or otherwise of the political process in the country and the independence of adjudicating bodies of elections. An examination of the character of elections in Nigeria must thus deal with these issues, not simply in a theoretical sense but more in terms of the way in which they have functioned over the period. It is particularly important in this regard that such an examination deals with not one but all elections that have occurred in the context n order to discover underlying dynamics and thus to be sure that in suggesting the way forward, it deals, not with symptoms but with causes. For this reason we shall examine elections and electoral practices in Nigeria in four phases. These will be: v Elections in the colonial period v Elections in the first ears of independence v Elections during the years of military rule and autocracy v Elections under civilian regimes in between the years of military rule and autocracy 3. Elections in the Period of colonial rule A number of elections were held in Nigeria in the colonial period. These elections Egan with the legislative councils in Lagos and Callback from 1922 (Kernel, 2003). The growth of the labor movement and the development of towns led to concessions by colonial authorities that culminated in these city and legislative council elections. By 1938, for example, the Nigerian Youth Movement, an organization that was hostile to British colonial interests in Lagos in particular and Nigeria in general was able to win three out of the four available seats in the city council elections. In the same year, it also won all three legislative seats in the legislative council elections. Several other elections took place between 1951 and institution of the same year, the 1954 elections took place under the new Federal Constitution. Whereas all constitutions up to 1954 limited the right of elections to certain members of the population, the Federal Constitution granted universal adult suffrage. In the book, British Administration in Nigeria: 1900-1950 A Nigerian View, John has provided a graphic account of the motives for and electoral practices of the period. In the 1951 and subsequent elections for example, the British colonialists worked assiduously to tilt the political scale in favor of the Northern Peoples Congress (NP). Coordinated by Sir Bryan who was to become the Lieutenant Governor and Governor of Northern Nigeria during the crucial run off period to flag independence, these efforts ensured that the genuine pro-democracy forces in the country did not acquire political power. For example, Sir Bryan confessed that in the elections of 1951, he not only helped to prepare Naps manifesto, slogans and strategies but that in the case of more than a dozen, I had to hold and guide the pen hand, after cajoling from them the names of those for whom they wished to vote. He also confessed to election manipulations even in areas where Muslims were in a minority so that the Northern Peoples Congress could win 90% of the votes. Commenting on the 1951 elections and Sir Brans role in it, John (1974:331) has observed that: An American scholar has described Sir Brans account of the 1951 elections in Kane over which the latter presided, as revealing as it is obtuse. Sir Bryan became, in the last ten years of his Northern Nigeria service the chief pillar of the administrative establishment in that part of the country. Under him and his other British associates in power, the defense of the status quo became much more than an official preoccupation. In the face of the threats from within the North represented by such lunatic fringe anti-British parties as the Northern Elements Progressive Union and the Middle Zone League, and represented from without by such parties as the Action Group or the National Council of Nigeria and Cameroon, the British residents decided to throw their weight in support of the fledging Northern Peoples Congress, the only party in Northern Nigeria dedicated to the preservation of the status quo. The 1951 elections to the regional legislature, conducted under the McPherson constitution, were conducted with the resident of ACH province as the chief electoral officer. Sir Bryan was the Resident of Kane province at this time, a province which had to select twenty of the ninety seats of the new Northern House of Assembly. This pattern of electoral practices was repeated in the subsequent post 1951 elections. Against the background of the Richards and McPherson constitutional provisions which stipulated that 50% of the seats in Parliament be reserved for the Northern part of the country, it is not surprising that the Northern Peoples Congress assumed control of political power at flag independence in 1960. In effect, the manipulation of the electoral process by the British ensured as Chief Anthony Narrow (1985:21 ,22) has succinctly observed, that Nigeria became the only country in the entire history of the anti-colonial struggles of our time in which those who of meeting the challenges of independence The truth of the matter, which determined efforts to falsify history cannot forever conceal, is that the nationalists who were prepared to work, to fight, to risk, to dare to die if need be so that a new and democratic nation might be born, these people lost control of the situation and ere displaced or succeeded by those who had remained untouched by the unifying and modernizing flames of the new nationalism When independence came in the fullness of time, neither the goodwill of progressive forces Or our trade unions, nor our youth could prevent the inevitable course of events when those who were least disposed towards democracy became the official guardians our fledging democracy. 