Managing Cultural Diversity In The Workforce

Abstract Cultural diversity entails the experiences and characteristics of different people within an organization. It includes the whole spectrum of human beings including ethnicity, race, age, gender, disability, religion and the sexual orientation. Most importantly, the focus upon diversity ought to be on individual work style, communication technique, the role level, level of performance and economic significance.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Managing Cultural Diversity In The Workforce specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Introduction The main aim of diversity is to tap exceptional talents and unique qualities along these dimensions. It is an issue of the people focusing on the differences and similarities presented to the workplace. This influence over individual identity and perspective goes beyond legally specified dimensions to offer non-discriminatory opportunities and affirmative statutes within the wor k setting. The workplace ought to have non-discriminatory programs supported by the organization culture. This is the key element representing dignity and respect for all to encourage knowledge or experience gain and team work. This paper addresses the proactive measures required to deal with workplace cultural diversity and caters for ways of fostering the practice. Advantages and disadvantages of Cultural Diversity To begin with, cultural diversity boosts the company’s competitive situation in the market. Unlike the early days when marketers thought that a good or service was universally acceptable, cultural diversification enables today’s marketers to recognize that different cultures demand for different taste of the same product or service. Large chain stores like Wal-Mart or Woolworths are in a position to establish the best way of presenting their products depending on location (Deresky, 7, 2008). Today we see a business scenario where small and medium sized com panies are able to give big company a run for their money because they have understood the concept of managing trade in a multi-cultural setting. The twenty first century creates openings for engaging in technological aspects and resources such as the internet trading, which provides a wide world web that assists to overcome the physical boundaries. A culturally diverse company is rich in knowledge pertaining people from various vicinities, thus enough chances of enhancing trade (Lewis, 2, 1999). A business with ethnic diversity can easily serve a wide base of clients easily, considering the ease of workers relating with clients. The clients have a diverse representation in the firm thus sharing of a lot of common ground with their service providers.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More There is a wide and equally diverse and well-balanced pool of knowledge created by diverse cul tures in the workplace. According to Lewis (3, 1999), knowledge is power to gain experience, creativity, customer support or participation, lasting results and eventually long-term high profit margins. Denial and discrimination are the individual characteristics on the subject of the barriers to enhancing cultural diversity in the workplace. People from different background still have personal features hindering this form of development. The cultural diversity within an organization with such people can be the main source of conflicts, group-work failures and thus fall of business operations and eventually poor economical growth. The diversity issue can therefore be a negative aspect if it lacks proper implementation procedures. Proactive measures of resolving diversification related conflicts at the workplace Implementation of cultural diversity at the workplace should correspond to strategic planning. Execution or change management must entail employees’ inspiration through infusion or integration of aspects such as those involving diversification into the business procedures or requirements. Diversity ought to apply from the top executives, who should show commitment and importance of diversity. Having the employees understand the importance of diversity as a main pillar for workplace management since it reduces any possibilities of conflicts. The top leaders or managers must engage an upbeat measure of solving diversity related conflicts by regularly emphasizing on its benefits to the firm. The business cultural commitment to diversity requires legal gazetting with the external regulator body to emphasize on the consequences regarding those conflicts that break business rules. In relation to Cornelius’ writing (81, 2002), a company need to have programs for performing prior training to employees on how to deal with counterparts from different cultural setting. Arguably, it is impossible for employees to grasp various complex cultural nuances in one sitting, therefore the need for them to be careful on issues regarding stereotyping, language differences, time differences and individual versus collective mindset, as a measure of avoiding or resolving diversity related conflicts. Fostering cultural diversity at the workplace Promotion of cultural diversity in the workplace ought to take place before commencement of hiring. This means that one should include diversity in the business plan. In line with Kirton and Greene (183, 2000), discovery of strengths or benefits of an action occur well prior to proper planning.