Clientelism, Tribalism, and Ethnic Conflict in Africa

In this essay I will firstly examine and break down the components of the question. I will separate and clarify the meaning of Clientelism, Tribalism and Ethnic Conflict and deal with each of these as separate enterties. Although I will argue each of them on a separate basis. I aim also to show the complex interlinked relationships between the three themes, and argue that because of this the central argument of the question is not easily agreed or disagreed with. My main argument however, will be to disagree with the central question and advocate that Clientelism was a part of Africa's tradition long before any notion of modernity and colonial influence was present in the continent. I will provide empirical evidence, which supports the inherent presence of Clientelism, and also show how it has strong links with Tribalism, in both its history and modern perpetuation. Tribalism however is a different matter and I agree with the central statement and advocate that modern African tribalism and notions of ethnicity were mainly a direct result of colonial imposed modernity restructuring. For the final part of my answer I will provide an argument that African ethnic conflict lies somewhere between the two extremes, that it was present in African society before colonial modernity and it was further exacerbated by the restructuring that colonialism brought about. In my conclusion I will further justify my arguments and advocate a thesis for future development in Africa on tribalism, ethnic conflict and clientelism. Whether clientelism, tribalism and ethnic conflict were a product not of tradition but of modernity in Africa and a type of development is a difficult and complex question in many respects, but one to which I have a strong argument. To study this it would be practical to firstly define what I shall mean by modernity and â€Å"the type of development† in relation to the main statement, as it will form the crux of my argument. By modernity and type of development in Africa I will be focusing on colonialism and justifying whether clientelism, tribalism and ethnic conflict were present before the arrival of colonialization or whether they emerged from the new society that restructuring colonial development brought with it. I believe through looking at African society in its modern context and studying empirical data that it is evident to determine whether the three main themes of this essay where present before or a after product. What is not so clear however is the complex linkages between and the contexts they operate in. I advocate for instance that it is impossible to separate out clientelism from tribalism, and that ethnic conflict is closely related to both of these. Due to this in order to justify and construct my argument I must separate out clientelism, tribalism and ethnic conflict and study them individually. Clientelism To determine from what circumstances Clientelism in African emanated it is important to define the term itself and what it means in African society. Clientelism is also known as patron-client relations/politics, and in its modern form is highly evident in African society. This clientelism is an exchange between actors who have unequal balance of power, one being weaker, and the other being stronger. It is the patron who is the more powerful and the client who is normally the weaker of the two. The exchange between client and patron is formed when the more powerful patron offers something, be it scarce resources or protection to the weaker client. This weaker client offers something back in return, perhaps support or other services to the patron who is in a more dominant position. † bound up with important ties of reprocity linking those who are related within networks of vertical relationships. Clientelism can be viewed on both micro and macro levels as a phenomenon of African society (although it is evident elsewhere),and to assess from where this Clientelism originated from it is necessary to see where it is present in modern society. In modern day Africa these patron -client relationships are most visible in the political arena. I argue that clientelism although it is pervasive in African politics did not emerge as a direct result of colonisation, which most people would view as the birthplace of modern African politics and political institutions as a result of the restructuring of African society. Instead I advocate that Clientelism, although present in modern day politics was in place well before the colonial era and was present in tradition and the era before any notion of modernity was in Africa. I believe clientelism was evident in the traditional African way of life. Pre-Colonial African society was in terms stateless. There was no formal state. African society was based around a system of patron-client relationships, which were the fundamental core of society. Where there was no state there was no other system, in a vast continent holding various competing tribes and peoples in order for there to be a ‘society' arbitrating, protecting and trade were all centred around these unequal deals between various networks. â€Å"The power relations of pre-colonial Africa were typically of patrons and clients. ‘Big Men' presided over intricate networks of clientage involving reciprocal but unequal relations with ‘small boys', as well as power over women and children and those held in the diverse forms and degrees of servitude of pawnship and slavery. 2 Patron-client networks as evident today I argue are based around extended family (and later as I will discuss) tribal loyalties evident from traditional African life. â€Å"African communities were pervaded by relations of domination and dependence, based on patriarchal power exercised across differences of genders and generations, lineages and clans, languages and cultures. â€Å"3 The arrival of Colonialism and modernity had utilised these already existing patron-client relationships and used them for their own ends. The colonial administrators sought chief headmen and perpetuated clientelism by supplementing their meagre salaries and earnings they gained from their official positions with monies gained from trade and other bonuses. (Berman) â€Å"Chiefs and headmen were the essential linkage between the colonial state and African societies. This relationship typically took on a patron-client form, and had several important and contradictory consequences. â€Å"4 So I argue rather than colonialism creating these patron client linkages it merely utilised them. I believe that clientelism at it is today stemmed from the traditional African societies. So to reiterate African society pre-colonial era although traditional was not so natural and traditionally uncorrupted to be devoid of the practice of clientelism that we so readily see as corruption today. That is was present and a working framework for society. â€Å"The other runs the risk, in reaction, of idealising the virtues of a pre-colonial era supposedly devoid of corruption, the growth of which is supposed to have been caused by the perversion of the social order induced by the arrival of the colonialist Europeans. â€Å"5 I argue that modernity and the formation of formal political institutions and frameworks of power merely perpetuated Clientelism and provided new avenues for the patron-client relationships based on new networks of power. What had always gone on before merely was allowed to operate in a new arena. African politics became â€Å"politics of the belly†, where individuals used public office for private gain. The scarcity of resources in Africa being as it is, if one person holds an office where he/she controls resources or power politics becomes a way of utilising patron-client networks to distribute these resources and gain support and power. made patron/client relations not only the fundamental mode of access to the state and its resources, but also, as in pre-colonial society, the fundamental relationship between ordinary people and those with wealth or power. † As before in pre-colonial society clientelism formed the basis of a persons power through the number of people he had domination and arrangements over, now in politics a persons political power is based on how many people pledge support through reciprocal client-patron networks in return for favours. Clientelism hasn't been formed it has merely morphed into a new generation of deals. â€Å"Where land was plentiful and populations small, wealth and power were measured in control of people, in having a large following of family and non-kin dependants. â€Å"7 In politics this clientelism has become diverse, not created by modernity but adapted for its use in formal political positions. Peter Ekeh (1975) described this as being the formation in African society of two publics, where Clientelism has been and always is the norm. That the same political actors act in both systems of a Civic public and the Primordial public. The citizen in the Civic public works in the beaurocratic institutions of the state, in a supposedly amoral system. The citizen takes from his position and gives nothing in return. This is through clientelism and a network of contacts where state resources and power can be distributed in this way. However the same person in his Primordial public, largely associated with ethnic tribalism and belonging to an extended family/ community, gives out and gets nothing in return. Due to the kinship of this the actor is expected to do good for his own community, by using his political position. The key idea in Ekeh's case then is that the ‘good man channels part of the largesse of the civic public to the primordial public. ‘ This shows the complex links between the old clientelism networks and what I will argue as the more modern artificial tribal relationships in African society. Tribalism Tribalism in its present form in Africa however is not a traditional aspect of African culture I argue as Clientelism had been, but a product of the development imposed on the region by Colonialism. Colonialism and the social and economic changes it brought with it ‘created' the sense of tribalism and strong ethnic identities that are present in modern Africa. That tribes were not traditionally based but created in a means to gain power, resources and recognition in the process of colonial modernising. â€Å"The accumulating weight of evidence shows that African ethnicity and its relationship to politics is new not old: a response to capitalist modernity shaped by similar forces to those related to the development of ethnic nationalism in Europe since the late nineteenth century. † This is not to say there were not tribes in the pre-colonial era, but I believe what tribes existed there were, not so ethnically divided. That the tribes were various groups of mixed race and language peoples who were in a constant state of flux, without the fixed ethnic boundaries one finds today. â€Å"Pre-colonial political and socio-cultural boundaries were marked by fuzziness and flexibility; and Africans existed within a reality of multiple, overlapping and alternative collective identities. â€Å"9 What created these tribal identities therefore if they were not present in traditional African society was the arrival of colonialism. Europeans were of the assumption that African tribes were the basis of society. That the tribes had neat compact boundaries and consisted of culturally identical peoples. This assumption I argue was the basis for tribal creation, as the missionaries especially and other state institutions sought to formalise and categorise these tribal units. The recording of culture and the teaching to a whole area of a ‘supposedly' local language, which in many cases was merely a local dialect, began to bring differing peoples together. This wiped out some cultural differences and creating false collectives of tribal peoples often not historically related, but brought together by colonial boundaries. â€Å"The ideology and culture of colonialism, especially in the imagining of African societies by colonial officials and European missionaries, provided the dominant cognitive context moulding the invention of tribes and their customs by Africans themselves. â€Å"10 If the colonial rulers and administration could claim links with these tribes then, through working with the ‘traditional' ruling groups in Africa they gained legitimacy in their operations and ruling of the area. By working with these fixed tribes, the colonial rulers could fragment and control the local populace by breaking it down into smaller loyal groups. In reality the creation of tribes made it easier for the colonial beaurocracy to rule. â€Å"Each administrative unit ideally contained a single culturally and linguistically homogenous ‘tribe' in which people continued to live within the indigenous institutions and were subject to ‘tribal discipline' through local structures of authority. â€Å"11 Although this was a key issue in the creation of Africa tribalism however, I believe that the stronger reason for the formation of tribes was for political gain and recognition. Due to this European notion of African tribalism, in order to hold power with the colonial administration actors must be part of a clearly fixed ethnic group. This created political tribalism, which was the creation of ethnicities by elite groups in African society to gain access to resources and to seek the foundations for a conservative modernisation. In short it was the manipulation of tribal ethnic identities by Africans themselves for political and economic gains in the face of colonial changes. † Ethnic collective action', according to Mozaffar, ‘is predominantly a process of strategic political interaction between self-interested actors with divergent interests'. 12 Ethnic Conflict Ethnic Conflict has both strong links with tribalism and clientelism in Africa. I believe its origin is not so easy to pinpoint as it has been for tribalism and patron-client relations but that ethnic conflict is merely a product of the two. It was evident in pre-colonial society and was heightened and exacerbated by the modern formation of tribes in the colonial era as I have previously described. Ethnic Conflict was present in traditional African society. African society had never been egalitarian in nature, and a society in which there are unequal power relations is ultimately to have conflict in its midst. † Pre-colonial societies were thus full of conflict and competition, instability and change. † What I believe was created by the form of colonial development placed on Africa was the increase in ethnic tensions as new tribes and identities were created. Resources in Africa are still scarce and the modern beaurocratic frame work and political distribution of power has led to ethnic conflict becoming more fierce and modern in its use of warfare and state apparatus. The tribal divisions between the Hutus and Tutsis and the ensuing Rwandan war and genocide are examples of this. As the colonial era ‘created' false country borders this conflict now often seeps out between neighbouring countries, comprising of different tribal identities over land and resources. I believe the colonial era did not create tribal conflict but merely change the scale that it is played out upon and provided it with state apparatus, militia, armies that now take conflict into a modern era, on a wider and more devastating scale. Conclusion It is clear to see then that tribalism, ethnic conflict and clientelism, although intricately related all have different origins. I advocate however that they were all evident in some way or form before any type of modernity was present in Africa. Although I believe Clientelism and ethnic conflict were not created by the development in the colonial era they were not solved or prevented by colonial restructuring. They still persist today. Ethic conflict I argue was present before the arrival of the Europeans in Africa on a localised scale as fighting between the complex and varied tribes on the continent. With the arrival of colonialism I believe it was merely aggravated by the adaptation of formal tribes and the struggle in politics for scarce resources, power and recognition. I argue that it has merely adapted and become a more serious problem as the apparatus of state have been used to fight wars etc. The conflict now envelops far larger groups of people and even countries constructed by the colonial boundaries of ethnicity and country. Clientelism is pervasive throughout African politics. It is our normative viewing of clientelism today, as corruption in Africa that I believe has led to some believing it was is not in existence in pre-colonial society but a product of the introduction of formal politics and modernity in Africa. of idealising the virtues of a pre-colonial era supposedly devoid of corruption, the growth of which is supposed to have been caused by the perversion of the social order induced by the arrival of colonialist Europeans. † What I believe we must consider however that we are applying the principles of the old African order rather to a new context of modern development and democratic politics, etc where impartiality is presupposed. This is what makes us view clientelism as a modern phenomenon rather than its rightful place as a traditional form of dealings in African society. This is the opposite with tribalism, where many suppose it as a traditional part of African society. It was this European view of tribalism that thought of it as such, however closer examination reveals it to be a politically dynamic and deliberately constructed phenomenon. It was not a traditional aspect of society that was carried over into colonial modernity but a means by which if African created a concrete identity they could gain power and resources in a system which colonialism brought about.