4 Elections in the first years of independence: 1960 1965 Three sets of elections were held in the period from 1960 1965. These were the elections in the newly reared Midwest Region in February 1964, the Federal elections of December 1964 and the Regional elections of 1965. The prelude to the December 1964 Federal elections was provided by the census exercise and the creeping crisis in the Western Region from 1962 onwards. The census results released in March 1961 had shown that the South had a higher population than the North. As the time of the Federal elections approached, the Bale NP government not only cancelled the 1961 census results but also slated a recount for 1963. Then Just before the elections in 1964, the new census results were released. The results declared that the North had 55% of the population of the country. For the NCSC which had gone into alliance with NUMB, NINEPIN and its old adversary, the GAG to form the United Progressive Alliance and therefore hoped to win the Federal elections because it anticipated the census results to revalidated the 1961 results, and because it was already in control of virtually three out of the four Regions in the federation, the census figures provided the last straw in a litany of pre-election measures by the NP government that were aimed at frustrating the opposition. Demagogy (1981:19) recounts that: .. As the elections approached, the NP government of the North did not hesitate to frustrate the PUPS candidates in the North, so that many of them could not file in their nomination papers. Hence, before the elections, sixty-seven NP candidates had been declared elected unopposed. That did not go down well with the PUPS leadership who called for an immediate postponement of the elections. But the Below Government rejected the idea of postponement. Thereupon, the PUPS led by Dry. Spark, the Premier of the Eastern Region, called for a mass boycott of the election by its supporters. Again, the Below government ordered the election to go ahead in spite of the boycott. Thus, the elections of December 1964 turned out to be a farce. It was completely boycotted in the Eastern Region, where the NCSC Government used its powers to ensure that no election was held. It was also partly boycotted in the West, North, Mid-West and Lagos, with the effect that the election results lacked credit and were nationally unacceptable. However, while the PUPS rejected them, the NP and its allies of the ANA, which single-handedly carried out the elections, accepted them. There followed a national stalemate. Farcical. Although the people clearly rejected the Okinawa government at the polls and voted massively for the GAG opposition party, the Okinawa government publicly (interfered) with the results of the elections. In very many cases, GAG candidates who held certificates that they were duly elected in their constituencies later heard their names mentioned as defeated candidates through governmental news media (Demagogy, 1981:21-22). These developments, including the simmering TIP revolt in the Middle Belt, the political impasse at the centre, the resulting mass revolt in the Western Region by the people who felt rightly that they had been cheated at he polls set the stage for the first military coup of January 15, 1966. 5. Elections during the years of military rule and autocracy The military rulers conducted three elections during their period of misrule. These were (I) the elections of 1979, under the first coming of Bassoon, the 1992-1993 elections under General Bandaging and the 1999 elections under General Abdominal Babushka. Commenting on these elections, especially on the first and the last, the EX. Election Group, which monitored the 2003 elections has suggested that, the most free, fair and peacefully conducted elections in Nigeria were those in 1959, 979, 1993 and 1999, and the most chaotic, violent and disputed were those in 1964 and 1983. The reason for this is that the first three were transition elections in which the regimes in power and responsible for organizing the elections had to hand over power to a democratic civilian regime. So, in 1959 the British colonial regime wanted a smooth transfer of power to Nigerian self-government, in 1979 the military government of General Bassoon viewed itself as an interim fixture to ensure stability and then hand over to elected officials, in 1993 a combination of internal and external pressure forced General Bandaging to organism the elections and in 1999, after the disastrous rule of General Abaca the military had no political credibility and wanted only to disengage as quickly as possible. In contrast, the other elections can be viewed as potential consolidation elections, in which an elected civilian government was responsible for organizing elections to hand over power to a successor regime. The failure of these elections to consolidate democracy (each led in fact to disruption and eventually a return to military rule) was due to the elegance of the incumbent regime to allow a level playing field, in case they lost their grip on power. Both the assessment of these elections and the reasons advanced for the Judgment are greatly at variance with the historical facts, some of which we have already provided. The assessment is also greatly flawed by the assumption that voter behavior on voting day is indicative of the fairness and peacefulness of elections. The colonial and military regimes were rooted in force and repression. Thus