The Main Factor That Influenced The World Politics

The main factor that influenced the world politics in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries is globalization. For some, globalization is an inevitable process which creates opportunities for people to make connection with each other around the world, communicate and share experiences. It carries political and economic changes which open up unprecedented opportunities for prosperity for all its citizens (Scholte, 2002). For others, globalization is a process of economic, political and cultural domination of the economically and militarily stronger countries over the weaker ones. Driven by corporate interests, it leads to greater inequalities between countries and within countries, undermines local traditions and culture, and†¦show more content†¦The first factor which is generally believed as a driving force to civil war during globalization is income inequality (Reuveny and Li, 2003). Inequality is defined by the fact that one social group acquires special posi tion in society, allowing it to redistribute in their favor disproportionate share of wealth. It has been noted that differentiation in the level of development between the rich and poor has increased in last decades. There is a stratification of the population of the world to those who can benefit from globalization and those to whom they are not available (ibid). For example, salaries in developing countries with open economy much lower than those in developed countries. Developing countries are forced to cut labor salaries to attract foreign investors and multinational corporations. In addition, these corporations always try to avoid local tax policies. As a result of evading paying local taxes foreign companies reduce countries’ revenues which are likely to hurt people with low income more than rich ones. In addition, multinational corporations prefer to use technics and technologies as a labor force rather than workers which lead to the increase of unemployment, as a res ult of the introduction of

Natural Law Theory Free Essays

string(74) " that what is the case and what ought to be the case are different ideas\." According to Jenkins, â€Å"The natural law theory begins with theories about the nature and purpose of the world and moves on to ask about the purpose of every action or object. The right thing to do is that which fulfils the natural purpose. † Natural law was developed by Thomas Aquinas, in which he believed that there is such a thing as natural moral law. We will write a custom essay sample on Natural Law Theory or any similar topic only for you Order Now Natural law ethics depends on the belief that the world was designed by a creator, God. It teaches everything God made has a purpose, including every aspect of human life, and everything should work towards the purpose assigned to it. If we fulfil this purpose we do ‘good’, for example it is good to preserve life (â€Å"Do not kill†). If we frustrate the purpose for which something has been created then it is morally ‘wrong’, to destroy life is against the will of good. In addition, human sexuality was designed for the reproduction of the species. Any action which helps towards the fulfilment of this purpose is good; anything which hinders this fulfilment is bad. Aquinas believed there were four primary precepts, â€Å"God’s aims for humans†, which we are to follow to live according to natural law. These are to reproduce, learn and develop potential, live harmoniously in society and worship god. These precepts are moral absolutes and under no circumstances can be broken. Natural law is therefore a deontological theory. According to Aquinas natural law was the, â€Å"moral code which human beings are naturally inclined towards. † There are also the secondary precepts to take into account, which are the rules and regulations which help us achieve these aims. These are actually man made laws which are based on God’s principles. Natural law is a fusion of the secular philosophy of Aristotle (who claimed that everything had a purpose and therefore the fulfilment of these purposes was good, e. g. a good knife cuts well) and the religious tradition of the church by Aquinas. Natural law was to be a supplement of the laws given in the scriptures and draws much inspiration from the bible. Paul in Romans 1-3 argues that the moral law of God is evident from the nature of humans and the world, â€Å"Ever since the creation of the world, his invisible nature, has been clearly perceived in the things that have been made. (Romans 1:20) In Matthew 19:3-9, Jesus observes that natural law should make it clear that divorce is wrong, â€Å"For your hardness of heart Moses allowed you to divorce your wife, but from the beginning it was not so. † Marriage was designed for the building up of the married couple by each other and for birth and secure upbringing of children; divorce goes against God’s aim. Peter Mul len, Working with Morality, states, â€Å"Reason and the regularities of the natural world should be your guide. † Though are ability to reason we can get a sense of right and wrong. We can think freely for ourselves and discover God’s intention and follow natural law. In other words we must use our reasoning powers in order to work out what is moral. This helps us deal with ethical issues which are not dealt with in the scripture e. g. euthanasia. In his book, Summa Theologiae, Aquinas maintained that we have four cardinal virtues (‘cardo’ meaning ‘a hinge’) on which are morality hinges and these four things inform as reason as well as the Decalogue. It has also maintained that we have seven capital vices. The cardinal virtues are prudence, justice, fortitude and self control. Pursing what is morally right will help us to develop these virtues and vice versa. The seven sins of morality are just the vices of pride, avarice, lust, envy, gluttony, anger and sloth. Aquinas maintains that these, in contrast with the four virtues are totally opposed to achieving the goals set out for humans in natural law. These natural virtues are expanded by the revealed virtues of faith, hope and charity derived from St Paul in Corinthians and â€Å"Aquinas held that the greater the extent to which these are developed by the individual, the greater the obedience will be to natural law. (Vardy and Grosch) When people sin according to Aquinas, it is because they are pursuing what they think is good. Human nature is generally good and therefore if we do wrong it is because we are in pursuit of an apparent good, e. g. abortion, can seem like at a good thing at times. According to Vardy and Grosch, â€Å"Humans seek apparent good, but this is not true good; only apparent good be cause it does not conform to the perfection of human nature which all humans share. † A historical example would be that of Hitler and Stalin, who did not seek out evil but sought what they thought, was right. The theory of natural law states that you are only responsible for the immediate consequences of your actions – not for the secondary or unintended effects of your action. This adds flexibility to the theory of natural law in such areas as just war and etopic pregnancy. According to Thompson, â€Å"Natural law is based on nature as seen by human reason enlightened by Christian faith. In the light of Jesus’ teaching and belief in God, reason can decide, by looking at nature, what is right. † Natural law however has some faults. It depends on the belief that the world was designed by a creator. Aquinas assumes that all men must seek to worship God, atheists not taken into consideration. According to Thompson, â€Å"†¦ if someone does not believe in God, then the natural law theory loses its foundation. † The theory also suggests that reproduction is one of God’s natural purposes of creating humankind, not considering those who are biologically incapable of having children. Thirdly, naturalistic fallacy, there is a problem with the assumption that just because something is a matter of fact in nature does not mean it ought to be obeyed by everyone. Hume argued that what is the case and what ought to be the case are different ideas. You read "Natural Law Theory" in category "Law" According to Jenkins, â€Å"sex does produce babies by this does not necessarily mean that people ought to have sex only for this purpose. † In some situations it may be necessary to against natural law to achieve a better end result, natural law is too flexible. According to Peter Mullen, â€Å"it may be necessary, for example to torture an innocent person to save the lives of thousands. † Finally, how do we define what is natural and what isn’t, there are some basic ideals but these are too vague to apply to specific situations. For example should we try to prolong the life of someone who is ill, for death is the ‘natural’ result? Natural law also puts too much emphasis on human reason. Human reason can be corrupted by sin, e. g. holocaust. However there are strengths of the natural law theory. First of all, it is a universal guide. It provides humanity with a set of common moral principles and can be sued if you are religious or not (Aristotle). Secondly it is a simple, straightforward set of rules – we look at the evidence of the natural world and apply our reason to consider if something is right or wrong. And thirdly, the principles of natural law can be applied to solve pecific moral problems – casuistry. In conclusion, â€Å"The natural law is written and engraved in the soul of each and every man; because it is human reason ordaining him to do good and forbidding him to do sin. † (Pope Leo XIII) It is claimed that everyone holds certain fundamental rights simply by virtue of being human. Some argue that rights are a modern western invention, rights are something â€Å"constructedâ €  by a historical culture, seeking self justification for its own purpose to expand the notions and even to impose them on other cultures regardless of their traditional ways. The words ‘human rights’ have come to mean the political norms and prescriptions that are found in international human rights documents such as the European Convention of Human Rights(1950) or the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights(1948). They deal with the way in which people should be treated by their government and its institutions. This paper proposes to develop the argument that making human rights universal is problematic, this will be done by firstly looking at the historical development of the concept of human rights, secondly the approaches taken towards questioning the validity or justification of the doctrine. Finally, to explore cultural, religious as well as gender differences which interact making human rights difficult if not problematic to universally enforce. Historical Origins and development and creation of the theory and practice The roots of human rights doctrine can be traced back to the times of Aristotle and Stoics. In his ‘Nicomachean Ethics’ Aristotle creates the basis for the existence of a natural moral order. This would provide a potentially universal criterion for evaluating the authority of man made legal systems. Aristotle distinguishes natural justice and legal justice, â€Å"Natural justice is that which has same value everywhere and does not depend on acceptance† But the concept of rights akin to that of the contemporary idea of human rights most clearly emerges during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries in Europe and the so called doctrine of natural law. The doctrine of Natural Law held belief in the existence of a natural moral code based upon the identification of certain fundamental and objectively identifiable human goods. John Locke argued that individuals possess natural rights, ndependently of political recognition given to them by the state. He posits the idea that people held such rights independently of and prior to the formation of any political community, natural law thus is to perceive Gods will which truly gave an authentic moral code. Locke provided the precedent of establishing legitimate political authority upon a rights foundation. Compassionate to the works of the Ancient Greeks and earlier philosophers such as Pufendorf, 18TH century German Philosopher Immanuel Kant, who held that, moral reasoning relied upon the condition that all rational individuals are bound to assent. His notion of the ‘categorical imperative’, doing the right thing is not determined by acting in pursuit of ones own interest or desires but acting in agreement with the maxim which all rational individuals are to accept. â€Å"So the act the maxim of which your will can at the same time be universal law† The philosophical ideals defended by Kant and Locke come to be associated with general enlightenment project during the 17th and 18th centuries. Ideals such as human dignity and equality enshrined in the US Declaration of independence and the French National Assembly’s Declaration of Man. Similarly continued through the 19th century in