Last Sacrifice Chapter Two

AS ALWAYS, IT WAS DISORIENTING. Faces and skulls, translucent and luminescent, all hovered around me. They were drawn to me, swarming in a cloud as though they all desperately needed to say something. And really, they probably did. The ghosts that lingered in this world were restless, souls who had reasons that kept them from moving on. When Lissa had brought me back from the dead, I'd kept a connection to their world. It had taken a lot of work and self-control to learn to block out the phantoms that followed me. The magical wards that protected the Moroi Court actually kept most ghosts away from me, but this time, I wanted them here. Giving them that access, drawing them in †¦ well, it was a dangerous thing. Something told me that if ever there was a restless spirit, it would be a queen who had been murdered in her own bed. I saw no familiar faces among this group but didn't give up hope. â€Å"Tatiana,' I murmured, focusing my thoughts on the dead queen's face. â€Å"Tatiana, come to me.' I had once been able to summon one ghost easily: my friend Mason, who'd been killed by Strigoi. While Tatiana and I weren't as close as Mason and I had been, we certainly had a connection. For a while, nothing happened. The same blur of faces swirled before me in the cell, and I began to despair. Then, all of a sudden, she was there. She stood in the clothes she'd been murdered in, a long nightgown and robe covered in blood. Her colors were muted, flickering like a malfunctioning TV screen. Nonetheless, the crown on her head and regal stance gave her the same queenly air I remembered. Once she materialized, she said and did nothing. She simply stared at me, her dark gaze practically piercing my soul. A tangle of emotions tightened in my chest. That gut reaction I always got around Tatiana–anger and resentment–flared up. Then, it was muddled by a surprising wave of sympathy. No one's life should end the way hers had. I hesitated, afraid the guards would hear me. Somehow, I had a feeling the volume of my voice didn't matter, and none of them could see what I saw. I held up the note. â€Å"Did you write this?' I breathed. â€Å"Is it true?' She continued to stare. Mason's ghost had behaved similarly. Summoning the dead was one thing; communicating with them was a whole other matter. â€Å"I have to know. If there is another Dragomir, I'll find them.' No point in drawing attention to the fact that I was in no position to find anything or anyone. â€Å"But you have to tell me. Did you write this letter? Is it true?' Only that maddening gaze answered me. My frustration grew, and the pressure of all those spirits began to give me a headache. Apparently, Tatiana was as annoying in death as she had been in life. I was about to bring my walls back and push the ghosts away when Tatiana made the smallest of movements. It was a tiny nod, barely noticeable. Her hard eyes then shifted down to the note in my hand, and just like that–she was gone. I slammed my barriers back up, using all my will to close myself off from the dead. The headache didn't disappear, but those faces did. I sank back on the bed and stared at the note without seeing it. There was my answer. The note was real. Tatiana had written it. Somehow, I doubted her ghost had any reason to lie. Stretching out, I rested my head on the pillow and waited for that terrible throbbing to go away. I closed my eyes and used the spirit bond to return and see what Lissa had been doing. Since my arrest, she'd been busy pleading and arguing on my behalf, so I expected to find more of the same. Instead she was †¦ dress shopping. I was almost offended at my best friend's frivolity until I realized she was looking for a funeral dress. She was in one of the Court's tucked away stores, one that catered to royal families. To my surprise, Adrian was with her. Seeing his familiar, handsome face eased some of the fear in me. A quick probe of her mind told me why he was here: she'd talked him into coming because she didn't want him left alone. I could understand why. He was completely drunk. It was a wonder he could stand, and in fact, I strongly suspected the wall he leaned against was all that held him up. His brown hair was a mess–and not in the purposeful way he usually styled it. His deep green eyes were bloodshot. Like Lissa, Adrian was a spirit user. He had an ability she didn't yet: he could visit people's dreams. I'd expected him to come to me since my imprisonment, and now it made sense why he hadn't. Alcohol stunted spirit. In some ways, that was a good thing. Excessive spirit created a darkness that drove its users insane. But spending life perpetually drunk wasn't all that healthy either. Seeing him through Lissa's eyes triggered emotional confusion nearly as intense as what I'd experienced with Tatiana. I felt bad for him. He was obviously worried and upset about me, and the startling events this last week had blindsided him as much as the rest of us. He'd also lost his aunt whom, despite her brusque attitude, he'd cared for. Yet, in spite of all this, I felt †¦ scorn. That was unfair, perhaps, but I couldn't help it. I cared about him so much and understood him being upset, but there were better ways of dealing with his loss. His behavior was almost cowardly. He was hiding from his problems in a bottle, something that went against every piece of my nature. Me? I couldn't let my problems win without a fight. â€Å"Velvet,' the shopkeeper told Lissa with certainty. The wizened Moroi woman held up a voluminous, long-sleeved gown. â€Å"Velvet is traditional in the royal escort.' Along with the rest of the fanfare, Tatiana's funeral would have a ceremonial escort walking alongside the coffin, with a representative from each family there. Apparently, no one minded that Lissa fill that role for her family. But voting? That was another matter. Lissa eyed the dress. It looked more like a Halloween costume than a funeral gown. â€Å"It's ninety degrees out,' said Lissa. â€Å"And humid.' â€Å"Tradition demands sacrifice,' the woman said melodramatically. â€Å"As does tragedy.' Adrian opened his mouth, undoubtedly ready with some inappropriate and mocking comment. Lissa gave him a sharp headshake that kept him quiet. â€Å"Aren't there any, I don't know, sleeveless options?' The saleswoman's eyes widened. â€Å"No one has ever worn straps to a royal funeral. It wouldn't be right.' â€Å"What about shorts?' asked Adrian. â€Å"Are they okay if they're with a tie? Because that's what I was gonna go with.' The woman looked horrified. Lissa shot Adrian a look of disdain, not so much because of the remark–which she found mildly amusing–but because she too was disgusted by his constant state of intoxication. â€Å"Well, no one treats me like a full-fledged royal,' said Lissa, turning back to the dresses. â€Å"No reason to act like one now. Show me your straps and short-sleeves.' The saleswoman grimaced but complied. She had no problem advising royals on fashion but wouldn't dare order them to do or wear anything. It was part of the class stratification of our world. The woman walked across the store to find the requested dresses, just as Lissa's boyfriend and his aunt entered the shop. Christian Ozera, I thought, was who Adrian should have been acting like. The fact that I could even think like that was startling. Times had certainly changed from when I held Christian up as a role model. But it was true. I'd watched him with Lissa this last week, and Christian had been determined and steadfast, doing whatever he could to help her in the wake of Tatiana's death and my arrest. From the look on his face now, it was obvious he had something important to relay. His outspoken aunt, Tasha Ozera, was another study in strength and grace under pressure. She'd raised him after his parents had turned Strigoi–and had attacked her, leaving Tasha with scarring on one side of her face. Moroi had always relied on guardians for defense, but after that attack, Tasha had decided to take matters into her own hands. She'd learned to fight, training with all sorts of hand-to-hand methods and weapons. She was really quite a badass and constantly pushed for other Moroi to learn combat too. Lissa let go of a dress she'd been examining and turned to Christian eagerly. After me, there was no one else she trusted more in the world. He'd been her rock throughout all of this. He looked around the store, not appearing overly thrilled to be surrounded by dresses. â€Å"You guys are shopping?' he asked, glancing from Lissa to Adrian. â€Å"Getting in a little girl time?' â€Å"Hey, you'd benefit from a wardrobe change,' said