The Ancient Practice of Bloodletting in Archaeology

Bloodletting--purposefully cutting the human body to release blood--is an ancient ritual, associated with both healing and sacrifice. Bloodletting was a regular form of medical treatment for ancient Greeks, with its benefits debated by scholars such as Hippocrates and Galen. Bloodletting in Central America Bloodletting or auto-sacrifice was a cultural trait of most of the societies in Mesoamerica, beginning with the Olmec perhaps as early as 1200 AD. This type of religious sacrifice involved a person using a sharp instrument such as an agave spine or sharks tooth to pierce a fleshy part of his own body. The resulting blood would drip onto a lump of copal incense or piece of cloth or bark paper, and then those materials would be burned. According to historical records of the Zapotec , Mixtec, and Maya, burning blood was one way to communicate with the sky gods. Artifacts associated with bloodletting include sharks teeth, maguey thorns, stingray spines, and obsidian blades. Specialized elite materials--obsidian eccentrics, greenstone picks, and spoons--are thought to have been used for elite bloodletting sacrifices in the  Formative period and later cultures. Bloodletting Spoons A so-called bloodletting spoon is a type of artifact discovered on many Olmec archaeological sites. Although there is some variety, the spoons generally have a flattened tail or blade, with a thickened end. The thick part has a shallow off-center bowl on one side and a second, smaller bowl on the other side. Spoons usually have a small hole pierced through them, and in Olmec art are often depicted as hanging from peoples clothing or ears. Bloodletting spoons have been recovered from Chalcatzingo, Chacsinkin, and Chichà ©n Itzà ¡; the images are found carved in murals and on stone sculptures at San Lorenzo, Cascajal, and Loma del Zapote. Olmec Spoon Functions The real function of the Olmec spoon has long been debated. Theyre called bloodletting spoons because originally scholars believed them to have been for holding blood from auto-sacrifice, the ritual of personal bloodletting. Some scholars still prefer that interpretation, but others have suggested spoons were for holding paints, or for use as snuffing platforms for taking hallucinogens, or even that they were effigies of the Big Dipper constellation. In a recent article in Ancient Mesoamerica, Billie J. A. Follensbee suggests Olmec spoons were part of a hitherto unrecognized toolkit for textile production. Her argument is in part based on the shape of the tool, which approximates bone weaving battens recognized in several Central American cultures, including some from Olmec sites. Follansbee also identifies several other tools made of elite greenstone or obsidian, such as spindle whorls, picks, and plaques, that could have been used in weaving or cord-making techniques. Sources Follensbee, Billie J. A. 2008. Fiber technology and weaving in formative-period Gulf Coast cultures. Ancient Mesoamerica 19:87-110. Marcus, Joyce. 2002. Blood and Bloodletting. Pp 81-82 in Archaeology of Ancient Mexico and Central America: An Encyclopedia, Susan Toby Evans and David L. Webster, eds. Garland Publishing, Inc. New York. Fitzsimmons, James L., Andrew Scherer, Stephen D. Houston, and Hector L. Escobedo 2003 Guardian of the Acropolis: The Sacred Space of a Royal Burial at Piedras Negras, Guatemala. Latin American Antiquity 14(4):449-468.

Adolf Hitler As A Leader Of Nazi Germany - 1677 Words

Adolf Hitler once said â€Å"It is more difficult to fight against faith than against knowledge† (â€Å"30 Eye Catching Hitler Quotes.). In a dictatorship there is one ruler who is in charge of everything in the nation in which he/she rules. Adolf Hitler was born on April 20, 1889 in Braunau am Inn. Hitler also known as Fà ¼hrer; he was chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and served as dictator from 1934 to 1945. Adolf Hitler was the leader of Nazi Germany, he was one of the initial causes which triggered World War II and brought about a great many deaths (â€Å"Adolf Hitler Biography.†). Adolf Hitler came into power due to the Great Depression in Germany, which provided a political opportunity for him. His dictatorship affected many groups of people in the northern eastern hemisphere that were non-Aryan whose acts were responded by Britain, USA, and the Soviet Union. Those responses were the reason as to why WWII came to be the end to Hitler s genocide. Overall , during Adolf Hitler s reign he was successful getting done what he believed was right and needed to be done. Many ask why did Adolf Hitler come into power? How did Adolf Hitler affect regions, the country and groups within the country? How did groups and individuals respond to oppression under Adolf Hitler s rule? On January 30, 1933, Adolf Hitler was declared the prime minister of Germany. Adolf hitler came into power of Germany due to many political, economical, and social reasons. Many believe that Adolf Hitler s lifeShow MoreRelatedAdolf Hitler As A Leader Of The Nazi Germany1398 Words   |  6 PagesAdolf Hitler was the leader of the Nazi Germany party from 1934 to 1945. During his time of leadership, he initiated fascist policies that ultimately led to World War II. What he is most infamous for the horrendous acts he committed against the Jewish people in Germany as well as other groups of people, such as gypsies, the handicapped, homosexuals, and many others. While Hitler is most known for the genocide he committed, he is also recognized by many historians as a powerful and effective leaderRead MoreAdolf Hitler As A Leader Of Nazi Germany1640 Words   |  7 Pages Adolf Hitler is known throughout the world as being the leader of Nazi Germany in the early twentieth century, and ultimately the instigator for World War II. His actions have faced much scrutiny since the conflict was resolved, but the genius behind this war effort is seeded in the politics of his egregious nature. Early Life and Upbringing Hitler was born on April 20, 1889, at Braunau-am-Inn, Austria. Alois,his father, had risen from a poor peasant background to become an Austrian customs officialRead MoreEssay on Adolf Hitler927 Words   |  4 PagesAdolf Hitler Adolf Hitler, to some, was a great ruler, but to others he was a murderer. Hitler was the leader of the Nazi party and was the dictator of Germany. He ordered to have millions of Jews murdered or thrown in prisons. 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Hitler had three sistersRead MoreHitler s Impact On The World War II1636 Words   |  7 Pagesa square, saluting and chanting Hitler s name. World War II has begun and many Germans hope for improvements in the economy. Their leader is Adolf Hitler. Adolf Hitler, dictator of Germany in World War II, was a powerful speaker who caused over 5 million deaths in concentration camps. Though Hitler s impact can be felt in modern times, the roots of his atrocious behavior began at childhood—more specifically—high school. Years before Adolf Hitler was born, Hitler s great grandfather, Johann GeorgRead MoreWhy Adolf Hitler Was A Great Leader1200 Words   |  5 Pages31 March 2015 Why Adolf Hitler Was A Great Leader. Can you really call a Murderer a Great Leader? A â€Å"Great Leader† Can be define as a leader who is self aware, self direct, socially aware, visionary, and having the ability to motivate one. Adolf Hitler is self aware, self direct, socially aware, visionary, and having the ability to motivate. From what we know for being a Great Leader we can say Adolf Hitler was a Great Leader. I believe that Hitler was a indeed a â€Å"Great Leader†. Although some believeRead MoreHitler, Stepping Into The Light. . Hitler, Racist And Murderer?1102 Words   |  5 PagesHitler, stepping into the light. Hitler, racist and murderer? Leader and visionary? Or both? Cassi-Dee Muller reports. Adolf Hitler, known for his rise to power, his revolutionary dictatorship and his starting of a world war. But was he simply a bad man with a negative impact on the world? Or was he just being an excellent leader? Born in Austria 1889, Hitler was an average young German until his adult life, where he achieved the position as the leader of the Nazi party. As a Nazi, he believed