various political movements to extend the political suffrage to those that were denied political and civil rights. The full declaration of the doctrine of human rights occurred in the 20th century in response to the atrocities epitomized by the holocaust. The United Nations Declaration of Human Rights, enshrining fundamental human rights was adopted by the General Assembly on the 10th of December 1948. One should note that the modern doctrine of human rights is not a mere expression of the natural rights concept; rather it goes beyond it in some respects. James Nickel promotes three ways in which contemporary concept of human rights differs from and goes beyond that of natural rights. Firstly, modern human rights are more interested in viewing equality as requiring positive action by the state for instance providing welfare assistance. Whereas natural rights promoters were apt to view equality in more formalistic terms, essentially requiring the state to refrain from â€Å"interfering† in individuals lives. Secondly, where promoters of natural rights tended to conceive of human beings as mere individuals, advocates of contemporary human rights are far keener to accept the importance of family and community in individual lives. And thirdly, Nickel views modern human rights as more ‘internationalist’ in content and orientation than was typically found within arguments in support of natural rights. One can clearly understand the final assertion, since today human rights are increasingly seen as requiring international action and concern. For the benefit of the discourse, drawing this distinction between natural rights and modern human rights allows one to distinguish the development of the concept of human rights. It will also be beneficial to see the different approaches’ to human rights a well as the categories of human rights. Such discussion of the nature of human rights will demonstrate whether in Raschs view human rights cannot be justified as a universalising project. Concepts of Human Rights There are two categories that are fundamental to understand basis and potential for the application of human rights. Legal rights: these are the rights found in existing legal codes, thus benefit from the recognition and protection of the law. Disputes as to its existence can be resolved by referring to the relevant legal instrument, a legal right cannot exist prior to its passing into law, the limits of which its validity are set by the jurisdiction of the body which passes relevant legislation. Moral rights are not rights in the strict sense, better to see them as moral claims which have the potential to be incorporated into national and international law. For a legal positivist like Jeremy Bentham, there can be no such thing as human rights existing prior to or independently from legal codification. In contrast, Moral rights can exist independently from their legal foil. It has been argued that the black majority in Apartheid South Africa possessed a moral right to full political participation in that countries’ political system although no such legal right existed. When rights exist at international level, we speak of them as human rights, but when they are enacted at national level we see them as civil or constitutional right. To develop this even further, one can question the validity of human rights. Firstly, the interests theory approach, which holds that the principle function of human rights is to protect and promote certain key human interests. John Finnis contends, human rights are justifiable on the grounds of their instrumental value for securing the necessary conditions of human well being. The Choice or Will theory, on the other hand aims to establish philosophical validity of human rights upon a single human attribute; the capacity for freedom. Proponents of this theory argue that rights are a manifestation of the exercise of personal autonomy, the distinctive feature of human agency which should be the core concern of rights. Human rights and Universality In identifying the historical roots of human rights and some basic general conceptual and justificatory approaches’ to the topic, the question whether human rights are â€Å"universal† is to ask whether there are good reasons for believing that the norms and prescriptions contained in the international documents symbolising apply to and obligate all human beings equally, regardless of their cultural, social or geographical location. The argument posed by Rasch is that human rights possess personal character which means in spirit that they cannot intrinsically adhere to the cultural, religious and social differences. This contention will be the basis of the remaining space of this essay. Rasch holds, that both Rawls, Habermas who were inspired by the Kantian project of discerning the rational ordering of human society is the project of a â€Å"universalist ideology† that is homogenous and self justificatory. In other words he is arguing that the natural laws which initially held basic rights of individuals is â€Å"Christianized†. Such is the essence of human rights that truly they cannot be all inclusive and ever embracing. Rasch’s assertion must be examined closely, paying particular attention to the issue about the norms and values inherent in ‘western’ human rights are not the basis for human rights in all corners of the plane Rawls claimed that human rights â€Å"specify limits to a regimes internal autonomy† and that †¦their fulfillment is sufficient to exclude justified and forceful interventions by diplomatic and economic sanctions or in grave cases of military force†. Indeed, it is a generalization to suggest there is a line defined by human rights where national sovereignty ends. The reason being, â€Å"fulfillment† of human rights is a very unclear idea, because no country fully satisfies human rights, all countries have huma n rights problems, some large many â€Å"gross† violations. One of the most significant challenges to contemporary human rights is the presumed objective basis of the doctrine as moral rights. On this view moral principles are inherently subjective in character in that they express individuals’ incomplete preferences Protagoras claimed that â€Å"†¦no persons opinions can be said to be more correct than another’s, because each is the sole judge of his or her experiences†¦Ã¢â‚¬  In modern times, such arguments have been defended by the likes of Richard Rorty, who argues that human rights are based on sentimental vision of humanity, that human rights are not rationally defensible and fundamentally are emanated by sympathetic identification with others as opposed to reason. Kant differentiated between modes of expressions into objective and subjective propositions. He asserted that if an individual’s analysis is not accepted universally then it remains the moral position of the individual, thus a distinction between law and morality. In other words, one cannot assert their moral views and principles on others and expect them to be accepted. Knowledge acquired essentially should be objective in form. But subjective acquisition of knowledge as Kant saw, through individual reasoning or ‘moral law’ of the individual, acceptance of it will raise the individuals knowledge, thus knowledge is a steady cultural effort, In contrast, Michael Foucault argued that acquisition of knowledge should be subjective , he held that â€Å"truth† is the instrument of power’ which should be used to strengthen knowledge. Human rights are related to moral convictions; moral convictions are determined by underlying cultural commitments; underlying commitments differ fundamentally from one culture to another; therefore, the interpretation of human rights must vary fundamentally across cultures. Cultural Relativism is the most fashionable attempts to challenge the universality of human rights. One may suspect that Muslim and Asian critics of human rights suppose that their own views are in fact superior to Western ideas, and that everyone would be better off if their views came to prevail universally. Because ultures differ, and because human rights must vary accordingly, no one culture can go around trying to impose its view of human rights on others. Islam’s characterization of human rights is based on its followers holding true to the word of the religion. A Muslim sees rights much in the same was as a Hindu, a series of duties to the creator, in order to attain the higher freedom of enlightenm ent at death. The publication of ‘Satanic Verses’ by Salman Rushdie which offended Muslims worldwide, highlights how the western concept of human rights, to free speech can be incompatible with Sharia law. It is undeniable that the international community derives its values from a liberal consensus that is in essence a secularized Christian ethic. The traditionalist Muslims have not been the only critics of the western standard of human rights, until very recently the Catholic Church has been a strong opposition to what it saw as a conquest over the values of Christian community. The hearts of monotheistic religions are in conflict with the basis of human rights. Human rights doctrine is ‘humancentric’ essentially based on the responsibility and autonomy of the individual, the doctrine takes its premise in the authority of the state i. e. secularism and as its primary aim, to prevent abuse of power by the state over the individual. While monotheistic religions emphasis the will of god through the community. A study of prominent religion and development journals revealed that â€Å"religion and spirituality’’ are under represented in â€Å"†¦development literature and in the policies and programmes’ of development organizations†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ The unique case of Re A (Conjoined Twins: Surgical separation), where doctors wished to separate Siamese twins otherwise both would have died, the parents opposed the operation on religious grounds, though the hospital and courts were choosing the â€Å"lesser of two evils† in that if the operation was not carried out the twins would die but if the operation went ahead one would live, the operation was allowed. Such a judgment is clearly confrontational with the religious duty of individuals. Furthermore, cultural imperialisms impact on human rights; Cultures are compelled to accept apparent universal standards because they are pressured to do so by more powerful cultures. Donnelly, contends that the American human rights regime can be explained by the power that lies within it, He believes that the dominant power of united states, in exercising its supreme power ensures support and creation of its interests. Essentially, human rights’ as an objective project is in reality established on subjective norms. The global institutions developed, in the hope to exercise their view of human rights through creation of instruments in the form of universal declarations or agreements, to which all cultures agree to, comply. The preamble to the United Nations Charter, demonstrates the clear declaration of universal intention by all member states to agree to a universal set of standards and norms. Who were behind the utopian ideal? The creation of United Nations was a result of recommendations by United Kingdom and the United States, the new ‘cultural imperialists’. We the United States recognise and accept our deep involvement in the destiny of men everywhere† Such was the sentiment expressed by President Eisenhower. During the creation of the UN and even today the membership is still increasingly western with a low presence of Asian, African or Arab membership. USA evidently believed it was responsible for peace, security and human rights over other cultures, naturally ensuring that their values and norms become universal and dominant. In addition, the delegation for Saudi Arabia to the committee drafting the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1947, expressed that the committee â€Å"†¦for the most part taken into consideration only standards recognised by western civilisation†¦Ã¢â‚¬  The delegation contended that the committee was not to â€Å" proclaim the superiority of one civilization over all others or to establish uniform standards for all the countries in the world† Rawls argued that human rights are â€Å"international and universal† in that they apply to all individuals everywhere, however, such sentimental objections outlined are commonly expressed by not only Middle Eastern states but also Asian countries like China, the reason for this is that â€Å"Asian Values† place the good of the community over those of the individual, one can deduct that there isn’t universal consensus on the subject of human rights. Western values inherent in international human rights documents such as the UDHR are in what one can term cultural conflict as there is a clash of difference in values and norms. What can also be deduced from the lack of consensus, is that rights are ‘culture specific’, Human rights appear in the context of particular