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Managing Cultural Diversity In The Workforce specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More These calls for the management to be responsive over recognizing, respecting and capitalizing on various aspects of the society mainly regarding ethnicity, race and gender. A good manager and leader should note that even outside the work setting; one finds exposure of various cultural practices. Practical Theories of Managing Culture and Cultural Diversity The Hofstede Theory Today the technological change has made the organizations to become more dynamic since companies are now investing in joint ventures, partnerships that span across borders and cooperation through unions such as the European Union partnership. This means that the leadership styles are also focusing attention to more vibrant, on-going and very important procedures. The leadership style that attracts the attention of others requires a leader who is focused on other’s attention. The leader’s values must therefore be of substantive worth. It is important for a leader to have good solid knowledge and approaches to combat the cultural differences as well as engage continuous and alternative choices that steers organization forward in terms of development (Dowling and Welch, 38, 2008). One of the most common theories concerned with c ultural diversity is the Hoftede Theory. According to Dowling and Welch (38, 2008), Hoftede’s Theory indicates that culture is a collective of intangible distinctions found between people in a group, firm, organization or nation. The four main commonly used values in management of cultural diversity include power distance, individualism/collectivism, uncertainty avoidance, and femininity/masculinity. The theory divides culture into two groups through analysis of the internal values, which are invisible and external values that are visible such as the rituals that a certain group practices, symbols, language differences and procedures for solving a problem. Power distance involves a firm’s ability to come up with procedures for handling societal inequalities, while individualism or collectivism is concern with the procedures that a firm takes to control a group. The masculinity or femininity entails the firm’s managerial behaviours concern with gender differences . Lastly, uncertainties are the unknown situation and the company must have extensive procedures of avoiding or minimizing the amount of threatening experiences for a member of a firm. Hoftede Theory mainly focuses on issues concerning leadership especially the ability to address various differences through effective communication. A good leader must be in a position of convincing people from different cultural backgrounds on how to focus on the ideas perceived to be important and developmental for a firm. It therefore focuses on and caters for each group.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The Cross-Cultural Communication Theory The methods and styles of communication lack good definition in most organizations. Every leader has a personal way of pronouncement, which varies from formal to casual in both written and spoken forms. The main aim eventually is the consistency and ability to attract awareness and command peoples’ actions. Today the successful leaders need to know how to transverse a multicultural environment. In line with The Cross-Cultural Communication Theory, He /she must realize that there exists no single method of controlling leadership procedures (Deresky, 287, 2008). The leaders must read a group’s situation and come up with the most appropriate leadership behavioral pattern to combat the situation at hand. This is the only right and most appropriate procedures for the leaders because it enables the groups involved to fit the competency level. Leadership styles have a close connection to behavior. In the assessment of a group’s l eadership needs, there is need to translate skills to communicate behavior. For instance, if a leader finds that a certain group needs strong guidance, it is then wise to suggest direction, make different assignments, and possibly vet unrealistic suggestions. Leadership skills calls for one to find and balance the member’s thought, support viable decisions, and give authority to act. All the leadership styles in a multicultural environment have a strong basis on communication, and not skills, experience, lack or personality. The connection between group members brings about cooperation, and unique leadership styles that solve group problem effectively thus making the group to become more effective regardless of the cultural differences that may exist (Deresky, 287, 2008). A good or efficient group made of multicultural communities only requires a small, early but strong guidance to become and remain productive. Social-Identity Theory The social-identity theory indicates that people exist in two distinct classes identified by analysis of group categories or group functions. By considering category, a leader utilizes the scientific definition of leadership in a process that involves interpersonal communication to influence an outcome. According to Schneider and Barsoux (43, 2003), leadership is symbolic to the human nature of modifying attitudes and behaviours of culturally different people in order to meet organizational goals and needs. The leadership styles therefore involve acts enacted through persuasion or communication as opposed to forcing people to abide to a certain categorized aspects or certain functions. Current Key Issues in the Service Sector Increase of culturally diverse people in the work force is a clear indication that firms or organization need to move out of the traditions that supported confinement to boundaries that were structured conventionally and hierarchically, to allow group work and team spirits. The developments mainly affe ct leadership to allow strategies that influence behaviours of others through communication. Today, a designated leader is appointed or elected to a position, but she/he need to be an emergent leader because of exerting influences towards achievement of group goals. Acceptance of culturally diverse groups supports the concept that every person in a group ought to be an emergent leader especially during various group tasks (Reynolds and Valentine, 13, 2004). A designated leader has to be acceptable in the group for better outcomes. Sharing of leadership among members in a group means that eventually, the cultural differences are put aside and everyone is responsible for coordination of communication among the members. Melting Pot theory Melting Pot theory is a procedure for