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Adult Education and Adult Learning and Development – Globalization

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Adult Education and Adult Learning and Development – Globalization

Adult learning is one of the key elements that should always be inconsideration whenever a country is talking about regional development. The title of the article being reviewed is on the review of the book, “Globalization, diversity, and the search for culturally relevant models for adult education.” By Patricia K Kubow, from the University of Bowling Green Sate. The article implies that there are a lot of individuals who are interested in advancing their career on the advancement in vocational and adult education. Therefore, it suggests that they should be able to understand that the curriculum is changing and they also have to advance in this field. From the article, one will realize that there are a lot of scholars who also support this new approach for then curriculum change. It is for this reason that the article caught my attention as it looks at how the curriculum advancement is adopted globally. This is not only done in the US but also among the Asian countries.

The article breaks down the parts and the chapters in the book. In that in the first part of the book that has got three chapters is titled “curriculum development in the global context.” In this chapter, one is made to understand that there is a great influence in adult learning in relation to the demographic. It suggests that different demographic require different approaches in adult learning. Moreover, the article implies that the reason for this is that people from different communities in the world have different perception on adult learning so it is better if they can be made to learn in the manner in which they feel comfortable. This is one of the best approaches that can be suggested to everybody who is concerned about the adult learning. This approach can be supported because of the multicultural literature in the world has affected people having the adult learning program. Therefore, if they are made to learn in the culture that they can relate to, it can be made easy for them to learn. The learners will also be comfortable as they will interpret the learning experience in their own world. The article also makes it clear that the marginalization of the adult learners is always made possible if there is a democratic learning environment that they can relate to.

From the article, one will be able to understand that the interest of adult learners is based socio-cultural context which explained throughout the remaining part of the article. This can be said to be one of the reason why it should be taken into consideration in the field of adult education since it is believed that this approach can help in the marginalization of adult learning across the whole globe. This approach can also be made possible to the immigrants of different countries. Most of the immigrants always need to be oriented in the educational system of their host country that is why they have to go back to learn. Therefore this approach would appropriate for them to gain knowledge. Moreover, adult education is always very essential to the individuals from developing countries that have a chance of joining the developed countries. Therefore, if the approach can be taken, the learner will have a problem of coping with the host learning system due to cultural shock.

In addition, this article relates to the trends of our time whereby the global world is working hard to ensure that literacy is made possible to everybody. Therefore, this approach is one of the elements that will make it clear that illiteracy is being eradicated all over the world. Moreover, people are made to learn in relation to what they already know. It is difficult to make individuals in the third world to learn and cope up with the thing that are happening in the first world nation. That is why they will be in a position to learn from the things that they can relate to and understand better.

References

Bentley, T. (1998) Learning beyond the Classroom: Education for a changing world, London: Routledge.

Courtney, S. (2009) ‘Defining adult and continuing education’ in S. B. Merriam and P. M. Cunningham (eds.) Handbook of Adult and Continuing Education, San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Source of the article

http://trace.tennessee.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1006&context=internationaleducation&sei-redir=1#search=%22Adult%20Education%20Adult%20Learning%20Development%20-%20Globalization%22

Motivation And Management Philosophy

Contents

TOC o “1-3” h z u Motivation and Plans for Pursuing a Career in Public Administration PAGEREF _Toc379625549 h 1Management Philosophy PAGEREF _Toc379625550 h 2Philosophy of Building the Commitment PAGEREF _Toc379625551 h 2

Introduction

Motivation is simply the desire to doing things as well as setting the elements for attaining the goals of organizations. Public Administration is the implementation criteria used by the civil servants in official frameworks of executive government. This paper tries to examine ways of planning and how to pursue a career in Public Administration as well as the management philosophies used by run the organization.

Motivation and Plans for Pursuing a Career in Public AdministrationWhen planning to pursue a career in the public Administration, one should answer some questions concerning the course chosen and these questions should be included in the planning. The first thing is the public service incentives or motivations. Most people choose a career in the public services as their careers because they want to be different from other people by making significant contributions to the society. This type of motivation should not be unnoticed since making of contributions to the society is the most significant basis of satisfaction to the professionals for the public service. Therefore, these people should always ask themselves what they should do to make differences in the society.

One should also have plans in knowing the areas strengths, by finding that one can do what one likes most; this can be something, which is taking an advantage of one’s strength extremely valued by employers. One should also know the resources that exist in pursuing the career in Public Administration.

Management PhilosophyIntroduction

Management philosophy is a set of different ideas about the best management practices. Management is an art of mobilizing people in order for them to do the best by achieving the success. The following points stated below are some of my understanding about management philosophy.

Organization can be said to be effective when it balances both the effectiveness as well as, efficiency this is by doing right things as well as by getting those right things. Also, the effectiveness of the company can rely on striking the balances between preserving as well as producing productions.

Functioning of the organization to their best is also a philosophy of management that ensures the best performance of the organization. In this case, everyone should share missions as well as visions in an organization. People are effective on how they are doing their jobs as evidenced that organization’s personnel do perform a complete job.

Philosophy of Building the CommitmentThe other management philosophy that I know of is the philosophy of building the commitment. Since, commitments are known to be an accomplishment of the set goals in an organization by a willing, coercion as well as, force. An important to the development commitment is the involvement by participating in decision making in the organization.

Combining the competent management by means of effective leadership. It is highly possible for effective managers to succeed through proper management. This can be done by combining both management as well as leadership skills.

The last philosophy of management that I know of is the philosophy of managers as well as supervisors having the appropriate skills mixed together hence quicker decision making. The skills require here involves the technical, human and the conceptual skills. The technical skills are for specific people, for example, the managers who contribute to the planning as well as administrations, which include the gathering of information, analyzing them, solving of the problems and time management in the organization.

Motivation is closely related to grit, attention, and anxiety. In the case of Tonnie, they may have the right motivation to pay attention during learning, yet anxiety may decrease this motivation. Receiving feedback or rewards for actions usually increases the chance that said action will be repeated. As such, I propose the use of rewards in extrinsic motivation and the use of cognitive approaches dealing with intrinsic motivation. For these two approaches, the focus is on rewards and goals. The attempt to correlate these elements together will increase the likelihood of a better performance from Tonnie.