social, economic, cultural and political conditions. This is unquestionably true, since what circumstances brought about human rights in the west cannot be said to exist elsewhere. China has echoed such attitude in a 1991 white paper â€Å"†¦owing to tremendous differences in historical background, social system, cultural tradition and economic development, countries differ in their understanding and practice of human rights†¦Ã¢â‚¬  The dominance of western thought or ideological heritage in eastern or different legal jurisdictions will not necessarily be accepted; rather what should happen is that human rights should â€Å"be considered in the context of a dynamic and evolving process of international norm-setting, bearing in mind the significance of national and regional peculiarities and various historical, cultural, and religious backgrounds†¦Ã¢â‚¬  In line with the last mentioned point, the issue of political sovereignty is worth noting. A state has national sovereignty to determine matters of human rights locally, rather than relying on international agencies to externally determine national affairs. The issue of human rights falls by and large within the sovereignty of each state. In 1995, the Chinese government confirmed its opposition to â€Å"some countries’ hegemonic acts of using a double standard for the human rights of other countries . . . and imposing their own pattern on others, or interfering in the internal affairs of other countries by using `human rights’ as a pretext. The West’s attempt to apply universal standards of human rights to developing countries is disguised cultural imperialism and an attempt to obstruct their development. It can be emphasized that human rights are harms which the law commits and heals through human rights. They are concerned with the terrible rather than with achieving the best. Their aim is achieving minimally good lives for all people, or so it is c laimed. For instance, Article 3 Universal Declaration of Human Rights: Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person’. As outlined earlier in the discourse, legal rights are in essence human rights as their basic action is to extend theoretical recognition and respect to all. But, New rights creating new ways of being in common with others else where open the boundaries of community. Karl Marx insisted that political community both upholds and denies universality of rights since rights support and are supported in turn by the inequalities of economy and culture. Economic exploitation of the urban poor through unemployment, low paid wages, poor health of developing countries through unequal trade and rising debt undermines and ultimately destroys the prospect of self determination when daily survival is the order of the day; all aspirations for social improvement or cultural expression are quenched. Thomas Pogge argues that basic human rights ambit of â€Å"securing life, liberty and security† has not been fulfilled That world poverty is an ongoing harm we inflict seems completely incredible to most citizens of the affluent countries. We call it tragic that the basic human rights of so many remain unfulfilled†¦Ã¢â‚¬  If it is accepted, that affluent nations such as USA, France and the UK are the beneficiaries of advancing the universality of human rights and the doctrine is inherently favorable to them, then what Pogge argues is the ‘nexus between our global institutional order and the persistence of severe poverty ‘, then the injustice of such an order can also be accepted. It cannot be denied that the values of the consumer society cannot be applied to societies that have nothing to consume, since talking about universal rights is rather like saying that the rich and the poor both have the same right to fly first class and to sleep under bridges. What is justified in Britain in terms of legal rights cannot totally be the same in Malaysia. Clearly, there is a distinction of what law is and what is morally correct from the view of collective individuals, community and ultimately a nation. Rights promoting the equality of sexes are a contentious point The Convention for the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) was adopted by UN General Assembly in 1979, it codified women’s right to equality in all spheres of life as a global norm. Article 2(f) of the convention imposes positive obligation on member states to modify or abolish â€Å"customs and practices† which discriminate against women. Cultural differences have practical implications. Whether women’s human rights can be universal is at a moot point, since some cultures are seen as patriarchal like Islam and Buddhism. But a controversial but pertinent example of an approach that seeks to strengthen cultural integrity and individual freedom is India’s Muslim Women (Protection of Rights Upon Divorce) Act. This legislation was enacted after the case of Shah Banu, the Supreme Court of India upheld the right of a divorced Muslim woman to alimony, prompting outrage from Muslim traditionalists who claimed this violated their religious beliefs that divorced women were only entitled to the return of the bride price paid upon marriage. The Indian parliament then passed a law to override the court’s judgment, under which Muslim women married under Muslim law would be obliged to accept the return of the bride price as the only payment of alimony. F. Raday claims that the most widespread inequality women face is the treating of women as housewives or mothers and not being able to integrate fully in the public domain. Equality, despite assertions of Declarations and Constitutions that ‘women are like men’ and that ‘women are different from men’ is a political construct, as Hegel and Marx argued which is expressed through the legal. The law as Hegel argued is ill equipped to accommodate difference human rights claims therefore involve an inconsistent dialectic between an impossible demand for universal equality that is identifiable with the western man. From the above discussion, it has been expounded that human rights cannot be absolutely universal to accommodate societal differences. What is universally different lies in the cultural as well as religious and gender dissimilarities that is the backbone to incomplete consensus on the subject of human rights. Common Western cultural roots are the basis of international treaties establishing so called universal human rights, leading non western cultures to conform to prejudiced norms. The knowledge promulgated in the doctrine is inherently subjective in character embodying the dominant cultural preferences. In reply to William Rasch, human rights cannot totally be justified as they are not completely and entirely impartial so as to accommodate cultural disparity. To paraphrase Oona Hathaway International public opinion have often been lured â€Å"that (in the words of Columbia Law professor Louis Henkin) ‘almost all nation observe almost all principles of international law and almost all of their obligations almost all of the times’†. This assertion can definitely be regarded as false when it comes to Human Rights. Examples can be found involving â€Å"almost† all the countries â€Å"almost† all of the times. It took America nearly forty years to ratify, with qualifying conditions the 1948 Genocide Convention. France has never transcripted in its national law the UN Charter for the Rights of Children (which has never been ratified by the USA). Last but not least, most of the genocides that have been perpetrated since the end of World War II, have taken place in countries party to the already quoted 1948 Genocide Convention (Rwanda, Yugoslavia, Iraq, etc†¦). In fact, it seems impossible to imagine a way of enforcing Human Rights when one reckons that it is already impossible to enforce the principles of international law. Indeed, the respect of international agreements is completely left to the will of the nations parties to these agreements. The respect (or non-respect) of a signed treaty is a matter of sovereignty and no sanction can be envisaged but a military intervention violating this concept of sovereignty. This is also Carlos Santiago Nino’s stance: according to this author the most serious limitation of the strategy of enforcing Human Rights is â€Å"that the still current conception of sovereignty of states impose severe restrictions on the obligations that governments accept by their commitment and on the forms of intervention available to external organs for investigating and punishing Human Rights violations†. The conception of a potential international normative system has to clash with the ideal of self determination because there is no ‘global civil society’. Or in Chris Brown’s words â€Å"properly understood, ‘civil society’ requires an effective state, while ‘global civil society’ is characteristically seen as a substitute for such a political order. Furthermore, it may be doubted that the mind-set required to make a civil society work actually exists in the world today†. For that reason, the application of treaties in the different countries stayed a matter of self-determination and self-policing, leading, of course, to consequent opportunities of Human Rights breaches, and impeaching nearly all attempts in enforcing Human Rights. 5754 words Bibliography Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) European Convention of Human Rights (1950) The Convention for the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (1979) Re A (2002) Court of Appeal (Civil Division) [2000] 3 FCR 577 United Nations Press Release : MEMBERSHIP OF PRINCIPAL UNITED NATIONS ORGANS IN 2005 http://www. un. rg/News/Press/docs/2005/org1436. doc. htm Charter of The United Nations http://www. un. org/News/Press/docs/2005/org1436. doc. htm Secondary Sources Books Douzinas and A. Gearey, ‘Critical jurisprudence’ (Hart Publishing 2005) W. A. Edmundson ‘ An Introduction to Rights’ Cambridge University Press, 2004 Kraut R, Aristotle: political philosophy (OUP 2002) p125 George. R. P, ‘In defence of Natural Law’ (OUP 2001) J. Nickel. Making Sense of Human Rights: Philosophical Reflections on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, (Berkeley; University of California Press, 1987) Rawls ‘The Law of Peoples 1999, p 70- 80 Cambell, Ewing and Tomkins, ‘Sceptical Essays on Human Rights’ (OUP 2001) p297-315 R. Rorty ‘Philosophy and the Mirror of Nature’ (Princeton University Press 1981 Kant, ‘Critique Of Pure Reaso’n (Hackett Publishing 1996,) I. Kant ‘Critique of Practical Reason’ (Hacket Publishing 2002) S. Houlgate, ‘An Introduction to Hegel: Freedom, Truth and History’, (Blackwell Publishing, 2006) F. Hegel, ‘On Christianity: Early Theological Writings’, (Harper Torchbooks, 1961) P. D’Entreves and S. Benhabib, ‘Habermas and the Unfinished Project of Modernity’, (Polity Press 1996) K. Hastrup, ‘Human Rights on Common Grounds: The Quest for Universality’, (Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, 2001) Douzinas ‘The End of Human Rights’, (Hart Publishing 2000) Articles S. Tharoor, ‘Are Human Rights Universal? ’ (World Policy Journal Vol. XVI, No4, WINTER 1999/2000) F. Raday, ‘Culture, Religion and Gender’ (OUP and New York School of Law,2003, Vol. 1 No. 4) T. Pogge ‘World Poverty and Human Rights’ (Ethics and International Affairs 19, no1. 2005) X. Li ‘Report from the Institute for Philosophy and Public Policy’ Volume 16, No. 2, Spring 1999 J Donnelly,’ Human Rights and Human Dignity’, (American Political Science Review 76 1982,) A. Pagden, ‘Human Rights, Natural Rights and Europe’s Imperial Legacy’ Political Theory’, Vol. 31, No2 (2003) E. Tomailn,‘Religion and Rights Based Approach to Development’ (Progress in Development Studies:2006,6:93) D. Renteln, ‘The Unanswered Challenges of Relativism’ (Vol. 7 Human Rights Quarterly,1985) Yimga, Andre Marie (Human Rights League, Cameroon): â€Å"Are Human Rights universal – a common heritage shared among cultures? † Rasch. W. ‘Human Rights as Geopolitics’ (Cultural Critique 54 spring 2003) Websites United Nations Official Website http://www. un. org/Overview/rights. html International Humanist and Ethical Union http://www. iheu. org/node/2874 United States Institute of Peace http://www. usip. org/religionpeace/rehr/universality. html President Eisenhower’s Second Inaugural Address http://www. homeofheroes. com/presidents/inaugural/34_ike_2. html Essays on Popular Politics and Human Rights http://www. irmgard-coninx-stiftung. de/index. php? id=1 How to cite Natural Law Theory, Essays

Business Foundations Marketing Strategies and Organizations