enhancing active interaction among people to ensure utilization of cultural significance of diversity and smooth settlement. Ability to enhance and utilize diversity depends on influence of the leaders. The design ated or emergent leader has the ability or power to known the interpersonal influences. The power can be a reward, punishment, legitimate, referent and expert. Leaders can offer the followers the value for their need for them to exercise rewarding power. The reward value can be material or intangible products such as monetary resources, material goods, favours, acknowledgements, complements and special attentions. The administration of punishment power occurs through implementation of similar favours. Coercion forces compliance with hostile tactics but in most instances breeds to resentment especially when there are cultural group differences within the organization. Legitimate power enables the leader to perform certain tasks within the group setting, such as call for the group meetings, analysis of work by the other group members, or preparation of agendas. In order to manage diverse groups effectively, the leader must have referent power based on attractiveness, admirable and res pectable aspects of leadership. Admiration brings about influence and charisma as an extreme type of referent power, which instigates a feeling of royalty and devotion from others. The more the admiration and respect for the leader, the more influence on the behaviours and power to influence the group. Leaders experience and expert power, when others or the followers value their guidance or admires the leadership styles. Diverse group members have diverse experiences and therefore are in a position to offer expertise guidance in different groups setting. In such a scenario, members posses confidence to share expert power in guiding others, value them and one can easily influence their behaviours or acts because of the respect for the knowledge or experience. Regardless of the cultural differences, all members of an organization have various abilities to influence others. It is possible to assist others because the expertise does not only emanate from the legitimacy (Kirton and Green e, 183, 2000). A widely cultural diverse group means that there are diverse sources of leadership influences other then the legitimate power. All the members have some degree of influence over each other and the legitimate leader must make use of all the potentials or capabilities to lead. Democratic Leadership Styles and Approaches The democratic regulations standard for an organization fosters applicable employees’ self-management procedures. One of the most important procedures regards performance. Rewarding performance in terms of good workmanship or discipline encourage understanding among employees from different cultural groups because it shows them the importance of unity. The personnel policy and procedures ought to determine eligibility for performance appraisal and rating performance for satisfaction as a way of enhancing unity. Every employee has governing procedures for expectations specified in the job contracts; therefore, failure to meet demands or to manage t he personal duties could have a link to the group performance. Freedom of the employees may facilitate personal definitions and foster team spirit. In a combination of democratic and autocratic styles as a way of enhancing team performance from people of different cultural groups in an organization, the leader can implement capacity planning and control as an essential aspect. It entails the research techniques for addressing the issue of scheduling applications, planning the allocation of resources, controlling performance and, having the problem solving techniques in place (Cornelius, 83, 2002). The planning and controlling approaches include optimization techniques for diminishing or maximizing involved elements, to meet the objectives within the operating environment. Employees are thus encouraged to work as a team to meet certain goals. For instance, a big problem is broken down to ease complexity and thus speeds up computation. Decomposing a problem allow efficiency in and abi lity to handle the uncertainties adequately. Secondly, dynamic approach allows the management to make decisions sequentially in a multi-stage pattern. A conflict related problem is recursively mirrored into solutions to come up with the most effective conclusion. Teamwork involves decomposition of a complex problem into various sub-problems for individuals to handle. The solutions eventually enable creation of a sequentially dependent framework indicating the whole problem as one, broken into various parts to enhance unity among employees. Conclusion Today the issue of employee performance has a strong basis upon organizational policies and procedures as opposed to only the leadership qualities. The nature of these rules or regulations helps in establishing the significance of a task and the importance of ensuring good results. People are naturally opposed to rules that hinder their freedom and are strenuous during performance. Although an integral to effective part of performance, team leadership may be the root course of conflicts in a multicultural organization as opposed to the cultural differences. The most important element of performance is ability to resolve internal conflicts through the leadership styles because disagreements hugely affect team performance. Leaders have the role of facilitating the behavioural change that assists in moulding individual trails into teams to achieve the set goals (Schneider and Barsoux, 43, 2004). According to Reynolds and Valentine (13, 2004), a good system capitalizes on the employees strengths while minimizing on their weaknesses. The differences between employees’ culture should entail proper usage, to strengthen understanding and enhancing stronger bonds through team works as a measure to capture global clientele. An entrepreneur should know that diversity is something more than mare moral obligation or a necessity for