Intrinsic motivation happens when learners are engaged due to internal rewards. For example, in Tonnie’s case, the love of a particular subject or style of learning may increase learning. The student may have learnt to value learning due to the merits received regardless of other external factors. Tonnie may have loved the style of learning used in the previous year, thus increasing motivation for that year and reducing it for the current year because of the changes to styles used. Extrinsic motivation is any form of learning as a result of external factors. Tonnie may be motivated to learn in order to pass tests or to gain rewards, and even avoid punishment. However, this form of learning is short lived and is not suggested for Tonnie. Therefore, in terms of intrinsic motivation, it is suggested that this year’s teacher find ways to reward Tonnie internally. For example, finding out what Tonnie likes and the preferred method of learning could help to boost motivation. It could be coupled with extrinsic motivation in the short term including rewards through recognition of improvement and other rewards.

In the cognitive motivation view, it is proposed that a self-efficacy theory approach would work well for Tonnie. Self-efiicacy points to a personal belief that one has the capability execute any course of action required for certain performances. It is a task-specific approach of developing self-confidence. The theory highlights the ability of an individual to control their own motivation, social environment, and behavior in order to impact on their learning. Therefore, one’s sense of individual belief plays a major role in how they approach goals, challenges, and tasks. In the development of personality, this theory looks at the cognitive elements that dictate how an individual interprets their own abilities against their social environment. therefore, in addition to the proposed interests and drives from both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, Tonnie could be motivated through his/her own self belief in the ability to achieve to personal capacities.

Therefore, it is likely that Tonnie’s change in performance is due to a lack of motivation. It could also mean that the motivations in place do not work as expected. Therefore, I propose that the instrinsic/extrinsic perspective be used to increase motivation. It would also lead to findings on what interests Tonnie to perform. As a result, the self-efficacy theory would then be applied to ensure that Tonnie is aware and believes in his/her ability to achieve whatever tasks and challenges the new year demands. This latter cognitive approach will lead to personally developed perceptions. It would lead to better choice of tasks and approaches used to motivate Tonnie, including a better understanding of what could motivate learning. Since motivation is closely related to grit, attention, and anxiety, these two approaches are likely to create a situation where Tonnie’s situation is better diagnosed. Intrinsic motivation and extrinsic factors would work to make sure Tonnie understands the need to change. Then the self-efficacy theory would be applied to develop self perceptions that would ensure that learning occurs in an internal environment that is better for performance.

ABSTRACTDairy goats have played a vital role in contributing to the development of rural economy. Improved dairy goats have higher milk productivity, and other benefits that will aid in enhancing food security. Some farmers adopted crossbred dairy goats at the initial introduction stages in the groups. However, the rate of adoption among the smallholder farmers has not been fully indicated. The study aimed at analyzing the smallholder farmer’s adoption of crossbred dairy goats in Nyandarua County, Kenya. Clear knowledge of the adoption rate among the smallholder farmers will guide agricultural policies towards increased adoption of crossbred dairy goats in the local communities. In addition, the policy makers will be able to take relevant actions that will lead to improvement of dairy goats’ production which will lead to food security in the region.

Data was generated using 70 randomly selected respondents from the study area. The data was analyzed using SPSS. Regression analysis was applied to come with factors that influenced the adoption of crossbred dairy goats by farmers. The results indicated that farmers who belonged to social groups had a high chance of accessing extension services and thus training on dairy goats. The age and the type of households had an influence on the crossbred goats. The study suggests that capacity building trough groups is important among smallholder farmers. The policies towards agriculture should be guided towards increased production of dairy goats that has a high potential increase food security and lead to better management of land resource.

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Causes of Hate: Racism and White Supremacy

Hatred is a somewhat unchanging feeling of intense dislike for a person, unit, or group. Hatred is not synonymous with anger and disgust, which are rather fleeting feelings. While most forms of animosity may only manifest momentarily and slightly, hatred is a form of active, continuing aggression that uses up significant emotional energy. When an individual is hating, they spend much of their waking hours preoccupied with their anger, disdain, and dislike for an entity or a person. Popular societal forms of hate include racism, which is the belief that a person’s social and moral traits are preset by their biological characteristics, and the human race is divided on this basis, and some races are naturally superior to others. A dominant example of racism is white supremacy, which, as suggested by the name, is the idea that the white race is innately superior to all other races on the basis of what white people have accomplished. This paper discusses the reasons for the existence of racism, white supremacy, and the cause of hate in general.

Racism is a social concept that is not built-in human DNA and is introduced as people grow up. People’s minds are race agnostic until society corrupts it with the idea that all races differ. In addition to society introducing racism, there are other causes of this misplaced ideology. One cause of racism is the art of intolerance. Human beings have a hard time understanding and accepting a group or an individual different from themselves. Intolerance is a natural phenomenon or a self-mechanism of rejecting that which is unknown. However, with years of familiarizing with numerous races through limitless education and information, it begs the question of why racism continues. Up to this age, people have done the unacceptable by turning a racial group into an enemy; they have turned prejudice into art. This warrants pondering further to generate more reasons why intolerance persists.

Implicit bias or unconscious bias is a position that people hold about others. In simpler terms, it is a filter that clouds our assumptions of other races. Evidence suggests that a subconscious bias exists where other groups remember educated black men as having lighter skin. The implication of the results of this study is that successful black people are believed to be exceptions to the black race.

Scientists believe that racism is linked to the activation of the brain’s amygdala- which controls human beings’ response to fear. However, stereotypic images are the most prominent influencers of racist thoughts. Films, magazines, the news, and other sources of information support a system that feeds the minds of people with distorted symbols that define their perception of a certain race. This distortion creates implicit racial biases. Because being prejudicial is not socially accepted, many people in surveys do not respond to have any sort of bias against a particular race. However, many individuals, especially white people in America, have an implicit racial bias. They are not aware of the existence of the bias or how it affects their behaviors, but that does not change the fact that it impacts others every day.

Then comes ethnocentrism, which is the idea that the culture of a person and experiences related to it are the norm. It is the belief that the racial group an individual belongs is the center of everything. This is the belief that creates the basis for the idea of white supremacy. White supremacism is an ideology that is based on the belief that white people from European descent are intellectually and physically superior to non-white races and turns to white extremism by basing this idea on violence.