Question: Describe about the Business Foundations for Marketing Strategies and Organizations. Answer: Introduction The current report focuses on the marketing strategies used by the organizations to gain profits and serve the market. The report highlights how external and internal environment of the firm affect the business growth and failure. The marketing strategies such as launching a new product or acquiring a new market with the highly demanded products always bring in profits to the firm. It is observed that marketing excellence could drive breakthrough business outcome for both short-term and long-term period (Solomon 2014). Thus, the marketing excellence always requires effective strategic thinking and perfect execution. In order to understand how an organization implements the marketing strategies considering its internal environment and external barriers (Moorman and Day 2016), the report considers the fast food giant KFC as the case study. The purpose of the report is to understand how the internal and external factors influence the success and failure of the business. The implementati on of the SWOT analysis helps to understand the opportunities and threats that business might encounter. Background of the Company Harland Sanders founded KFC in 1930 and the firm has now become one of the leading fast food chains of restaurants. KFC is one of the fast food chain restaurants that have expanded in the global market in a very short span of time. Presently, KFC has 13700 franchises outlets in more than 100 countries. The organization gained the popularity due to its increasing variety of products. It is also observed that KFC has increased its market share with its market share around 18000 outlets in 120 countries. The product category of KFC includes Streetwise, Snacks, Veggie Selection, Burger, Chicken Delight, Signature side and many more. The major attributes of KFC success excellence are cleanliness, hospitality, accuracy, maintenance, product quality and speed delivery of service (KFC Australia 2016). SWOT Table Strengths v KFC is out of the top 4 developing segments in Australian fast food industry v Good stability as well as security with strong loyalty among KFC employees and franchises v The customers of KFC liked the KFC chicken irrespective of the fact that it was fried v Veg and Non-Veg offering- although KFC is popular for its finger licking chicken menu; however, in the recent time, KFC ventured out in Vegetarian category which helps them in developing their business as well as attract both Veg and Non-veg lover customers. Weakness v The manager of KFC were replaced by the managers of Pepsi Co v The organizational restructure leads to the layoff throughout KFC organization v Pepsi Co put an enormous amount of pressure on the manager of KFC v Poor business relationship is formed with KFC franchisees and Pepsi Co v Long distance between the headquarters as well as abroad franchise made it difficult for quality control v The potential customers of KFC started to demand healthier chicken items, greater items, effective service in the range of non-traditional location (Hu 2015) Opportunities v One of the largest consumer conduct products fast food organizations v Fewer families had no time prepare food at home v The earlier expansion of KFC in the abroad, enhanced brand name as well as managerial experience in global markets provided the firm with strong competitive advantages v Market expansion- Emerging economies and their trendy lifestyle result into more outing with friends and families. This helps to increase market share. Threats v Competition-Although, KFC strengthened its position in the Australian market, the firm is not the leader in the global fast food industry. Thus it has to deal with the competitors like McDonald and Burger King v Changing customer eating habits- People around the world have become more aware of the health due to government health initiative and NGO. While performing the SWOT analysis it has been understood that some elements are more powerful than the others, having a huge impact on the organization. All the elements have been arranged in the table according to their impact. SWOT analysis generally deals with the organizations strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. Strengths: KFC is famous largely due to its trustworthiness, in spite of tough competition in the Australian fast food market. They are the subsidiary of Yum! Brands, a Fortune 500 company that is one the worlds biggest fast food restaurant companies (KFC: Finger Lickin Good 2016). A strong stability and security repute has helped KFC create a strong loyalty base for itself. A strong brand name and excellent expansion strategies have helped the company ensure its popularity all over. Their secret recipe have helped sustain the customer base, in spite of the product being fried (Gray 2016). They are known for their tasty assorted chicken-based menu, but keeping in mind customer diversity, they have branched out into the vegetarian category also. It has helped increase their business and optimized the resource usage. Weaknesses: A shift in the management has altered the organizational structure of KFC in Australia. The PepsiCo managers were putting a lot of pressure on the KFC staff, resulting in a poor business relationship (KFC Australia 2016). Moreover, the distance from the headquarters negatively influenced the quality control strategies of KFC Australia. In addition, degradation in quality made customers ask for better quality products and better service. Opportunities: KFC has the advantage of being one of the biggest fast food chains in the country. Fewer families have time nowadays to prepare food at home, making them visit restaurants more often. They follow an expanding strategy, gaining market share as they go from place to place. Their brand name ensures its sustainability in the market. Threats: In Australia, KFC faces huge competition from other fast food restaurants, making their job tougher. Other fast food giants like Burger King and McDonalds already enjoy a strong market there, and KFC has a big mountain to cross. Moreover, customer taste and choices alter with time. It makes the company think about constructing a new strategy to stay in the market. People have become more health conscious and look for healthier food alternatives (Mitchell 2016). Recommendations KFC decides the sections on geographic, demographic, psychographic, and behavioral groundwork. KFC originally serious about single phase via niche marketing with the presents of Combo deals (KFC Australia 2016), but now the company is specializing in different lessons and has improved the goal market. KFC offers globally and has quantity of retailers in various international locations. KFC sells its merchandise consistent with the geographic wants of the buyers, global and it is measureable. For example, in Australia, its geographic segmentation is huge and density wise ordinarily its presence is in city and sub metropolis areas there is no weather specificity. In KFC, traditionally there is no age limit focus by means of the KFC. The target and center of attention is on each character in a society. KFC finds its greatest demographic within the younger of any society. KFC center of attention on the sales bracket of customers. Its products are largely aimed on the good off with larger disposable gains to spend on high price fast meals. Although KFC do not segregate taste through sex they do are likely to spotlight the photo of fried chicken by way of proposing couples in all their international adverts. KFC segmented the market on the groundwork of style, fine, and cost. KFC has been depicted to be a symbol of man or woman style and accordingly; the company creates a snapshot to be the number one fried chicken in the minds of consumers. For KFC administration, the image their consumers elevate of their intellect is the predominant factor (Mitchell 2016). This is the reason for them the product fine, which is close to, standardizes the entire world besides little variations on account that of regional specifications the promotions are very imperative component. The people which are their consumer and the physical evidence, the atmosphere purchasers get within the KFC are the focal point that developed KFCs snapshot in the consumer intellect this is the reason th ey're invariably trying to deliver positive changes within the atmosphere so that whenever their patron enter the KFC, can believe the difference (Shah 2013). KFC will widen its product offering to consolidate new menu things in a couple of areas to test adequacy and reasonable profit in relations to socioeconomics. In the meantime, the development of its menu could be extremely significant and is focused in proceeding with its item on the solid nourishments the residential customers is distressing as an objective market. KFC may achieve the target of solid suppers by adding new extra questions identical to broiled chicken and barbecued chicken sandwiches and supper and steam chicken. KFC has embraced expense base evaluating method. Considering the area has a place with over the top and center deals staff, as a result, costs are determined to a greater part. KFC has received direct channels to make the item to be needed to objective shoppers. Both the picked sections buyers can get their favored articles from the provincial KFC eateries. KFC likewise gives free house delivery to its consumers from the eating-places. To involve an unmistaka ble, particular and entrancing area with respect to contending items KFC, takes a shot at objective buyer. With a reason to know about the client requests and improvements required, KFC takes input from the buyers. KFC poisons towards rivals with the aid of specializing in pure and contemporary food to create a designated and clear position in the psyches of KFC benefactors. Given that KFC has a solid organization name and are the pioneers in fricasseed chicken market, along these lines it takes the assistance of this constrain to part the items. KFC targets families and young shoppers because of this positioning the products to "three generation" from core and higher core sales segments. Their plan is to arrest the fast meals market. In fact, they need to offer their merchandise to anyone because they are expanding their branches in all over the arena. They need to boost their revenue through giving utmost pride and different higher amenities to men and women that they need. KFCs new product would be healthy and nutritious steamed chicken and grilled chicken. Due to quality and market preference change, KFCs loyal customers are demanding fresh and healthy food items. Abiding by that KFC has launched these healthy foods. This is due to expansion strategy KFC has started following, spreading out all over and gaining a better brand name. References and Bibliography Armstrong, G., Adam, S., Denize, S. and Kotler, P., 2014.Principles of marketing. Pearson Australia. De Mooij, M., 2013.Global marketing and advertising: Understanding cultural paradoxes. Sage Publications. Gray, J. 2016. But is it finger lickin' good? Taste test for Colonel Sander's secret recipe. [online] The Sydney Morning Herald. Available at: https://www.smh.com.au/world/but-is-it-finger-lickin-good-taste-test-for-colonel-sanders-secret-recipe-20160821-gqxvut.html [Accessed 5 Dec. 2016]. Hu, M., 2015. Explore Brand Crisis Management Strategy of Food Industry from KFC.Advance Journal of Food Science and Technology,8(1), pp.52-58. KFC Australia. 2016. KFC Australia - Home. [online] Available at: https://www.kfc.com.au/ [Accessed 1 Dec. 2016]. KFC: Finger Lickin Good. 2016. KFC: Finger Lickin Good. [online] Available at: https://www.kfc.com/ [Accessed 5 Dec. 2016]. King, B. and Chicken, K.F., 2015. Marketing Plan.Marketing,7, p.2. Mackay, N., Spies, H., Williams, C., van Rensburg, L.J. and Petzer, D.J., 2013. The influence of service brand equity on the strength of brand relationships in the fast food industry.Southern African Business Review,17(2). McManus, P. and Connell, J., 2014. Putting places on the map? Marketing rural and regional Australia.Journal of Destination Marketing Management,3(2), pp.105-113. Mitchell, S. (2016). KFC Australia's taste test for bite-size stores. [online] The Sydney Morning Herald. Available at: https://www.smh.com.au/business/kfc-australias-taste-test-for-bitesize-stores-20150526-gh9z59.html [Accessed 5 Dec. 2016]. Moorman, C. and Day, G.S., 2016. Organizing for Marketing Excellence.Journal of Marketing,80(6), pp.6-35. Palmatier, R., Stern, L., El-Ansary, A. and Anderson, E., 2016.Marketing channel strategy. Routledge. Ponnam, A. and Balaji, M.S., 2015. Investigating the effects of product innovation and ingredient branding strategies on brand equity of food products.British Food Journal,117(2), pp.523-537. Samnani, A., 2014. Macro-Environmental Factors Effecting Fast Food Industry.Food Science and Quality Management,31, pp.2225-0557. Shah, R.B., 2013. Impact of Marketing Mix Elements on Customer Loyalty: A Study of Fast Food Industry.Prestige International Journal of Management and Research,6(2/1), p.54. Solomon, M.R., 2014.Consumer behavior: Buying, having, and being. Engelwood Cliffs, NJ: prentice Hall. Srivastava, R.K., 2015. How differing demographic factors impact consumers loyalty towards national or international fast food chains: A comparative study in emerging markets.British Food Journal,117(4), pp.1354-1376.