Adrian. â€Å"Besides, I bet you'd look great in a halter top.' Lissa ignored the guys' banter and focused on the Ozeras. â€Å"What did you find out?' â€Å"They've decided not to take action,' said Christian. His lips curled in disdain. â€Å"Well, not any punishment kind of action.' Tasha nodded. â€Å"We're trying to push the idea that he just thought Rose was in danger and jumped in before he realized what was actually happening.' My heart stopped. Dimitri. They were talking about Dimitri. For a moment, I was no longer with Lissa. I was no longer in my cell. Instead, I was back to the day of my arrest. I'd been arguing with Dimitri in a cafe, scolding him for his continued refusal to talk to me, let alone continue our former relationship. I'd decided then that I was done with him, that things were truly over and that I wouldn't let him keep tearing my heart apart. That was when the guardians had come for me, and no matter what Dimitri claimed about his Strigoi-time making him unable to love, he had reacted with lightning speed in my defense. We'd been hopelessly outnumbered, but he hadn't cared. The look on his face–and my own uncanny understanding of him–had told me all I needed to know. I was facing a threat. He had to defend me. And defend me he had. He'd fought like the god he'd been back at St. Vladimir's Academy, when he'd taught me how to battle Strigoi. He incapacitated more guardians in that cafe than one man should have been able to. The only thing that had ended it– and I truly believe he would have fought until his last breath–had been my intervention. I hadn't known at the time what was going on or why a legion of guardians would want to arrest me. But I had realized that Dimitri was in serious danger of harming his already fragile status around Court. A Strigoi being restored was unheard of, and many still didn't trust him. I'd begged Dimitri to stop, more afraid of what would happen to him than me. Little had I known what was in store for me. He'd come to my hearing–under guard–but neither Lissa nor I had seen him since. Lissa had been working hard to clear him of any wrongdoing, fearing they'd lock him up again. And me? I'd been trying to tell myself not to over-think what he had done. My arrest and potential execution took precedence. Yet †¦ I still wondered. Why had he done it? Why had he risked his life for mine? Was it an instinctive reaction to a threat? Had he done it as a favor to Lissa, whom he'd sworn to help in return for freeing him? Or had he truly done it because he still had feelings for me? I still didn't know the answer, but seeing him like that, like the fierce Dimitri from my past, had stirred up the feelings I was so desperately trying to get over. I kept trying to assure myself that recovering from a relationship took time. Lingering feelings were natural. Unfortunately, it took longer to get over a guy when he threw himself into danger for you. Regardless, Christian and Tasha's words gave me hope about Dimitri's fate. After all, I wasn't the only one walking a tenuous line between life and death. Those convinced Dimitri was still Strigoi wanted to see a stake through his heart. â€Å"They're keeping him confined again,' said Christian. â€Å"But not in a cell. Just in his room, with a couple of guards. They don't want him out around Court until things settle down.' â€Å"That's better than jail,' admitted Lissa. â€Å"It's still absurd,' snapped Tasha, more to herself than the others. She and Dimitri had been close over the years, and she'd once wanted to take that relationship to another level. She'd settled for friendship, and her outrage over the injustice done to him was as strong as ours. â€Å"They should have let him go as soon as he became a dhampir again. Once the elections are settled, I'm going to make sure he's free.' â€Å"And that's what's weird †¦' Christian's pale blue eyes narrowed thoughtfully. â€Å"We heard that Tatiana had told others before she–before she–‘ Christian hesitated and glanced uneasily at Adrian. The pause was uncharacteristic for Christian, who usually spoke his mind abruptly. â€Å"Before she was murdered,' said Adrian flatly, not looking at any of them. â€Å"Go on.' Christian swallowed. â€Å"Um, yeah. I guess–not in public–she'd announced that she believed Dimitri really was a dhampir again. Her plan was to help him get more acceptance once the other stuff settled down.' The â€Å"other stuff' was the age law mentioned in Tatiana's note, the one saying dhampirs turning sixteen would be forced to graduate and start defending Moroi. It had infuriated me, but like so many other things now †¦ well, it was kind of on hold. Adrian made a strange sound, like he was clearing his throat. â€Å"She did not.' Christian shrugged. â€Å"Lots of her advisors said she did. That's the rumor.' â€Å"I have a hard time believing it too,' Tasha told Adrian. She'd never approved of Tatiana's policies and had vehemently spoken out against them on more than one occasion. Adrian's disbelief wasn't political, though. His was simply coming from ideas he'd always had about his aunt. She'd never given any indication that she wanted to help Dimitri regain his old status. Adrian made no further comment, but I knew this topic was kindling sparks of jealousy within him. I'd told him Dimitri was in the past and that I was ready to move on, but Adrian–like me–must have undoubtedly wondered about the motivations behind Dimitri's gallant defense. Lissa began to speculate on how they might get Dimitri out of house arrest when the saleswoman returned with an armful of dresses she clearly disapproved of. Biting her lip, Lissa fell silent. She filed away Dimitri's situation as something to deal with later. Instead, she wearily prepared to try on clothes and play the part of a good little royal girl. Adrian perked up at the sight of the dresses. â€Å"Any halters in there?' I returned to my cell, mulling over the problems that just seemed to keep piling up. I was worried about both Adrian and Dimitri. I was worried about myself. I was also worried about this so-called lost Dragomir. I was starting to believe the story could be real, but there was nothing I could do about it, which frustrated me. I needed to take action when it came to helping Lissa. Tatiana had told me in her letter to be careful whom I spoke to about the matter. Should I pass this mission on to someone else? I wanted to take charge of it, but the bars and suffocating walls around me said I might not be able to take charge of anything for a while, not even my own life. Two weeks. Needing further distraction, I gave in and began reading Abe's book, which was exactly the tale of wrongful imprisonment I'd expected it to be. It was pretty good and taught me that faking my own death apparently wouldn't work as an escape method. The book unexpectedly stirred up old memories. A chill went down my spine as I recalled a Tarot reading that a Moroi named Rhonda had given to me. She was Ambrose's aunt, and one of the cards she'd drawn for me had shown a woman tied to swords. Wrongful imprisonment. Accusations. Slander. Damn. I was really starting to hate those cards. I always insisted they were a scam, yet they had an annoying tendency to come true. The end of her reading had shown a journey, but to where? A real prison? My execution? Questions with no answers. Welcome to my world. Out of options for now, I figured I might as well try to get some rest. Stretching out on the pallet, I tried to push away those constant worries. Not easy. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw a judge banging a gavel, condemning me to death. I saw my name in the history books, not as a hero, but as a traitor. Lying there, choking on my own fear, I thought of Dimitri. I pictured his steady gaze and could practically hear him lecturing me. Don't worry now about what you can't change. Rest when you can so you'll be ready for tomorrow's battles. The imaginary advice calmed me. Sleep came at last, heavy and deep. I'd tossed and turned a lot this week, so true rest was welcome. Then–I woke up. I sat upright in bed, my heart pounding. Peering around, I looked for danger–any threat that might have startled me out of that sleep. There was nothing. Darkness. Silence. The faint squeak of a chair down the hall told me my guards were still around. The bond, I realized. The bond had woken me up. I'd felt a sharp, intense flare of †¦ what? Intensity. Anxiety. A rush of adrenaline. Panic raced through me, and I dove deeper into Lissa, trying to find what had caused that surge of emotion from her. What I found was †¦ nothing. The bond was gone.