Another cause of white supremacy is the paranoid fear of the extinction of the white race. White supremacists use the statement “great replacement,” which is fear that the people of color will, over time, replace white people. This notion was found in a screed written by a man who gunned down 22 innocent civilians in El Paso. The phrase “great replacement” was coined by Renaud Camus, a French author who wrote about white genocide in 2012 viewing as an echo of a century of white supremacist ideologies. Although Camus distanced himself from the idea of extremism and the use of violence, he reiterated that he still believed that the white people of European descent ware facing the risk of being replaced by immigrants and people of color.

Hate, in general, is caused by various reasons that are not precisely similar to the ones mentioned about racism and white supremacy. However, they describe the activities of active racists and white extremists. One cause of hate is the general feeling of anger. When an individual becomes tense and has no outlet for the tension, they seek out a scapegoat, manifest their hatred for it, and then remove it from inside themselves in this manner. Surprisingly, the individual finds peace and experiences a feeling of unity once the scapegoat is eliminated. That is, till tensions arise again and another scapegoat is required. This clearly explains individual terrorists that have carried out hate crimes in the name of a course, but in the real sense, it’s their lack of security and belief in themselves, resulting in anger.

The second reason for hate is managing differences. For every individual, there is that difference that matters to the community. These differences include race, religion, and language, among others. Individuals and groups that can manage differences are those that have courage, have a sense of security, which allows them to explore the cryptic uncertainties of life. However, there are instances where individuals feel that these differences threaten their sense of self or their idea of group identity. Rather than embracing the mystery of unknowable difference, they choose to hate it.

When individuals feel powerless, unfulfilled, or disempowered, they rely on the energizing aspect of hatred. They redirect their pain to an outside, well-defined target. As one John Cohen says, “I have never met a white supremacist with positive self-esteem.” A person who feels empowered, successful, and motivated does not need hate.

Adoption of Plan A over Plan B

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Reasons Why the Team should Favor Plan A Over Plan B

A pay structure should project the philosophy of the applying organization and propel it to achieve its objectives. Plan B is the proposal that has been presented by the team to define the pay structure in the organization and advocates for relation of the pays to market prices. However, the plan in very many angles does not justify the course of this organization. The following are reasons for which the team should favor plan A, a projection of internal equity, over plan B.

Plan A gives consideration to factors inclusive of revenue of the organization and the capacity and ability to satisfactorily pay all employees. As such, an overstretch on the organization’s financial power will not be applied that would render the organization non-profitable and maybe bankrupt. Such considerations would also give room for increased pay in case just so if the organization can comfortably afford.

The plan can also be used as a staff motivating factor when salaries are taken beyond the market price. It would instill a sense of value in the employees and drive them to deliver. The resultant would be increased returns and financial stability for the organization. For instance, the plan would also drive the workers to communicate new ideas to the management (Ober, 2008).

Plan A also accords the organization to pay employees for what their exact values are. As such, overzealous and productive members would be valued at their ability to build the organization. Much would not be invested in workers who offer little to the organization.

Much has not been considered by the team that plan B has many flaws and would serve to limit the potential of the organization. Its advantages albeit plethora, cannot instill the drive required to outcompete rivals. For instance, considering that it values the potential of the workers at the market price, workers would not strive as much to deliver to their full potential (Ober, 2008). That is because they will think the organization regards their work as an expectation, with no appreciation.

In summation, the focus of the team should be to formulate a plan that would drive the organization to the helm of success and then communicate the plan to the management (Ober, 2008). Adoption of plan A will make the team serve its true purpose.

Reference

Ober, S. (2008). Contemporary business communication. Boston, Mass: Houghton Mifflin.

Motivation and Performance Theories in Relation to New Zealand Post

“B-12, G-47, I-24, O-51, I-5, N-36………….’BINGO’!!!!!!” A simple game of bingo, if analysed closely, can be shown to be a tedious task consisting of a repetitive action that occurs after being prompted by a repetitive stimulus. The skill level needed to make that action is low, and the variability in the rules of the game rarely changes. This game is not unlike many of the jobs that can be classified as having low motivational performance. So why do people not only enjoy playing games like bingo, but actually pay money to have the pleasure? The answer directly points to the motivating factors of monetary rewards, which is the stimulus for the individual’s performance. In this essay I will discuss the theory behind “Motivation” and “Performance” in relation to New Zealand Post and the theoretical ideals that their management should adopt with employees.

There are many theories regarding motivation with the most prevalent being the theories of Abraham Maslow and Frederick Herzberg. It is important to understand these theories and their implications to accurately comment on reinforcement theories of motivation. According to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, there are five classes: (1) physiological, (2) safety, (3) social, (4) esteem, and (5) self-actualisation. (Karen. P. Harlos Lecture Notes) each lower level need must be satisfied before an individual experiences higher level needs. Also, as Hall, Batley, Elkin, Geare, Johnston, Jones, Selsky and Sibbald (1999) found that Maslow hypothesized that as physiological, safety, social, and esteem needs were satisfied, they ceased to motivate, while the self-actualisation needs actually motivate an individual more as they are satisfied (Hall et al. 1999).

Herzberg used this theory as a base to build his motivation-hygiene theory, which ties Maslow’s needs to on the job achievement. The hygiene elements relate to low needs (physiological, safety, and social)(Harlos 2000). For an individual, hygiene conditions include company policy and administration, supervision, relationships with peers and supervisors, work conditions, salary, status, and security. These, according to Herzberg account for 69% of the factors that cause employee dissatisfaction or lack of motivation. The motivation conditions, which include achievement, the job itself, recognition, responsibilities, and personal growth, accounted for 81% of the factors that contributed to job satisfaction. The hygiene conditions are extrinsic factors (behaviour that is performed for material or social rewards as defined by Harlos 2000) while the motivation conditions are intrinsic factors (behaviour that is performed for its own sake not for material or social rewards as defined by Harlos 2000), and the only way to sustain motivation toward organizational goals is through the achievement of intrinsic outcomes. Each of these theories has proven to contain ideas consistent with human nature, but each also has its limitations within organizational settings. Because lower order needs are generally satisfied in the workplace today, managers have to deal with how to provide esteem and self-actualisation to their employees, and that can be a vague concept to a manager who demands results immediately. Also, studies demonstrate that different workers are motivated by different factors be them intrinsic or extrinsic.

