ShantanuT01/DACTYL-Pretraining huggingface dataset:
The reading “Why Electing Minorities Matters,” written by John Sides, adds to the description of issues stemming from the unequal representation of minority groups in politics. Meanwhile, the successful advancement of their interests positively correlates with their greater involvement in the corresponding processes. However, as follows from the article, the fact of their election does not guarantee the improvement of the conditions for specific categories of citizens. This outcome is conditional upon the effectiveness of these officials’ actions when they are not on public display. Nevertheless, their influence is complicated by the distorted communication with their constituents during the service. These results of the analysis of this situation conducted by the author seem credible due to the provision of comprehensive statistical data based on the comparison of white and black employees in this field. Thus, this source efficiently underpins the information on the topic presented by other scholars and adds precision to it.
The recent decades could be characterized by the growth of the role of countries of the Middle Eastern region at the international level. This process could be explained by the rapid growth of the economies of the given states and their involvement in the great number of the international process. However, the major concern connected with the increase of the influence of these states is related to the basis of their economies and the most important management strategies. The reason for the appearance of this concern lies in the fact that these states depend on the oil extraction industry while the other sectors of the economy might stagnate. This situation is taken as threatening as the unbalanced evolution of the economy could lead to the collapse of the state and deteriorate the situation in the region. For this reason, Saudi Arabia reconsiders its strategies in the sector of the economy trying to guarantee its stable development (“Nitaqat review on the cards” para.2 ). Nowadays, Saudi Arabia is one of the most powerful states of the region with a stable economy and power. It continues its evolution and is expected to continue its growth turning into a real power (Peck 2). The economic sector is characterized by the developed oil extraction and refinery industries which guarantee a high level of income. However, the other sectors are not developed and the state has to import several consumer goods to satisfy the needs of the population. Finally, the strangle of the foreign workforce is another important trait of Saudi Arabias economy. At the end of 2006, the private sector of the state was occupied by the workers from South Asia and Arabian countries of the region (Alshanbri, Khalfan, and Maqsood 899). At the same time, the unemployment rate among the citizens of the kingdom was high. This situation posed a great threat to the further evolution of a country. Table 1. Unemployment Ratio (“What is Nitaqat system in Saudi Arabia?” para. 1). The practice of saudization is related to the given problem and is aimed at its resolution. It identifies the replacement of the foreign workforce with Saudi nationals in the private sector of the state (“Labor and the Nitaqat program: effect on the Saudi Arabian Economy” para. 1). Saudization aims at the reduction of the level of unemployment and the creation of the beneficial conditions for the youth of the Kingdom. The reasons for the implementation of the given plan also included the growth of the economy and the improvement of the position of women in the kingdom. The government expected the significant shifts in the structure of the workforce in the private sector and reconsideration of the policies used by companies. Organizations that failed to follow the main concepts of saudization had to be deprived of the government contracts and imposed fines to compensate for the damage caused to the state and its working force (Peck 5). Saudization served as the basis for the Nitaqat program introduced by the Ministry of Labor. This program structured the above-mentioned practice and clarified certain terms and conditions. It implied several phases: June 2011
Introduction Non-government organizations (NGOs) have expanded their roles over the years. The initial concept of NGOs was supported by arguments claiming governments’ inability to provide services to individuals. The existence of NGOs balances the equation and ensures equity in the distribution of wealth. Moreover, NGOs are instrumental in bridging the gap between governments and the public. One notable achievement that most NGOs can boast is their capacity to perform governmental functions and duties. There are several pieces of literature focused on discussing the role of NGOs in the current society. These scholarly findings highlight the relevance of NGOs. In addition, the literature tackles the negative aspects of NGOs which are critical in promoting such organizations. Among the readings on NGOs, the works of Eade and Pearce (2000) appear to be compelling. The book is centered on the evolution of NGOs as contributors to modern society. A critique of the stated literature will be included in the proceeding discussions. Summary There have been misconceptions embedded in the existence of NGOs and another similar groups. Most observers maintain that NGOs are needed because of the imbalanced developments. The emergence of poverty as a global issue has placed NGOs at the center stage. But these groups are also hounded by controversies. Some individuals accuse NGOs of being partisan and corrupt. In addition, NGOs are more concerned with funding instead