a business but is a business opportunity. Bibliography Cornelius, N. (2002). Building Wor kplace Equality. Ethics, Diversity and Inclusion  London: Thomson Learning. Deresky, H. (2008). International Management: Managing across Borders and  Cultures. (Sixth Ed). London: Prentice Hall Dowling, P.J. Welch D.E. (2008). International Human Resources Management:  Managing People in a Multinational Context. Fifth ed. London: Thomas Learning. Kirton, G Greene A. (2000). The Dynamics of Managing Diversity. Oxford: Butterworth Heinemann Lewis, R. D. (1999). When Cultures Collide – Managing Successfully Across  Cultures. London, UK: Nicholas Brealey Publishing Reynolds, S Valentine, D. (2004). Guide to Cross-Cultural Communication. (2nd Ed) New Jersey: Prentice Hall Schneider, S.C Barsoux, J. (2003). Managing Across Cultures. London: Prentice Hall This essay on Managing Cultural Diversity In The Workforce was written and submitted by user Julie Cotton to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Budgets An explanation of the use of budgets as a means of exercising financial control in Name It Ltd Essays

Budgets An explanation of the use of budgets as a means of exercising financial control in Name It Ltd Essays Budgets An explanation of the use of budgets as a means of exercising financial control in Name It Ltd Essay Budgets An explanation of the use of budgets as a means of exercising financial control in Name It Ltd Essay Fixed costs are costs that the business have to pay that dont change over a short period of time. As the product sale or service increases the costs stay the same. The same amount is paid regardless of the level of production. Fixed costs can include: the rent charge, electricity bills, gas bills, telephone bills, advertising costs or insurance prices. Variable Costs Variable costs are costs that they business have to pay but it is possible that they will change as the output increases. Variable costs can include: raw materials, delivery costs or packaging costs. Break-Even: Businesses should aim to break even to ensure they are going to survive in the future. Break-even is where the business doesnt make enough sales to make a profit but they make enough sales to avoid making a loss. The point of break-even is shown on a graph that businesses produce to see how well they are doing financially. The below diagram shows a break-even chart. bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/business/finance/profitabilityrev2.shtml To calculate break-even: Break-even point = fixed costs (unit selling price variable costs) The calculation of break-even tells you how many units of a product you will need to sell in order to break-even. Budgets A budget is like a plan that businesses make. They plan it on their predictions of what they think is going to happen for them in future months / years and is a estimate of expected income and expense for a a certain period in time. It gives the business an idea of their financial situation and helps them to track their money. Name It Ltd use budgets for several reasons, these reasons include: à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ Name It Ltd will have enough money to buy in enough supplies for their sales because they wouldve been tracking their money income and outcome. à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ Suppliers give discounts when a business pay them on time, having a budget will allow Name It Ltd to be able to afford to pay straight away. Paying on time also helps Name It Ltd to avoid paying interest, getting a bad credit rating and possible bankruptcy. à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ They will be able to save money for the use of retained profit if they have a bad month. They will also be able to save money for contingencies. à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ They will have enough money to make investments if that is what they need to do. à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ Budgeting will also help Name It Ltd to expand and develop their business in the future. What control / budget does Name It Ltd need to do? Name It Ltd need to control and budget their spending. They need to keep a track off all money that is going out of the business. These expenses could include staff wages, rent for their offices or other buildings, and raw materials. They also need to keep a track of any of their income, for example sales made. Name It Ltd also need to take into account any money they will have coming in or going out of the business in future months. They need to set themselves a maximum amount of money to spend each month so they dont run into debt. Variance Calculations Variance calculations are the difference between the budget a business had set and what actually happened in practice. Name It Ltd have variances in their budgets. I will give some examples. Name It Ltd put a budget on their raw materials as à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½34,600 however they ended up spending à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½42,000 on their raw materials for 2010. This gives them the variance of à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½7,400 which shows that the business did not stick to their budget as they exceeded it. They put a budget of à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½1,300 on their electricity but actually ended up spending à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½2,000 in 2010 this means their variance was à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½700 which also shows that Name It Ltd has not stuck to their budget, this means they could face possible bankruptcy. Name It Ltd put a budget of à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½12,000 on their rent for 2010, they ended up spending à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½12,000 which meets their budget without going over it. This is what the business should be aiming for in order to control their costs and reduce the risk of their business failing.