In relation to New Zealand Post the above theories can be applied to achieve an excellent level of motivation within the organization, however there are potential disadvantages also, where the employees may get over-motivated or become too empowered and thus create divisions within the organization.

In terms of Maslow’s theory, the five levels of needs could be ensured by mangers of NZ Post and overall by the corporate planners of NZ Post by the following; in terms of physiological needs, money is the driving factor here as it provides the a means of achieve food, shelter, warmth and sleep, thus that management role is very limited, as it is controlled to a degree by relevant laws of the country. However those above the management who set wages must be careful not to set wages too low, otherwise workers will become grossly dissatisfied and look elsewhere to achieve their basic needs (Hall et al. 1999). At the safety level NZ Post can provide their employees with agreeable contracts and work benefits such as health care. A work environment that is considered safe as well as adequate ongoing training is another aspect, also assurances of long-term employment (Hall et al. 1999). Social level issues can be resolved by NZ Post by organising teams maybe by regions and encouraging group satisfaction, or perhaps even making sure contact is established by way of team sports days, or annual picnic’s etc, any activity that ensures worker contact (Hall et al. 1999). The next level is perhaps the most crucial in terms of how much NZ Post management is concerned, management may be able to fill esteem needs of the employee by showing recognition of a job well done, which may lead to a internal structure whereby levels of achievement are reached, and as the employee reaches these levels they may gain more responsibility within the organisation (Hall et al. 1999). Self actualisation needs in terms of what management can do for employees to reach this stage, entirely depend on the individual, and the previous stage, as itself esteem is realised then self actualisation becomes of more importance, and so the employee is self-motivated and the role of the NZ Management is merely one of maintenance (Hall et al. 1999).

The above are all very good in theory, but in practice the implications of some of these theories for an individual and for the organisation can be crucial. NZ Post Management couldn’t be blamed if they felt the offering of money to an employee over and above what the individual needs to satisfy there needs would result in that individual working harder, however what is more likely to happen is the individual isn’t motivated anymore by that factor, and is instead motivated by esteem needs, as cited in Hall et al. (2000) “A satisfied need is not a motivator”

The application of the Herzberg two-factor model is in practice much more involved that I first thought, there seems to be a large amount of criticism about Herzberg, which I will attempt to briefly outline, and thus if NZ Post was to adapt this theory it may not provide the right answer to any problems they may be facing. Firstly there has been research done into the methodology of Herzberg’s research, it seems that by asking the questions in the way that they did it was only natural that individuals would attribute the good things about the job to themselves and the bad things to the organisation (as suggested by Vroom 1964 cited in Thomson 1989). So the good things simply became meting challenges, getting promoted and assuming responsibility, whereas bad things were in affect always the fault of the organisation. Thus it was reasonable for individuals to attribute their lack of performance as being a result of poor organisational structure or communication, or poor wages or bad working conditions, therefore Herzberg’s findings were more a result of the way the questions were asked and not altogether an indication of what motivated individuals at work. The second criticism that arises is whether or not it is possible to clearly “distinguish between motivator and hygiene variables in the way that two factor theory does.” (Thomson 1989 pg 164). At times factors like the gender of the worker and the structure of the organisation tends to influence whether or not a job characteristics acts as a motivator or a hygiene, thus the distinction is not as clear cut as Herzberg’s theory would suggest. Finally the two-factor theory just doesn’t take into consideration the differences between individuals, its just known that individuals do not always react in a similar fashion, for the same work characteristics which will motivate one individual may not necessary motivate another.

I suggest for NZ Post to be able to maintain the calibre of people they strive for, and to provide tools to develop and grow, the best way to create the desired environment and create the best management would be to adopt Maslow’s theories, as it allows for more of an individual touch to individual situations.

McGregor developed an additional theory on human behaviour, motivation, and especially performance in the late 1950’s. His theories X and Y and were based on assumptions made regarding the “system” and individuals. In short, in Theory X (the most common management practice) management organizes all elements of production, motivates and controls employee behaviour to fit the needs of the organization, and without this intervention, employees would be indifferent to changing organizational needs. McGregor further assumes that managers believe that the average employee is by nature are lazy, dislike work, want security and dislike responsibility (as cited by Harlos 2000). McGregor’s alternative to Theory X was Theory Y. This theory made the assumptions that management has the responsibility for organizing the elements of production, people are not by nature passive, but become so as a result of experiences, management should enable employees to develop their motivational characteristics, and that it is essential for management to arrange organizational conditions in a manner where employees can achieve their own goals by directing their personal effort towards organizational objectives. The contrast between X and Y solely relates to who controls human behaviour. Theory X touts external control, and Theory Y promotes a self-fulfilling prophecy and that Theory Y management will breed Theory Y employees and vice-versa.

In the application of McGregor’s theories an obvious pitfall is that obviously given the choice management will opt for Theory Y, however the application can result in a very different outcome. Theory Y places an unrealistic amount of burden on the management, and thus they have to sometimes resort to Theory X as no matter how much nurturing or inspiration managers give to employees, there will always be some who just have no desire to work, and show little or no initiative. So NZ Post may run many seminars to attempt to increase performance, or empower those who management feel need a performance boost, yet inevitably those who have no desire to perform better will just not respond to any of these performance motivators and hence management will have to resort to Theory X management to get these employees to work as they should be. Another problem may be with those employees who have been part of the organisation for a number of years, and a new fresh inspirational manager comes along who has been to all the courses and seminars and has used all the theories, and yet these employees are so used to old school Theory X management, they will just simply not be able to conform to this new Theory Y management style, as suggested in Hall et al. (1999)

In conclusion I have outlines both Maslow’s and Herzberg’s theories in relation to motivation and McGregor’s theories in relation to performance. I also have suggested ways in which NZ Post could apply these theories to enable them to better fulfil their corporate profile statement. I suggested that perhaps Herzberg’s theory would not be best suited to NZ Post due to the many flaws in the application of his theory and that Maslow’s theory in practice would enable a better fufilment of the corperate profile statement.