of devising methods to deliver services within their scope of operations. Specific details on global poverty have been mostly shelved. The figures show that poverty has worsened. The bigger problem is that individuals classified as poor are unaware of their predicament. Although NGOs have defined roles to reduce poverty incidence, their performance has been often pushed to scrutiny. The author suggests a thorough assessment related to the existence of NGOs. It is proper to allocate attention to determine the future of NGOs in society. It is important to allow the performance of NGOs to justify their presence. NGOs and Neo-Liberalism The author started the discussion by highlighting conferences initiated to illustrate the role of NGOs in development. In the 1992 Conference, the issue of NGO credibility was raised. Most NGOs have struggled to establish their groups as respectable entities. Moreover, NGOs have strongly stated the necessity of donations coming from international and local patrons. One critical observation made was that NGOs have become more focused on fundraising. In addition, donations are attached with unreasonable favors. Amidst the contributions provided by NGOs, there are several criticisms aimed at discrediting their relevance. Before moving to the negative aspects, it is important to note that there are some NGOs that have succeeded in making a difference i
Introduction The concept of ‘sustainable development’ takes its origin in the times of the post-war environmentalist movement, when the negative effects of human development upon the planet were fully recognized. Understanding the importance of saving the environment and securing the future, the society decided to make ‘greening’ of the economy an important concern for management at all levels. Main Discussion The international attempts of developing strategies for sustainable development have had impact upon many organizations. In 1992, the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development took place in Rio de Janeiro, where the main principles of global sustainability were defined (DEFRA 2011). Whereas sustainability has become one of the key principles of development, there are several approaches taken by scholars in defining the concept of ‘sustainable development’ (The Scottish Government 2006). The theoretical approaches range from strong sustainability (a planet over people approach) to weak sustainability (technology over planet approach). Therefore, individual countries and companies should take the course towards greening of their economies, but can choose different shades of green, depending upon the selected approach (StartupNation 2012). The issues of sustainable development are reflected not only in the mission statements of particular companies, but also in legal documents. Furthermore, there is a direct relationship between social and environmental responsibility taken by modern companies and their local benefits (The World Bank 2008). The companies complying with the requirements of green economies can be awarded with the right for lower taxation or other economic benefits, whereas the companies violating the generally accepted norms can be fined. In addition, with the growing concerns over environmental issues and increased public consciousness, businesses that neglect the issues of sustainable development, undergo the risks of negative imaging and corresponding negative impact upon their profits. The sustainable development strategies, as an aspiration for modern companies, require greening the economy, but is an integral element of the company’s corporate effectiveness. Conclusion The concept of ‘sustainable development’ is placed at the intersection of environmental, social and economic dimensions. By balancing these three perspectives and developing an effective solution, satisfying the demands of all these three fields, the intergovernmental organizatios, governments and companies would be able to achieve the goal of sustainable development. The historical evolution of the concept of sustainable development and the international attention to the environmental issues and greening of economies clearly demosntrate the significance of these issues. Though there is a wide range of theories taking different positions concerning the potential impacts of unsustainable development, all of them are unanimous as to the importance of
Hulnick argues that the reforms of 2007 were ineffective and perhaps were expected to be (Hulnick 302). I strongly agree with this argument because the team responsible for these reforms failed to take into consideration some of the fundamental issues ailing the intelligence system of the United States. The directive of the government and the congressional legislation only focused on addressing issues affecting the intelligence at the top. These reforms only focused on how to restructure the top leadership and to redefine the strategic objectives of the intelligence service in the 21 st century. However, it ignored the issues affecting the intelligence service at the working level (Hulnick 311). Indeed it is true that proper reforms should have started at the top level before moving to the junior employees. However, true success should have been achieved if the entire system was reviewed and restructured (Johnson 78). It was expected that the newly structured top leadership of these agencies would restructure the systems and structures at the working level. However, it turned out that they did very little to address problems affecting the agencies at the low level. As Davis (90) says, the agencies are as effective as the individuals who are in the fields doing the actual collection of data. If these individuals are forced to work using systems and structures that were used in the Cold War era, then the information that they gather may not be as relevant as would be expected. When the working level was ignored when coming up with these policies, it was a sign that the reforms would not be effective. They were not expected to be because the fundamental issues affecting the working level staff were not adequately addressed. Another major lapse in the in the reforms was that most of the principals involved in the reforms had never serviced in the Intelligence Community (