Loves Diet by John Donne Essay Example For Students

Loves Diet by John Donne Essay John Donne’s ‘s poem loves diet is an excellent example of his use of metaphysical conceit. The title of the poem itself is rather intriguing. At the first glance the title seems to suggest a diet of love prescribed to a person in an attempt to better his life, however as one reads the entire poem one realizes that the poems love is subjected to a diet in this case the diet requires love to exercise discretion. In the first stanza of the poem, the poet tells the reader that his love had grown to a â€Å"cumbersome unwieldiness and burden us corpulence. It had become so unbearable and troublesome for him to deal with that he had to put it on a diet and curtail it. In this case love had to make use of â€Å"discretion† and exercise it limits. In this stanza itself Donne’s makes use of the greatest figure of speech that proceeds to characterise the entire poem as well. He portrays love as a separate human being, in this case a rather obese one. Therefore love has been given a rather negative portrayal at the very beginning of the poem itself using this personification which is the major figure of speech in this stanza and in the poem as a whole. The speaker in stanza 2 changes from the poet to love. In this stanza love takes on the actual role of a separate human being and get almost be regarded as the speakers friend. Love talks about the diet that the poet has enforced on him and his effort in living up to it. He begins by telling the reader that he did not allow the lover more than â€Å"’sigh† in favour of his lady love, irrespective of whether she praised her lovers love for her or criticizes its insufficiency. This portrays the women as never being satisfied with what she has and always looks for something more that she can get out of it. If at all the lover managed to extract a sigh from his lady and attempt to live upon that sigh, Love would show him that it was not that genuine or sincere that it could be lived on. The major figure of speech governing this stanza is a personification again primarily because Donne’s has endowed love with several personal qualities. In the third stanza Donne’s continues to right as love and elaborates on the way he enforces this diet on himself and the lover. He proceeds to say that when the lover emotionally touched love and caused him to shed a tear love would drench that tear with so much of negativity and shame that the lover could gain nothing positive out of it. If the lover lived on his lady loves tears love would let him know that those tears were far from genuine and her love was far from true. The last line in the third stanza is extremely expressive and indicates the unfaithfulness of the lady in question. In a very poetic line, sharp enough to draw blood and yet gentle enough to seem appropriate Donne’s says that the ladies â€Å"roving† eye make have cried for her lover but those tears were equivalent to a mere bodily discharge like sweat instead of being equated with actual tears of grief. The use of the personification continues to this third stanza where Donne’s portrays love as an extremely determined and rather stubborn individual and friend and well wisher to the poet. Love continues to speak about the various steps in the diet that he is strictly enforcing on the speaker. .u82b68d3ddf11a03559b9d6c3a65fc1d9 , .u82b68d3ddf11a03559b9d6c3a65fc1d9 .postImageUrl , .u82b68d3ddf11a03559b9d6c3a65fc1d9 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u82b68d3ddf11a03559b9d6c3a65fc1d9 , .u82b68d3ddf11a03559b9d6c3a65fc1d9:hover , .u82b68d3ddf11a03559b9d6c3a65fc1d9:visited , .u82b68d3ddf11a03559b9d6c3a65fc1d9:active { border:0!important; } .u82b68d3ddf11a03559b9d6c3a65fc1d9 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u82b68d3ddf11a03559b9d6c3a65fc1d9 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u82b68d3ddf11a03559b9d6c3a65fc1d9:active , .u82b68d3ddf11a03559b9d6c3a65fc1d9:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u82b68d3ddf11a03559b9d6c3a65fc1d9 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u82b68d3ddf11a03559b9d6c3a65fc1d9 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u82b68d3ddf11a03559b9d6c3a65fc1d9 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u82b68d3ddf11a03559b9d6c3a65fc1d9 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u82b68d3ddf11a03559b9d6c3a65fc1d9:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u82b68d3ddf11a03559b9d6c3a65fc1d9 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u82b68d3ddf11a03559b9d6c3a65fc1d9 .u82b68d3ddf11a03559b9d6c3a65fc1d9-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u82b68d3ddf11a03559b9d6c3a65fc1d9:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Beowulf is a story about a man named Beowulf who desired fame and fortune in life EssayWhatever the speaker would ask love to right, it would be written, however, when the lover’s lady wrote back to him Love would burn those letters because he understood and recognized the insincerity behind it. However love seems to be slightly perturbed at this point, wondering if this would push the lover over the edge thus turning a favour into a folly. If this action on his part would lead the lover to detesting him, would a title achieved in this manner be of a value at all. This line is rather ambiguous because it could also indicate that the lover in question is fortieth in line when it comes to the list of men in the ladies life. He could therefore be ruing at being no. 40 or he could be wishing to ascend the ranks and make self a place at the top of the list. Donne’s continues his extensive of the personification in this stanza as well which actually dictates the tone of the entire stanza. Donne’s in stanza five shifts the speaker from love to lover. In this case the lover talks about bringing his love back on track after probably dealing with heart brake or unrequited love. A very clear indication of this is his use of the term â€Å"buzzard† in the very first line of this stanza. The buzzard is a big stupid and ugly bird and by associating it with love he regards his love to be stupid. This indicates a slight tone of regret which is then wiped away in the next line of the stanza where he says he directs his love at what when how and where he chooses. It is probable that the disillusionment that he has suffered at the hands of this lady have led him to aimlessly and purposelessly caste his love as far as he can in the hope of finding a suitable women. As he proceeds in the stanza he mentions that he does find several women but the ending of each of their stories is just the same: unsuccessful. As time goes by he realizes that the game of love is finally over and it is now time for him to continue to live his life by engaging in his daily mundane and routine activities. Donne’s makes use of personification and metaphor in the final stanza of this poem. He begins by personifying love as a buzzard, thus characterising it as being stupid. His use of a metaphor lies in line 4 where he uses the metaphor of a falconer. In this case like the falconer allows his falcon to fly high the lover castes his love as far out as he can. In the last line of the stanza the poet compares love to a game that has just ended despite several attempts he has been left disillusioned and hear broken. The rhyme scheme in this poem is almost consistent, with the exception of the first stanza where the rhyme scheme is ABACBC. Stanzas 2-5 however posses a regular rhyme scheme which is ABABCC. The tone of the poem cannot technically be called entirely negative although it portrays love in opposite shades of white and black, while the speaker considers love in a more negative tone, love himself comes across as being rather positive.

Leading High Performance Groups

Introduction The importance of group work has become relevant in the current competitive business environment. Organizations have come to realize that the best way of achieving success is by breaking down tasks, and assigning small groups of employees’ different tasks as a way of achieving the overall objectives of an organization.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Leading High Performance Groups specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More According to Partridge (1999), although firms still appreciates that the performance of individual employees would always determine success of the entire firm, the need for these individual employees to work as small groups has increasingly become evident. In such small groups, a firm is able to define ways in which a strategic objective can be achieved in a more coordinated manner. It becomes easier for the top management to monitor activities of groups other than that of individua ls.  When assigned the role of leading such teams, it is always important to find ways of achieving maximum output using the assigned members. This means that such a leader will have the responsibility of motivating the team in order to make it a high performer. Leading high performing groups requires leadership skills that would enable the project leader to maintain motivation among project members. It involves making them understand the vision, and constantly reminding them that they have the capacity to achieve this vision. It involves being creative enough to make team members understand the various environmental forces that may affect the team’s performance and defining the best ways of managing these forces. It also involves maintaining a positive communication with all the members, always trying to make an effort to understand uniqueness of every team member. This research paper seeks to analyze how a team leader can lead a high performance groups. Objective of the s tudy In every research, it is always important to understand objectives that will guide the research, especially in the process of collecting relevant data. Leadership is a field that has received massive attention from scholars around the world. It is important to define specific area of focus when conducting a research that is related to leadership. The following are some of the specific objectives that the researcher seeks to achieve through this study. To determine the meaning of high performance groups from the perspective of various scholars To identify some of the underpinning theories relevant in leading high performance group. To develop an understanding of the appropriate method that should be taken in developing teams within an organization. To determine how new leaders can understand their team members and devise the most appropriate method of making them achieve the desired result. To create an understanding of how team conflicts can be resolved in order to eliminate n egative effects of such conflicts. The research seeks to respond to the above objectives in order to enable new managers understand what is expected of them when developing new teams.Advertising Looking for report on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Discussion According to Kliem (2004), before one can purport to offer leadership, it is always important to understand why teams are important in the first place. This scholar notes that a leader should always appreciate the importance of having teams within the organization. This way, it becomes possible to develop a vision that will be shared by all team members. In the current dynamic business environment, firms have come to realize that the best way of achieving success with employees is by organizing them into groups. This is important because of several reasons. Creativity and innovation has become core to success of organization. Creativity is best achie ved when employees are allowed to work as a team. Through such teams, employees get to share talents and skills in a group setting. This way, it becomes possible for one to share his or her unique skills with others and determine how the unique skill or talent can be nurtured into something of benefit to the firm. Groups also offer a unique environment for learning. When employees are assigned various groups, they are able to learn some of the skills they were lacking by observing the way other team members are undertaking their activities. Teams also offers the management unit a unique opportunity to offer in-service training to its workforce in a practical environment in order to enhance their performance. Partridge (1999) notes that trying to achieve strategic objectives of a firm without breaking them into tactic and operational objectives may yield poor results. For this reason, it is always important for the management to break the overall objectives into tactic and operationa l objectives. Teams would be assigned these tactic objectives based on their areas of specialization. The management would then make the team members understand the overall objective of the firm, and the relevance of their assigned tasks in achieving the overall objectives. As Harris (2013) says, groups also offers employees opportunity to interact and understand each other better. Human being is social by nature, and it is important to create an environment where they can share their views and job experiences. This reduces the level of stress among employees. It acts as a motivation to achieve more. As a new manager who is expected to lead small teams, it is important to understand these fact in order to appreciate the need to have teams within an organization.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Leading High Performance Groups specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Defining High Performance Groups Nemiro (2008) defines high performance groups as teams who level of output per given unit time is above normal. He states that high performance groups are teams that are always motivated and determined to achieve higher success in every task they are assigned. These are individuals who are always focused on what lies ahead, and understand ways in which they can coordinate themselves in order to deliver the best results within the shortest time possible. In such groups, every member if the team understands what is needed of him or her, and will always commit self towards delivering goods results on their assigned tasks. Kliem (2004) observes that team leaders are not special people with unique skills put together to perform a given task. Rather, this is a group of employees who are always positive in their work, are willing to learn, and able to try new approaches in undertaking tasks assigned to them. This means that high performance groups are always defined by the kind of leadership they have. It is t hrough leadership that employees will remain constantly motivated. As Harris (2013) observes, leaders are always the driving force of any organization. Depending on the way they get to influence junior employees, a firm can achieve success or failure in its operations. This means that high performance groups would rely on the leader who has been assigned to these groups. Such a leader must understand individual employees capacity and needs, determine how these needs can be met, and develop strategies that would make every member of the team feel that his or her views are respected by the leader. To be a successful leader, it is always important to understand people that are led and be sensitive of their concerns. This would make them feel motivated. It is this motivation that would make them willing to go an extra mile in undertaking various duties within the firm, making the entire team successful. Understanding team theory may be important in appreciating the role of a leader in a chieving success within the organization. Understanding the Team Theory It is clear from the discussion above that high performance groups is defined by the kind of leaders who are assigned to such groups. As a leader therefore, it is important to appreciate that the performance of the group would depend on the leadership competency. To do this, Partridge (1999) says that it is important to understand the theory behind team. Team Theory seeks to explain stages that is always taken in forming a team, and the needs of team members at these stages. As a leader, understanding these stages makes it possible to develop strategies that would enable the leader meet the changing expectations of the team members. This theory specifies the following stages of growth of a team.Advertising Looking for report on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Forming stage This is the first stage of a team where different people come together with the view of working as a unit to achieve a common goal. As this stage, Nemiro (2008) notes that employees are always polite and positive. Members also experience mixed reactions as they try to visualize what lies ahead for them in these groups. High performance group would always be defined at this stage. A leader needs to tap on the positivity of the employees and their high expectations to make them high performance. Their anxiety should be turned into desire to achieve better results. It is also at this stage that a leader should provide a clear vision of the group, and a communication system that enables every member of the team to be heard. Any form of disillusionment should be eliminated. The focus at this stage would always be to set the right tempo that would be desired in achieving both short-term and long-term goals. Storming stage This is the stage where reality downs on the team mem bers. Every team member gets to understand his or her tasks, and the overall objectives that should be achieved within team. Tasks become clearly defined, and the exact vision becomes clear. This stage is always very challenging for a leader if the first stage was not handled appropriately. This is because at this stage, some members may realize that things are not as easy as they could have anticipated. However, if they were well prepared at the first stage, this second stage is always easily accomplished. The leader must understand that this stage involves assigning specific duties to individuals in the group in order to achieve overall objective of the firm. A leader of high performance team would always use this opportunity to make team members define their own individual path in achieving their specific tasks in the best way possible. The leader should offer members assistance when they are defining their operational strategies. The leader must ensure that their tactical strate gies are in line with the vision of the group. Norming stage At this third stage, team members get to understand their real working environment. They get to appreciate what the overall vision of the team seeks to achieve. Team members also get to understand one another, and define how they can relate in order to support and be supported in various activities. This stage provides a leader with the best opportunity of making employees feel more comfortable with their tasks, and the need to involve others in their actions. As Nemiro (2008) notes, employees at this stage may try to be independent in their actions because they get to understand their environment. This independence is not bad, but it should not be a reason that makes members ignore team spirit that was the real reason why such teams were forme (Kliem, 2004). Performing stage When a leader guides his team through the first three stages successfully, the fourth stage will be a true reflection of a high performance team. Whe n the leader guided his or her members through the first three stages successfully, the fourth face would involve high levels of collaboration among members. Every member of the group will understand that the overall success of the firm depends on the success of their individual performance. They would therefore try to achieve perfection in their duties, while still willing to help other team members be successful in their various tasks. In such groups, members will appreciate the dynamism in their working environment, and accept the need to be dynamic to the changing environmental factors. Understanding these four stages is very important for a new leader who is intending to guide a given group of employees into becoming high performance groups. Leading Virtual Teams Technology has created an environment where people can work from different geographic locations across the world. There are cases where a leader is assigned a virtual team, with members spread in various regions around the world. It is important for such a leader to understand that in order to create a high performance group out of them, the four stages defined above must be clearly followed despite lack of physical presence. Kliem (2004) warns that to lead a virtual high performance group, there is need for a high degree of discipline for all members. This is because when it is decided upon that there would be a videoconference at a particular time, all members should be seated at their respective offices ready for the conference. Any delay by any member or the leader may paralyze operations of the group. This may be worse in case it is the leader who fails to avail himself at the conference within the right time.  Leading virtual teams also need sophisticated communication tools that would keep all members in contact with one another. The leader must be able to communicate with any member of the team at any time of the day without getting affected by geographic barrier. Individual members mus t also be able to communicate among themselves in order to enhance creativity in their various tasks. Harris (2013) also advises that when leading such teams, traditional leadership approaches that emphasizes on exerting one’s authority over other as a show of supremacy may not yield the desired fruits. Resolving Conflicts in High Performance Groups Teams always bring together people with different skills, ideas, knowledge and talents. It also brings together individuals with different attitudes, values, and other demographical factors (Kliem (2004). Although it would be expected that in high performance teams the levels of understanding would always be high, it is important to appreciate the fact that conflicts would arise due to a number of reasons. It is important to address these conflicts as soon as they arise in order to avoid negative consequences they might have on the performance of the group. As a leader of high performance group, it is necessary to develop systems that would capture conflicts among the group members as soon as they arise. In order to manage conflict in such groups, a leader should consider the following. A leader should not ignore any form of conflict among the employees because when it is not addressed at its early stage, then it may give rise to other negative consequences that may affect the operations of the firm. A leader must have a clear proactive system that is able to identify conflicts within the group and offer clear guidelines on how to resolve it. A leader should encourage communication amongst conflicting groups as a way understanding each other. A leader should instil the spirit of tolerance amongst its employees as a way of creating an environment where conflicts can be resolved easily. Measuring the Performance of the Group It is always important to determine the performance of a group, especially if it has reached the fourth stage. High performance groups are always unique from other groups in the characte ristics they exhibit. The following are some of the characteristics that are always common among high performance groups Respect and trust among team members. High performance groups are always characterized by a high level of trust among group members. This helps in creating an environment where team members feel free to share their views, skills, talent, and knowledge with others. Clear communication system that enhances clarity and honesty among employees. In these groups, it is team members always have an understanding of what has been achieved, and what needs to be achieved (Harris, 2013). Positive results in the performance of the firm towards achieving success. The ultimate measure of performance would be the actual determination of the output posted by the team over a given period. High performance groups would always post good results, and their activities would always be seen to be in line with its vision. Conclusion Leading high performance groups can be a very challeng ing task. It requires a deep understanding of people within the group in order to develop strategies that would be acceptable to them. High performance groups are always defined by its leadership structure. It is clear from the above discussion that leaders have a great responsibilities of leading team members towards achieving the vision of a firm. To do this, leaders should understand various stages of leadership, and how they can influence team members at these stages in order to achieve success. References Harris, P. (2013). Developing High Performance Leaders: A Behavioral Science Guide for the Knowledge of Work Culture. New York: Routledge. Kliem, R. L. (2004). Leading high performance projects. Boca Raton: Ross Publishers. Nemiro, J. E. (2008). The handbook of high-performance virtual teams: A toolkit for collaborating across boundaries. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Partridge, L. (1999). Leading high performance. London: Financial Times Management. This report on Leading High Performance Groups was written and submitted by user Hayleigh S. 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.