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Adolf Hitler

Adolf Hitler rose to the rank of German Chancellor in the year 1933. At the time, the German president was looking for an able leader who would rescue the country from the deepening economic and political crisis. Unknown to President Hindenburg, he had appointed a fiend to lead the country who would plunge Germany into some of the darkest times in human history. Under the Nazi Party, Hitler and his fellow party members began to rid the country of all opposition by putting their leaders to death. These radicalists believed that the Germans were a superior race, and others such as the Jews were second rate citizens as well as an inferior race. Some of the steps that Hitler took to rid Germany of the Jews include forced sterilization and mass murder in death camps.

The main reason why Hitler wanted to rid Germany of the Jews was that he believed they belonged to an inferior race. The inferior races threatened the purity of the master race, the Germans, and hence, they had to be eliminated. The Hitler government also spread propaganda blaming the Jews for the misfortunes that had befallen the country, including the economic depression as well as its defeat in the First World War. From the year 1933, the government began organized persecution of the Jews (Shera). First, all Jews were removed from their positions in government and other positions in the country. As the years progressed, things only got worse. The Germans seized all properties and businesses belonging to the Jews. The culmination of this was the Kristallnacht or the Night of the Broken Glass in English. On this night, the Nazis destroyed the Jewish synagogues, their business premises as well as their homes. In addition to this, the Jews were arrested and even killed.

Despite the grave human rights violations happening in Germany, the United States and other countries refused to take in refugees from the country. At the time, the US congress had strict quotas on immigrants, as well as a strict screening process that discouraged many. In addition to this, the country experienced the economic depression of 1929, and it feared that immigrants would further strain public resources (Shera). The economic depression gave rise to other hostile beliefs such as xenophobia, anti-Semitism, and isolationism. Right after the depression came the Second World War that overshadowed the Jewish persecution in Germany. There is a debate surrounding the action or lack thereof of the Allied countries to save the German Jews. Many argue that the Allied countries did not know the exact locations of the death camps, making it impossible to carry out any actions such as bombings that would result in more casualties. However, some of the actions that the countries should have taken include taking in as many refugees as possible and launching intelligence-gathering operations to find out the locations of the death camps. The German holocaust left about six million Jews dead, the worst state-sanctioned case of mass murder in human history.

Works Cited

Shera, Shahid Rasool. “Deportation and Persecution of Jews: A Study of Patrick Modiano’s The Search Warrant.” IJELLH (International Journal of English Language, Literature in Humanities) 7.2 (2019): 9-9.

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Causes and Effects of the Soviet Union

Introduction

By January 1991, the Soviet Union was the world’s largest country occupying approximately one-sixth of earth’s land covering 8, 650,000 square miles. It had a population of 100 nationalities with its population amounting to 290 million. Further, it boasted tens of thousands of nuclear miles and its sphere of influence was exerted using measures such as Warsaw Pact that extended across Europe. Within one year, the Soviet Union had collapsed and ceased to exist. The dissolution of the Union had begun in the 1980s but it was only completed in December 1991 when only 15 independent countries had remained (Dabrowski, 302). While it is practically impossible to point out a single factor as a cause of an event as far-reaching and complex as the dissolution of a worldwide superpower, several external and internal factors had a hand in the dissolution of the Soviet Union. The purpose of this essay is to break down the events and uprisings that led to the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the effects of the collapse as well as what the collapse meant to the United States.

The dissolution of the Soviet Union was used to signify the end of the cold war that had existed between the United States and the Soviet Union. The cold war was a period characterized by constrained rivalry taking place towards the end of World War II. This rivalry took place along economic, political, and propaganda lines with the limited use of weapons. It did not involve large-scale fighting it was a result of the ideological and geopolitical struggle of worldwide supremacy after victory stemming from an alliance formed temporarily in 1945 against Nazi Germany. The Baltic States of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania were the first to claim their freedom. Soon the movement spread to other states including Armenia, Ukraine, Moldova, and Georgia who also demanded their freedoms which put more pressure on the government. What followed is that Soviet Union took back control of the government and kidnapped Gorbachev and reported to the world that he was not in a position to rule. They intended to take over the government during the protest. They tried to use the military to shut down protests but the military declined shooting at its people. This takeover could not materialize without the proper backing of the government. The Soviet Union officially broke when Gorbachev make a public announcement about his resignation on 25th December 1991. Following the dissolution, the former global superpower was replaced by 15 independent countries namely Uzbekistan, Ukraine, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Belarus, Estonia, Russia, Moldova, Lithuania, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, and Latvia.

External and Internal Factors Leading to the Collapse

The Political Factor

By the time Mikhail Gorbachev took over as the secretary-general of the Soviet Union in 1985, he found the economy in total disaster. His only domestic goal was to streamline the cumbersome bureaucracy that existed in government. His initial attempts with the reforms did not yield significant results leading to the institutions of policies named glasnost which means openness and perestroika which means restructuring. Glasnost was to be used to foster dialogue while perestroika was to allow private ownership following the introduction of quasi-free-market policies in the running of government policies (Gutman and Volker 96). Worth noting, igniting a renaissance within communist thoughts, glasnost opened doors to criticisms in the entire Soviet Union apparatus. Further, the State lost control of the public sphere as well as media and as a result, the democratic movement reforms throughout the Soviet bloc were in steam. Perestroika displayed the worst communist and capitalist systems. This is because the price controls were removed within some markets but the bureaucratic structures that existed were left in place and as such, communist officials pushed back against the policies that failed to benefit them on an individual level. What happened, in the end, was that Gorbachev’s abandonment of the Brezhnev Doctrine and his reforms facilitated the demise of the Soviet Union empire. By 1989, Hungary resulted in dismantling its border fence with Austria. Additionally, in Poland, Solidarity had swept into power, the Baltic States had already taken steps towards independence, and the wall at Berlin was already toppled. By this time, the Iron Curtain had already fallen and it was clear that the Soviet Union could not last long.