Sending Negative Organizational News Strengths One of the strengths of the letter is that the executives can easily understand the content of the message because the letter opens with bad news, a strategy that directs an approach for the negative news applies. In the first sentence, the executives get the message that the organization needs to reduce its operational costs. The additional strength of the letter is that it provides extensive reasons as to why the organization needs to reduce its operational costs. For instance, the letter notes that the organization is operating on a stringent budget, yet the executives are spending a lot of money on conference trips. Weaknesses Personalization of the negative message is a weakness that is evident in the letter. The writer of the letter is personalizing the issue of reducing operational costs in the organization. The letter uses first person and active voice, which enhance personalization of the issue. Moreover, the letter has negative phrases, which weaken an effective delivery of bad news. Negative phrases such as ‘I don’t need to repeat this’ and ‘this does not make sense’ weaken professional reserve of the message. Ending with a threatening message rather than a positive one is also a weakness that is apparent in the letter. Revised Message Dear Traveling Executives, The organization has noted with great concern that its operating costs are unsustainable. The accounting department has suggested that the only means of enhancing sustainability of the organization is by cutting operational costs by at least half. Therefore, the organization is recommending that every department should cut its operational costs for the organization to sustain itself across the year. Since conference trips are consuming a significant amount of the operating costs, the organization needs to reduce expenses associated with them. Audit reports show that air travel, car hire, hospitality, and hotel stay are some of the conference expenses that need reduction. Hence, regarding cost reduction, we are going to serve you with a notice showing the nature of expenses that the organization wants to reduce so that you can provide your views about cost reduction. Looking forward for a fruitful engagement with you. Sincerely , A. Kosca , Travel & Meeting Services. Rejecting Job Application Strengths The strength of the letter is that the first sentence acknowledges and thanks the applicant for submitting an application for a job. Moreover, the letter ends with a positive remar
Introduction There are many studies on the influence of the environment and how it affects the followers and the organizational characteristics of necessary leadership qualities, styles, and performance. However, the impact of business strategy on these aspects remains poorly studied, regardless of the fact that the main management responsibilities are formulated and implemented by an organization’s strategy. Leadership and a strategic approach must be inseparable, but these two aspects of leaders’ main activities once closely connected are divided nowadays. This review examines the impact of leadership styles on strategy. The most important practical implication of the study is that managers must perform multiple functions, improve various skills, and alter their behaviors and leadership styles to apply alternative strategies effectively. These management tasks may be more difficult than aligning organizational structures and business systems with an organization’s approach. Senior business leaders also need to carefully assess their organizations’ leadership capabilities for introducing alternative strategic approaches. The acquired information has important implications for the future of the study, which requires an integrated approach to the analysis of leadership issues and strategies because the overview captures the close connection between them. Studies that ignore this relationship have little contribution to the scientific development of each of the two phenomena separately. Leaders are chief architects of strategy depending on the culture of an organization. In this review, leadership is determined by the challenge of questioning the status quo and creating a vision, goals, strategies, and shared values of an organization. It also addresses the problem of followers’ collaboration and the achievement of their understanding of the most important aspect of performance, such as motivation, inspiration, and focus on attainment. The difference between management and leadership is blurred and contradictory as a number of functions overlap, which means that there is no significant distinction. Managers are more concerned with the allocation of resources, the establishment of rules, procedures, and systems, the maintenance of the status quo of stability, and problems solution in order to make the organization more efficient. Leaders, on the other hand, recruit the right team and determine (and managers lead the team to the goal of the authorities) where it should go, increase the motivation and commitment of the company’s employees. Managers are people who do things right, and leaders are people who do the right things. Methodology of the review The objectives of this review are to test and analyze the