Business Venture Essay Example

Business Venture Essay Current visions about your potential business venture Regina Murphy-Moore Southern New Hampshire University Operating a company is a stimulating, resourceful, and adaptable way to plan ones opportunity and come to be an entrepreneur. Apart from making a living, it is about building a new way of life. Becoming an entrepreneur takes foresight, determination, and courage. Some of the characteristics to have when becoming an entrepreneur are: Self-confidence, believing in your business venture, focus on your strengths, being a decision maker, and being leader. Self-confidence You need to have incredible self-belief. If you lack that crucial element of confidence in your mental character, then going into business is not for you. Believing in yourself is what gives you the self-confidence that you need to be a good entrepreneur. Bear in mind that many successful entrepreneurs started out with nothing or very little, apart from self-esteem and confidence. Believing in your business venture Question yourself whether you openly believe in the business you are starting interested in. If you find that you are not entirely convinced about it, you need to continue looking until you can pinpoint one that you feel you will be ready to be committed to it. TO be successful in any business venture, you will have to be attentive nearly 24 hours a day. You will have to continuously shaping it, modifying it, and designing it. Focus on your strengths People have their own strengths, as well as weaknesses. In order to be an efficient entrepreneur, you will want to identify your strengths and concentrate on them. We will write a custom essay sample on Business Venture specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Business Venture specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Business Venture specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer You will be able to attain further achievement by outing your strives into the fields of your importance. For instance, if you have human management skills as a strength, you would need to control the know-how, and initiating complete use of it in the business. Being a decision maker When it is time to hire personnel, speak to shareholders, and request for credits, will have to adopt the responsibility of a leader. If you dont have the skill to lead, you will not be able to be reliable staff. As the head of your company, the people you hire will look to you for support and guidance. The ability to give the suitable encouragement and management will be the source of your merit to a great extent. Lessons learned from Jack Ma A new business owner should limit the number of business partners and always keep majority of the business. When he did a joint venture with China Telecoms, which had five board seats, and he had only ;o seats (Fanning, R. , 2009). When he tried to suggest things and would get turned down. When he selected employees he spent time telling them his vision of the company. This makes the more invested than just being employees. Making a team that has value, innovation, and vision (Fanning, R. , 2009). Not giving up, and always having hope. When selecting a name for his company, he selected a name that meant something for him and that was easy to remember for future consumers. The three reasons why he survived where, he had no money, no technology, and no plan. However, these reasons can also be negatives. When starting a new business venture those things are very important in establishing and succeed in your business.

buy custom Emotional Tone of Virtual Team essay

buy custom Emotional Tone of Virtual Team essay Today, it is believed that leaders serve as the coordinators and the handlers of the emotional tone of virtual team. It is important for the members of the virtual teams to adopt an automatic style of handling all types of tasks whether they are important or not. Therefore the leader is required to pay more attention towards the maintenance of team work. The numbers of leaders are not limited to one in virtual teams. Researches have proved that virtual teams can functions even with more than one leader. The reason for this is that the parts of the people are many and each must be adopted by one another. Team members consider perceived amounts of communication, intelligence and encouraging and authoritarian behaviors to identify emergent leaders. Only few researches conduct in field to about the virtual leadership show that effectiveness of virtual teams can only be maintained by adopting an attempt to mentor the characteristics of both transformational and instrumental leadership. (S urinder, Jerry, Suling, Bruce, 2000) However, one but be little warned the outcomes of the field study of virtual leadership is not quite statistically valid because mostly the teams are students are used to collect data rather than organizational teams. Most of the work done on virtual leadership is done by using students virtual teams for data collection. However, these teams are usually regarded as not being completely virtual rather they possess some attitudes of virtual teams. (Surinder, Jerry, Suling, Bruce, 2000) A study was conducted by Alex to find out the confirmation of virtual team structures, trainings of different leadership styles and the complexity of tasks upon the consequences of virtual teams. Most of the researches on the virtual leadership style are done side by side. Most of these claim the success and effectiveness of transformational leadership rather than transactinal leadership. However, adaptation of transformational leadership style is not appreciable and suggestible in case of virtual communication with the help of computers. (Alex J. Barelka, 2007) The structural configurations, leadership styles and task complexity of different teams will be influenced by the quantity, quality and leader centrality. This in turn will serve as a mediating agent and will affect performance of the team and will affect the outcomes of the teams affecting the satisfaction of the leaders. Information Technology has shifted the teams to move from their former traditional existence of face to face to the electronic groups. And have given opportunity of communicating with each other via video teleconferences, e-mails and mobile cellular phone conversations. (Alex J. Barelka, 2007) Virtual teams can occur at remote areas because they do not need to maintain a union. Virtual team provides the organizations with an opportunity to become more flexible and combine the sharp people together to perform the duties of the organization in a cheaper and quicker manner. Most of the studies conducted in the favor of virtual teams are upon similar to the researches conducted under other studies It is important for the organizations operating at the international level to maintain their branch office abroad. They can integrate easily in the form of virtual teams by utilizing the information technology. In this way they will take benefit of the global marketplace more easily and in a more coordinative manner. (Alex J. Barelka, 2007) Virtual leadership can be comprehended via aspects It is significant to understand the impact of change in collectedness upon the team processes. It is crucial to take in to consideration and study the immpact if different types of leadership. To understate what leads to the change in the perceived leadership effectiveness in a virtual team in a situation when the task is complex. (Alex J. Barelka, 2007) Most of the studies conducted in the favor of virtual teams are upon similar to the researches conducted under other studies. The behaviors and traits of leadership that are not the same for the virtual environment. Three areas were examined by Alex these are The implications of different types of virtual structures on effectiveness, the impact of the task complexity in both collocated and virtual team configuration and it will examine the impact of different types of leadership behaviors on effectiveness. (Alex J. Barelka, 2007) Laura conducted a study the cause of different styles of leadership and communication media on team processes and outcomes. The data was collected using face to face and text based chat processes. The purpose of the study was to find out how transformational and transactional leadership affects the interacting styles of virtual leadership an the consequences of this interaction was also analyzed it consisted of team cohesion and task performance. The results of the study showed that the different styles of leaderships do not have any impact upon the interacting styles of team members or the results of such interactions. The results showed that interactions in case of face to face communication is higher as compared to video conferencing and chat teams but in case of video conferencing the interaction was much higher than the chat teams however, such type of communication was not very much important maintaining good task performance. However it was also found that virtual teams work a s effectively and cohesively as do the traditional teams. (Alex J. Barelka, 2007) Buy custom Emotional Tone of Virtual Team essay