The Schopenhauer Cure

The Schopenhauer Cure Alyssa K. Engblom Winona State University In the book The Schopenhauer Cure, Yalom portrays a group therapist, Julius, who uses a variety of group facilitation techniques in order for the group to be run effectively. The first technique Julius uses in the group is to switch the focus from content to process. â€Å"Julius intervened by using the group therapist’s most common and most effective tactic—he switched the focus from the content to the process, that is, away from the words being spoken to the nature of the relationship of the interacting parties† (Yalom, 2005, p. 132).During this scenario, Bonnie is feeling insecure about herself and confronts Rebecca about â€Å"preening† for the men in the group. Phillip is still new to the group, and the other members are not too sure what to think of him yet. In order for the group to be refocused, Julius tells everyone to â€Å"take a step back†¦and to try to understand whatâ€℠¢s happening. Let me first put out this question to all of you: what do you see going on in the relationship between Bonnie and Rebecca? † (Yalom, 2005, p. 132). Julius does not want everyone to focus solely on what Bonnie and Rebecca are saying to each other, but rather on their relationship with each other.The second technique Julius uses is to have group members focus on the â€Å"Here and Now. † An off-shoot of the Here and Now technique is to have members of the group talk directly to each other, instead of talking about them. Julius â€Å"had done what the good group therapist should do: he had translated one of his patient’s central issues into the here-and-now, where it could be explored firsthand. It was always more productive to focus on the here-and-now than to work on the patient’s reconstructions of an event from the past or from current outside life† (Yalom, 2005, p. 158).During this group meeting, Julius is trying to get to the root o f why Bonnie feels that everyone else is more valuable or more important to the group than her. However, all of her explanations are all external and the other group members feel that her answers are regressive or don’t make sense. Julius then moves into another technique. â€Å"In his view the work in therapy consisted of two phases: first interaction, often emotional, and second, understanding that interaction. That’s the way therapy should proceed—an alternating sequence of evocation of emotions and then understanding† (Yalom, 2005, p. 60). To get to this second stage, Julius asks the group to look back at what occurred in the past few minutes. He was trying to get Bonnie to see that she takes situations or comments and then punishes herself with them. The third technique Julius â€Å"taught to his group therapy students was: Members should never be punished for self-disclosure. On the contrary, risk taking must always be supported and reinforced† (Yalom, 2005, p. 218). At this point in the book, the group members are upset at Gill for not telling them sooner that he has a drinking problem.They are angry that he was blaming all his difficulties on his wife, Rose, and not talking about the real problem. Julius then goes on to use a fourth facilitation technique, Horizontal vs. Vertical Disclosure. â€Å"Julius always taught students the difference between vertical and horizontal self-disclosure. The group was pressing, as expected, for vertical disclosure—details about the past, including such queries as the scope and the duration of his drinking—whereas horizontal disclosure, that is, disclosure about the disclosure, was always far more productive† (Yalom, 2005, p. 19). He then asks Gill what made it possible for him to open up to them at this particular meeting. At the beginning of the story, Philip did not seem like an appealing character. However, by the end of the book and after I got to know his c haracter a bit more, I could see certain strengths peeking out. Philip is an extremely intelligent, bright, and committed individual. He was dedicated to finding a solution to his sexual addiction, and worked hard to achieve the result he desired. In the group experience, he offered up bits of advice to the other members.The advice may not have helped them extensively, but at least he was trying to contribute. Philip also challenged the other members of the group as well as Julius. His personality was not very inviting, but this forced the others (and Julius) to try harder to understand him and what made him tick. When Pam returns to the group from her retreat, the mood immediately becomes darker when she sees Philip in her â€Å"cozy† group. She does not feel comfortable having him in the group because he had caused her so much pain in the past.Julius found it hard to find â€Å"forgiveness† for Philip, but he tried to identify with him to try to understand why he wou ld have done the things he did. Tony sided with Pam and questioned some of Philip’s statements, whereas Rebecca defended Philip against Tony’s â€Å"attacks†. Stuart also seemed to protect Philip against Tony’s attacks. He reminded Tony that he hadn’t seemed sorry for his sexual assault charges in the past. At the end of this confrontational chapter, Pam behaved towards Philip as if he were invisible.Farther on into the â€Å"role changes†, Pam revealed that she felt defiled that Philip was a part of her group. He was also, in a way, taking away her role as the intellectual of the group. In order to handle these various changes, Julius tries to understand where each person is coming from, whether it is Pam, Philip, Tony, etc. Additionally, he made sure that each group member voiced what they were feeling and if they were comfortable with how the group was proceeding. Bonnie and Rebecca each have different things to say about their own beauty and attractiveness. Bonnie does not believe that she is attractive in any way.She feels that she isn’t interesting or worth anyone’s time. In her words, Bonnie â€Å"was the little fat girl in your grade-school classroom. Very chubby, very clumsy, hair too curly. The one who was pathetic in gym, got the fewest valentines, cried a lot, never had best friends, always walked home alone, never had a prom invitation, was so terrified that she never raised her hand in class even though she was smart as hell and knew all the right answers†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Yalom, 2005, p. 129-130). She even mentioned that Rebecca was the type of person she envied and wished she could be.Some of those feelings are probably still raw for Bonnie. Those feelings were recreated in the group when Rebecca started â€Å"preening† for Philip when he entered the group as a new member. Rebecca, on the other hand, used to stop conversation when she walked into restaurants. She never had to worry ab out feeling unattractive or unwanted. However, now that she is getting older, her outward beauty is fading from what it used to be. She no longer stops conversation like she used to. Philip seems to sum it up perfectly: â€Å"Bonnie and Rebecca have similar afflictions.Bonnie cannot tolerate being unpopular, whereas Rebecca cannot tolerate being no longer popular†¦ Happiness, for the both of them, lies in the hands and heads of others. And for both the solution is the same: the more one has in oneself, the less one will want from others† (Yalom, 2005, p. 157). As the group gives Bonnie and Rebecca feedback, the criticism is not always taken happily. The comments sting, but they do help both women. Rebecca realizes that she likes to be admired, loved, and adored. She likes love. She then goes on later to discuss why she relates more with men than with women.In her discussion with Bonnie, she admits that she finds it more exciting to related to men or to date rather than s pend time with girlfriends. After this group discussion and feedback session about why Bonnie and Rebecca react the way they do to beauty/attention, they both seem to be more aware of their unconscious actions or why they seem to do certain actions. When Pam first returned to the group after her retreat, it was a huge shock to see Philip sitting in the room. I’m sure she never expected to see the man who made her life so confusing and turbulent at just age 18.Pam was extremely upset and did not seem to have any inclination towards ever forgiving Philip for what he did to her, as well as to her friend Molly. Philip did not even seem to have any emotions about the whole situation, which was frustrating for the whole group. How could anyone not have any emotion about such an important confrontation? Over the course of the group, Philip showed small changes in his behavior. He started to make eye-contact and use the group members’ names when addressing them in conversation . Pam starts to acknowledge Philip in the conversation eventually, though it was heated.On page 290, Philip and Pam get into an argument. In response to Pam’s assertion that some things are not forgivable, Philip says, â€Å"Because you are unforgiving does not mean that things are unforgivable. Many years ago you and I made a short-term social contract†¦ I explicitly stated in our conversation following that event that I had a pleasurable evening but did not wish to continue our relationship. How could I not have been clearer? † (Yalom, 2005, p. 290-291). In a meeting a few weeks later, Pam receives a lot of feedback from the group concerning her rage and why exactly the decided to have an affair with Tony.Philip observes that she â€Å"honors† contracts when it suits her. When Philip broke off their social contract, Pam was livid, but when she broke off her social contract with Tony, she didn’t seem to have many emotions about the situation at all. After this particular meeting, Philip could not keep his mind off of Pam. Later on, Pam explains that it is easier for her to forgive others because she wasn’t a personal victim of their offenses. With Philip, her life was altered by what happened. â€Å"But there’s more. I can forgive others here because they’ve shown remorse and, above all, because they’ve changed† (Yalom, 2005, p. 16). Philip eventually confesses to everyone that he thought about Pam after the previous session. It was the first time he had actually opened himself up to everyone. On page 328, Philip actually admits to needing therapy, because he needs to get his intentions and his behavior on the same page. He needs to be congruent. Ultimately, Philip breaks down when he describes what he thinks he truly is: â€Å"A monster. A predator. Alone. An insect killer. Full of blind rage. An untouchable. No one who has known me has loved me. Ever. No one could love me† (Yalom, 20 05, p. 334).Pam shows great strength and kindness when she comforts Philip. â€Å"I could have loved you Philip. You were the most beautiful man†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Yalom, 2005, p. 334-335). After Julius died and the group members went their separate ways, Philip, Pam, and Tony all stuck together. Through all the feedback, criticism, and hard-work, Pam and Philip were able to move past the â€Å"event† of the past and live in the present. When in a working group, one does not only focus on his or her own problems. Each group member brings different life experiences, opinions, and feedback to the table.This creates a unique environment in which each member can receive feedback from more than one person. Members may receive advice or feel a bond they might not have had with the group leader/one-on-one therapist. Most of the 12 â€Å"universal healing factors† appear in The Schopenhauer Cure, but I will only discuss a few of them. Instillation of hope and Universality seem to go hand-in-hand with each other. As the members of this group talked about their personal problems and fears, they discovered that other members shared some of these same problems and fears. This gave them hope that they could potentially overcome these issues.Altruism is an especially helpful factor for Bonnie. The other members helped her put her self-esteem issues into perspective and to see that she is, indeed, important. Pam used Catharsis when she recapped her traumatic experience with Philip. This probably lifted a huge weight off her shoulders of the event being a secret. The positive response of the group members to support her after her confession brought them together even more. Group cohesiveness played an extensive part in this novel. Without a cohesive or trust-worthy group, nobody would ever open up and reveal their problems.When various members, Gill, Pam, Tony, Rebecca, etc. , revealed potentially humiliating information about themselves, it was essential that they trusted their fellow group members to keep the information confidential. The Schopenhauer Cure was an excellent example of a working group. It was great to see the different techniques used in diverse scenarios throughout the book. Without these examples, I wouldn’t have the good outline of how a group works that I do today. Reference Yalom, I. D. (2005). The Schopenhauer Cure. New York, NY: HarperCollins Publishers.