The Economic Factor

In 1990, the Soviet Union had the largest economy in the world. Despite this, the Union experienced consumer goods shortages as hoarding had become commonplace. The black market economy of the Soviet Union was estimated to be the equivalent of about 10% of the country’s gross domestic product. There was economic stagnation which continued hobbling the country for years and the perestroika policies only exacerbated the problem rather than resolving it. Notably, hikes in wages were supported by printed money and this only fueled an inflammatory spiral. The fiscal policy was mismanaged which made the country more vulnerable to external factors. The sharp decline in oil prices sent the Soviet Union’s economy to a tailspin. Between the 1970s and 1980s, the Soviet Union was named as the top producer of energy in the world in the production of resources including natural gas and oil. The export of these commodities played a significant role in shoring up the biggest command economy in the world. Oil prices declined significantly from 120 dollars per barrel in 1980 to 24 dollars per barrel in 1986 leading to the dry-up of external capital of the important lifeline. Worth noting, oil prices spiked temporarily as a result of Kuwait’s invasion by Iraq in 1990 but by then the dissolution of the Union were well in progress.

The Military as a Contribution Factor to the Soviet Union’s Collapse

It has been widely held that the spending of the Soviet Union dramatically accelerated as a response to Ronald Reagan’s presidency and proposals including the Strategic Defense Initiative. Since the early 1970s, the Soviet Union military budges had been on an upward trend, however, analysts from the west were only left with guesses regarding hard numbers ( Hofman, Oane & Artemy, 193). The estimates of the Union’s military spending ranged from 10 to 20 percent of the Union’s gross domestic product. It was hard to come up with an exact accounting within the Soviet Union because the budget military involved various government ministries with each having its competing interests. It is said that the spending of the military was consistently agnostic of the general economic trends. Even when there was lagging on the part of the Soviet Union economy, the military continued being well funded. The military was given priority when it came to matters of developing talent and research. As a result, the would-be entrepreneurs and technological innovators that could have provided support for Gorbachev’s partial transition to become a functional market economy were instead channeled towards defending industries.

The Soviet Union Involvement with Afghanistan

In addition to budgetary concerns, the Soviet Union’s dealings with Afghanistan that took place between 1979 and 1989 were a major contributor to the break of the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union army had a lion role in the Second World War and it was a significant tool in the repression of the Prague Spring and Hungarian Revolution. The army had waded into a quagmire within regions known as the Graveyard of Empire. Many troops that participated in the 10-year occupations died; about 15,000 troops were killed in the process and thousands more wounded. Furthermore, about a million Afghans who were mostly civilians were killed and at least 4 million externally displaced as a result of the fighting. The army which bested Hitler and destroyed dissent in the cold war was frustrated with mujahideen equipped with surface-to-air-miles from America. Dissent regarding the Afghanistan war remained muted as long as the government remained in control of the press. However, glasnost policies opened doors for vocalized widespread war-weariness. The army turned out to be the most powerful opponent of Gorbachev’s policies reform efforts. The army was back-footed by the stalemate in Afghanistan and as a result, it lost the little leverage it has on checking the advancement of perestroika policy reform. Within the Soviet’ republic, the Afghans expressed agitation of what they thought to be Moscow’s war. Soldiers from the Central Asian republics felt connected to religious and ethnic ties to Afghans than with Russians. Within European republics, the cleavage with Moscow turned out more dramatic. In Ukraine, antiwar demonstrations emerged and opposition forces within Baltic republics only viewed the Afghanistan war through the lens of Russian occupation in their countries. This accelerated the secessionist movement which proceeded and the consequent declarations of independence by all Baltic States in 1990.

Nuclear-related Cause.

When the cold war was taking place, the United States and the Soviet Union were on the edge of nuclear destruction. They had not considered the fact that the Soviet Union would be brought to its knees by an incident that involved civilian nuclear plants. In 1986, there was an explosion at the Chernobyl power station and this happened after only a year of Gorbachev being in power. The explosion and fires that followed released radioactive fallout that was 400 times more than the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima. The officials of communist parties acted quickly to suppress information regarding the severity of the explosion. They went as far as directing May Day celebrations and parades to continue in affected regions despite the imminent exposure to radiation. Reports in the western region about the dangers of the high level of wind radioactivity were branded as gossip and apparatchiks quickly gathered Geiger counters from the classrooms. On 4th May, the workers managed to bring the radiation under control but Gorbachev never issued any official statement until 18 days after the disaster occurred. Gorbachev referred to the Chernobyl incident as a misfortune and he painted western media s malicious lies and a highly immoral campaign. As time went by, the propaganda of the communist party grew at odds with the experiences of the people that had been in the contamination zone that were attending to the physical effects of the radiation poisoning. The trust that had been remained in the Soviet Union became completely shattered. Decades later Gorbachev marked the disaster’s anniversary by noting that ‘even more than my launch of perestroika, Chernobyl was perhaps the real cause of the collapse of the Soviet Union five years later.”

Ethnic Tensions

In the 1980s when Perestroika took effect, there was an ever-rising level of violence that was caused by the competition among the ethnic nationalisms that were in the republics of the Soviet Union. An example is the ethnic violence happening in Almaty, Kazakhstan’s capital towards the end of 1986 when frustrated Kazakh youth became frustrated with the selection of an ethnic Russian as the head of the republic. The frustration led to riots and eventually, troops had to be employed to quell the unrest. Worth noting in Sumgait, a city in Azerbaijani, there was pogrom and violent events took place in Baku, Tbilisi, and other places. The most deadly conflict happened in Karabakh between Armenia and Azerbaijan. This is sometimes referred to as the main political trigger which led to the disintegration of the Soviet Union. In the late 1980s, ethnic conflicts took a dangerous turn leading to the loss of lives of hundreds of people in the war (Li 163). However, even in 1990, many of the republics of the Soviet Union still did not want to leave the USSR. Russian historian Alexander Shubin describes the incidence as relatively calm with only Georgia and the Baltic States firmly set on a path to separation.