Construction Toys Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Construction Toys - Research Paper Example This toy according to the reviews of the customers is durable, fun and well-constructed. KNex is a privately-held company with its headquarters and manufacturing facility in Pennsylvania. It is the most innovative and fastest growing construction toy company3. Their products are distributed in over 30 countries worldwide. They also distribute BRIO trains and toys including Lincoln Logs in North America. One of their products is the Tractors & Trucks 10 Building set which comes with KNexmen and a KNex building system with real KNex bricks with rods and connectors4. Advantages of this toy include having a handy storage container for portability and it’s easy to clean. This is made up of 130 different toy pieces. This is priced at $ 12.99. Guidecraft started in 1964 in a small woodshop. It has been making quality educational items for kids for some years now, and are made with the same quality and durability as that of the furniture that they are making5. The Guidecraft wooden blocks and construction sets are some of the classic toys sold by the company. An example of the construction set by Guidecraft is the Construction Truck Sort and Match whose heavy duty pieces are attached to the matching board with pegs and some embedded magnets. It includes 6 double-sided pattern cards, 48 construction truck pieces, a durable birch plywood storage case and a self-propping board with pegs and a metal backing. This is priced at $ 40.006. Hasbro was started by three Polish brother textile merchants who experimented with different product lines, ranging from sales of cloth scraps to pencil bags and hatbox liners. Hasbro, then the Hassenfeld Brothers, initially were known for their pencils before their toy line, but with the advent of their switch to plastics in the 1940s, and the creation of Mr. Potato Head, they became giants of the toymaking world. They now are the parent company of Coleco, Tonka Co., The Parker Brothers, and Milton Bradley.

Critical Evaluation of Currency Unification of GCC Countries The Essay

Critical Evaluation of Currency Unification of GCC Countries The Potential Impact On Member Countries - Essay Example The problem is that the countries in the region do not have enough convergence to make a unified currency work. The per capita incomes between the countries are wildly divergent, as are the debt levels. Plus, only two of the countries have met the threshold regarding inflation. When there are such differing economic problems with each country, there is a need for an autonomous monetary policy that will allow each country to the independence to use exchange rates to fix whatever is broken with their economies. Having a unified currency takes this autonomy away, taking a one-size-fits-all approach to every problem. While the issue of the divergence in economies has been masked by the fact that all the countries in the union have the same economic basis, ie, oil, this is not going to last forever. Therefore the countries in the GCC have to align their member countries with similar economic policies that will be designed to bring the countries more in line with one another on the key eco nomic factors that will make a unified currency work. ... y have to attempt a similar tact as this, however, since the GCC is still a long way from having enough convergence to have a unified currency, it will be a number of years before the GCC will be ready for this, even if the countries change their economic policy right now. This paper will examine the factors that are necessary to have a currency union, as well as examine if the GCC countries meet the standard. There are certain hurdles that need to be faced in order for the currency unification to become a reality, and these will also be examined in greater detail. Further, there are drawbacks and benefit to unified currency, and this will be another section of the paper. Finally, there will be a conclusion and recommendations for the GCC. What is a monetary unification? Monetary unification is a common currency in a region. There are two conditions that economists believe are essential to having a common currency. Mundell (1961) believes that the perfect factor mobility within the r egion is essential for monetary unification, while McKinnon (1962) believes that the openness of the economy is the necessary condition for the adoption of a unified currency.1 If a region can achieve one or the other, preferably both, then that region would be considered to be an optimum currency area (OCA). Monetary integration involves the â€Å"irrevocable fixing of exchange rates, full and complete convertibility of currencies, financial market integration, the complete liberalization of current transactions and a common monetary policy.†2 AlKhilifey & Alreshan (2009) state that a region with unified currency will display the following characteristics: First, the region will have a single currency. Second, the region will have a central bank that will set the monetary policy for the

Team Roles of a Football Team Essay Example for Free

Team Roles of a Football Team Essay There are many different roles in the modern football team; teams consist of 11 players with one player in the goal and the rest playing outfield all the roles of the different members of the team are vital in the team winning a game. Goalkeeper The goalkeeper is a very specialised role compared to all the other members of a team, a goalkeeper will rarely end up playing in a different position, where as other members of the team e. . midfielder may swap positions with a winger. Goalkeepers are the only players allowed to touch the ball with their hands, but only within the penalty area, this is why goalkeepers wear a different jersey to the rest of the team so the referee can distinguish them between other players. The referee’s job is stop the other team scoring by preventing the ball from entering the goal for this reason there role is mainly defensive Defender The Defender plays behind the midfielders usually playing in the half of the field that there goal is located, There main responsibility is to prevent the opposition having a chance to get a shot on goal Defenders are split up into different categories-Left back, right centre-back, left centre-back, centre-back, right-back. Midfielder Midfielders are players who play between the strikers and the midfielders, there main responsibilities are to keep possession of the ball, receive the ball from the defenders and get it to the strikers and tackle other opposing players, most teams have a central midfielder with their main responsibility being to break up the other teams attacks while the other midfielders main objective is to create goal opportunities, midfielders play all over the pitch as at certain times during a match they may be required to help with defence or help attack with the strikers Strikers Strikers play nearest to the other team’s goal, the main responsibility of strikers is to score goals; there other responsibilities include setting up goals and holding the ball while waiting for other players to come join with attacking There are three main player styles Defensive, Midfield, and attackers Defensive player styles Libero A Libero or sweeper is a versatile type of defender that â€Å"sweeps up† the ball if an opponent manages to get past the defensive line They are usually faster than normal defenders, and move around the field more than usual defenders as they don’t have designated players to mark Stopper Stoppers are players who are strong , have good stamina and man marking abilities to be able to stop the other teams attacking play by making strong tackles, they usually play as defensive full backs or centre backs Wingbacks A wingback Is a defender that plays on the side of the pitch like a winger but’s main role are to play attack and defence heavily, as the role is a combined winger and full back, wing-backs need good stamina, as they have 3 centre backs supporting them, they can concentrate more on supporting strikers Mid fielding player styles Ball winners Ball winners are skilled players trained in making strong tackles and good at heading the ball to stop the other teams attacking play; they are usually defensive mid fielders or central midfielders Defensive midfielders Defensive midfielders are midfielders who mainly focus on defence, they are good at making strong tackles and require good stamina and must be good at passing the ball up to the attacking midfielders/Strikers Box To Box Box to box midfielders help with every part of the game, They cover almost every area of the pitch so they need lots of stamina as well as good passing skills, they usually play as central midfielders Playmaker Playmakers are midfielders whose main objective is to create goal scoring opportunities, it’s essential their able to read the game so they can get in the right position to create play, it’s also essential they have good ball control and good passing skill, they usually play as attacking midfielders Attacking playing styles Dribblers Dribblers use their speed and dribbling skill to get past defenders, there main aim is to create goal opportunities for other strikers, and they usually play as wingers or secondary strikers Counter Attackers Counter attackers use their speed to beat defenders and create unexpected goal opportunities, they also need good shooting skill, and they usually play as centre forwards Clinical Strikers Clinical striker’s main objective is to score goals so they are trained heavily to increase their shooting ability; they usually play as centre forwards Goal poachers Are players who wait in the penalty area for a cross or pass, as soon as they receive a ball they try to score straight away, they usually play as centre forwards Conclusion In conclusion a standard football team is split up into 4 main categories (Goalkeeper, Defense,Midfield,Strikers) usually with defence, midfield and strikers having different specialisations e. g. Counter attack-strikers, wingback-defender, every player has to work together to create a successful football team, they must all have good communication so every team member is aware if the team want to make an attacking play on goal or a more defensive play, Without good communication players will not know when the team is going to make an attacking play and will not be in the right position to help their team score a goal.