The Impact of the Internet on Traditional News Media Research Paper

The Impact of the Internet on Traditional News Media - Research Paper Example Here is an attempt to analyze the changes brought about by the advent of internet in the field of TV and print media. Introduction The widespread use of internet has drastically changed the conventions of different news media. The cyber world has hastened the pace and spread of news in an amazing manner which downgraded even the scope of scoops. The advent of internet has thus marked a lot of changes in news media and subverted even the concepts of news upside down. The impact of internet on TV and Print media The vast and ever spreading world of cyber space contributed a lot to the growth of news media and triggered a revolution in the field of communication system. For a journalist, let him associate with either print media or visual media, internet is a powerful source to collect news. In olden days, as we know, the exchange of messages was carried out by the so-called messengers. Later postal system came into exist which made the communication system a little bit comfortable to s hare something between two people of different corners. The inventions of telegraph and wireless technological system opened the new vistas of exposition and exchange. In modern epoch, for any person who wants to know more about a topic or a news event can easily find out the detailed information by logging on websites. Thus, internet is undoubtedly a good source of news for both the reader and the journalist. In olden days the prime source of news for the newspapers was only the reporters deployed in the different places. The quick access into the cyber world and its updating facility in every second is one of the prominent features of online news portals. This has created a lot of changes in mass media by compelling the media persons to broadcast breaking news in visual media because the world is changing rapidly and the people are eager to know about those changes in the world. The different media across the globe compete each other in providing latest information for its readers /viewers keeping vigil on each and every change in the world. All the TV channels and print media keep their own website, on which, they publish breaking news or news flash. As Seema Shrikande maintains in her essay titled Internet Impact on Media, a â€Å"major influence of internet has been to remove geographical limits on the reach of media outlets and no longer are news media restricted to one city or region†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦(Shrikande,Seema- http://www.omnilogos.com/2011/06/14/internet-impact-on-media). Even local news papers have their online editions and they are available to the readers in every corner of the world. Again this feature also, will mount pressure on the newspaper persons as they have to survive in the world of competition. So they are supposed to attract their readers by means of captivating designs, swift covering of news events, providing arresting captions etc., to compete in international level. All these are common features of any local newspaper of vernacula r languages. The ever spreading and changing nature of cyber world has marked such changes even in the matter of local news papers. The popularity of the social network sites like Facebook opened up new horizons of public opinion tools. In many Facebook posts, media and its way of reporting are of serious concern. The use of FB posts will definitely affects the quality and objectivity news media as common man can easily put their comments on even very big news channels and they can share it instantly among the friends. Before the advent of internet system, the people were not able to weigh and value of a news event beyond the account of newspapers. But nowadays,

Undecided Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Undecided - Assignment Example The project personnel was present to answer the questions and concerns raised by the members of the public. The scope of the proposed project would widen the existing six-lane road facility to an eight-lane road highway and in addition, extend the shoulders of the road by reconstructing the existing two-lane frontage roads and upgrade to meet the current standards. It was proposed that by improving the infrastructure, the economic growth of the city will increase because of reduced traffic delays, improvement of safety in the city and it shall facilitate evacuations during an emergency. Due to the expansion project, an additional 11-acre stretch of land was required to complete the project successfully. It meant that several businesses shall be displaced by the improvement; however, the personnel manager present provided procedures, programs, benefits and other information on land acquisition. The environmental document and another drawing showing the proposed project was displayed t o the public hearing as well as other tentative schedules of how the program shall be executed. At 1400HRS, the expected speakers and the public had arrived and taken the various seats and position. A short prayer was offered and the was started by the city clerk who took us through the norms of the meeting. The first part of the discussion involved free intermingle among the public and the project developers, this was very interesting since it gave the public to have a close interaction with the project managers. It further enhanced rapport and close understanding of the project since several people were able to ask questions, which they may not have a chance to ask during the actual presentation. After a one hour of interactive mingle and discussion, everybody took back their seats for the full technical presentation of the project. The personnel project manager was given a chance to take us through the whole project, stating its merits and it is going to affect the citizen.

BUSINESS LAW Speech or Presentation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

BUSINESS LAW - Speech or Presentation Example Unlike members of ordinary partnerships, the LLP itself is responsible for any debts that it runs up, not the individual partners. 3 The Limited Liability Partnership (LLP) is viewed as an alternative corporate business vehicle that provides the benefits of limited liability but allows its members the flexibility of organizing their internal structure as a partnership based on a mutually arrived agreement. The LLP form would enable entrepreneurs, professionals and enterprises providing services of any kind or engaged in scientific and technical disciplines, to form commercially efficient vehicles suited to their requirements. Owing to flexibility in its structure and operation, the LLP would also be a suitable vehicle for small enterprises and for investment by venture capital. 4 Members in case of negligence or fraud are personally liable only if he assumes personal responsibility for the acts done.