Organizational Change Plan free essay sample

Organizational Change When executives and students of management talk about organizational change, they mean many different things. Introducing a new enterprise resource planning system in order to coordinate and standardize internal processes is an organizational change. So is shutting down a factory, selling off a noncore business, or laying off employees. How about introducing a new business model to meet innovative competitors, adopting a new pay-for-performance system to motivate individual effort or a stock option plan to encourage a shared sense of ownership in the company? Entering global markets, integrating acquired companies, and outsourcing nonstrategic activities—these, too, are examples of organizational change. In order to understand and analyze the dynamics of change, and particularly the requirements of effective change implementation, it is important to sort out and distinguish the various approaches an organization can take. This chapter will explore multiple paths to change, paying special attention to behavioral change. In particular, this chapter will: Identify the role of strategic renewal in propelling change Focus on the behavioral aspect of organizational change Analyze the dynamics of motivating employees to alter their behaviors Differentiate the three faces of change Understand the source of both employee resistance to and support for change We will start by looking at an attempt by the president of a small but prestigious local bookstore to improve financial performance in the face of competition from national chains as well as from Internet giant Amazon. We will write a custom essay sample on Organizational Change Plan or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Massachusetts, is the site of the opening battle of the American Revolutionary War. Its rich literary history dates back to the nineteenth century when it was the home of the transcendental writers, notably, Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau. Eight of Concord Bookshop’s employees, including the trio of top managers, have quit or given their notice. The staffers’ years of service add up to 73. The three managers, including [the] general manager . . . have worked at the store for a total of 34 years. Meanwhile, a group of outraged local authors . Has fired off a letter to the owners supporting the staff. The precipitating event was a surprise announcement last month by the owners—a group of three families represented by a board led by President Morgan â€Å"Kim† Smith of Concord—that a new general manager will be hired. No one was laid off, and no one’s salary was cut. Yet many of the staff were outraged at the de facto demotions, as well as by what they saw as the owners’ immovable stance. . . â€Å"We asked for a meeting with the whole board,† says [a departing staff member]. We presented our concerns, and they thanked us for our input and said, ‘We’re going to do it our way, and if you don’t like it, each of you will have to make up your mind as to how to proceed. ’ Something in me died, the fragile alchemy that made it such a great place to work had died. They had made their plans, we were expendable employees, and we could take it or leave it. †. . . â€Å"We’re heartbroken about it,† says David Donald, professor of history emeritus at Harvard University . . . â€Å"These are people we deal with all the time. It’s a wonderful store, beautifully arranged. They are knowledgeable and are glad to look things up. † Adds Joanne Arnaud, director of the Boston Literacy Fund and a Concord resident who also signed the letter: â€Å"What makes the Concord Bookshop different is the people and their institutional memory and their memory for a customer. I can say, ‘I’m looking for a book for someone who liked the last book by Nicholas Basbanes. Can you help me? ’ They are so warm and welcoming. † The clash appears to be rooted in finances. Smith declined to give numbers but portrayed the store’s financial situation as dire. â€Å"Things have never been worse,† he says. We are offering something important to the town of Concord, which is wonderful, but it isn’t profitable. † Smith praises the three managers but says, â€Å"The owners felt the three-way management was not working out. † The managers say finances aren’t so bad. They . . . issued a written comment: â€Å"In explaining to us the change in management structure, the owners told us they wanted to take the store in a different direction. We hold different opinions regarding the financial health of the store. We are very proud of what we have been able to accomplish these past five years. There’s no disagreement, though, that profit margins are tighter than ever, and that the past few years have been rough on independent bookstores, especially in the age of Barnes Noble, Borders, and Amazon. com. Smith believes some of the store’s programs should be reexamined, such as regular weeknight author appearances and signings, which require paying staff to keep the store open. â€Å"Increasingly, people are buying their books elsewhere and bringing them to signings,† Smith says. â€Å"We had 70 people at the Tracy Kidder signing, but we sold only 10 books. I discovered a guy coming in with five copies of the book that he bought [elsewhere]. We want to preserve the store, but we need to make the finances work. † There’s no dispute, either, on Concord’s national reputation in the trade. â€Å"It is one of the jewels of New England,† says . . . [the] executive director of the New England Booksellers Association. . . â€Å"They are the kind of store that’s on everyone’s A list. Publishers are interested in what Concord buys. They ask, ‘How is Concord doing with the book? ’ They are exemplars for reaching out to the community and in cultivating authors†. . . The conflict illustrates the special place a bookstore can have in a small community, especially one such as Concord, with its numerous authors and links to such literary giants as Emerson and Thoreau. The store is regarded as a community resource, not just a business. â€Å"This is Concord vs. Concord,† says Martha Holland, who is quitting after 18 years. â€Å"There were a hundred points where it could have been smoothed over. How it got so out of hand, I don’t understand. The owners have every right to run their business as they see fit. But if the staff goes, it’s just a bunch of bookshelves and carpets. Strategic Responsiveness Morgan Smith’s attempt to bring financial discipline to the Concord Bookshop seemed quite sensible in the face of new competitive realities. Owners, employees, customers, and suppliers all agreed on the desirability of maintaining the store’s viability. Yet Smith’s approach to change implementation—the actions taken by organizational leaders in order to support strategic renewal and achieve outstanding performance—led to resistance, conflict, and resentment. Recognizing the need for change is a vital first step. Successful implementation, however, is required to translate that recognition into an effective strategic response. We live in a period of rapid and dramatic change: significant alterations in customer expectations and demands, new technologies, competitors with innovative business models, shifts in workforce demographics and values, new societal demands and constraints. Organizations need to respond to external dynamics in order to create and maintain outstanding performance. Theory into Practice Strategic responsiveness to a dynamic external environment demands organizational change. In response to those dynamics, organizational leaders often decide to engage in a process of strategic renewal. Strategic renewal refers to an alteration of an organization’s strategy with the intent of regaining sustainable competitive advantage. 1 Exhibit 1-1 provides examples of organizations whose leaders made a purposeful decision to renew their strategies. Some attempts have been more effective than others. Strategic renewal at IBM and Walgreens proved successful, while efforts to transform Enron’s strategy collapsed in failure. At different points in the text, we will explore and analyze the efforts of these companies to implement new strategies effectively. Exhibit 1-1 Strategic Responsiveness in Sample Companies. Company Altered Strategy Enron Move from energy production to energy trading GE Move from commodity business to high value-added products and services IBM Move from product to service/consulting company Marks and Spencer Move from a department store appealing to traditional, conservative adult British shoppers to a store appealing to young, trendy shoppers Renault Move from French-based to internationally focused automobile company Walgreens Move from store-based chain in order to capture growing Internet business Facebook Move from restricted, college campus-only social network to become a â€Å"universal utility† open to everyone Strategic renewal requires organizational change (see Exhibit 1-2). Strategic renewal demands â€Å"wide-scale invention, reinvention, and redesign of business processes and organizational structures. † 2 IBM pulled off strategic renewal as it moved from a product to a service/consulting company. Harley-Davidson managed a different but equally significant strategic renewal by redefining its relationship with its customers. Exhibit 1-2 Strategic Renewal and Organizational Change. Theory into Practice To implement a renewed strategy, organizational leaders need to engage in a change process. For strategic renewal to be effective, organizations need to do more than announce a new strategy. Leaders need to align internal processes, structures, and systems with the demands of that new strategy. New organizational capabilities—talents and skills possessed by employees—need to be built. Underlying all those shifts is the requirement to engage in discontinuous change: large-scale, long-term reorientation of most or all of the central aspects of organizational life. The goal is to create lasting alterations in patterns of employee behavior in order to support strategic renewal. Strategic Renewal through a New Business Model Apple Computer seemed well positioned to achieve a breakthrough into the corporate/business market. With the extraordinary popularity of its iPod and iPhone offerings, young customers were flocking to Apple products as never before. But successful penetration into the business market would require more than loyal customers and brand familiarity. Apple’s business mode would need to change. The company’s long-standing highly secretive culture (Steve Jobs enjoyed launching new products with high security prior to his grand announcements) would need to change. In the corporate world, customers expect to be treated as long-term partners, actually having a say in the development of new products. 3 In order to extend its popularity among young, tech-savvy consumers into the corporate marketplace, Apple would need  to alter its business model. Business model innovation has become an increasingly common avenue for corporate growth. At its most basic level, a business model is the organization’s approach to generating revenue and making a profit. More specifically, business models involve the configuration of and the nature of the linkage between operations. 