arrangements for voting were also highly militarisms. The 1993 elections, for example, reduced the 12 2/3 controversy, which the Bassoon military regime resolved in favor of its interests. The elections of 1992-1993 were frequently delayed, cancelled, postponed and adjusted to produce a result predetermined by the military. In the annulled by General Bandaging on the excuse that the military was uncomfortable with them. The 1999 election results were also predetermined. Acting in concert with neo-colonial and imperialist interests, the dominant coalition within the local ruling class drafted General Bassoon into a political process that ended with him being declared the winner of the process. All these processes occurred with flawed electoral rules, without legitimate and valid constitutions, with electoral agencies under the firm Jackboots of military rulers. Thus it was public knowledge that Professor Henry Knows who replaced Proof. Away as head of Bandages electoral agency was brutalized by security agents on account of the fact that he dared in 1993 to announce some of the authentic results. In 1993 as in 1999, the political parties were the creatures of the military despots. They were, as the late Chief Bola leg characterized them, all leprous fingers on the same leprous hand. 6. Elections under civilian regimes from 1983 onwards From 1983 onwards, three sets of elections were conducted under the civilian regimes. These were the general elections of 1983 under the She Shari NP government, the general elections of 2003 and the local government elections of 2004 under General Bassoon. In the 1983 elections, the ruling NP government perpetrated all sorts of electoral atrocities. The voting process, voter registration, and actual votes cast were all grossly distorted. To produce the so-called landslides, moonshines and bandwagon effects, the order of elections was reversed and voters sisters inflated. For example, whereas the order of elections provided that the Presidential elections be held last, the NP government decided that these elections would come first. In Mandrake, a suburb of Fife, voter registration Jumped from an original 26,000 voters to 250,000 thus making the voting population there more than the voting population of the whole of Fife. Indeed, at the national level, the Federal Electoral Commission (FEEDER) announced that voter registration had increased from 1971 to in 1983. This was in spite of the fact that the 1979 figures had indeed been considered to be highly inflated. FEEDER and the state owned mass media became willing and active accomplices in the electoral frauds perpetrated by the NP government in power. For example, FEEDER played an active role in deepening the crisis that engulfed such opposition parties as the Peoples Redemption Party (PR) and Great Nigeria Peoples Party (GNP). It also selectively accorded recognition and hence registration to political parties that would weaken the opposition to the NP government. The state owned media equally crude partisanship in playing its role. The Nigeria Television Authority (ANTA) became, in effect, the campaign mouthpiece of the NP overspent as it bandied around slogans that were meant to intimidate the opposition and assure victory for the NP government in power. The NP government also intimidated political opponents. Alkali Shabby was deported from the country on the ridiculous grounds that he was not a Nigerian. The Nigerian Police was equally used to intimidate the opposition. Thus armored vehicles were and were subsequently used by the police to perpetrate massive electoral frauds. Not surprisingly, the results of the elections were rejected by the opposition parties and the ensuing crisis provided the context for the military to stage another coup on December 31, 1983. The final elections by a civilian government were the general elections of 2003 and the Local government elections of 2004. Conducted under the Bassoon government, these elections (including the various party primaries) will go down in history as the most fraudulent and equal only to a coup detat against the people. All commentaries on the 2003 and 2004 elections except those from the PDP government in power are unanimous in their verdict that all aspects of the elections were fraudulent. The following excerpts from the Report by the Transition Monitoring Group are indicative of the general texture of the 2003 elections: Twenty-nine of the registered political parties that either contested or did not contest the elections have variously rejected the results as announced by the NICE declaring the results as fraudulent. Both Domestic and International Election Observers documented massive irregularities that characterized the elections and refused to endorse the elections as free and fair. Some political parties and their candidates decided to challenge some of the results before the various Election Petition tribunals and have gone ahead to do so while others declared mass action to pressure a government without popular mandate to abdicate power. It is now historical reality that no electoral instrument in the history of Nigeria has been so challenged and so thoroughly discredited like the electoral Act 2001. Its replacement, the Electoral Act 2002 has also had its own fair share of controversy and nobody can now say with certainty whether the operative law is the Electoral Act 2001 or 2002 Act. What we have is a situation where the political gladiators sought to use the instrumentality of any documents which best served their personal advantage, creating an uncertainty in the