Free Web-based EHR Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

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Operations management Lab Report Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

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The benefits of training bank officials in Ethiopia Dissertation

The benefits of training bank officials in Ethiopia - Dissertation Example Studies on the banking sector in Ethiopia reveal consistent findings that service expectations of customers do not match perceived performance. Thus, with the aim to recommend a suitable strategy for an effective training program for bank employees in Ethiopia, three objectives were set in Chapter I. All three objectives have been achieved through qualitative secondary analysis of data. Several benefits of training have been identified which include enhancement of knowledge and skills, motivation and retention of employees, open and honest communication and promotion of the  interpersonal relationship. Training can improve service quality, spur growth and impact productivity. Shortcomings among bank staff have been identified through studies conducted by other researchers in Ethiopian banks. These include lack of soft skills among employees, lack of product-specific knowledge and skills. The level of education of employees is also not known which could impact the outcome. Based on the short comings and the literature and theories on training, factors that could contribute towards an effective training program on Ethiopia have been evaluated. These include evaluation of training needs which would have to be based on organizational mission and goals. In addition, training should be an ongoing process and should be kept in-house, while continuous monitoring and evaluation of the training interventions have also been found to be necessary. (Donovan, Hannigan & Crowe, 2001).

Select one or more events to research and compare coverage of the Essay

Select one or more events to research and compare coverage of the event in a US news outlet and that of at least one other country - Essay Example In such a scenario what the media feeds the people plays a crucial role in their thinking and opinion. CNN a famous American based media channel reported about the issue. There is a difference between how the issue is portrayed by the media in Iran and America. The choice of words by CNN reporters portrays Iran as a rigid nation and is not cooperative when it comes to honoring the deal. The article states that Iran will only sign the deal ‘if sanction against Iran is lifted. On the other hand, a Middle East media channel known as The Jerusalem Post choice of words and style portrays America as untrustworthy and a dangerous nation when it comes to honoring deals. The article uses words such as ‘Iran not trusted to honor the deal by most in the US which portrays Americans as selfish and does not trust other people especially the Arabs easily. In both cases, it is clear that public relation technique is being applied. The agenda-setting theory is used in a case where the media manipulates how information is passed to the people in order to achieve an intended response. It is a common phenomenon in the democratic world today. Powerful politicians are who can pay more are portrayed as the most efficient politicians in comparison to other politicians. It all goes down to resources and political strategies applied (Carroll

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How global issues have affected the people from different walks of life - Essay Example The paper tells that the world of today is plagued with a number of issues. These come in all shapes and sizes. They have a very drastic effect on the global populace and the problems seem to increase with each passing day. These global issues need to be taken care of because these break the basis of sanity within the day to day affairs of the people. It also makes the point apparent that suggests these global issues are becoming bigger than these used to be in the past. With changing time dimensions, the problems have started to become bigger and the effects have magnanimously increased which is a cause of concern. Some of these global issues comprise of the challenges that face businesses and multinational companies, the environmental problems, the child labor debate, the role of capitalism in the wake of business regimes, the cultural angle within the governments, improper educational quarters around the world, failing healthcare standards, the rise of terrorism, growing poverty, and the inadequate role of the world’s leading organizations like United Nations, World Bank, etc. These global issues therefore take their basis from the above-mentioned pointers. The reason for this has been discussed by the people who want to bring about a change within the business and societal domains on a proactive basis, but then again it is not this easy to undertake in the first place. What remains significant is the basis of comprehending how these issues have created problems for the people at large and the society in more ways than one. ... It has also been depicted through the role of the respective governmental domains as to how value is at times missing from the organizational levels (Edwards, 2012). This is something that takes a lot of flak at the hands of the top management entities which are working in an organization and which have a fair enough say in making up the organizational dynamics in essence. The multinational corporations are similarly facing the same problems on a regular basis. They are being at the receiving end of a number of steps that have been taken by the government at large and which focus on the premise of creating rifts with the relevant public domains and stakeholders that are varied and widespread in different cross-sections of the society. What is quintessential to take note of here is the ideology that these stakeholders need to be taken in the loop, without which success cannot be realized in the most basic sense. These issues are therefore taking up a lot of time for these business hub s which have planned to make it big within the global quarters yet face hurdles every now and often due to lingering and pressing concerns, raised by varied individuals and other corporations and companies. The need is to allocate proper resources under such realms to make sure that success comes about in full circle as far as the challenges for the business organizations and corporations are concerned. Addressing them would actually be seen as the first step towards solving such issues without a doubt. Issue of Environment Another global issue is of the environmental pollution that has played havoc with the lives of the people. It is this subject that has been much debated and hence given attention for all the right reasons. The global warming discussion is

Human Resource Management in Practice Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

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Case study World Bank Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Case study World Bank - Essay Example The Forbes Capital Hospitality Index (FCHI) measures macroeconomic indicators like GDP growth and international trade, along with societal factors affecting investment, including poverty, bureaucracy, technological advancement, and corruption." (Ravindran) World Bank has been actively involved in setting the right scene for economic development within countries on an international platform. There is a general agreement that corruption within the country can be controlled by taking active measures to involve civil societies, but the degree of involvement is still a matter of consideration. "Social marketing can make an important contribution to the creation of atmosphere in the public life that discourages fraud and corruption" (Kindra & Stapenburs, 1998) Social marketing can be used in public health campaigns (e.g., to reduce smoking and alcoholism, safe sex, and increasing physical fitness), environmental campaigns (e.g., fighting pollution, promoting recycling, saving water and power), education campaigns (to encourage literacy), and the protection of individual/group rights (e.g., racial and gender equality, gay and lesbian rights). Societal marketing based on ethical and philanthropic principle can achieve this dynamic change within a society, community and a country by raising the awareness of the citizens about the costs of the corruption to the country, addressing the concern about institutions within a country, increasing understanding regarding the factors of corruption within public behavior. World bank has taken a morally good stand to change the international scene for more humane endeavors, its contribution id noteworthy and has been a source of admiration and inspiration for many other world forums in guiding their decisions related to international trend in growth and expansion. The premier business publication said: "As access to capital markets around the world becomes commonplace for individual investors and multinational institutions alike, the race is on for countries to attract the foreign investment capital needed to fuel the engines of growth at home. Addressing this need for a "one-stop reference", Forbes began with a list of principles employed by the US Chamber of Commerce when considering international investments. FORBES has listed Denmark, Finland, Iceland, the US, the UK, Singapore, Australia, Estonia, Ireland, and New Zealand as the top 10 countries in the world in terms of capital hospitality. (Ravindran) ACT-UTILITARIANISM: Mill is an advocate of Utilitarian principle, Mill was especially impressed by the work of Jeremy Bentham. He agreed with Bentham when he argued in Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation (1789), that the proper objective of all conduct and legislation is "the greatest happiness of the greatest number". Mill became a Utilitarian and at the age of seventeen formed a discussion group called the utilitarian Society. Mill argues that the moral worth of actions is to be judged in terms of the consequences of those actions and our moral feelings often conflict with our inclinations of self-interest. He aimed to show humans the way the world is and how they could accommodate themselves to it and to one another. His aim was the improvement of humankind. His guide was the

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Who Killed the Electric Car Essay Example for Free

Who Killed the Electric Car Essay Who Killed the Electric Car? is presented as a whodone- it mystery. Staying true to this genre, the film opens with necessary background information, describes the crime committed, answering all of the what, where, and when questions, and then in the style of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle gathers the suspects for close scrutiny, coming to a conclusion on the guilt or innocence of each. Opening with a bit of automotive history that establishes the electric car as a competitive alternative to the internal combustion engine, Who Killed the Electric Car? takes the viewer back to the beginning of the twentieth century and the dawn of the automotive age. A straightforward explanation of why gasoline beats out electricity as the fuel of choice and how the internal combustion engine wins dominance concludes the broad overview. The film then moves to the recent past with the introduction of the California Air Resources Board and their 1990 decision to require that ten percent of all cars sold in California by each car manufacturer be zero-emission vehicles by the year 2003. The Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde response of automotive companies is revealed; production and marketing of zero-emission cars is detailed, a period during which the legal and political teams of the same manufacturers work to defeat the law that gave birth to modern electric vehicles. While several manufacturers are included, the General Motors electric vehicle is featured. As this segment concludes, the success of the industry’s legal strategy is symbolized by a celebrity-studded funeral for the electric car. This segment is filled with factual analysis that examines conflicting claims about emissions, practicality, costs of various fuels, and consumer demand. The second half of Who Killed the Electric Car? is Sherlock Holmes at his best. The seven suspects identified in the first half of the film are scrutinized. One by one, consumers, batteries, oil companies, auto manufacturers, the U. S. government, the California Air Resources Board, and the newest villain, the hydrogen car, pass under the bare bulb in the inspector’s interrogation room in an attempt to answer the question asked in the film’s title: Who Killed the Electric Car? At the end of each segment the featured suspect is judged as guilty or innocent. The film ends on a positive note, recognizing a grassroots movement that envisions.