4 Start-up companies often gain a competitive advantage over long-standing market leaders by offering novel business models. Consider the following examples: Starbucks offered high-priced coffee specialty drinks in a relaxed environment. Amazon sold books online. Southwest Airlines provided an air service that competed with bus service and driving. Dell built computers to customer specifications. Zara placed low-cost high-fashion items on shelves with incredible speed. YouTube revolutionized the creation and distribution of video. Facebook integrated web-based interconnectivity with traditional school-based yearbooks. All of those companies had the advantage of building the innovative business model from scratch, â€Å"greenfield† as it is often called. They could harmonize their internal processes and employee competencies and behaviors with the requirements of their model. They did not face the challenge of nurturing a new business model within an existing, long-standing approach to generating revenue. Theory into Practice It is possible to gain competitive advantage through the creation of a new business model, but changing your existing business model will create special change challenges. Altering an existing business model, especially one that has been successful in the past, has proved much more challenging than a greenfield effort. Some organizations have been successful: Under Louis Gerstner, IBM transformed its business model for generating profits from the sales of hardware to generating profits from services and software. Lufthansa’s Jergen Weber moved the company from a centralized collection of functional stovepipes to a number of free-standing service offerings, including cargo handling, on-plane catering, and service maintenance. Carlos Ghosn changed the failing business model of Nissan by simultaneously centralizing product design and globalizing the company’s supply chain. Not all attempts to alter a company’s business model lead to success, of course. Michael Armstrong’s effort to move ATT from a long-distance phone company to a full-service provider of a wide array of offerings—cable, long-distance, local, wireless, etc. —proved disastrous. 6 Most notoriously of all, Jeffrey Skilling’s alteration of Enron’s business model—from energy provider to energy futures trader—disintegrated over the company’s inability to build sustainable profitability (and its leaders’ willingness to hide that fact from the public, investors, and employees). Corporate leaders believe that business model innovation will be the major source of growth over the next decade. 8 To achieve that desired growth, however, they will need to become effective change leaders. Because business model innovation alters the nature of linkages among employees, it disrupts existing patterns of behavior while demanding new competencies and skills. The failure of a company to engage in organizational change undermines a company’s capacity to innovate in their business model. 9 All business model innovation—that is, moving from the status quo to a new model—requires organizational change. Theory into Practice Adaptation of a new business model within a corporation will require organizational change. Behavioral Change Effective strategic renewal requires behavioral change that directly targets patterns of employee actions and interactions in order to meet the company’s strategy and to achieve and sustain outstanding performance. Theory into Practice If change interventions are to achieve significant and sustainable impact on performance, they must focus on altering patterns of employee behavior. Effective implementation depends on an alteration in patterns of employee behavior. Behavior refers to the actions employees take to enact their roles and responsibilities within the organization. Behaviors involve what employees do and how they do it, how much effort they bring to their roles, and how persistent they are in achieving desired outcomes. Behavior also involves the enactment of relationships: how employees interact with others (peers, subordinates, superiors, customers, suppliers, the host community, and so forth). It is this enactment of roles, responsibilities, and relationships that constitutes employee behavior in organizations. The collective enactment of those roles, responsibilities, and relationships—that is, the patterns of employee behavior within organizations—constitutes the target of behavioral change efforts. Behavioral change seeks more than a short-term alteration. New behaviors that are adopted for a short period of time and then dropped as employees return to old approaches will undermine strategic renewal. In order to support strategic renewal and outstanding performance, new behaviors need to be sustainable and adaptive to shifts in the external environment. The reason sustainability of new behaviors matters can be stated simply: the ways in which employees behave significantly impact the organization’s performance. Beyond products and market position, beyond plants and technology, employee behaviors affect the bottom-line performance of the organization. 10 Theory into Practice Organizational change seeks to create long-term, sustainable alterations in employee behaviors. Just how does that happen? How is it that patterns of employee behavior impact a company’s bottom-line performance? The key to understanding the relationship of behaviors to performance can be found in the idea of motivation. Motivation, in this case, refers to the degree to which employees are committed to the achievement of outstanding performance both for themselves and for their company. Employee motivation pays off in bottom-line performance. High motivation creates in employees the capability and willingness to work together to solve problems. Quality improves, customer responsiveness increases, and adaptation occurs. Chapter 4 will examine in detail efforts to redesign organizations to capture the benefits of enhanced employee involvement and commitment. For now, we can suggest that behaviors count. The competitive advantage delivered by behavioral change can be long term and sustainable. The manner in which work is organized, information is shared, decisions are made, coordination occurs, and problems are solved are all performance differentiators. 11 Furthermore, that performance edge is sustainable for decades, leading to significant and often staggering competitive advantage. 12 Theory into Practice The way employees behave impacts the bottom-line performance of the company. Sources of Behavior Effective change implementation needs to start with an appreciation of the source of an individual’s behavior. What is it that leads an individual to behave in a certain way? Individual psychology is important, of course: who the individual is, what values he or she brings to the workplace, even how that individual thinks and learns. But individual psychology can be difficult to assess and slow to change. A leader seeking leverage over employee behavior can start by focusing not on individual psychology but on the organizational context in which employees work. Theory into Practice Behavior comes from both the individual and the organizational context in which the individual works. Organizational context—the setting and circumstances in which employees work—exerts a powerful impact on behavior. Companies as diverse as Google, Nordstrom, MySpace, and Southwest Airlines endeavor to promote an organizational context that shapes individual behavior. They call upon organizational culture and values, the behaviors of leaders, as well as rules and procedures to define a context that shapes how employees enact their roles, responsibilities, and relationships. To appreciate the power of organizational context to shape behaviors, we can examine a specific example of an employee mistake. Sheryl Sandberg, an advertising manager at Google, made a mistake that cost the company millions of dollars. â€Å"Bad decision,† she admitted, â€Å"moved too quickly, no controls in place, wasted some money. † 13 Sandberg quickly informed Google cofounder Larry Page. Employees make mistakes, even occasionally big ones such as Sandberg’s. Leaders have an important opportunity to shape organizational context by the manner in which they respond to those errors. Quick and harsh repercussions—firing, for example, or demotion—will have one kind of impact on the organizational context in which employees work. That response may be justified and reasonable, but it may also work to stifle future risk-taking behaviors. Or perhaps employees will be less willing to admit mistakes, slowing down an organization’s response time. The boss may also respond in a less harsh and punishing manner. Listen to the reaction of Google cofounder Larry Page, to Sandberg’s admission: I’m so glad you made this mistake, because I want to run a company where we are moving too quickly and doing too much, not being too cautious and doing too little. If we don’t have any of these mistakes, we’re not taking enough risk. The point is not  that Page’s response is the only â€Å"correct† or reasonable response to the admission of a mistake. Leaders have to determine what type of organizational context they seek to create. That context will need to be aligned with the company’s strategy and purpose. Page and Google cofounder Sergey Brin believe that mistakes can provide fuel for improvements, even innovation. â€Å"We’re willing to tolerate ambiguity and chaos,† says senior vice president Shona Brown, â€Å"because that’s where the room is for innovation. † Google’s leaders want a context that tolerates risk in order to generate innovation. Employee Participation and Resistance to Change Not all employees greet change with equal enthusiasm. It is useful, therefore, to examine the sources of employee resistance to change and the ways in which managers can overcome resistance. Resistance refers to action, overt or covert, exerted on behalf of maintaining the status quo. 14 Why Employees Resist Change You’re either for this change or you’re against it. That refrain may be familiar; it is not, however, accurate. Employee response to change runs across a broad spectrum, ranging from â€Å"commitment† at one end to â€Å"aggressive resistance† on the other (see Exhibit 1-3). Individuals may view change as a threat, fearing it will adversely affect them in some significant way. Individuals may understand that change brings both benefits and costs, but feel that the costs far outweigh the benefits. Individuals may view change as potentially positive, but may still resist because they believe that the organization’s management is mishandling the change process. Individuals may believe in the change effort, but still believe that the change is not likely to succeed. Managers can see employee resistance in negative terms: It is a â€Å"bad thing† that represents an irrational response to a dynamic competitive environment. In this way, employee resistance can be dismissed as invalid or disobedient. 17 Resistance to change, in this view, is a force to be overcome. There is another way of thinking about resistance to change, however; one that may actually improve the effectiveness of implementation. Theory into Practice Employee resistance is not just a negative force to be overcome; it also presents an opportunity to learn. How Managers Can Inadvertently Fuel Resistance During Implementation It is tempting to believe that a certain type of individual is likely to resist change. Perhaps you’ve heard, or even thought, ideas such as: Older workers are more likely to resist change than are younger workers. Middle managers are more likely to resist change than lower-level workers or upper-level executives. Men are more likely to resist change than women. And so on. Don’t take these explanations at face value. Study after study of employee resistance to change in organizations refutes these and other individualistic contentions. Individual differences may account for some variance in employee acceptance of or resistance to change. But the overwhelming determinant of employee reaction to change comes from how the process is managed and the degree to which employees are allowed to participate in the process. 