electoral process. It is self evident that elements within the political class and the different political arties drawing from their experiences during the 1998 voters registration process perfected the art of rigging the 2003 elections. The full import of their actions dawned on the country when NICE on its own excluded millions of names from the voters register. From the report of Domestic election Observers during the 2003 elections, there are so many voters cards that are still in the hands of ghost and underage voters. Those who sought to corrupt the electoral process used those cards effectively and to their advantage during the three strands of elections conducted by EN-C. During the elections, the Nigerian people trooped out in large numbers to cast their votes. In fact, during the registration of voters, most state governments threatened residents of their various states with sanctions if they did not go out to repeated the same feat during the National Assembly and Presidential / Gubernatorial elections. They demonstrated patriotism and resilience. In some states, gunmen tried to chase them away from polling stations. In other states, political thugs simply made away with the ballot boxes and or stuffed the ballot boxes with unlawful votes. Yet again, in some states, ghost and under age voters kook the centre stage while in others, community leaders and other leaders of thought did the voting on behalf of their communities. While the voters waited and persevered in the polling stations to cast their votes, the political class and the political parties had different ideas. The voters wanted their votes to determine the winner of elections while the political class wanted to corrupt the process and rig their way into elective offices. Besides the electoral malpractices and irregularities that characterized the elections in some states, other issues combined to undermine the process. The political parties on whose shoulders Estes voter education and manipulation simply abandoned the duty to civil society groups and organizations. Party agents had to do the voting on behalf of the voters while in other places, security agents assisted those who could not identify the symbol of the parties they intended to vote for. NICE contributed its own fair share of electoral problems. The lack of clearly designated compartments for thumb printing undermined the secrecy of the vote and exposed the voters to the machinations of those that would have preferred community voting. NICE also did not make adequate arrangements for the remonstration of sensitive election materials to polling stations and to collation centers. Result sheets disappeared and re-appeared in different forms at collation centers while corrupt party agents simply sold unused ballot papers to the highest bidder. Following the reversal of the process for the order of the elections by NICE, voters deserted the State House of Assembly elections. Thus no real voting took place in these elections although winners emerged from the process These massive electoral frauds so demoralized the public that by 2004 when the Local Government elections took place, the governments in power simply allocated toes to candidates as they wished. All the elections were characterized by threats of, or, actual assassination of political opponents. The security agencies either simply stood by while these crimes were being committed or took active part in facilitating electoral frauds in order to assist the government in power. Thus in many instances, political candidates who did not stand for elections were returned as having won elections. These events were helped by others, notably; multiple, ghost and underage voting, violence, intimidation and harassment, stuffing of ballot boxes, stealing and eying votes, disruption of polls, absence of electoral officers, intimidation of election observers, and Justification of rigging by the President, Governors, ministers and party officials. TM, 2003). 7 Common Features of Nigerian Elections the period, elections in Nigeria have shared a number of common characteristics. First, they have been particularly characterized by massive frauds, the intimidation of political opponents and controversy. The governments in power have had their own designs and used the instruments of the state in penetrating electoral brigandage, tougher, violence and warfare. Secondly, while there has been continuity in violence and warfare, there has been lack of continuity in the political organizations through which both violence and warfare have been conducted. Each period has thus produced new political formations reflecting not only the penchant for lack of principle and shifting allegiance among members of the political class but also the total De-idealization of the issues on which members of the class were divided into antagonistic camps. For example, the major political parties in the 1951 1966 period were the NP, the NCSC and the GAG. Between 1979 and 1983, the major political arties in the field became the NP, UPON and NP. Between 1987 and 1993, the members of the political class were herded into the NRC and the SAD. During Bachs Vicarage assisted ill-fated self-succession bid, the two herds metamorphosed into the famous five leprous fingers on the same leprous hand. Between 1999 and 2003, the five leprous fingers changed major into the PDP, AD and the KNAP. Thirdly, what is striking about this pattern of lack of continuity in the political platforms used by members of the political class to compete for power is not simply that the names of the platforms keep