The Arguments For Compulsory Voting Politics Essay

The Arguments For Compulsory Voting Politics Essay Using the definition of democracy as tied to the concepts of liberty, equality, legitimacy, and active citizenship, this paper analyzes whether or not compulsory voting is consistent with the fundamental principles of democracy. The argument for liberty would suggest that compulsory voting is principally undemocratic because the freedom of choice must necessarily include the freedom not to choose (Lever 2009, 3). Because democracy highly values individual freedom, as de Tocqueville suggests, the act of forcing individuals to vote with corresponding sanction for non-compliance is clearly a violation of liberty. While the libertarian argument does not discount the benefits of compulsory voting per se, such as higher turnout rates (Lijphart, 1997, 10), these perceived advantages cannot justify government encroachment on individual liberties. A government that values democracy values individual freedom and cannot compel its citizens to vote when it is not in the latters best interest to do so. The concept of voluntariness and the emphasis on individual freedom is a staple of American democracy (de Tocqueville 2003). Because voting is a political right, it must be left to the individual to choose to exercise or n ot to exercise. It eventually boils down to providing that option for the individual to voluntarily choose, free from government interference. From the standpoint of civil liberties, the right not to vote is a form of speech that is protected under the First Amendment (Matsler 2003, 960). This has an accompanying right not to speak as well. Remaining silent when doing so is for your best interest is a statement by itself. Likewise, the choice not to vote is a form of political statement that is enshrined under the First Amendment and needs protection. Forcing an individual to vote would be likened to the state violating that individuals right to the First Amendment. Because the government is compelling the individual to be subject to an array of choices they face at the polling station, the government may be silencing the more informative political statement they intend to make by staying away from the polls and choosing not to participate (Evler 2009, 32). Compulsory voting then, not only violates a major civil liberty (the right to free speech and freedom of expression), the state also endangers its own representativeness because it fails to respect the rights of electors to choose not to participate. From the philosophical standpoint, the issue of whether or not voting should be compelled among individuals is contrary to the aims of liberty, which according to Mill (1999, 34) prioritizes self-interest first, and self-government, second. Political participation goes hand in hand with these principles. The first relates to the power of the individual in a democratic society to unseat bad leaders. The second relates to the power of the individual to use his or her capacities toward collective responsibilities and upholding the public good. These interests all point to the citizen as having a moral duty to go out and participate in the electoral exercise. Nonetheless, moral and ethical considerations also necessitate the view that respecting the decision to abstain from electoral exercise is in keeping with democratic rights. Drawing from Mill, individuals in a democratic society have the right to protect themselves from all things that demean, neglect, and intrude upon them. Because people cannot completely look after themselves, liberty entails the freedom of individuals to pursue self-protection in a democracy. They are also entitled to choose the extent of their political participation in forming, joining and leaving political parties, expressing their opinions on political issues, voicing out their sentiments against policies that are detrimental to their interest, and refusing to disclose their political identities or political beliefs. Democratic rights are founded upon the respect for peoples capacity to make reasoned judgment. This goes against forcing people to exercise their rights or maximize their opportunities and liberties as citizens. We cannot generalize that people who do not exercise the right to vote are as the accusation goes, lazy, apathetic, or disinterested; rather informed judgmen ts of people would make them conclude that voting will not lead to the pursuit of their self-interests. Intelligent people can argue that by not voting, they are pursuing their own self-interest by making a statement that none of the candidates deserve to be in elective position. Because persons are rational and work toward their individual self-interest, compulsory voting cannot be justified because if voting is in their self-interest, there would be no need to force them to go out and vote. They would decide that voting would be good for them and they would cast their ballot of their own volition. Compulsory voting does not necessarily uphold fairness or equality. The case for compulsory voting is also argued on the issue of fairness and equality. Like Platos disdain for apathetic citizens, proponents of compulsory voting stress that because all benefit from being citizens of a democratic society, every citizen has an obligation to participate in the electoral process. By equality, is meant that no one should become a free rider in a democracy free riders meaning those that benefit off society without participating in elections. Supporters of compulsory voting suggest that it is a moral and political duty to vote and that in the interest of fairness, all should vote because all experience the consequences of electoral outcomes. Other strong arguments for compulsory voting include the fact, that voting on election day is much easier than other positive obligations of citizens such as paying taxes, doing jury duty, or performing military service. However, this argument must paint two groups. On the one hand, there are voters who are selflessly giving their time and effort to cast their ballot and contribute to the public good while on the other hand, there are non-voters who are selfishly abandoning their political duties but directly benefit from societys benefits as the first group that cast their ballots. The point that Mill makes is that in a democracy, everyone, whether consciously or unconsciously, is acting in what they judge to be their own self-interest. Voters go out and vote because it is in their self-interest to vote for their preferred candidates and see them in office. Non-voters cannot be generalized to be selfish; it can only be fairly assumed that abstaining from the electoral process is judged by them to be in their best interest. Democratic principles value the individuals rational judgment and capacity to make choices; hence, forcing a person to contradict his or her own rational choice is undemocratic. The problem with asserting that it is unfair that citizens vote while others do not is that dilutes the dynamism in a democracy. Compulsory voting also does not guarantee equality in terms of encouraging equal participation from various gender or educational groups. While this is asserted by proponents of compulsory voting, there is no empirical evidence to back this up. Studies however suggest that while compulsory voting has been observed to stimulate high voter turnout in some countries, it has not been observed to promote equal participation in those countries. A study (Quintelier, Hooghe, and Marien 2008) indicates that specific categories of potential voters refrain from voting, leading to the electoral dominance of more privileged groups within the population. The authors studied 36 countries that participated in the 2004 International Social Survey Programme. They found that while compulsory voting is associated with higher turnout rates, it has not led to a significant growth in electoral participation among gender or educational groups. 