The Effectiveness of Project Team Development

The Effectiveness of Project Team Development There is no doubt that project teams is playing increasingly important role in most of the successful project. To achieve this, building an effective team is basically start from the first day of the teams existence. Project manager plays important task that carries responsibilities to manage and develop commitment of every team members. It is important for project manager to have adequate knowledge to manage teams as it is a complex mix of human resources management, people skills, technical understanding and process facilitation. It is crucial for every project management to have dynamic project teams which are not static and unchanging. There are also several barriers exist in building a project teams that need to be concerned as this will affect the results of the project and the effectiveness of team development. This paper is critically emphasizes on the team building with project team development stage model, characteristic of effective team members and case study in regard to project adaption and success. The structure of the paper will begin with the introduction, terminologies section, characteristics of effective team members, team development stage, case study and review if the case studies as well as conclusion as the summarization of the whole topic. Keywords: project team, team building, project manager, team development stage model, effectiveness 1.0 INTRODUCTION Initially, a team is highly necessary to run a project. Without an effective project team, it is hardly to achieve projects goals. In fact, one of the hardest aspects of project management is managing the individuals on the project. There are various formal and informal roles that team members play in creating successful projects and also the potential for a single person to play more than one simultaneously on smaller projects (Cooke and Tate, 2005). In short, every team in project has their own responsibilities that carry both formal and informal task and sometimes they are also assigned to run in big or small project concurrently based on the project requirements to achieve project successfulness. Besides, to manage a project team, it is highly necessary to have a good leadership or a project manager to control project by leading, inspiring and motivating all project team to greater heights for project success. As stated by Bubshait and Farooq (1999), successful project managers recognize the importance of people because they know that without people, no project would exist in the first place. They also indicated that people or team are the initiators, developers and users of project. It shows here, team is plays an important role in completing quality and innovative project in order to produce a good result within the budget and on time. 2.0 DEFINITION OF KEY TERMS: TEAM, PROJECT TEAM AND TEAM BUILDING Numerous case studies and articles have been written about team and team building in the project management. There are various definitions of team from many authors with different point of views. According to Harodyski (1995), team is a group of people that cooperate and work together to achieve a given set of objectives or goals. As suggested by Bennett (1994) that written by Ingram et al., (1997), team is special types of group that voluntarily ties the members towards held objectives. For Baca (2007), the people who will create the product of the project is called team member. While Bushait and Farooq (1999), defined team as a collection of individuals with different needs, backgrounds and expertise. Both of these authors also stated that team is cross functional which is a matrix and project management organizations characteristic. Based on Eskerod and Blichfeldt (2005) article as taken from Katzenbach and Smith (1993), team is a small number of individuals that have complementar y skills and they are committed to a common purpose, performance goals as well as approach for which they hold themselves accountable. Based on the above definitions, basically team term brought similar concept, where it carry out defined, a group of people with specific skills and knowledge and is assigned to run a specific task in achieving goals and objectives. Every author has their own point of views to describe it based on their different areas of expertise and experiences. Project teams are essential in performing for both big and small project. The definition of project teams as pointed by Zwikael and Unger-Aviram (2010) are unique type of teams. Project teams are now seen as a popular organizational form under environments where coordinated actions directed towards a non-routine goal are needed (Rikards and Moger, 2000). Project teams who work well together are able to contribute and focus on the work and also lead to the production of work on time, meet a budget and of course achieve projects goals. In addition, project team is a group of people that is responsible and assigned to perform task and producing deliverables based on the project strategy. Team building is acceptable by the belief that there is a family life bond within working groups that can be used for the companys benefit (Beyer and Trice, 1987). In addition, team building is the process of identifying members in project. This process is significant to select appropriate people to handle and perform the project plan. In a certain circumstances, sometimes the team building process will starts before project approval, however full team only can be developed after the project is formally approved and organizational and contractual pattern are identified (Diwan, 1999). For Johns (1995) team building is the action taken by project manager, team members and line management to enables a group of people to perform a good job, to think and act together. 3.0 CHARACTERISTIC OF EFFECTIVE TEAM MEMBERS The people side of project management is very important for project success and in order for project to be successful, every individual including team leader or project personnel need to be properly managed. This aspect is crucial because it will lead them to contribute towards the achievement of the project goals. In the other hand, with good team members, it brings benefits including increased involvement, development and empowerment of employees, expand the use of employee skills and capabilities, helps in decision making process, growing in creativity and work processes and performance may improve. Creating effective team members is crucial. They are several characteristics of the effective members that are normally contributes to the successful of project. Have ultimate goals and plans A clear defined mission and goals encourage the team members to share purpose and common goals and willing and strive to achieve the goals and plans. Besides, team members are willing to put on their head the teams goal with their goal are basically same. Listen to everyone in the team Be an active listening, attempt to understand and concentrate to other teams point of views. Think and make a best option before making a decision. This criteria help team to identify and clarify the alternative ay to overcome problem arises. For team leader this criteria is very crucial because it is the aspect where the project can be perform without any unsatisfied matter occurs. Have positive relationship among team members By having good relationship with other team mates, the team will easier to perform their job as this can assist them in contributing ideas such as brainstorming process and run the project together with easily and effectively. This characteristic is applied for both team project and project manager or team leader. Overcome problems and make decision on time To be an effective team member, he or she is required to solve a problem and make a decision on time. With the knowledge and skills, they should have a capability to identify the best solution for any problem arises and able to rectify the problem and also faster make decision to prevent any project delays and cost overrun. Able to manage conflict An effective team is able to identify and resolve to any problems exist in timely during the project running. They also are capable to minimize conflicts as much as can to ensure the project will be completed on time. To achieve this criteria, the organization is suggested to provide a training program to all the teams. This will assist them in managing conflict effectively and efficiently. Facilitate productive meeting Team leader is efficiently, productively and has the skill in well managed meetings that efficiently use team members time. The productive meeting is important in identifying any potential risk and problems that may occurs during the implementation project. Besides by having meeting, all the team members may share and contribute ideas pertaining to achieve successful project. In addition through meeting, team members can develop plan and generate recommendations to stay on project track or schedule. Know roles of team members An effective team member also understands the roles of every team members in the project. By understanding every responsibility of every team members, it will assist the team to clarify other team members job and assist them to search a respective team according to a specific skills and knowledge if any problems occur that required other teams skills and knowledge. Operate in productive manner This criteria means, team members have the resources and skills to success and they are able to complete their works on time and facilitate quality and quantity measures to evaluate overall efficiency and effectiveness as well. 4.0 TEAM DEVELOPMENT STAGES There are number of models that describe the stages that teams go through on the way to be productive. One of the most famous ones has self-explanatory tittles for the stages. This team development stages model was developed by Bruce Tuckman in the 1970s. This model can be as levels of guideline for every project manager in managing their project team effectively. Other than that, by understanding and applying this practice into project management, it assist the team leader or project manager to have a better preparation to detect any changes or problem and take appropriate action to help the team. This model can be applied in order to see how teams are emerging and explain how behaviours and feelings of each team members at any given time. At first the Tuckmans model in 1965 consists of four (4) important stages, there are, forming, storming, norming and performing. After subsequent review by Tuckman and Jensen (1977), the stages have added to another important element known as adjourning as represented in Figure 1. C:UsersIJAPicturesTuckmans model diagram_0.JPG Figure 1: The stage model of team development by Tuckman and Jensen (1977) Source: Joanne Leith. The importance of team. Retrieved on 9 August, 2010 from http://www.teamworkspacific.com.au/article/importance_of_teams 4.1 Forming Stage Forming is the stage where all the team members meet and begin to work with each other for the first time. In this stage, teams are concerned to study the boundaries of acceptable team behaviour. This is a platform where the team come together with a sense of anticipation and commitment (Bubshait and Farooq (1999). In the other hand, this is a stage of transition from individual to become project member status and they look to the leader or other individual that are responsible to give them some clear picture in order to assist them get started (Lewis, 2007). This can be considered as a one way communication which is from leader to team member. Forming stage is quite stressful since everyone is new in the project and sometimes they even did not know each other. Due to this fact, team effectiveness is actually moderate and their motivation is high because they are being selected to be part of the team (Bubshait and Farooq, 1999). This will become more stressful if the project manager is not suitable with the project teams and this will automatically impact the process in performing and producing efficient work. Forming stage consist of several feelings and behaviours as represented in the Table 1. Table 1: Feelings and behaviours in forming stage Feelings Behaviours Excitement, anticipation and optimism Pride in being chosen for the project Initial, tentative attachment to the team Suspicion, fear and anxiety about the job or if they will be accepted by others Attempts to define the task and decide how it will be accomplished Attempts to determine acceptable group behaviour and how to deal with group problems Decision on what information need to be gathered Lofty, abstract discussions of concepts and issues; or for some members, impatience with these discussions Discussion of symptoms or problems not relevant to the task; difficulty in identifying relevant problems Complaints about the organization and barriers to the task Posturing, external and internal behaviours Source: Tuckmans stages of team development. Retrieved on 12 August, 2010 from http://jhartleyconsulting.com/files/Stages_of_Team_Development.pdf 4.2 Storming Stage Storming stage is challenging compare with the forming stage where this stage