Theory Of Reasoned Action

Theory Of Reasoned Action CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW 2.0 Introduction This chapter will deals with survey of literature review in the area of online purchase intention and perceived risk and its determinants. This section will discuss the dependent, independent and mediating variables and the relationship among the variables that might influence consumer perceptions of perceived risk towards online purchase intention. Researcher was replicates the framework from the study Factors influencing consumer perceptions of brand trust online by Hong-Youl Ha, 2004 and The influence of prior experience and age on mature consumers perceptions and intentions of internet apparel shopping by Wi-Suk Kwon and Mijeong Noh, 2009. The reason to choose this framework are because, this framework seem like fit with Malaysian culture and tradition. Although researcher was replicate the framework but some changes were made, which is researcher will combine both of the frameworks into one new framework and will test the framework into different setting of place. 2.1 Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA) To make some improvement for the past studies, researcher will apply the Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA) by (Fishbein, 1980) and Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) by Ajzen in 1991. Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA) by Fishbein, 1980 was developed to explain how a consumer leads to a certain buying behavior, this theory asserts that attitude toward buying and subjective norm are the antecedents of performed behavior. Two antecedents which are (attitude and subjective norm) influence the purchase behavior additively (Ha, 1998). Two important propositions underlying the theory of reasoned action offered by Lutz (1991) are the first one is to predict a purchase behavior, it is necessary to measure a persons attitude toward performing that specific behavior, not only the general attitude toward the object around which the purchasing behavior is. The second one is, in addition to the attitude toward the behavior, TRA includes a second determinant of overt behavior namely the subjective norm (SN). SN is intended to measure the social influences on a persons behavior such as family members or friends and colleagues expectations. Sometimes in some situations expectation o f relevant from others may be a major factor in ultimate behavioral performances and simply not under the attitudinal control of individuals. Another study Lada et al., 2009, claim that according to the TRA, a persons intention is a function of two basic determinants, which are one personal in nature and the other one is reflecting social influence. The personal factor is the individuals positive or negative evaluation when performing the behavior and this factor is termed attitude toward the behavior. The second determinant of intention is the persons perception of the social pressure put on him or her whether to perform or not to perform the behavior in question and this factor is termed subjective norm since it deals with perceived prescriptions, (Ajzen and Fishbein, 1980). According to Ajzen and Fishbein, 1980), attitudes are a function of beliefs when someone believes that performing a given behavior will lead to mostly positive outcomes they may hold a favorable attitude toward performing the behavior, contrary a person who believes that performing the behavior will lead to mostly negative outcomes then they will hold an unfavorable attitude. The beliefs that underlie a persons attitude toward the behavior are termed behavioral beliefs while subjective norm is a function of beliefs that specify individuals or groups to think whether they should or should not perform the behavior and these beliefs which is underlying a persons subjective norm termed as a normative belief. A person who believes that most referents with whom they are motivated more to comply think, that they should perform the behavior will receive social pressure to do so (Lada et al., 2009). 2.2 Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) The second theory is Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), which is proposed by Ajzen in 1991 as an extension of the first theory discussed above which is theory of Reasoned Action (TRA) (Fishbein, 1980). (Ajzen and Fishbein, 1980), the TPB has been used by many researchers over the past 20 years and its shown to be able to predict a variety of intentions and behaviors perform by persons. According to Ajzen (1991), a persons action is determined by their behavioral intentions, which in turn are influenced by an attitude toward the behavior and subjective norms as discussed above. (Azjen, 1991), behavioral intentions are factors that capture how people are willing to try to perform a behavior, behavioral intention also the most influential predictor of behavior and its shown that in TPB constructs, intention was a better predictor of behavior. In the TPB, attitude toward the behavior is defined as ones positive or negative feelings about performing a specific behavior and determined through an assessment of ones beliefs regarding the consequences which is arising from ones behavior and an evaluation of the desirability of these consequences. 2.3 Conceptual Definition of Dependent Variable (Online Purchase Intention) It is best to start this study by explaining what an online purchase intention is it in order to give some idea and to dispel some common misconceptions that might occur. Purchase intention can be defined as a plan to purchase a particular goods or services in the future. Purchase intentions is the likelihood that a consumer will buy a particular product in which resulting from the interaction of his or her need for it, attitude towards it and perceptions of it and of course from the company itself which produces the products or services (J. Baker, 1998). This study using definition from (Azjen, 1991), behavioral intentions are factors that capture how people are willing to try to perform a behavior, behavioral intention also the most influential predictor of behavior, intention also was a better predictor of behavior. 2.4 Conceptual definition of Mediating Variable (Perceived Risk) Risks is a part of everyday life and always come as a routine in between us and exist when there is a less than 100 percent probability that things will turn out as someone expected will happen (Baeur, 1967). Risks are different for different persons, according to Martin and Camarero (2008), some people view risk as a their inability to value the quality of the product directly, lack of personal contact with the salesperson, the cost involve of learning on how to use the internet, cost switching different channels, security of payment and personal information. Whilst others, view risk as a (Stone and Gronhaug, 1993) degree of uncertainty about the outcome of an action which might carries the possibility of physical harm or damages. Manzano et al., 2008 offered six dimensions of perceived risk which are security risk, privacy risk, performance risk, time loss risk and social risk. Whilst Beardon and Mason, 1978 proposed different dimensions of perceived risk namely, financial risk, social risk, performance risk, psychological risk and physical risk. Although there are different kind of names or term used but the meaning is quiet same in a context of online shopping. Financial risk or security risk share a same meaning, it can be incurred when customers financial circumstances are damaged because of loss of money in cash or via credit card (March, 2006; Manzano et al., 2008). Social risks come through purchasing process that is perceived to be down-market (March, 2006). Littler and Melanthiou, 2006 found that social risk is concerned with the possibility of attracting unfavorable attention and response from purchasing a particular product. Consumer attitudes to the different methods of purchasing highly depend on their characteristics. Performance risk according to (Littler and Melanthiou, 2006) is concerned with how well the product perform relative to expectations for example, the lack of personal contact with a salesperson prevent the consumer from correctly evaluating the characteristics of the product which in turn decreasing confidence (Ba, 2001) among consumer. It is good if consumer can try out the product they will buy before they make a payment, (Gerrard and Cunningham, 2003) in their study reveal that the opportunity to conduct a trial before make payment provides the necessary confidence to consumers with high perceived performance risk. Whilst March 2006, implies that performance risk is occur when a product does not fulfill its functio n as expected especially services which may take risk time wasted in waiting. Time loss risk happen when consumer incur time costs from using online purchasing, the time of learning how to buy on a certain products, the time to wait for respond or the time for searching process( Littler and Melanthiou, 2006). Physical risk leading with purchases that might include products which are unsafe or will cause physical harm to the user or in services, allow customers to take risks whilst undertaking risky activity such as cycling (March, 2006). The last dimensions of perceived risk are psychological risk, which may be caused by consumers wearing unfashionable clothes, leading to the social risk of not fitting in and in turn will decrease confidence level among consumer. We do not always accurately perceive the threats of risks, accurately understanding and effectively eliminating or limiting risks are part of the survival and safety especially in online industry. Risk management must be an active part of facility marketing manager duties, risk should be well manage to control the financial and personal injury loss from sudden, unforeseen, unusual accident, and intentional torts (Ammon et al., 2004). In summary, for the purpose of this study, perceived risk can be summarize as a degree of uncertainty about the outcome from an action which carries the possibility of physical harm especially in financial and information fraud. Hence, this study assumes customer perceived risks are all the six dimensions discuss above which are, security risk, privacy risk, performance risk, time loss risk and social risk. 2.5 Conceptual definition of Independent Variables 2.5.1 Security Theres a various definition of security, Yoo and Donthu, 2001; Wolfinbarger and Gilly define security as to protecting the user from the risk of fraud and financial loss. According to (Milne et al., 2004), security often breaches of internet transmissions and databases enable the unauthorized use of consumers confidential information from third parties such as, name, address, password, social security and credit card numbers and, often result in identity theft. In reality, the prospect of privacy losses and information misuse in e-commerce settings may offset any convenience, time, and financial savings afforded to consumers thus by providing security for consumers will lead to customer satisfaction and in turn will decrease risk perception among consumers. Unfortunately, security breaches are occurring at a growing rate from time to time. Indeed, Miyazaki and Fernandez (2001) found that internet users highly concerns with regard to online shopping were privacy, system security breaches from third parties in which due to faulty technological security and security breaches in the form of fraudulent online retailer behavior. Security plays a vital role on customer trust and customer satisfaction, thus by providing security to consumers will lead to brand trust and would expect (Mayer et al., 1995) security decrease risk perceptions among consumers. On the other hand, Krisnahmurthy (2001) also found that consumers who experience positive security leads to improvements in the levels of familiarity on the web, accordingly security should affect brand trust as well as decrease risk perceptions. 2.3.2 Privacy Consumers patronizing an online service which requires the regular transmission and remote storage of confidential information may perceive elevated concerns regarding threats to the privacy of their personal and confidential information is very important during online transactions (Mauricio et al., 2007). Privacy refers to protection of personal details implicit or explicit agreement and not to sell or exchange the personal information gathered from consumers during transactions (Yoo and Donthu, 2001; Wolfinbarger and Gilly, 2003). Another definition of privacy from (Parasuraman et al., 2005) is the claim of individualsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦to determine on when, how, and to what extent information about them is communicated to others. (Caudill and Murphy, 2000; Sheehan and Hoy, 2000) proposed in their studies that consumer concern for information privacy is considered one of the most important issues nowadays. Fried (1998) was one of the earliest modern scholars to evaluate the notion of privacy; he argued that privacy is especially valuable since it allows people to conduct online transactions that result in trust, which would not be possible in the absence of privacy. Caudill and Murphy (2000) argued that both public and private information should be included in the debate regarding privacy since technologies today are making it increasingly easier to move private information into the public domain, which will cause consumers serious concerns regarding their private information. If the private information going into public meaning that, there is no privacy at all and this will cause distrust among customers and will lead to unsatisfied customers. 2.3.3 Brand Name Theres are various definition of brand, one of the definition is proposed by Bennett, 1988 claim that a brand is a name, term, sign, symbol, design, or any combination of these concepts, used to identify the goods and services of a seller. Keller (1998) states that brand name are one of the main factors facilitating the development of brand awareness or familiarity. The more specialized and reputable a brand name is in selling or recognizing the product or service, the more highly will its brand trust be perceived by consumers. Choosing a brand name for a consumer product or service is so critical that some writers argue it is one of the most important marketing management decisions that marketing manager should take highly considerations about choosing a brand name (Landler et al., 1991). A well chosen brand name can provide a customer with a symbolic meaning which assists in both the recognition of the product and the decision-making process (Herbig and Milewicz, 1993), it is also can produce a number of specific advantages including suggesting product benefits (McCarthy and Perault, 1990), contributing to brand identity, simplifying shopping, implying quality (McNeal and Zerren, 1981), evoking feelings of trust, confidence, security, strength, durability, speed, status and exclusivity and at the end of the day can decrease risk perceptions (Shimp, 1993). The more positively the persons perceived the brand, the higher the consumers brand awareness and loyalty, allowing the firm to command larger margins, higher market share, more inelastic consumer response to price increases, less vulnerability to competitive activity, increased marketing communications effectiveness, additional brand extension opportunities and other competitive advantages such as distribution leverage, customer satisfaction and as well as decrease risk perceptions (Keller, 1998). 2.3.4 Word of Mouth Word of mouth (WOM) plays a vital role in consumer behavior because Word of mouth (WOM) would affect purchase and intention to purchase and also experience of other consumers by conveying their consumption experience of others, namely the satisfaction or dissatisfaction after the purchasing process occur. WOM is commonly defined as informal communication about the characteristics of a business, services or a product which occurs between consumers (Westbrook, 1987). Most importantly, WOM also allows consumers to exert both informational and normative influences on the product or service evaluations and purchase intentions to fellow consumers (Bone, 1995; Ward and Reingen, 1990). According to Ha, 2004, WOM has been shown to influence awareness, expectations, perceptions, attitudes, behavioral intentions and behavior towards a product or services. Online shopping consumers will perceive higher purchase risk than that of the traditional shopping since the purchase occurs in virtual space rather than face to face transactions. They will accordingly rely more on WOM information to reduce uncertainty and purchase risk to make decisions (Kim and Song, 2010). According to Assael (1995), since online shopping has higher purchase risk than face to face interactions, (Richins and Shaffer, 1987) consumers carry out WOM action to obtain market information while making buying decision especially consumers who rely more on WOM as they perceive higher risks. Nowadays, there a growing body of evidence that the internet based opinion mechanism influence consumers when making a purchase such as blogs, social network (facebook, myspace, twitter) (Hong, 2006) and this is a new form of word of mouth communication and is known as electronic Word of Mouth (e-WOM). e-WOM is any positive or negative communication among the potential, current or former customers about a product, services or company that is available to public on the internet. Indeed, (Sen, 2008; Sen and Lerman, 2007) claimed that the impact of e-WOM is not as effective as the traditional face to- face word of mouth (WOM). In contrast, Steffes and Burgee (2009) found that the information gained from the e-WOM forum is more influential and beneficial in decision making process rather than speaking with friends in person (WOM). 2.3.5 Good Online Experience Often consumers tend to remember best the last experience they encounter (the recency effect): thus, one positive experience may be sufficient to alter perceptions of more than preceding negative experience, and vice versa (Ha, 2004). Experiences are sometimes confused with services, but experiences are as distinct from services as services also distinct from goods because experiences exist only in the mind of the individual. They are rich with emotional, physical, intellectual, or spiritual sensations created within the consumer during transactions (Kotler et al., 2005). According to Pine and Gilmore (1999), An experience occurs when a company intentionally uses services as the stage, and then goods as props to engage individual customers in a way to create a memorable event that consumer will remember best. The more satisfied the customer with the experience that the web sites offer, the more durable is the relationship among consumer and that particular brand (Buchanan and Gillies, 1990), and the relationship is highly depends on the customers experience, whether positive or negative experience. Experience plays a vital role in trust by making it possible to compare the realities of the firm with customer preconceived expectations. Ganesan (1994) goes further, and views experience as an antecedent to build brand trust among customers which in turn will lead to making purchasing. Usually customers expect Web sites to offer them not just a message, but a positive experience such as, security and privacy, ease of use, web site design and aesthetic elements and interactivity. The ease of use of the web sites is important factor which refers to the layout and design of the web site and the ease of making ones way around it, how the users perceives and interacts with the site, and how easy t o use it (Nielsen, 1999). While (Steur, 1992) covers the web sites design and aesthetic elements as a representation of the web site environments, associated with its formal characteristic such as graphics, colors, images, icons, animated sequences, videos and pop -ups which will influence customer to trust the web site as well as to proceed at the end action which is making purchasing. (Yoo and Donthu, 2001) claim that these elements has contribute to the atmosphere of the web site and are important in evaluating the web site experience. Thus, if the web sites offer all of this experience to customer will lead to customer satisfaction and build brand trust among customer thus will decrease customer risk perception. General speak in detailed, the fact that it easy to access and use the site, including the access speed and the overall guide design and layout, as well as the information provided; requirement fulfillment refers to whether the sites handling and goods delivery in a systematic way; system accessibility refers to whether the site has been technology based or still using a traditional based, or is vulnerable to attacks; and privacy, also known as security, refers to whether the site can keep the customers information secret and payments safe (Sheng and Liu, 2010) are experience that customer want in which we can called it positive experience will lead to customer satisfaction and purchase as well as to build brand trust. 2.3.6 Quality of Information There is various definition of information. Some writers make no distinction between data and information (Wang et al., 1998) while some writers see the differences as most crucial (Tozer, 1999). Information is logically derived from theories or principles, it is an artifact. The producer of information has an intention to produce a symbolic meaning of certain entities or events, put it into a context, assign it into a pre defined meaning and then transmit the information into receiver. The producer of information expected that the receiver will capture the meaning as intended (Lillrank, 2002). Consumers search for information in their pre-purchase search process for a product or service they intend to buy thus, by providing effective information does lead to improved awareness and brand perception among consumers (Aaker and Joachimsthaler, 2000; Ha, 2002; Keller, 1998), particularly for individuals with high brand trust and high perceived risk (Duncan and Moriarty, 1998). Many online buyers indicate that their buying decisions mostly depend on the information offered online (Long Ching, 2009). Bickart and Schindler (2001) found that consumers who gathered information from online discussions namely electronic word of mouth (e-WOM) reported greater interest and intention to buy in the product than did those consumers who gathered information from the marketer-generated sources. The main reason for this is highly likely to be the trust issue as raised in a study by Sen (2008). Customized information has become more important in internet nowadays based applications due to the multitude of choices that are available on the internet (Simonson, 2005; Ha, 2002). (Ha (2002), has shown that internet users are very interested in customized information offer by the web sites be this is because mostly firms today have added value by providing appropriate information to simplify the customers decision making process (Murthi and Sarkar, 2003). In addition, the source of the information is very crucial for a message to be effective and reliable and it often depends on the receivers perception of the senders trustworthiness and expertise (Kiecker and Cowles, 2001) they also suggest that the information also must be perceived believable, competent, valuable and trustworthy for information recipients. (Robinson and Kaye, 2000), found that consumers, who relied on online sources for more information, rated the online sources as more credible than other sources, so it is important tasks for managers to provide quality information online to gain trust from customers. Meyvis and Janiszewski (2002) reveal that irrelevant and lack in quality information will weakens consumers belief in the products or services ability to deliver the benefit. Hence, whether perceived quality of information is provided and, if it is provided, the quality of customized information for customers, also highly influence the level of brand trust and custom er satisfaction on the web (Ha, 2004). 2.4 Relationship among the Variables Individuals who perceive a low risk in online buying likely make decisions more quickly and less likely to take into account aspects outside of the web site. In contrast, individuals who are more fearful will behave in a more cautious way, searching for external information that warrantees a successful buying decision to decrease uncertainty in internet purchase (Martin and Camarero, 2008). Bhatnagar et al., 2000, reported that consumers were less likely to shop online in which perceived product performance risk was high than those with low product performance risk, consumers perceived risk negatively influences their intention to purchase products online. Customer who satisfied with the security, privacy and online good experience offered by the web sites will experience lower perceived risk and will have effect on the purchase intention. (Chen and Hsin, 2008) results show that consumers perceived risk towards specific online retailer with regards to purchase intention was influence by trust. As consumer trust increases because of decreasing perceived risk will influence consumer to make purchase (Chen and Hsin, 2008). 2.5 Summary This chapter reviewed literatures on consumer perception of perceived risk towards online purchase intention in detailed. Based on the findings from literature reviews, definition conception of online purchase intention, perceived risk, security, privacy, word of mouth, brand name, good online experience and quality of information are developed. In the last part of this chapter, the relationship between independent variables, mediating variable and dependent variable are constructed. Conceptualizing definitions of variables is important in order to construct a research framework in which would be discussed in chapter 3.