Guns and Butter

Every economy has limitations when it comes to the number of resources it can employ to make strategic goods (guns) or consumer goods (butter) for the nation. If a country happens to give more focus on guns people will be left without access to consumable goods and if the country pays more attention to the production of butter, the country is left without enough resources need to grow and protect the economic capacity of the nation. Stalin had “five-year plans” which were almost completely driven by the growing need to increase capital goods production for the entire nation. The Soviet Union had to become industrialized to compete with other nations in the world and they resulted in channeling all available resources towards this goal (Kenez, 77). Politburo did not change direction to improve the availability of consumer goods. Shortages encountered in the economy undermined the need for the superiority of the system used by the Soviet Union, and people cried out in revolution.

Effects of the Collapse of the Soviet Union

End of the Cold War

The dissolution of the Soviet Union marked the end of the cold war. The cold war virtually ended after the democratization and liberalization of Eastern European countries happened. Other events that marked the end of the cold war were the demolition of the Berlin Wall, the liquidation of the Warsaw Pact, and the peaceful co-existence and cooperation of the erstwhile adversaries. The presence of the socialist Soviet Union kept the chances of re-emergence of the cold war alive. It was only until the USSR was disintegrated and Russia was unable to oppose the west that the chances of a re-emergence of the cold war finally come to an end. As such, it is only right to associate the final cremation of the cold war with the dissolution of the Soviet Union.

Uni-polarity in International Relations

In the 1950s, there was bi-polarity which was eventually replaced by poly-centrism in the 1960s. In the 1990s, bi-polarity was eventually replaced by a unipolarity approach to international relations. The collapse of the Soviet Union, the disintegration of the socialist bloc, and the Warsaw Pact termination led to unipolarity in the diplomatic relations within the United States (Miller, 79). This led to the U.S being the sole-surviving superpower across the world. This unipolarity in the relations reflected in the presence of NATO and the United States’ dominant position in the world. It also showed in the United Nations unwillingness on their part to challenge the power of the United States in the world.

Fundamentalism in Central Asian Countries

As a result of the dissolution of the USSR, six of the republics that became sovereign states and were found in the Central Asian regions opted to become Islamic republics. They joined the nine Islamic states to collectively form the Economic Co-operation Organization (ECO) found in Central Asia. This rise of fundamentalism in the Islamic region gave strength to similar forces that were in various parts of the world. It compelled other countries to better realize the dangers posed by the increasing power of the factor in Islamic politics within the world of politics. It further compelled a change in the U.S policy towards West Asia, India, China, and Central Asia. Additionally, the Central Asian Crude also became an emerging factor of interest in the regions across the world.

Rise of Economic Blocs

Following the collapse of the USSR and the socialist bloc, the international economic systems also began experiencing changes. Politics of economic relations started being dominant dimensions of relations to the nations. Several economic factors began appearing on the scene and being more active after 1990. Various organizations including NAFTA, APEC, AFTA, PIF ASEAN SAARC, and OPEC became actively engaged in cooperation and economic diplomacy. As a result, the dissolution of the USSR, the collapse of the socialist bloc coupled with the end of the cold war, and the liberalization of Eastern Europe served as a source of big and profound changes in international relations between republics particularly towards the end of the 20th century.

Changes in Asian Politics

The collapse of the Soviet Union brought changes to the politics of Asia. India in particular ended up losing one of its dependable and time-tested friends. India’s foreign policy had to adjust with Russia and other republics of the USSR. It took the country one year to adjust her relations and provide proper direction for economic, social, and cultural cooperation with Russia and other CIS members. Additionally, India found it helpful to work on improving its reactions with the United States. The economic changes and necessities in India’s economic policies with the public sector came up with policies to privatize policies which also further led to improved relations with the United States. Pointers to improved relations were the holding joint Naval exercises where the Indian voted the United Nations in factor of the resolution that maintained that Zionism was not apartheid (Scarborough, 106). Further, the Indian vote favored various decisions by the United States to respect the Gulf War and Crisis. After the USSR collapsed, China was left an isolated communist state. China was compelled to adopt rapid economic liberalization and mend fences with Vietnam, Japan, and other Asian countries. Further, China found it hard to attempt to restrain the domination of the UN Secretary Council by the United States. Vietnam also resulted in leaving Cambodia, mend fences with their neighbor China and develop cooperation that was friendly with other Asian countries. Similarly, Japan found it important to redefine and reassess its role within Asia and the world in general. Japan opted to develop its own military power within the new environment and it developed trade relations with Asian countries including China, India, and ASEAN countries. Pakistan opted to orient its policies in consolidating unity among the Islamic states of Central Asia. The necessity of relations with Asian countries was achieved by western powers. Within nine months of being a sovereign state, Russia also gave up giving priority to the development of relations in Asian countries particularly in China, India, Vietnam, Japan, and other ASEA countries

Conclusion

The dissolution of the Soviet Union took place in December 1991 remaining with only 15 independent countries namely Uzbekistan, Ukraine, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Belarus, Estonia, Russia, Moldova, Lithuania, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, and Latvia. The Baltic States of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania were the first to claim their freedom. Soon the movement spread to other states including Armenia, Ukraine, Moldova, and Georgia who also demanded their freedoms which put more pressure on the government. Some of the factors associated with the collapse of the USSR have to do with politics, the economy, and the military as contributing factors. Further, the Soviet Union Involvement with Afghanistan, guns and butter, ethnic-related, nuclear-related causes are linked with the dissolution of the Soviet Union. The collapse of the Soviet Union brought changes to the politic of Asia, led to the end of the cold war, a rise in economic blocks, and Fundamentalism in Central Asian Countries. The dissolution of the Union had begun in the 1980s but it was only completed in December 1991. While it is practically impossible to point out a single factor as a cause of an event as far-reaching and complex as the dissolution of a worldwide superpower, several external and internal factors had a hand in the dissolution of the Soviet Union.

Works Cited

Dabrowski, Marek. “Currency crises in post-Soviet economies—a never-ending story?.” Russian Journal of Economics 2.3 (2016): 302-326.

Gutman, Garik, and Volker Radeloff, eds. Land-cover and land-use changes in Eastern Europe after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. Springer, 2016.

Hofman, Irna, Oane Visser, and Artemy Kalinovsky. “Introduction: Encounters After the Soviet Collapse: The Contemporary Chinese Presence in the Former Soviet Union Border Zone.” Problems of Post-Communism 67.3 (2020): 193-203.