3. Compulsory voting cannot guarantee political legitimacy. Perhaps the strongest argument for implementing compulsory voting in countries is that higher voter turnouts strengthen the political legitimacy of a government. Non-voting is seen to override legitimacy and make electoral outcomes vulnerable to coups or resistance. When you probe deeper into this argument, non-voting can be construed not as apathy but as contentment with all the running candidates so that whoever wins the electoral contest, is worthy of the non-voters support. When citizens do not vote, this does not necessarily mean that they view any political outcome as illegitimate. Still, supporters of compulsory voting are weary of low voter turnout because it undermines representativeness and political legitimacy. Lijphart said that A political system with the universal right to vote but with only a tiny fraction of citizens exercising this right should be regarded as a democracy in merely a hollow sense of the term (1997, 11).   Proper democratic representation is strongly associated with the notion of free elections. By proper is usually meant that the outcome of the electoral contest was based on the sentiments of a majority of the population. Those that support this argument automatically assume that just because the elections were participated by majority of the population, that governments can assume perpetual legitimacy. This is a misled notion. Legitimacy is conferred not only through elections, but by the subsequent acts, policies, and decisions made by the governments leaders that pursue the general welfare of its population. Essentially, the vote s cast in an election are only a first step toward a governments claim to legitimacy. The more substantial claim is to be derived from the manner in which it leads and represents the collective interests of its citizens. If legitimacy means that government was voted by a majority, then not all legitimate governments are democratic and not all democracies are legitimate. There are governments considered to be legitimate but have passed undemocratic policies, engaged in rampant corruption, or were simply incompetent. Democratic politics is not simply a numbers game. The more substantive view of democratic politics is that it is competitive and cooperative at the same time. Judging political legitimacy based on voter turnout makes a poor analogy. Moreover, on the claims of representativeness, data show that compulsory voting is not a policy to be universalized. Figures from IDEA Show that while there are some countries that have shown impressive turnouts as a result of compulsory voting, the overall picture of voter turnout debunks the claim that countries enforcing compulsion have the highest voter turnouts. Since 1945, besides Italy, only 4 countries with compulsory voting made it to the top 50 countries arranged in terms of voter turnout: Belgium (84.9 per cent), Netherlands (84.8), Australia (84.4) and Greece (80.3). Forty five out of the 50 countries demonstrating a high voter turnout used voluntary voting. Other countries with compulsory voting have the lowest voter turnout in the world such as Egypt which only has a 24.6 percent voter turnout, the second lowest in the world (IDEA 2010). Compulsory voting cannot be equated to active citizenship. Equating a high voter turnout to active citizenship is too simplistic. The Australian experience indicated that while voter turnout was high, the incidence of invalid ballots also increased (Australian Electoral Commission 2006, 4). The phenomenon of donkey voting is a natural consequences of compelling citizens to vote against their own volition. Compulsory voting formalizes the participation of underinformed or uninformed voters who participate in a politically significant process. Opponents of compulsory voting suggest that having uninformed voters cast their ballots is worse than having informed citizens abstain from the vote. The more substantive definition of citizenship is how much informed citizens are about their society and the ways they contribute into the democratic process. Their contribution should not be measured exclusively on voting alone. For instance, in the U.S., where voter turnout is relatively lower than in Australia, the strength of public opinion in the U.S. is higher and laws have been modified, passed, or rejected in deference to public opinion (Mastrel 2003, 960). It could be safe to say that political outcomes are worse if the citizenry is uninformed than if the citizenry does not wish to vote (Evler, 2009, 32). Conclusion There is no question that the electoral process is an important part of democratic society. There is also no question that voting is a moral duty of every citizen in a democracy. The question is whether or not a person can be compelled to vote against his own judgment in the interest of democracy. The discussion revealed the many advantages of compulsory voting as experienced in countries like Australia, Belgium, and Italy and how this has contributed to higher voter turnouts. Nonetheless, the reading of democracy must not be reduced to the level of electoral participation alone. Voting, however important it may be is only one form of political participation, and as experience shows, not a very conclusive one. Elected governments have been toppled down, leaders have been removed, or refused reelection despite claims to legitimacy because of democratic elections. Electoral participation is valuable because it enables citizens to choose from among candidates who are considered the best to lead the country. Democratic societies respect individual freedom, including the freedom not to vote. Voting is a rational choice that a citizen decides to exercise when it is in his or her best interest to do so. Compelling him or her to exercise such is undemocratic. The higher turnout rates in countries with compulsory voting may not be necessarily good. Experience has shown that countries with compulsory voting also have high invalid or protest votes. Democracy cannot be enhanced when citizens go out and vote just because they have to and in order to avoid sanctions. Only when citizens freely decide to participate in the electoral process can their votes be authentic and truly reflective of their preference. Democratic government is a complex system that values not only electoral participation but providing avenues for people to express their choice, equality, freedom, and reasoned judgment.