Diversity management programs Essay

Diversity in the workplace is an important aspect of the workplace, which if not followed, could lead to a society that doesn’t have respect for different cultures. It is important to develop diversity management programs, were aspects of diversity such as religion, different cultures due to outsourcing, age, women and single parents, disabled team members, flexible work hours, are discussed which will lead to redesigning jobs to better fit the individual. When developing a conceptual framework for such programs to be implemented, it is important to view how lack of diversity in the workplace has affected other countries around the world besides America. According to Begum (2005), social care organizations in the United Kingdom are affected greatly by lack of diversity amongst there staff. Information, in the United Kingdom, is not distributed fairly to the population, is distributed on a socio economic basis. It is important for social care organizations to become diverse in their workforce, if they are to embody the essence of the communities that they serve. Studies have indicated that gender and culture diversity create barriers to effective interactions and hinder employee performance (Managerial Issues, 2000). When outlining a possible course of action to take when implementing diversity management programs within employee workforces, we could include information on how lack of diversity in the workplace has affected countries like the United Kingdom. People tend to feel more comfortable working in groups with people who share their ideals and beliefs, which is something I think we are all guilty of at times. I think it is important when outlining the possible courses of action to take when implementing diversity management programs, that employees share their different ideals and beliefs in an open environment. I think that employees sharing their different ideals and beliefs help the workforce grow, and the company they work for as well. Michael Bird (2007), a college professor at De Vry University in South Florida, has implemented a diversity management program in which he has developed a five step program in order to ensure that his team succeeds. Michael’s five step program required, these students to one, understand and define diversity, to understand the organization’s value and necessities, effectively manage the resistance towards, evaluate our overall team’s performance, and last of all use the experiences shared to improve or groups management techniques. Flex management should be implemented in order to ensure that people feel like they are assets to the company, and are taken care of properly. During the development of a conceptual framework for a diversity management program, teambuilding exercises have proven to be the most effective. It is important for the employees to have different cultural backgrounds and different beliefs, in order that they may share those with the corporation in which they work. I think that when different cultures, different peoples with different ideas and beliefs, come together and share their ideas, truly inventive things can take place within the corporations they work in. America is a melting pot of different cultures and beliefs, which is what makes our country unique and truly produces unique individuals, tolerant of other people’s beliefs, with truly innovative ideas. One great way to go about instituting diversity management programs within the workplace would be to organize groups within the workplace that shared similar beliefs, and have them share their beliefs as a whole, and attempt to implement any new ideas obtained. The next step after instituting diversity management programs is to organize employees that share the same ideals, and discuss their shared ideals, and find common ground. In order for the employees participating in a diversity management group to share their ideas and implement them on a level on which they all agree, it is important that the employees learn to work together and respect each other’s ideals. With a proper management support, workers can have the proper training in order to train our employees to be more culturally sensitive. It is important that management is effective in their approach to dealing with culturally diverse issues. By training our employees and diversity management, they will benefit greatly. Although most of these successful companies the United States show’s significant efforts to include people with disabilities in a diverse workforce, there is still room for improvement. I hope that by implementing this diversity management program within the workplace, policies can be enforced specifying what is meant by diversity, in terms of race or gender, and also provide more information pertaining to those employees that have disabilities. With everybody’s help, we can be certain that we can implement this new diversity management program within the workplace, and that this program will be a success.