changing; it is rather that there is simply no tatter to the way in which members of the class change their political allegiance. This situation assumed such tragic proportions in the 2003 elections that an individual politician could and did change party membership three of four times on the same day. Over the years, this shifting political allegiance has meant that there has been no tradition of party building among members of the political class. Fourthly, the sudden shifts and turns in political commitments and orientations have meant that the parties have not been defined by ideological positions that set them apart from each other. And yet, such defining and at the same time limiting ideologies are crucial to the development of a genuine political culture for several reasons. First, they indicate the overall direction of development favored by the different sections of the political class. They thus enable the electorate to make informed choices. Secondly, they permit reforms within the political parties themselves as the constant interaction between the favored ideology and reality creates a permanent tension towards change and realignment of the different components of the ideology. In the process, the parties change and become more need to the demands of society. Thirdly and perhaps most importantly, they prevent the seizure of the centre stage of political action and practice by calculations based on primordial and potentially divisive political orientations. Indeed, one clear consequence of the absence of an ideologically driven political competition among the political elite in Nigeria is the resort to ethnicity as the primary credential for qualifying for the stake to power. The practice not only reinforces primordial divisions; as a result of this fact, it also prevents the emergence of a national consciousness and national identity.

Pros and cons to being friends with your boss

Pros and cons to being friends with your boss In a perfect world, since you spend such a large chunk of your life at work, you’d be friends with all of your colleagues. But when it comes to your manager, lines can be difficult to define. No matter how well you get along and how chill your office is, becoming besties with your boss isn’t always in the cards. That’s not necessarily a bad thing though- there are pros and cons to turning that professional relationship into a friendly, personal one. Pro:  Congratulations! You just made a new friend!Well, this one’s pretty obvious. It’s the pro of making friends with, well, anyone. Making friends is great! It’s always nice to have someone new to chat with and lean on for support in times of stress. If you and a coworker click well and have a great rapport and lots in common, who cares if that someone happens to be your boss?Con:  Constructive criticism becomes complicatedOne downside to having a buddy as a boss is that he or she might be l ess inclined to give you negative feedback when you’re not working up to your full potential. And sometimes you really need that criticism. Offering constructive criticism is often a key aspect of a boss’s job, but if she or he feels uncomfortable giving any for fear that it might damage a friendship, you’ll keep making the same mistakes over and over again and fail to grow professionally.Pro: Knowing your boss as a friend means knowing what your boss needsBefriending your boss is not just beneficial on a personal level. Believe it or not, it can actually make you better at your job. If you know your boss as a friend, you have a better understanding of your boss’s personality and needs. Knowing a boss inside and out makes any employee a better one.Con: Worlds colliding can be toughLeaving work behind when you walk out the office door is healthy. That will be a lot harder to do when you’re meeting up with your boss during your free time. Conversatio ns may veer back toward work issues. Over cocktails, your boss might even start picking your brain about other employees who aren’t pulling their weight, and that’s when issues of betrayal can arise and things can get really sticky from 9 to 5. Also, your boss may also learn things about your personal life that could come back and bite you at work.Pro: You’re less likely to get in troubleBeing friends with the boss isn’t just a pro in times of plenty. It can also be a real benefit when things go awry. If you mess up at work- and who doesn’t from time to time- you might be less likely to get chewed out if the chewer has plans to go to the movies with you this weekend.Con: Here come the accusations of favoritismYour relationship with your boss can get a bit weird if the two of you become friends, but just think of what it will do with your relationship with the other employees! First of all, they’ll probably get a little wary whenever you get a promotion or a raise, wondering if you got that benefit on merit or because the boss likes hanging out with you. Your co-workers might start making accusations of favoritism, which often leads to†¦Con: You May alienate your peers†¦being on the outs with your office peers. Becoming really tight with the one in charge can do a lot of damage to your relationship with your co-workers. If they think you’re getting preferential treatment, they won’t just accuse you of receiving favoritism- they won’t want anything to do with you, or in worst case scenarios, they may actively work against you.The bottom line? Tread carefully when it comes to bonding with your boss on a personal level. There may be some superficial pros that come with it, but the cons can be pretty serious.