involves views and disagreement from team members instead of listening only to the instruction from the team leader. Based on Mackintosh (2007), storming stage sometimes will cause conflicts or problems among the team members even the forming stage was run and planned well. While for Rickards and Moger (2000), storming is the stage that involves personal conflicts. During this stage, team leader is holding heavy task where their leadership quality is tested (Mackintosh, 2007). As point of view by Bubshait and Farooq (1999), this stage involves various views by team members and they are dispute each other and this factor causes fail to the motivation and effectiveness of the team. However, even the arguing among team members emerges through this stage; it is also a beginning for them to know each other. Table 2 shows the feelings and behaviours occur during the storming stage. Table 2: Feelings and behaviours in storming stage Feelings Behaviours Resistance to the task and to suggested approaches different from what they know Sharp fluctuations in attitude about the team Powerlessness. Arguing among members even when they agree on the real issue. Defensiveness and competition; factions and choosing sides. Questioning the wisdom of those who selected the project and appointed the other members of the team. Establishing unrealistic goals; concern about excessive work. A perceived pecking order, disunity, increased tension, and jealousy. Source: Tuckmans stages of team development. Retrieved on 12 August, 2010 from http://jhartleyconsulting.com/files/Stages_of_Team_Development.pdf 4.3 Norming Stage This stage where the team is starting to work well together and the goals, roles, strength and weaknesses are identified. The team members are unite and agree on the principles cooperation, even though there are several opinions from many team members. During this stage the level of motivation and effectiveness start to increase (Bubshait and Farooq, 1999). According to Mackintosh (2007), norming stage is the stage that covers rules and regulations where through this stage, all team members are aware each other and it produce strong relationship among them. Besides, conflicts on emotion are also reduced and team members become more cooperative instead of having competitive relationship. As shown in Table 3, it listed the feelings and behaviours that might be occurred during norming stage. Table 3: Feelings and behaviours in norming stage Feelings Behaviours A new ability to express criticism constructively Acceptance of membership in the team Relief that it seems everything is going to work out. An attempt to achieve harmony by avoiding conflict. More friendliness, confiding in each other, and sharing of A sense of team cohesion, a common sprit and goals. Establishing and maintaining team ground rules and boundaries (the norms). Source: Tuckmans stages of team development. Retrieved on 12 August, 2010 from http://jhartleyconsulting.com/files/Stages_of_Team_Development.pdf 4.4 Performing Stage The fourth stage is performing, which all team members are focus on the team goals and they are begin to create strong relationship and built trust each other. Due to this fact, they may reach a high level of motivation and effectiveness (Bubshait and Farooq, 1999). Through this stage, all team members are aware and concern on the strength and weaknesses of the project and they are also work towards on that as they know rewards will be given after completion of project. According to Mackintosh (1997), the team members are comfortable in this stage compared with the storming stage where this stage is a platform that leads for the personal growth among the team members. During performing stage, project managers role become easier because the team members understand what their roles are and they are complete self-directed. The table 4 shows, the feelings and behaviours in performing stage. Table 4: Feelings and behaviours in performing stage Feelings Behaviours Members having insights into personal and group processes, and better understanding of each others strengths and weaknesses Satisfaction at the teams progress Close attachment to the team The team is now working effectively as a cohesive unit. You can tell when your team has reached this stage because you start getting a lot of work done Source: Tuckmans stages of team development. Retrieved on 12 August, 2010 from http://jhartleyconsulting.com/files/Stages_of_Team_Development.pdf 4.5 Adjourning Stage In other different team development model, adjourning term is also known as mourning. Adjourning is final stage where team reaches some kind of termination level which is through accomplishment or membership disruption (Rickards and Morger, 2000). In this stage, team members are brief and share the improved process and successful project as well. They also may feel a sense of loss. In a certain circumstances, if a new team is join the project team, the whole team will regress from the beginning and they have to act faster to get back on track. 5.0 CASE STUDIES This section will be presented two cases studies about project team members with adaption of team development stages model in regard to project success. 5.1 Case study 1 Team moving through five stages: A case study This case study is about the project to improve the performance of company in managing and supporting their client base. The project was leaded and guided by a leader from Chicago office that has 15 years experience as a project manager or team lead managing process improvement projects. This case study was performed by five individuals with different skills, abilities and experiences from various of large service organization. The project was conducted in virtually by using SharePoint site as a medium to interact each other. However, the team leader also has preferred to meet face to face initially. This case study was used the Tuckmans model (1977) as a guideline for the team leader to understand how to build an effective team and also to continue to manage and motivate them in order to achieve project goals. The findings of the case study will be discussed further. The project was begun with the initial meeting as a first stage in Tuckmans model known as forming stage. In this stage, all the team members were assembled and the meetings covered all essential aspects before the project get started. Based on first stage, it was found out that all team members were excited and ready to get work together. They were agreed to every task which has been assigned to them. Overall the first stage was in charged successfully by the team leader. The project work were begins in the storming stage. During this stage, arguments and conflicts between team members were emerged. This was happened due to unsatisfied of job assigned and issues of seniority or experiences for particular job aspect. For this reason, the team leader was initially taken a side role to overcome these conflicts. She managed to solve the problems with a win win situation for every of her team members by selecting the best options. During the norming stage, everything was going smoothly. There were still have some arguments and disagreements but they were managed to overcome it without relying on the team leader to make decision for them. They were also become a teamwork and enjoy working with each other. After the completion of norming stage the fourth stage was taken place, which is performing stage. By this stage, the team has reached high performing team. It was discovered some of the team members have developed their skills and leadership roles with the support of others. The project was completed on time within the budget. Besides, the team leader was rewarded by the team because of her good performance in managing the project. Finally the project was achieved it goals where their internal customer was pleased and there is improvements in how the company supports its clients. The team has united together to do some evaluation on the project done that including documenting best practices and way to improve any mistakes done during the implementation of project. 5.2 Case Study 2 Diamonds in the rough: A case study of team development across disciplines, distances and institutions The purpose of this case study is to explore team building strategies by describing reactions of every respective faculty to their participation in a multi-disciplinary, multi-institutional team project which performed via distance. The team members of this project consist of five different universities and from various agriculture disciplines. The teams were gathered to develop online educational resources. The results of the case study that adapted into team development stages are presented in Figure 2. C:UsersIJAPicturesteam development stages.jpg Figure 2: Integration of Tuckmans (1965) Small Group Development Model into One Teams Experience Source: Susan Fritz et al., Diamonds in the rough: A case study of team development across disciplines, distances and institutions. Retrieved on 9 August, 2010 from http://www.joe.org/joe/2005october/a4.php From the findings also, they have pointed out several important elements that engaged during the execution of project. There are motivation for collaboration, timeline, evaluation and rewards, team leader, cohesion, interaction, trust and some miscellaneous findings. In the forming stage, it was discovered that two of team members were inspired to sharpen their skills and motivated to further their knowledge in Web-based instructions. While there were some questioning of team objectives occurs during the storming stage due to the progressed and deadline of project were frequently unmet. There were also an issue pertaining to the evaluation and rewards where they were concern over little support from their team mates and administrators as well. During this stage, the team leader was strict to ensure the team members keep on track. In the norming and performing stages, the trust and friendship were built. It was found out that there were distances separating them in running the project but the team grew from a mere work group into a synergistic individual. Finally the website containing lesson was completed. As overall, the teams were satisfied with their job as well as the supervisory of their team leader. However the lack of supporting from home departments was still remain major issue. 6.0 REVIEW OF TWO CASE STUDIES The findings for both case studies almost the same where the results appear the same meaning. In case study 1, Tuckmans model (1977) was used while for case study 2, Tuckmans model (1965) without adjourning stage was applied. Basically, team leader is plays important role in developing an effective team member through team development stages. Table 5 presents comparison with several key elements that engaged in both case studies. Table 5: Key elements KEY ELEMENTS CASE STUDY 1 CASE STUDY 2 Motivation level The project motivated the team members and the team members were developed their skills and applied a leadership roles during the implementation of project. The team members were inspired and motivated to collaborate with each other. Timeline pressures Project schedule issue was emerged due to the decision made by only two team members. Timeline of the project was questioned by the team members due to the project progressed and deadlines were seldom unmet. Evaluation and rewards The team were acknowledged by project sponsor and other executives. The team felt little support from their colleagues and administrator. Leadership style Team leader has encouraged and brought the team together for a face to face meetings on monthly basis Team leader has created a working environment conducive to collaboration. Cohesion and interaction The team members communicate each other via communicating on email, via instant messaging, on Twitter or over the telephone. Many team members still missed the interaction of face to face meetings. However, the scenario changed slowly as team reached the norming and performing stages. Trust The team share knowledge with other team members The team members felt comfortable with others to be honest about their opinions and ideas 7.0 CONCLUSIONS It can be concluded that effective team members only can be developed through considerable structure (Lewis, 2007). This structure known as team development stages, where these stages represents the team members are working together, strengths and weaknesses of each team are tested, compliant to the rules and behaviours of the team, working as a unit while working independently and shifting onto other teams (Ruppert, 2009). While developing an effective project team members, the team leader also need to have multiple skills in managing those people in the project management. According to Tan (2004), due to multi-disciplinary and multi-dimensional of project management, a good manager is an individual that can wear multiple hats and work in any discipline of development to plug up any shortcomings. For team members, it is necessary for them to fulfil the effective team member characteristic in order to achieve project goals on time and within the budget besides preventing a conflict w ith others in the same project.