Commandants Research Paper

Cattle rustling is â€Å"the stealing of grazing cattle† [1]. The term originated from the United States, where pioneer farmers grazed cattle on huge ranches that were difficult to patrol. [2] In Uganda, cattle rustling is rampant in North-eastern part of the country (Karamoja region), a semi-arid land area. The region has dominant pastoral ethnic groups which include the Dodoth, Jie, Bakora, Matheniko and the Pian all of whom are referred to generally as Karamojong.Traditionally, cattle rustling within the pastoral communities was sanctioned and controlled by elders as a means of testing a person’s personal bravery and prowess. In the recent past however, there has emerged a new system of predatory exploitation of economic resources in the form of cattle rustling and banditry. This problem is manifesting itself in various forms and is becoming endemic in north-eastern Uganda.There has been a tendency by scholars to trivialize the issue of cattle rustling as a mere cult ural practice, yet over a period of time there have emerged new trends, tendencies and dynamics, leading to commercialization of the practice. The phenomenon of cattle rustling has caused a breakdown in social order, economic hardships and insecurity in North-eastern Uganda. 2. During post colonial period, different Ugandan governments have adopted anti-pastoral policies leading to loss of land vital for the survival of the Karamajong herds.Today, the menace of cattle rustling in this area has reached unprecedented proportions in nature and scale due to a number of factors including; government policies, socio-political and ecological limitations. The subsequent intervention by government saw to it that disarmament programs were the most viable solution to cease and remove all illegal gun usage by the Karamojong. To date however, all the disarmament programs initiated by government have not solved the problem. 3.This paper is written for the commandant Ghana Armed Forces Command and Staff College as a partial fulfilment for the award of a Pass Staff Course (psc). It seeks to analyse the problems of cattle rustling and banditry activities in Uganda, by examining the historical background of the pastoralists, causes and effects of cattle rustling, attempts by government to address it and finally proposes solutions deemed appropriate. The paper relied mainly on written materials, which included articles, books, reports and journals.The findings could not be comprehensively expressed within the limits of 4,000 words; consequently there was the constraint of space. AIM 4. The aim of this paper is to examine the problems of cattle rustling in Uganda with a view to recommending appropriate solution. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF KARAMOJA PASTORALISTS 5. Karamojong is a generic term that refers to a group of pastoralists from the Nilo-Hamite ethnic group living in North-eastern Uganda. The region is popularly known as Karamoja and their language is Akaramojong.The communit y comprises five ethnic groupings namely Dodoth, Jie, Bakora, Matheniko and the Pian totaling about 12% of Uganda’s population of 24. 7million. Their history and culture closely interlocks with that of their neighboring pastoralists, the Turkana in Northwestern Kenya. Cattle are crucial within this community not just for subsistence but also for the payment of bride price, which is the basis of establishing bond partnerships within the Karamojong community. [3] The history of the pastoralist organized raids and predatory expansion predate European colonialism of the nineteenth century.During pre-colonialism, pastoralists of the region had been accustomed to the independence and freedom of openly carrying firearms they had for many decades obtained from Arab slave traders and merchants from the East African coast. [4] Karamoja community had a thriving pastoral economy through trade in ironware and livestock with the Turkana of Kenya. They lived peacefully within the Rudolf Pro vince of Uganda where they shared natural resources through a system of social reciprocity, before the colonial delimitation sliced through their grazing areas. 6.The redrawing of boundaries by Britain in 1926 transferred Uganda’s Rudolf province to Kenya and created the present republics of Kenya and Uganda[5]. The colonialists wanted the pastoralists confined within the respective boundaries and to respect the invisible meridians that delineated the newly created states. Since ancient times however, pastoralism involved the protection of livestock from wild animals; later on protection against human thieves also became necessary. These considerations made it prudent for pastoralists to be armed, which was viewed as a threat by the colonial authority.On account of this, each pastoral ethnic community was ordered to surrender to the colonialists the guns they acquired in the mid 19th century. The pastoralists refused to surrender guns peacefully, forcing colonialists to condu ct a disarmament operation which was unsuccessful in that the pastoralists simply re-located to rugged mountainous terrain out of reach of the colonial patrols. 7. Nevertheless, Karamoja and Turkana regions were declared closed districts, where movement within and outside was restricted without a valid pass. 6] By the late nineteenth century the Karamojong adopted a settled form of pastoralism through which only animals are moved in search of pasture while the families settle permanently in given locations. Consequently, the restriction of movement limited free access to grazing land and water and further increased the social conflict among the pastoralists over the little available grazing area. The redrawing of boundaries and restrictions on movement affected the pastoralists whose mode of nomadism results from ecological demands necessitating mobility. 8.At the outbreak of the Second World War, Britain recruited the Karamojong into the army in recognition of their ethno-military culture and existing dexterity with firearms and knowledge of harsh physical terrain. Karamojong also served with distinction as soldiers for the Kings African Rifles (KAR) during military campaigns conducted in Africa and Asia. After political independence from Britain in 1962, the government of Uganda continued to exclude the Karamoja region from the socio-economic and political developments that were taking place in other areas of the country.The community lacked road communication and infrastructures that could generate local employment. Karamoja region therefore remained economically deprived hence failed to gravitate to the rhythm of statehood and instead strengthened their primordial identity. 9. In 1979, the Karamojong acquired large quantities of automatic rifles following the routing of President Idi Amin from Uganda by an alliance of Tanzanian People’s Defence Force and Ugandan exiles. One major source was the Moroto barracks which the fleeing soldiers abandoned in tact thus allowing the Karamojong to help themselves to unlimited quantity of small arms and ammunition. 7] Hence, the Karamojong strengthened their raiding capacity using the skills gained in the colonial wars and the modern automatic rifles looted from Moroto barracks to revitalize the tradition of dynastic raids and predatory expansion. The long time exclusion of the Karamojong from the socio-economic development by the government also accounts as a cause of the new form of banditry. CAUSES OF CATTLE RUSTLING IN UGANDA 10. Cattle rustling phenomenon has undergone fundamental transformation from a cultural practice of testing a person’s personal bravery and prowess to banditry and bloody warfare between various groups.Cattle raids within the pastoral communities often constitute a communal response to natural calamities, although it is a primitive survival strategy, on the overall, raiding has the impact of creating a desperate cycle of continuous raids as each group in the region sees it as a means for re-stocking. Thus the social dilemmas created by frequent natural disasters appear to be the major catalysts of the cattle-rustling phenomenon in the borderlands. Cattle rustling activities in Uganda is therefore, as a result of; ecological limitations, government policies, external political and economic factors. 8] 11. Ecological Limitations. The Karamoja area has an ecological feature of a semi-arid savannah, bush and mountains with varying rain pattern. In pre-colonial times, pastoral societies used migrations as a panacea[9] for droughts, but the impositions of boundaries and restrictions on movement destroyed this possibility, and were totally at variance with the understanding of boundaries by the pastoralists who responded to ecological demands. These measures greatly affected the grazing patterns by the pastoralists from their long time experience with ecological hardships.Ecological limitations further forced pastoralists to choose breeds whi ch may not necessarily be profitable in milk, blood, and meat yield but can endure extreme drought and survive long distances. The fixed boundaries as a result of government policies were drawn with little regard to seasonal variations and the need of the pastoral community for pasture. Consequently, massive deaths of cattle resulting from droughts and limited grazing area led to raids as one of the options for replenishing the depleted stocks. 12. Government Policies.As a result of colonial and post colonial government policies, the Karamajong lost a considerable portion of land through the redrawing of national boundaries of Kenya, Uganda and Sudan, gazetting of national parks and the establishment of Moroto barracks that left much of their grazing areas outside Uganda. They were also expelled from the newly created Game park of Kidepo, and protected forests. From then, the pastoral community developed a highly sophisticated approach to sharing scarce grazing land and water in an unstable ecological system.The adoption of a settled form of pastoralism through which only animals are moved in search of pasture and water while the families settle permanently in given locations entailed the development of hostilities among the various groups over grazing grounds and water spots. They often abandon their homes to temporary encampments in search of pasture, occasionally crossing to neighbouring districts including the border to Tukana land in North-western Kenya[10]. Consequently, the alienation of the Karamajong communities from the resources they once used set the stage for them to seek survival strategies through mobile pastoralism.The high rate of illiteracy and unemployment among the youth who view cattle rustling and banditry as the only way to livelihood is another factor contributing to the banditry activities in the region coupled with external political factors. 13. External Political Factors. External political factors have increased the instability of pastoralist groups inhabiting remote regions of Northeastern Uganda and Northwestern Kenya. In particular, political fragmentation and civil wars have had domino effect on the Karamojong and Turkana.They have played host or been caught up in armed conflicts between various factions and in the event lost livestock in big numbers. The pastoralists have from time to time had heavy clashes with the rebels who come to loot livestock. Specifically, the civil war in Southern Sudan between the government of Sudan and the Sudan Peoples Liberation Army (SPLA) and the sporadic rebel movements of the Lords Resistance Movement (LRA) in Northeastern Uganda. The Uganda, Kenya and Sudan border region is so awash with small arms that one ethnic pastoral group will use guns for part payment of dowry when taking a bride from the other.Whereas cattle have a symbolic role in marriage and in the social-political and economic life of herders, their substitution with modern firearms indicates that arms bea ring has acquired a significant role in the spiritual and material culture of the pastoral community of Uganda. 14. Economic Factors. Another cause of cattle rustling which has become more entrenched in the last few decades is that of economic self-acquisition motives. Raids motivated by such tendencies do not occur as a response to ecological or natural calamities. Such raids occur at any time with the aim of acquiring animals for commercial purposes and individual gain.While the first category of raids hinges on communal interests and is monitored by the community through social norms, the latter is based entirely on private interests and controlled by armed kraal leaders. This has led to the emergence of cattle warlords. [11] Consequently, cattle rustling have emerged into a new system of predatory exploitation of economic resources in the form of banditry and raids intended to accumulate wealth resulting into adverse effects in the region. EFFECTS OF CATTLE RUSTLING 15. Traditio nally, cattle rustling were a cultural practice that was regarded as a kind of sports to test a person’s bravery among the astoralists and was sanctioned by elders. Today, however, new forms of banditry and cattle rustling have emerged, over which the elders have no control. In the last three decades, a number of pastoral societies have become militarized and increasingly rely on firearms. A few randomly selected incidents will illustrate the severity of the problem. In September 1997, fifty Bakora ethnic communities were killed in a 4 a. m. raid by Pokot cattle raiders numbering about one thousand. The Pokot were armed with AK 47 assault rifles and about stole 7,000 cattle.In March 1999, Pokot gunmen again attacked a Matheniko village killing 30 people before escaping with 2,000 heads of cattle. However, what was most disturbing was the fact that the rustlers burned food crops; gang raped women and set huts on fire. Later, an attack in February 2000 by the Ugandan Karamojong on Kenyan Pokot killed over hundred people and stole about 1,800 cattle and 5,000 sheep. Cosequently, cattle raiding in north-eastern Uganda have undergone fundamental changes in terms of nature and scale, effects of which can be viewed from the level of insecurity, socio-political and economic impacts in the region. 6. Socio – Political and Economic Impact. Cattle rustling have caused untold suffering in the Karamoja region which has led to loss of many human lives and displacement of various population and groups within Karamoja and its neighbouring districts. The twin phenomena of banditry and cattle rustling have become endemic in the region, affecting a big population of the area with kraal leaders having a field day in this environment of lawlessness. The idle and impoverished youths are easily manipulated by the kraal heads to join their private raiding armies to conduct raids. 