Chinese Communist Party Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Chinese Communist Party - Essay Example This country has several more amazing features. The land contains nearly 9.57 million square kilometers of which mountains occupy about one-third, numerous liquid flowing paths where one measures nearly three thousand miles called the Yangtze, and steppe as well as deserts. Not to forget a dazzling 1.3 billion inhabitants (Farah 124-129). The country went through horrible times during which Chinese citizens were suffering of starvation, anguish, and the outcome was death upon innocent beings. The main cause of this ordeal was a man who contributed to the change of the Republic of China. This intelligent but mad communist brought the concept of Communism to the third largest country of the world and that is no other than Mao Zedong (a great fan of Marx theory of communism) or rather say:" scientific socialism".(Wikipedia: free encyclopedia) Although under a totally different concept of living, China is a well respected and a highly productive industrial nation. Forty-eight million representatives make up the* CCP 1today. The CCP functions in a completely different way because authority does not only control politics, but also it reaches deep into the lives of the Chinese (Farah 220). Many reside in agricultural sections where food and crops are produced. Work-strength depends on human and animal force, but nowadays farmers are able to purchase efficient tools (Farah 221). Since its founding in 1921, the Chinese Communist Party gradually expanded its guiding principles to incorporate the philosophical musings of Russia's Vladimir Lenin as well as homegrown revolutionaries Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping. The party has traveled a long ideological path from its Marxist roots to its present struggle to maintain its relevance in China's modern and increasingly capitalistic society. Now the whole world looks at it as a country whose scale dwarfs the United States-1.3 billion people, four times America's population. For more than a hundred years it was dreams of this magnitude that fascinated small groups of American missionaries and businessmen-1 billion souls to save; 2 billion armpits to deodorize-but it never amounted to anything. China was very big, but very poor, all that has changed totally. But now the very size and scale that seemed so alluring is beginning to look ominous. And Americans are wondering whether the "China threat" is nightmarishly real. China is now the world's largest producer of coal, steel and cement, the second largest consumer of energy and the third largest importer of oil, which is why gas prices are soaring. China's exports to the United States have grown by 1,600 percent over the past 15 years, and U.S. exports to China have grown by 415 percent. All these figures are so thrilling to here. At the height of the Industrial Revolution, Britain was called "the workshop of the world." That title surely belongs to China today. It manufactures two thirds of the world's copiers, microwave ovens, DVD players and shoes. China's rise is no longer a prediction. It is a fact. It is already the world's fastest-growing

Process vs. Non-Process Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Process vs. Non-Process - Research Paper Example Taking a hint from this real life example, the concept of process innovation needs to be analyzed in a broader context. There is no need to say much about the fact that HTML5 is the latest technology that offers much new in the area of extending mobile platform choices to the companies and consumers (Lee, 2012). Yet, the biggest problem in adapting to this new technology is the need to customize and adapt their operations and research initiatives to benefit from the competitive advantage that a shift to HTML5 mobile platforms offers. In that context the HTML5 debate has exposed a hitherto much ignored fact. When it comes to process versus non-process industries, it is a fact that ideally speaking there exists nothing like a non-process industry (Skinner, 1992). The only difference between a process and non-process industry is that in a non-process industry, the operations consist of multiple unwieldy and least synchronized processes, which are least capable of extending a strategic a dvantage to a company against its competitors (Skinner, 1992). However, the other