18 Managers can inadvertently create resistance by the manner in which they pursue change. Here’s a checklist of employee resistance and possible sources of that resistance: Employees resist because they remain satisfied with the status quo. Perhaps management has not included employees in the diagnosis and learning process. Employees resist because they view change as a threat. Perhaps management has not offered employees the opportunity to acquire the new skills that will be required in the renewed organization. Employees resist because they see the cost of change outweighing the benefits. Perhaps management has not articulated the goals of the change adequately to allow a true assessment of the costs and benefits. Employees resist because they believe that management is mishandling the process. Perhaps employees have not been given a voice in the process itself. Employees resist because they believe that the change effort is not likely to succeed. Perhaps management needs to articulate why this change process is more likely to be effective than past efforts. By looking at the aforementioned reasons for employee resistance, we can see how many can be understood in part as a natural and expected outcome of implementation. Theory into Practice Participation in the change process is the best way to build support and overcome resistance to change; but remember—it’s no guarantee. In treating employee resistance as a negative force to be overcome, managers shut down the possibility that they can learn from resistance. When employee voice has been excluded from the change process, there is likely to be valuable data missing from the diagnostic and action planning phases of the effort. Employees may ask whether management really understands what customers expect from their products or services or what barriers the organization has erected to outstanding performance. Even when employees question whether management has selected an appropriate strategic response, it is useful, perhaps even indispensable, for managers to learn about employee hesitations and concerns. Instead of treating resistance as a force to be overcome,  managers may decide to treat resistance as an opportunity to learn from employees and improve the change process. Theory into Practice Employee resistance can offer leaders the opportunity to learn—what are the sources of resistance? Not all resistance to change offers an equal opportunity to learn, of course. Some resistance will have to be addressed and overcome. We will explore specific techniques and approaches management can consider to avoid creating resistance. For now, let us understand employee resistance as a form of expression that is not always a bad thing and that needs to be considered and understood by change leaders. Theory into Practice There comes a point in the change process where employee resistance will need to be addressed and overcome. Employee Participation Builds Support for Change Just as there are ways in which a change implementation process may inadvertently fuel resistance to change, there are also techniques for purposefully building support for change. Participation in the process of defining problems and designing solutions will help build commitment to the new directions that result from that process. By diagnosing problems, understanding their importance, and being part of the process of formulating solutions, people develop a psychological sense of â€Å"ownership† over the outcome. That ownership now creates in employees the heightened motivation to implement change in order to achieve desired goals. 20 Change imposed from â€Å"above†Ã¢â‚¬â€top executives telling employees that they must alter their behaviors in order to implement a new strategy or perform better under the old strategy—is likely to engender resistance. The employees resisting change at the Concord Bookshop complained that the board had dismissed employee suggestions to respond to the crisis by saying, â€Å"We’re going to do it our way. † Their felt loss of voice in the strategic response of the bookstore to new competitive realities contributed to high levels of resistance. People don’t resist change, the saying goes, they resist being changed. The difficult challenge for managers, then, becomes how and when to engage employees in the process of diagnosis, problem solving, and planning for change. General Motors (GM) can offer some historical perspective on both approaches; change that is imposed from above, and change in which employees participate in designing the solution. Theory into Practice Imposing change from above can lead to employee resistance. In the 1970s, soaring fuel prices and gas shortages made the U. S. consumer much more aware of the fuel in efficiencies of domestic automobiles. At the same time, Japanese car manufacturers such as Toyota, Honda, and Nissan captured significant market share by offering small, reliable, and fuel-efficient alternatives. GM, with its fleet of gas-guzzlers built for an era of expanding interstate highways and cheap gas, was especially vulnerable. When Roger Smith became chairman of GM in 1980, the company was hemorrhaging money and market share. Layoffs, factory closures, and the shedding of non-auto-related businesses followed. Smith had more in mind than trimming costs, however. To lead strategic renewal, he called on a massive multibillion-dollar investment in state-of-the-art robotics and assembly technology. Out of that effort came the Chevrolet Vega, a small, fuel-efficient model produced at the company’s newly retooled Lordstown, Ohio, plant. The Vega represented GM’s intent to face down the rising tide of imports. State-of-the-art robotics and automation would help GM keep the costs of producing the Vega low. Employees at the Lordstown plant, however, resisted the changes that had been imposed on them from above. In particular, they objected to the depersonalization and sped-up pace of new robotic technology. Resistance went far beyond complaining. Some employees engaged in sabotage, open rebellion, and a wildcat (unauthorized) strike. Six years after its appearance, GM discontinued the model that had once held such high hopes for meeting Japanese competition. 21 Theory into Practice A participative process can help build support for change efforts. Compare that resistance to a different initiative just a few years later at GM’s Cadillac plant in Livonia. Cadillac and Vega were worlds apart in terms of intended market niche. Nevertheless, GM executives hoped Livonia would help address some of the same pressures for strategic renewal: the need to produce a world-class car that would help the company regain slumping market share. As they had done at Lordstown, executives sought improved quality and increased efficiency at Livonia. Now, however, the company approached change quite differently. Management worked closely with labor through the United Auto Workers union. Instead of imposing new technology and work processes on the plant, management and the union involved hourly workers in a planning committee that would redesign the way the plant operated. Theory into Practice In a unionized environment, creating employee participation involves inviting the union itself into the decision-making process. The joint worker-management planning committee created employee teams organized around a product line or function and given responsibility beyond production, including responsibility for quality control and material handling. Other design changes proposed by the planning committee—the removal of multilevel job classifications in order to improve flexibility and efficiency in the deployment of workers, extensive front-end training for all employees to gain teamwork and problem-solving skills—turned the plant into what some in the company called â€Å"a Lordstown that worked. Twenty-five years later, Livonia continued to operate as a high-quality producer of Cadillac’s highly regarded Northstar engine. Imposed change encourages resistance. Individuals can feel manipulated, coerced, or even ignored. When people participate in designing change, on the other hand, they are more likely to feel they are making an informed choice about altering their behaviors. Individuals can develop commitment to the choice as well as feeling responsibility for implementing that choice. When people participate in the design of change (in the diagnosis, action planning, and implementation stages), they will be more motivated to alter their behaviors. And, to emphasize a point made earlier, employee motivation matters. New behaviors will not be sustainable if they have been prompted by manipulation or coercion. Effective change does not seek to fool employees into setting aside their better judgment. Rather, it seeks to encourage employees to find continually new and improved ways of applying their better judgment. How can internal processes be improved? What are customers telling employees about our products and services? How might we eliminate waste and improve quality? To support behaviors that can sustain outstanding performance, effective change efforts avoid manipulation and coercion, aiming instead to enhance employee willingness and ability to contribute their own judgment. Theory into Practice Behavioral change seeks to motivate employees to change their behaviors; not to force, coerce, or trick them into changing. Because motivation is internal to each employee, the change leader’s challenge is complex. The task involves shaping the organizational context in such a way as to encourage and support an internal desire on a large number of employees to alter their behaviors in ways consistent with the shifting demands of the new strategy. How that is done will be the subject of the remainder of this book. When change leaders are successful, the organizational context unleashes â€Å"people’s innate curiosity and desire to experiment,† says Peter Senge, which creates a powerful â€Å"engine for improvement. Motivation works to build initiative and a desire on the part of the employees themselves to innovate and alter behaviors in order to achieve outstanding performance. The Three Faces of Change Not all change efforts take aim directly at behaviors. Let’s return to GM. In February 2006, with the U. S. automobile industry in a state of drastic decline, America’s leading auto manufacturer made some tough decisions: cutting dividends, reducing white-collar benefits, and slashing executive pay. On top of 30,000 job cuts announced the previous year, company losses totalling $10.6 billion, and share prices hitting their lowest point since the middle of the Great Depression of the 1930s, GM’s CEO (chief executive officer) Rick Wagoner declined to predict when the company would return to profitability, saying only it would be â€Å"as soon as possible. † 24 In 2008, after announcing a huge loss, the company dove even deeper into turnaround, offering a â€Å"special attrition program†Ã¢â‚¬â€an offer to buy-out contracts in order to encourage retirement—for all 74,000 of its domestic hourly workers. 25 Theory into Practice Not all change is behavioral. GM’s approach to change can be characterized as turnaround. Rather than focusing on new behaviors, turnaround looks at a company’s assets and seeks to manage them in a new way in order to stabilize cash flow, shore up the balance sheet, and maximize shareholder wealth. GM’s turnaround may have been unusual in its scope. The activities of the turnaround effort—reducing capacity, shutting down facilities, reducing levels of pay, health insurance, and pension benefits—are typical. Is turnaround by itself enough? â€Å"Cutting costs is not a business plan,† observed Gary Chaison. Turnaround does not by itself create sustained outstanding performance. The impact of layoff announcements on the psychological state of employees—on their sense of security and belief in the future—accounts for part of the difficulty of translating downsizing into sustained outstanding performance. Employees who become insecure because of workforce reductions are less productive and less committed to the organization.