12] Karamojong youth seems to be happy in enlisting into these banditry and cattle raiding armies, which they feel, is synonymous to defending societal interest against an enemy, the State. Because of the state of anarchy and lawlessness in the region, it is very difficult to implement any economic developmental projects; hence people live in abject poverty. Government officers, NGOs and the business community based in the area live in constant fear of the bandits.The social dilemmas created by frequent natural disasters such as drought also appear to be a major catalyst of the cattle-rustling phenomenon within the pastoral community. Subsequently, the often wanton destruction of life and property and the use of terror by the rustlers have in all its manifestations undermined the sense of value, dignity and harmony hence, a major source of insecurity and undevelopment in the region. 17. Insecurity. The new form of banditry activities in northeastern Uganda has resulted in the emergence of cattle warlords with armed militia to protect their interests.The violence, chaos an d insecurity have become the dominant feature in the region. Cattle warlordism is a new phenomenon which has emerged among the Karamojong since the 1980s, the warlords have created strong and heavily armed private armies which, apart from providing them local security, also go on cattle raids, near and far. Violence and warfare in the process of cattle raiding and looting of other property have created an environment of insecurity and tension in the region extending to neighbouring districts.State officials, especially security forces, involved in the disarmament operation are also perpetrating acts of violence and insecurity in the region, for example; in 1984, a joint disarmament exercise involving Ugandan military and Kenyan paramilitary police flopped when the soldiers involved in the program indiscriminately killed Karamojong and looted thousands of cattle. Since the post colonial period, the State has also been implicated in the confiscation of livestock recovered after raids. [13] The warlords have very many retainers whom they send on raids, while they maintain and supervise the raiding party.They have therefore; become the final authority on cattle relations, overriding the traditional powers of the elders. Consequently, the insecurity in the region is perpetuated by both State operatives involved in the disarmament operations and the warlords. GOVERNMENT ATEMPTS TO STOP CATTLE RUSTLING 18. Efforts to pacify Karamoja have been the concern of successesive regimes in the colonial times through to post colonial period. During the colonial time, Britain declared Karamoja a closed district where movement within and outside was restricted without a valid pass.In a bid to restrict transhumance, the policy had the impact of pauperizing the Karamoja community who previously had a thriving pastoral economy through trade in ironware and livestock with the Turkana of Kenya. After independence in 1962, Uganda perpetuated British policies which included gun control laws, but pastoralists across the borders to the North and East had access to modern firearms, which facilitated raids. During the 1980s at the height of cattle rustling, government initiated another attempt to disarm the Karamojong which efforts were forcefully repelled.In 1984, a joint disarmament exercise with the Kenya paramilitary police flopped when the military involved in the program indiscriminately killed Karamojong and stole cattle. [14] Consequently, the conduct of the military involved in the disarmament operation partly a caused the failure of the earlier disarmament attempts. 19. In 1986, a program to re-establish authority of the state in Karamoja region was initiated to control cattle rustling, and consolidate the security in the region. The state’s opinion was that, the pastoral communities were conservative, slow to adapt to change and in many respects actually against change.In view of that, several units of the army were deployed in Karamoja, unfortunate ly, the army itself became the source of insecurity in the region; use of force to disarm the Karamajong warriors meant declaring war against them, hence, the high handedness with which the army dealt with security issues alienated the pastoral communities even more. [15] Efforts by government to fight cattle rustling are laudable, but its strategy seem short-term and unlikely to succeed without fully grasping the significance of ethno-military identity of the Karamojong and their agro-pastoral neighbours, the Turkana of Kenya.Consequently, government have not achieved enduring peace in Karamoja region because of the inability to address the root causes of cattle rustling in the area and the factors that have led to failure of the previous disarmament and pacification attempts. SOLUTIONS DEEMED APPROPRIATE 20. Grass root planning approach involving all stake holders in the disarmament programmes and messages should be designed, with emphasis on assuaging the pastoralist’s per sonal fears about their security through deliberate confidence-building and provision of security.The surrender of guns should be preceded by intensive and extensive sensitisation programmes through meetings; media programmes, churches, NGOs, seminars and community based programmes. Kraal leaders should be the core of mobilization, sensitisation and concretisation programmes and efforts-targeting the youth. Properly planned, simultaneous and coordinated approach to disarmament programme should be initiated to involve all stake holders. 21. Simultaneous and Coordinated Disarmament.Government should plan and conduct a peaceful disarmament operation and closely monitor it through the establishment of disarmament committees at all levels. Adoption of standardised disarmament operational procedures and developing strategies aimed at eradicating trafficking in small arms. Appointing a regional disarmament committee composed of both the military and civic leaders in the region. Liaison Off icers should be appointed in the affected areas of Kenya and Uganda at regional and local levels to coordinate the disarmament operation.Government should undertake joint planning of disarmament operations between Kenya and Uganda and establish civil military coordination centre with appropriate humanitarian and civic action programmes. Government should conduct human rights training and sensitisation to the armed forces that will undertake forceful disarmament. There should be plans to improve on the existing social and physical structures and construction of new ones. 22. Social and Physical Infrastructure. Government should improve on the existing roads and drainage structures in the region and invest in water provision for livestock.Developing appropriate rain water harvesting technologies would make surface water run-off available for small-scale irrigated agriculture and watering livestock. Government should undertake improvement of the existing roads and construct new ones as prioritised for easy communication. It should construct more boreholes and collaborate with development partners in the region to undertake labour-based rehabilitation of existing valley dams and construct new ones. All these activities should be coupled with mass mobilization and sensitization of the local population ithin the pastoral community. 23. Mobilisation and Sensitization. There should be regular planning for community mobilisation, sensitisation and education campaigns which should target the whole community. Integration of traditional institutions of elders, kraal leaders, youth and women in the decision making regarding containment of insecurity and implementation of integrated disarmament activities should be first on the pacification agenda. Specifically, this should target the youth in the community who are vibrant in banditry activities.Mobilisation and sensitisation campaigns for voluntary disarmament and establishment of a system of co-ordination with the militar y at sub-county level through Liaison should be established. The kraal leaders should be encouraged to plan and execute grazing movements with local military commanders and emphasize the use of communal grazing grounds. There should be regular joint security meetings between Kenya and Uganda to coordinate civil military activities and identify arms markets with a view to total closure and arrest of those involved in order to establish law and order in the region. 4. Establishment of Law and Order. There is need for government to strengthen the capacity of the police to maintain law and order during and after disarmament operation. This could be achieved by the establishment of mobile courts to expedite trials of those persons found with illegal weapons and recruitment of the indigenous who qualify into the regular civil police force to serve in the region. Government should undertake further study on the traditional justice administration systems of the pastoralists to find best way s to integrate positive aspects in the modern system.Government should initiate methods of easy identification of cattle within the pastoral community. 25. Branding Animals. Government should enforce branding of livestock as a security measure to stem livestock thefts and for purposes of census and identity. Train livestock owners to maintain proper records regarding their herds, for example the colours of their cattle. Provide and improve services like veterinary for branding exercise in Karamoja region and the neighbouring. 26. Improved Services.Government should provide support for education in the region through the establishment of free government-aided boarding primary and secondary schools to effect attitude change against the gun, cow and cattle rustling, hence reduce recruitment of the youth into warrior-hood. Compulsory primary education for all children of school-going age should be introduced and civic education enhanced for adults. Peace and conflict resolution subjects should be incorporated as a unit in the curriculum at primary and secondary school levels.Government should support and intensify livestock disease control by undertaking mass vaccination of livestock against common diseases. It should enhance an appropriate agricultural extension service delivery system which takes into account the specific constraints in the area. Healthcare facilities and services should be extended to the region to reach all the communities and efforts put to strengthen and improve water and sanitation, rehabilitate dilapidated health facilities and services in the region. 27. Rewards/Recognition. There should be resettlement packages that benefit the community and the gun-owners surrendering guns.This could be in monetary and other items like iron sheets, ox-ploughs etc to change the livelihood of the pastoralists. Award of certificates and or medals for recognition would also be appropriate. CONCLUSION 28. The twin phenomena of banditry and cattle rustling in north-eastern Uganda have had adverse effects on the people of the region by creating an environment of violence and insecurity. Cattle rustling have undergone fundamental transformation from a cultural practice to a commercial venture organized and bankrolled by cattle warlords.There is therefore, a significant connection between environmental conflict and the insecurity created by cattle rustling and banditry in north-eastern-Uganda. The redrawing of national boundaries and restrictions on movement affected the pastoralists since their mode of nomadism results from ecological demands necessitating mobility. (Para 6, 7, and 11) 29. Cattle raiding have the impact of creating a desperate cycle of continuous raids as each group in the region sees it as a means for re-stocking.Raiding has been portrayed as a factor that is embedded in the pastoralists’ mentality and that can only be eradicated by the discontinuation of pastoralism, however, the social dilemmas created by freque nt natural disasters appear to be the major catalysts of the cattle-rustling phenomenon in the pastoralist community. State officials, especially security forces involved in the region are also perpetrating acts of violence and insecurity; they have been implicated in the confiscation of livestock recovered after raids.Cattle warlordism is a new phenomenon which has emerged among the Karamojong since the 1980s and is also responsible for the current violence and warfare. (Para 15 and 16). 30. Various attempts have been made by the Ugandan government to exercise a strong level of control over the pastoralists and to stop cattle rustling. The aim of which has been to pacify the pastoralists and to ensure peace and order in the region. The methods used has had several implications which has tended to present the pastoralists as unreliable people and prone to violence.Important decisions and policies affecting the mode of existence of the pastoralists should therefore not just be forced down their throats without their active involvement from the initial stages to the implementation process. Pastoralism cannot be simply dismissed; they have demonstrated economic and social acumen in the exploitation of their arid homelands, which are too arid for anything but nomadic. Government appear to have failed to achieve enduring peace in Karamoja because of the inability to address the root causes of cattle rustling in the area and the factors that have led to failure of the previous disarmament attempts. Para 17 and18). RECOMMENDATIONS 31. Government policy makers must take cognisance of the root causes of cattle rustling and identify how the ecologically related threat to peace can be contained, lessened or eradicated. Sustainable development requires grassroots support, and therefore important decisions and policies affecting the mode of existence of the pastoralists should not be simply imposed on them without their active participation from the beginning. 32.There is need for government to initiate people focused economic reforms to involve land tenure that could minimize resource conflicts and open up rural based agro-pastoral industries to improve livestock productivity to create local employment. 33. There is need for government to strengthen the capacity to maintain law and order in the region, most importantly disarmament should be calculated to win the hearts and minds. Services like compulsory education, health centres and hospitals, construction of roads, provision of clean water for human consumption and sinking of valley dams for livestock should be provided to the region.