thing that needs to be taken into consideration is that new advances in technology may push a company from being process driven to being a non-process company, in a relative if not an absolute sense. The biggest revolution that the web based products and services have come across is the concept of computing going mobile. This created a dire need for the research in technologies that are compatible with and support mobile computing. In the last 10 years the world of mobile platforms has moved from a domination of the few like Windows Mobile and RIM Blackberry, to an invasion of many new platforms. In that context, there is no doubt that HTML5 stands to be the lowest common denominator, when it comes to developing mobile browsers. Still, many companies are raising a noise about shifting to HTML5 based mobile platforms, because it necessitates the requisite innovations in the processes underlying their pr oducts and services. There are varied reasons why the companies pushed from the status of being process companies to non-process companies owing to a failure to incorporate and adapt to HTML5 in the processes underlying their businesses tend to be hesitant. One important factor is that there exists a schism between the managers and technology personnel governing these companies (Skinner, 1992). While the management driven executives are still sticking to the old paradigms justifying augmentation of sales by resorting to marketing and financial gimmicks, considering the high risk involved in opting for HTML5 oriented process innovations, the technology experts tend to be averse to suggest such changes, fearing possible fallout on their careers. Besides, the requisite process innovations necessitate a long term financial and planning related commitment on the part of the companies, which is difficult to contrive, as evinced by the Facebook experience (Skinner, 1992). Then there are co mpanies which are waiting for their competitors to innovate, while mulling over immense financial savings by adapting to these innovations at a later stage

Comparison of the Gospels :: essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When you think of Sabbath, you think of a holy day, a day of rest and relaxation for both man and animals. The word Sabbath comes from the Hebrew word meaning â€Å"day of rest†. The Sabbath day is God’s day of relaxation after he finished the creation of the earth. Matthew, Mark, and Luke each tell about the Sabbath dispute, but each gospel tells their story differently. Matthew chapter 12 begins with Jesus walking through the cornfields with his disciples when they became hungry. Because of their hunger, they plucked ears of corn and began to eat. The Pharisees disagreed with them doing this, not because they were eating someone else’s corn but for doing it on the Sabbath. They complained to their master about them doing what was against the law on the Sabbath (v 5). Jesus came to his disciples’ defense by referring to two incidents. The first incident is of David, where he and his followers ate bread that was for priest only. (v 3-4). The other incident is of the priest where they break the Sabbath by working proving that they could break one law to keep another, so Jesus could violate the Sabbath law in the interests of the Kingdom of God (v 5). He then argues that if the temple service would justify what the priests did, then the disciples doing what they did would be justified much more because they were in presence with him (v 6). Jesus goes on to say that God will have sympathy and not sacrifice meaning he will not criticize those who are not at fault. Finally, he states that â€Å"the Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath† meaning that he instituted the Sabbath because he is the Son of Man. Mark, on the other hand, is parallel to Matthew. The first difference is that Matthew says they plucked ears of corn when Mark states that they plucked heads of grain (v 23). The Pharisees for a second time want to know why they are doing what is unlawful to do on the Sabbath. Jesus defends his disciples again and gives the same example of David that Matthew did but there is a slight difference. Mark tells who the high priest is whereas Matthew says does not reveal who he is. Mark additionally states whom the Sabbath is for. By this, he said that the Sabbath was made for humankind and not humankind made for Sabbath (v 27).