Analytical Essay Sample on #8220;The House on Mango Street#8221;

Analytical Essay Sample on #8220;The House on Mango Street#8221; In the book The House on Mango Street in MLA format, titles of books are always underlined., the main character Esperanza, goes from being a young girl with low self-esteem to being a young woman seeking independence. As the reader As readers, the novel allows us to participate in Esperanza’s life as she goes through life changes. Her identity changes, and she begins to change her views on life, herself, and the people that surround her. At the end of the book Esperanza has become more mature and has become more comfortable in her own skin. Good! Esperanza is a young Latina girl that has no feeling of belonging. Her family has moved a couple of times, so she doesn’t get the chance to get close to people. She grows up with a sister and brothers but doesn’t feel too attached to them because of the age differences and because the boys can’t talk to the girls outside of the home. She has very few friends but none seem to be â€Å"true† friends. At the end of the novel Esperanza has done a lot of growing up and has decided not to conform to the stereotypes that are imposed on young Latina girls. In the novel, it is evident that Esperanza is a very shy and insecure girl. She feels very uncomfortable with herself and this leads to the uncomfortable feelings that she experiences when she is around other people. Be careful about overusing â€Å"very.† In most cases you don’t need it at all. She worries a lot about what others think of her and about the house she lives in. When she is at school, she is scared to tell people where she lives because she is ashamed of her house. Although her house is nicer than the place she used to live in, she does not feel content. An example of the inferiority that she feels can be seen in the chapter called, â€Å"The First Job†. Periods and commas are always inside the quotation marks.In this chapter she has begun working and has uncomfortable feelings about lunchtime. Since she doesn’t know anyone, she eats lunch alone because she is too scared to go make friends with her co-workers. Timidness and fear allow for Esperanza to be very naive to others around her that who desire to cause her harm. Esperanza wants so much to have friends that she does just about anything for them. She even thinks about paying people to be her friends. In one instance in Esperanza’s life, she takes money from her younger sister so she can buy a bike with two other girls and they can share it. These girls didn’t want Esperanza to get in on the deal with them because she was there their friend, but because they were five-dollars short. Esperanza is so naÐ ¿ve that she doesn’t see this, comma splice she thinks that the girls want to be her friend. Esperanza’s naivetÐ ¹ leads to some unfortunate situations of betrayal. Esperanza becomes very excited when Sally invites her to the circus. Esperanza thinks she will have fun because she is told that the circus is such a fun place by magazines, movies and Sally. Esperanza is deceived because instead of going to the circus to have fun, she goes to the circus and is raped when Sally leaves her alone with a boy. Esperanza’s perception of herself is very negative. Although just about every young adolescent girl goes through a stage when they watch pronoun agreement, you have girl-they feel unattractive, brainless, and insecure Esperanza seems to feel all these emotions in a large degree. She seems so unhappy with her life that at times I thought avoid the â€Å"I† statements the book would end with her committing suicide. I think that a lot of the emotions that she is feeling are because she doesn’t seem to have any family support or any positive role models. It is hard to keep your head on straight when your family shines you off, you don’t have any close friends to talk to, and most of the time you hold things inside. She has such a pessimistic outlook on life that she is causing herself pain. Esperanza comes to a realization that the world isn’t nice and pretty with the help of a music box. She thinks of it as a beautiful box with beautiful flowers painted on it and then realizes that the music box is also deceiving. It is just an old wood box with holes in it. She thinks of the music box as something synonymous to life. She blames herself for being stupid and thinking that life is great when in reality it is not. Esperanza’s personality is also due to the gender separation that she experiences. Her brothers Kiki and Carlos are close run on sentence she says there their relationship is one of comrades, very different than the relationship she has with her sister Nenny. Esperanza describes her relationship with Nenny as them being playmates; Nenny is â€Å"too young to be my friend† (Cisneros 8).† Watch the placement of your quotation marks. The citation is inside the period, but outside the quotation marks. Esperanza is very aware of how alone she is when she compares herself to a â€Å"red balloon, a red balloon tied to an anchor† (Cisneros 9)†. She sees herself different from everyone and thinks she is raised high like the balloon so that everyone can see and judge her. The anchor that is tied to the balloon is Nenny. Esperanza isn’t just Nanny’s playmate but she is also responsible for taking care of Nenny, which she feels, is an anchor that is keeping from making friends. Though Esperanza is a young girl with low self-esteem, she is still very optimistic of one day having a â€Å"house of her own†, one she can be proud of. She decides to fight the war against machismo and be a woman that doesn’t need a man to take care of her. She refuses to neither either tame herself nor or wait for a husband, and this rebellion is reflected in her leaving the â€Å"table like a man, without putting back the chair or picking up the plate (Cisneros 89).† By doing this Esperanza is maintaining her own power and is challenging the cultural and social expectations one she is supposed to fulfill. She wants to create her own individuality by making the decision to not â€Å" lay (her) neck on the threshold waiting for the ball and chain (Cisneros 88).† Esperanza is not like the typical Latina who grows up in a big city whose goal is to grow up to be a wife and mother. She doesn’t want to fit the typical role instead she wants to become i ndependent from the stereotypes that are imposed on her by Latin society. Through out the story Esperanza begins by having an â€Å"anchor†, and then as she grows up and matures she refuses to have a â€Å"ball and chain.† She changes in the story and goes from being a young shy girl that doesn’t belong to a young self-empowered woman. She well not allow herself to fall into society and will fight the war against machismo. Although through the whole novel Experanza wants to leave her house on Mango Street, at the end we find out that she does want to come back. Esperanza wants to come back and help those that won’t be so as lucky as she is to leave Mango Street. She is aware that she can never leave Mango Street because it is part of her roots and has influenced her dreams and her personality. The fact that she now realizes this shows how much she has matured. You can order a custom essay, term paper, research paper, thesis or dissertation on The House on Mango Street topics from our professional custom essay writing service which provides high-quality custom written papers.

Definition and Examples of Language Contact

Definition and Examples of Language Contact Definition Language contact is the social and linguistic phenomenon by which speakers of different languages (or different dialects of the same language) interact with one another, leading to a transfer of linguistic features. Language contact is a major factor in language change, notes Stephan Gramley. Contact with other languages and other dialectal varieties of one language is a source of alternative pronunciations, grammatical structures, and vocabulary (The History of English: An Introduction, 2012). Prolonged language contact generally leads to bilingualism or multilingualism. Uriel Weinreich (Languages in Contact, 1953) and Einar  Haugen (The Norwegian Language in America, 1953) are  commonly regarded as the pioneers of language-contact studies. A particularly influential later study is  Language Contact, Creolization, and Genetic Linguistics by  Sarah Grey Thomason  and  Terrence Kaufman (University of California Press, 1988). Examples and Observations [W]hat counts as language contact? The mere juxtaposition of two speakers of different languages, or two texts in different languages, is too trivial to count: unless the speakers or the texts interact in some way, there can be no transfer of linguistic features in either direction. Only when there is some interaction does the possibility of a contact explanation for synchronic variation or diachronic change arise. Throughout human history, most language contacts have been face to face, and most often the people involved have a nontrivial degree of fluency in both languages. There are other possibilities, especially in the modern world with novel means of worldwide travel and mass communication: many contacts now occur through written language only. . . . [L]anguage contact is the norm, not the exception. We would have a right to be astonished if we found any language whose speakers had successfully avoided contacts with all other languages for periods longer than one or two hundred years. (Sarah Thomason, Contact Explanations in Linguistics.  The Handbook of Language Contact, ed. by  Raymond Hickey. Wiley-Blackwell, 2013) Minimally, in order to have something that we would recognize as language contact, people must learn at least some part of two or more distinct linguistic codes. And, in practice, language contact is really only acknowledged when one code becomes more similar to another code as a result of that interaction. (Danny Law,  Language Contact, Inherited Similarity and Social Difference. John Benjamins, 2014)   Different Types of Language-Contact Situations Language contact is not, of course, a homogeneous phenomenon. Contact may occur between languages which are genetically related or unrelated, speakers may have similar or vastly different social structures, and patterns of multilingualism may also vary greatly. In some cases the entire community speaks more than one variety, while in other cases only a subset of the population is multilingual. Lingualism and lectalism may vary by age, by ethnicity, by gender, by social class, by education level, or by one or more of a number of other factors. In some communities there are few constraints on the situations in which more than one language can be used, while in others there is heavy diglossia, and each language is confined to a particular type of social interaction. . . .   While there a great number of different language contact situations, a few come up frequently in areas where linguists do fieldwork. One is dialect contact, for example between standard varieties of a language and regional varieties (e.g., in France or the Arab world). . . . A further type of language contact involves exogamous communities where more than one language might be used within the community because its members come from different areas. . . .The converse of such communities where exogamy leads to multilingualism is an endoterogenous community which maintains its own language for the purpose of excluding outsiders. . . . Finally, fieldworkers particularly often work in endangered language communities where language shift is in progress.   (Claire Bowern, Fieldwork in Contact Situations.  The Handbook of Language Contact, ed. by  Raymond Hickey. Wiley-Blackwell, 2013)   The Study of Language Contact - Manifestations of language contact are  found in a great variety of domains, including language acquisition, language processing and production, conversation and discourse, social functions of language and language policy, typology and language change, and more. . . . [T]he study of language contact is of value toward an understanding of the inner functions and the inner structure of grammar and the language faculty itself. (Yaron Matras, Language Contact. Cambridge University Press, 2009) - A very naive view of language contact would probably hold that speakers take bundles of formal and functional properties, semiotic signs so to speak, from the relevant contact language and insert them into their own language. To be sure, this view is much too simplistic and not seriously maintained any longer. A probably more realistic view held in language contact research is that whatever kind of material is transferred in a situation of language contact, this material necessarily experiences some sort of modification through contact. (Peter Siemund, Language Contact: Constraints and Common Paths of Contact-Induced Language Change.  Language Contact and Contact Languages, ed. by  Peter Siemund and Noemi Kintana. John Benjamins, 2008) Language Contact and Grammatical Change [T]he transfer of grammatical meanings and structures across languages is regular, and . . . it is shaped by universal processes of grammatical change. Using data from a wide range of languages we . . . argue that this transfer is essentially in accordance with principles of grammaticalization, and that these principles are the same irrespective of whether or not language contact is involved, and of whether it concerns unilateral or multilateral transfer.. . . [W]hen embarking on the work leading to this book we were assuming that grammatical change taking place as a result of language contact is fundamentally different from purely language-internal change. With regard to replication, which is the central theme of the present work, this assumption turned out to be unfounded: there is no decisive difference between the two. Language contact can and frequently does trigger or influence the development of grammar in a number of ways; overall, however, the same kind of processes and directionality can be observed in both. Still, there is reason to assume that language contact in general and grammatical replication in particular may accelerate grammatical change . . .. (Bernd Heine and Tania Kuteva,  Language Contact and Grammatical Change. Cambridge University Press, 2005) Old English and Old Norse Contact-induced grammaticalization is part of contact-induced grammatical change,and in the literature of the latter it has been repeatedly pointed out that language contact often brings about loss of grammatical categories. A frequent example given as illustration of this kind of situation involves Old English and Old Norse, whereby Old Norse was brought to the British Isles through the heavy settlement of Danish  Vikings in the Danelaw area during the 9th to 11th centuries. The result of this language contact is reflected in the linguistic system of Middle English, one of the characteristics of which is the absence of grammatical gender. In this particular language contact situation, there seems to have been an additional factor leading to the loss, namely, the genetic closeness andaccordinglythe urge to diminish the functional overload of speakers bilingual in Old English and Old Norse.   Thus a functional overload explanation  seems to be a plausible way to account for what we observe in Middle English, that is, after Old English and Old Norse had come into contact: gender assignment often diverged in Old English and Old Norse, which would have readily led to the elimination of it in order to avoid confusion and to lessen the strain of learning the other contrastive system. (Tania Kuteva and  Bernd Heine, An Integrative Model of Grammaticalization.   Grammatical Replication and Borrowability in Language Contact, ed. by  Bjà ¶rn Wiemer, Bernhard Wlchli, and Bjà ¶rn Hansen. Walter de Gruyter, 2012) Also  See AccommodationBorrowingContact LanguageHistorical LinguisticsKoineizationLanguage ChangeSociolinguistics