Psychoanalytic Analysis of Shakespeare?s Hamlet Essay -- essays resear

If one wants to truly understand the psychological implications of William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, the primary focus should be on the character Hamlet, and how he develops and modifies throughout the play. Using the fundamentals of the psychoanalytic perspective of critical evaluation, one would be able to truly identify and explore the true nature of Hamlet, and the effects that his character has on the situation surrounding him. In order to gain a true understanding of most of the detail that is implied through Hamlet’s way of portraying himself to others, it is vital to look deep into the actions that are carried out, and analyze them psychoanalytically. Many have already written works that evaluate the play using this method, and one can also do this simply by having a good understanding of what a psychological evaluation truly is. Before beginning the analysis, it would be necessary to have a proper understanding of the psychoanalytical perspective. After attaining knowledge about the perspective, and reading Hamlet of course, one can begin to make important connections using details from the play.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the actual play, one of the principle argument is whether Hamlet is truly mad or not. To analyze this for validity, one would have to look at the linguistics of the play and the situations that play out within it. There is concrete evidence, as well as implied detail, which leads one to believe that Hamlet is only acting as if he were mad in order to carry out his plan to avenge the death of the late King Hamlet. One of the first examples of this evidence shows itself when Hamlet warns Horatio of what he’s planning, and in effect, not to blow his cover. â€Å"Here, as before, never, so help you mercy, how strange or odd soe'er I bear myself,— As I, perchance, hereafter shall think meet to put an antic disposition on,— that you, at such times seeing me, never shall...note that you know aught of me:—this is not to do, so grace and mercy at your most need help you, swear.† (Hamlet) This quotation clearly shows that Hamlet is conscious of the situation, and will pretend to be mad. But, there is other evidence that may lead one to think about whether or not Hamlet may have actually been slightly mad. For instance, it strikes one as odd that Hamlet waits so long, and goes through so much trouble in order to kill King Claudius. Hamlet wa... ...alyze the work, or use what others have understood from analyzing Hamlet themselves to draw conclusions and gain an in-depth understanding of what the character is going through from a psychological perspective. There are endless sources out there than can be used as references to support this sort of inquiry. It all comes down to comprehending the work and the perspective. It’s not necessary to scrutinize the inner workings of the play in order to enjoy it, it never has been. Sometimes it’s not until the second or third, or even fourth reading that the reader begins to ask the more advanced questions and demand more of the text. Once that is accomplished, the rest is a proverbial piece of cake. Works Citied Shakespeare, William. â€Å"Hamlet: Prince of Denmark.† Literature: Reading Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. Comp. Robert Deyanni. Boston; McGraw-Hill, 2000. 941-1042. Paredes-vonOyen, Erin. Has Hamlet Gone Crazy?. 26 October. 2000 . Takahashi, Yasunari. â€Å"Speech, Deceit, and Catharsis: A Reading of Hamlet.† Hamlet and Japan. Ed. Yoshiko Uà ©no. Hamlet Collection 2. New York: AMS, 1995. 3-19. Adair, Vance. â€Å"Rewriting the (S)crypt: Gazing on Hamlet’s Interiors.† Q/W/E/R/T/Y 6 (1996): 5-15.