Indentured Servitude in Virginia Essay

In some European countries including England some of the poor and many laborers were brought to the English colonies by way of ships to work on the farms within these colonies. Because of such an immense amounts of Tobacco crops being planted on these farms, a great deal of blood and sweat was needed for the cultivation of these crops. These poor workers were enticed by the idea of a new and better life in America. By the hiring of Indentured servants, the planters would have a greater chance of gaining economic success. Once the indenture (contract) was up the servants would also possibly receive â€Å"freedom dues† which appeared to be a ‘win, win’ on both sides. Unfortunately, this was seldom the case. The year is 1623 and Richard Frethorne has written a letter about his life as an indentured servant just three months after arriving to the colony. As we can see from the author’s narrative, Virginia of 1623 was a different place from England. It was the first permanent English settlement in the new world (Jamestown). This land of marsh like consistency and vast forests contained some hostile Native Americans, (pirates, and rogues who could and did attack at any time). Subsequently these Indians resisted slavery; they protected their homeland and way of life. The tone of the author is one of humility and despair. Being from England he has never imagined the lifestyle of the indentured servant, which is literally a life just a step above a slave. The difference being that a slave was considered personal property as was an indentured servant however, an indentured servant was only a servant for a specified time and a slave was slave for life. Mr. Frethorne has been brought to the point of begging and at the same time he is trying to inform his parents of the life he is  living which is simply the lowest form of existence. He describes death and disease like scurvy and dysentery all around him. There is such an ache in his belly (hunger), he misses England terribly, he’s feeling isolated, his fellow shipmates are dying at such an alarming rate and these are only some of the things Mr. Frethorne is fighting against. His reasons for leaving home and becoming and indentured servant are not explained but, it is clear that he did not mak e the best life choice. Without capital Mr. Frethorne found himself in a predicament he could not get out of without help. Richard Frethorne is disillusioned, sad and confused. Even knowing the reason for his current state, Richard longs for a better life or at least to have enough to eat for now. He explains to his parents trying to get them to understand what he is experiencing he states â€Å"You would be grieved if you did know as much as I do†. His diet is extremely poor, only consisting of water gruel (which he later calls it loblollie) and a mouthful of bread and beef. He writes that his meal in England for one day is more than what he eats in a week as a servant. His situation is precarious and back breaking work along with almost total famine have resulted in weakness of body and spirit. Mr. Frethorne describes the fear he has of the Indians coming again & again for they have already fought with them and made slaves of two of them. The daily fear Richard Frethorne exhibits is palpable as he tries to communicate this as best he can to his parents while trying to give them a complete view of his life. The plantation is very weak and the numbers of the original group are quickly dwindling because of such hellacious living conditions. He states â€Å"there are only 32 to fight against 3000, if they (rogues) should come† and the closest help is at least 10 miles away. He also states the last time they came, 80 people were killed. This would scare the begeezus out of anyone, so his belief that GOD can protect and save everyone, gives him some solace. Coming from a family that was not at all wealthy but were at least more comfortable, he begs for help in the form of food. There is nothing to comfort Mr. Frethorne and he sees no future improvement. He also informs his parents of the people he calls his friends, the Jacksons. He calls them â€Å"godly folks† who have loved him and protected  during various times, especially when the servants would come to Jamestown. He is quite descriptive of the daily routine, no matter the weather while in Jamestown and if not for Goodman Jackson, his situation would surely be worse off than it is. With no money to purchase his needs they have stepped into help. Having no clothing except for 2 rags that are used for shirts, one poor suit (that he claims is well guarded to keep it from being stolen), a pair of shoes, socks and two bands (collars) Richard Frethorne writes to his father saying, â€Å"if you love me you will redeem me suddenly , for which I entreat and beg†. He is truly in dire need. (Frethorne) (ushistory.org/us/5b.asp Indentured Servants)Richard Frethorne closes his letter by asking his parents anything they can send will be greatly appreciated as he informs them of what can be sent and what is best. He lets his father know what will happen in case of his death and ask to not forget him, â€Å"but have mercy and pity my miserable case†. He sends his love and regard to his family as well as, the Jacksons.

Case Study Medical Ethics - 3528 Words

Case Study: Medical Ethics The case scenario in question verily presents a mind boggling situation. We are introduced to an intelligent woman of a credible forty years of age, suffering from a painful neurological affliction. As explained, her condition, the Gullian-Barnes syndrome, undermines the quality of her life greatly, by tremendously restricting her ability to move or to even so much as breathe on her own. Ms Katherine depends upon life support and her paralysis has rendered her bodily functions negligible. Furthermore, the chances of her recovering from the said condition have been told to become rather bleak. The case study then transcends into the core of the predicament at hand, as Ms Katherine is content with the idea of informed consent to perform Euthanasia. On the surface this case study is a singular decision taken by an educated woman to steer her life in whichever direction she sees fit. However, this request of hers raises moral and ethical arguments that have been thriving for as long as the medical profession itself. In order to understand the gravity of her situation and what she has sought, we must first breakdown her request into key points in order for us to understand its magnitude. According to Vaibhav Goel, in his article Euthanasia A Dignified End of Life Euthanasia is defined as, the intentional killing by act or omission of a human being for his or her alleged benefit. 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