Kenez, Peter. A History of the Soviet Union from the Beginning to its Legacy. Cambridge University Press, 2016.

Li, Jie. “The 1990s Chinese Debates Concerning the Causes for the Collapse of the Soviet Union among PRC Soviet-watchers: The Cases of Brezhnev and Stalin.” International Journal of China Studies 9.2 (2018): 163-199.

Miller, Chris. The struggle to save the Soviet economy: Mikhail Gorbachev and the collapse of the USSR. UNC Press Books, 2016.

Scarborough, Isaac. The extremes it takes to survive: Tajikistan and the collapse of the Soviet Union, 1985-1992. Diss. The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), 2018.

Management

Presented by

Institution

Introduction

Coors is one of the largest brewing companies in United States and has maintained high production level since its establishment almost two hundred and thirty years ago. The company specializes in production of high-quality brewed malt in U.S. through various management strategies. Some of the important aspects of production used by Coors are a quality water-source selection, stringent processing standards, and a well-strategized cold filtering brewing approach. The high competitive advantage enjoyed by the company has enabled it expand its distribution to new markets within U.S. in order to gain a higher market share (Ghemawat, 1992; 1). The following discussion focuses on the key aspects that made Coors brewing industry achieve a high competitive advantage and its strategies to invest in new markets.

Discussion

Coors’s Competitive advantage

Adolph Coors founded Coors Brewing Company after realizing that Colorado offered a source of fresh water for the brewing industry. Most of the company’s managerial achievements have been credited to Adolph’s family. However, in the 21st century, the beer market changed drastically calling for the company management to define newer methods of conducting production and marketing segmentation processes. The business evolved into a competitive industry that accommodated both local and international competitors. Coors developed various production strategies that would enable his company rank among the best beer producers in the U.S. by the year 1985 (Ghemawat, 1992; 2).

The main question that arisen from this situation was the ability of Coors to maintain his family culture while changing the company’s structure meets international standards. Another question was the ability of Coors to grow the company’s core products in order to compete effectively with other brands. Lastly, the company had to address its distribution logistic issues concerning product delivery from the processing firm to wholesalers and retailers across the country. Addressing these issues required that the company show a high performance index.

Performance matters a lot in every organization since it indicates its value in relation to other organizations in the same field. In Coors Brewing Company, the performance was improved by introducing new management rules that ensured all departments show a high level of production irrespective of the prevailing situations. The financial performance measure of an organization is determined by the profit sharing plans, and progressive people management strategies, which creates positive effects. In addition, the company acquired an effective procurement process that ensured the cost of production was at the lowest possible value. The market structure adopted by an organization acted as an element of undertaking need analysis of the market share. In this, the market structure had to segment the potential market of the organization products for effective analysis of the needs, and formulation of measures that need adoption by the company (Ghemawat, 1992; 2-3).

On the other hand, production played a major role in attaining the competitive advantage of Coors Company. The management team at Coors recognized a need to expand their operations internationally by improving their products. The company opened new stores in major towns in U.S. to enable customers have access to their products. The company made use of demographic marketing selection strategy whereby product branding was used as the main marketing strategy. The market segment was developed in order to increase sales of products like, canned beer. In order to achieve high profit margins, Coors Company used cost effective production methods that made it more compettive among its rivals. The company aimed at produxing more barrels in order to increase its economies of scales. The cost of producing brewing barrels differed with time prompting the company to ensure a production of more than 100,000 barrels annually ((Ghemawat, 1992; 4).

The other aspect of production that enabled Coors Company achieve a compettive advantage was distribution of its products. The company made use of wholesalers and reatilers while other smaller companies made home deliveries. Coors is an established brewing company and many consumers had gained the trust on its products as opposed to the newerly established companies. Coors innovation strategy was promoted through offering branded products at consumer friendly prices in all stores countrywide. The retailing department that consisted of merchandisers and store operators ensured customers always received fresh drinks with different flavours at all times. Wholesalers liaised more frequently with buyers to ensure that the purchased products achieved the targeted sales plan. This involves devising the necessary techniques by delivering the production plan to buyers, who in turn, come up with decisions on the products to buy, brands, and the amount (Ghemawat, 1992).

Marketing was another factor that Coors management took into consideration in order to plan competitive strategies. The demand for beer in U.S. kept increasing between 1980 and 1985 due to the increased rate of population growth. The company had to devise effective marketing strategies because new beer brewing companies kept on emerging that offered distinctive products to potential consumers. To improve on marketing, the company ventured into a brand name creation of its beers. In line with brand name change, the company took an extensive promotion of its products. This called for the company to venture in as many places as possible, to create customer awareness of their branded beers. Advertising methods such as media campaign, and offering additional promotions to the customers brought high profits for the company (Ghemawat, 1992).

Coors’s brewing division

Coors always stressed on quality brewing and could not entertain any behavior that provoked the rights of consumers. He upheld effective corporate social responsibility and ethics in his business that made him receive many customers. Moreover, the company took good care of various farmers who provided raw materials (barley) for beer production. In his constitution, Coors developed policies that ensured the rights of persons were respected. The following policies aimed at achieving the following organizational objectives:

A perfect management regulations through proper distribution of rights and responsibilities among the company staff, managers, and stakeholders, customers and the society

Creating a strong company cultural structure and protect it in order to hold the business integrity and provide responsible practices, and

To encourage employees on how to make an efficient use of the available resources and using them to attain a competitive advantage

In addition, the company developed rules and regulations guiding the use of beer in clubs and at homes in order to promote responsible drinking (Ghemawat, 1992; 5).

Conclusion

Organizations undergo various challenges as they develop the necessary strategies to assist in managing the current business operations in terms of competitiveness and positioning. Managers should be capable of integrating best organizational behavior practices in carrying out their regular business operations, in order to achieve their specific organizational objectives. In every organization, people have the responsibility of providing leadership, stewardship, and follower-ship. People learn innovations and ideas that assist them transform their organizations into greater levels hence achieving a greater competitive advantage. Coors Brewing Company’s strategic approach enabled it maintain its lead in beer production in U.S. between 1980 and 1985.

Reference

Ghemawat, P. (1992). “Adolph Coors in the Brewing Industry”, Harvard Business School. 9-

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