In the early 1990s, many scholars of developmental psychology, disenchanted by the antimentalistic and biases of behavioral psychology and shortcoming of Piaget’s theory, shifted to cognitive psychology and computer science to seek new thoughts and insights about children’s thinking. Computer systems that rely on mathematically programmed operations to offer solutions enabled these researchers to formulate a framework for information processing perspective that could explain cognitive development (Shaffer and Kipp 58). According to information processing theory, the human mind is like a computer storage on which information is stored, operated on and converted to answer and solutions to problems. Proponents of this theory assert, using computer analogy, that human mind is a hardware comprising of the brain and nerves as peripherals, and that the mental processes are software. The software exhibits themselves in form of attention, memory, perception, problem-solving and critical thinking strategies (Shaffer and Kipp 58). The theory suggests a connection between biological and cognitive development. Unlike Piaget’s theory, which was vague about this link, information processing theory contend that brain maturation and the nervous systems allows children and adolescents to process information quickly (Shaffer and Kipp 58). Therefore, developing children are able to sustain attention, recognize and store relevant information, and execute mental programs that enable them to process what has been stored to provide solutions to problems. Information theorists are alive to the fact that strategies that children develop for processing information are significantly influenced by the experiences presented to them-that is, they are influenced by the nature of problems presented to them, instructions, and the cultures-specific information they get (Shaffer and Kipp 58). The theory of information processing, like Piaget’s theory, construe that children’s thinking is controlled by internal (biological) systems, as well as culturally specific information. However, proponents of this theory suggest that external elements are more influential than internal systems (Seigler, DeLoache and Eisenberg 265). They contend that biological systems are essential information processing systems that depend on external forces, which are instructions and information obtained or gathered from culturally oriented learning environments (Taylor 89)
Violence and literacy are closely related. The current state of research suggests that violence, physical and cultural, often serves the primary obstacle to literacy in different population groups (Horsman, 2006). The ways in which violence affects literacy are numerous and varied. On the one hand, violence limits women’s access to literacy programs (Horsman, 2006). This is largely because injured women are denied and refused an opportunity to participate in such programs, because of their physical and emotional state (Horsman, 2006). On the other hand, women themselves perceive literacy courses as unnecessary and useless (Horsman, 2006). Surprisingly or not, the link between violence and literacy resembles a two-way street. Simply stated, violence bears serious consequences on female literacy, whereas literacy, in its turn, has a potential to empower women and support them in their struggle against violence. Literacy has significant implications for reducing violence against women, and this paper explores the reasons behind and solutions to continued illiteracy in adult women. That violence affects chances to enroll in literacy programs is a well-known fact. According to Horsman (2006), violence convinces women that they are stupid; as a result, they no longer want to attend literacy courses. What woman would want to attend literacy courses, knowing that any attempt to do so will inevitably lead to another episode of trauma and violence (Horsman, 2006)? Violence against women, who plan to enroll in academic programs, is easy to explain: literacy is a powerful source of empowerment for victimized women. This is one of the reasons why violent spouses are extremely reluctant to let their women get an education. However, how can literacy be empowering? Darville (1995) suggests that literacy gives way for releasing and exchanging human experiences. Literacy begins with the power of authorship, which transcends and reinforces the sense of self-competence through communication (Darville, 1995). Literacy is empowering in that it creates a sense of inclusion and undercuts a belief that education belongs to others (Darville, 1995). Take a look at women in the Somebody’s Daughter program: they were hit by violence and suffered isolation, but the messages of encouragement support their female writers in coping with the difficulties in their lives (UNESCO, 2007). Does that mean that literacy can effectively reduce violence? If it can, why does violence in all parts of the globe continue to persist? The reasons behind the failure of literacy to reduce violence and victimization are varied. Horsman (2006) writes that women do not enroll in education courses, fearing further violence and abuse. However, the real problem is not in that women have a fear of violence. The problem is in that literacy programs for adults lack supportive elements, which could protect women from abuse. Collaboration and cooperation between literacy programs and social work professionals could improve women’s chances to become literate. Social workers could spread the message of a