Realism And Narrative Techniques In Short Stories

Realism And Narrative Techniques In Short Stories Alice Munro is one of the most well-known and highly praised representative of Canadian short fiction writing, both on the Canadian and on the international scale. As American writer Mona Simpson notes, [Munros] genius, has the simplicity of the best naturalism, in that it seems not translated from life, but, rather, like life itself. In other words, she is praised for being a realist writer. In another article, Canitz and Seamon showed what techniques Munro uses to create the impression of her stories not being stories, but truth, or the reality as such. Also, they comment on how the narrator in Munros stories reflects from time to time on the narrative technique or the plotline and the development of the story. However, they have omitted some aspects of Munros work which would, in fact, support the argument that despite her realism, her short stories are in fact very well-structured, and fit into the general pattern of traditional criteria towards short stories: they excessively us e foreshadowing technique, the opening sentence initiates the predesigned effect and every word has its place in the story line, they are indeed chosen very carefully in order to contribute to the effect that the author wants to create, and thus creating a dense text. (Critical perspective online) In this paper, I show how the techniques described by Canitz and Seamon can be depicted in Munros novella Miles City, Montana. Then the essay goes on to discuss the other techniques employed by Munro in this short story, including the ones that do not fit into this analysis of realist fiction. Canitz and Seamon explain how Munro, as all realists, must somehow persuade her audience that her fiction is not a product of imagination and creativity, but it is rather the truth. (Canitz and Seamon, 1996: 67) This is done in her writings through a variety of subtle strategies which she uses to build our faith in her reality. (Canitz and Seamon, 1996: 68) Moreover, as Munro is aware that including realistic details into her stories would not suffice to convince readers that the story presented to them is not fictional, she rather chooses, in a post-modern manner, to acknowledge that she is making up a story. So, we are not simply exposed to the story line, but we are included in a way in the process of writing down the story and creating the characters. Ironically, this technique is in fact a doubly-twisted tool: the fact that she drags the reader into the process of writing does not mean that the writing in fact happened in the way as she told us within the frames of the story. Ho wever, this is not obvious at the first glance, and is indeed an effective method to persuade readers on the reality of what they read. Interestingly, the short story Miles City, Montana, involves a triple twist as to the narrative technique: the narrator is also a character at the same time, who reflects on her story-telling. For example the narrator says at one point: It seems to me now that we invented characters for our children. (Munro, 1985: 661) And indeed, all happenings are told from one point of view, and we only know about other characters what the mother and wife, who is also the narrator, reveals about them. Moreover, this point of view is not consistent in itself: both childhood and adult memories are involved, (Tragedies that help online) which means a change in the way events are seen by the narrator, and also a change in her feelings. This fluctuating view-point, or in better words multiple perceptions of single events can be seen as a post-modern feature in the narrative construction. (New, 2003: 239) In other words, what we read is not the reality, but we are explicitly told that it is not real, th erefore we are more willing to trust the narrator. The second method used by Munro to create the impression of reality is, as the pair of authors point out that the storyline is not linear. Rather, it fluctuates in time and location and subject, and it is left to the reader to figure out the reasons why the shifts are made where and how they are made. (Canitz and Seamon, 1996: 69) Sometimes Munro reflects on the shifts I have forgotten to say that but in Miles City, Montana, the shifts are not explained. However, careful reading reveals why the chunks of paragraphs follow each other in the way they do. Steve Gauleys story is told first to open a frame structure, to set the tone and to begin the foreshadowing sequence that follows. The view of the landscape on their road trip to Ontario evocates childhood memories from the narrator, so this time, it is a stream of consciousness that links together the paragraph on their trip with the following sentences on her past. Then when the mother talks about her hope of Meg not having a tem perature, and then jumping back right next to her relation with her parents-in-law, it might be not too far-reaching to conclude that the link that bounds together these two events is the feverishness of the mother to meet up to Andrews parents expectations. I hope she isnt feversih, says she, and at the same time she herself is overly anxious about what opinion her husbands parents would have on their family life. She even compares herself and her husband to strenuous children. (Munro, 1985: 668) Finally, while she goes to get some drink in the park in Miles City, she observes the environment very carefully -as carefully as she is supposed to watch out for her daughters. [Y]ou feel their singleness and precise location and the forlorn coincidence of your being there to see them. (Munro, 1985: 670) This is the sentence that precedes her sudden thought of the children, and it can be interpreted in both ways: meaning the nature, and meaning Cynthia and Meg as well. So, Munros story-te lling is of a rambling nature (Canitz and Seamon, 1996: 68) which reminds the reader constantly that what he or she is reading is only a recollection, and successfully creates the impression that we are not being exposed to a story, but to a real, true event. Finally, the article notes that [m]any brief passages in Munros stories quietly create the reality effect she seeks. (Canitz and Seamon, 1996: 73) For example when the parents reflect on Megs accident, both reject its unnatural, or supernatural features. The mother denies that she would have a mothers instinct, and attributes her sudden thought about the children to mere luck. Similarly the husband does not recollect properly how he had jumped over or climbed the fence, but plainly states that he cannot understand it, rather than mythologize what had happened. Thus, the narration becomes free of legend-making. (Canitz and Seamon, 1996: 77) On the other hand, this episode could be also interpreted as a sign of the ambiguity and unreliability of experience, a sign of how à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¾events and memories, experience and fictional reconstruction, never precisely coincide which is also characteristic of Munros style. (New, 2003: 239 and 299) In addition, by the end of the short story, w hen we already know that Meg had survived the accident, we are nevertheless confronted with another possible ending to this story details of a tragic ending with Meg being dead are elaborated in a lengthy paragraph, at the end of which the narrator poses the question: Theres something trashy about this kind of imagining, isnt there? (Munro 1985: 673), again reflecting on the story-telling. Having showed all this, and before turning towards other techniques that are in contradiction with the claim of reality in the short story, let me point out some further evidence that support Munros realism, but are not elaborated in Canitzs and Seamons article: Firstly, Munros language is not very poetic or literal. She prefers to use everyday langauge, which adds to the real life taste of her stories. As one crticic puts it, Munros stories are translations into the next-door language of fiction of all those documentary details, those dazzling textures and surfaces, of remembered experience. (Ross, 112, quoted in Canitz and Seamon, 1996: 68) However, simple language does not exlude the use of lirical devices. All characters in the short story create images, and make lirical similes themselves. The narrator compares Steve Gauley to a heap of refuse (Munro, 1985: 656) and draws a parallel between the Gauleys tumbledown house and their shackly family life. The children, who play import ant, but not dominent [sic!] role (Jakabfi, 2003: 195) give an old-lady like image to their previous family car, and a sporty image to the new one. The parents make fun of their daughters by the father telling them about the beach which would be after the next curve and the mother pretending to produce some lemonade and grape juice with her magic wand. Cynthia adds that à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¾[i]n Miles City, there is a beautiful blue swimming pool for children, and a park with lovely trees. (Munro, 1985: 668) In short, it seems that they are creating reality around themselves. Canitz and Seamon claim that Munro creates the impression of realism [by giving] a significant place to improbability and contingency, elements that are opposed to the conventionally well-constructed realist narrative. However, some techniques utterly contradict the claim that this story would be developing before our eyes, with no obvious plotline at hand at the beginning, but through accidents rather. The most obvious such tool is that of foreshadowing. In Miles City, Montana, there are several hints in the story that imply what the readers can expect to happen by the end. Throughout reading the story, as soon as we learn about the road trip, we fear that one family member, possibly one of the children, will die. This impression is already created in the very first sentence of the novella: My father came accross the field carrying the body of the boy who had been drowned. (Munro, 1985: 656) Immediately, the tone is set: it is rather sinister. The narrator continues to give readers hints about an expected tragedy. Meg waves good-bye to the house, and although Cynthia, the elder girl assures her it is not forever that they are leaving it, the readers are left with a feeling of doubt and uneasiness whether the family would really return. On their way to Ontario, they see a dead deer on the road, which was probably hit by accident readers wonder is one of the family members going to suffer an accident? This fear of one character dying at the end is reinforced by Cynthia song, in which five little ducks go out, but only four come back. Then we learn about the narrator and her husband not living together anymore, which raises the question did their marriage got ruined because of the death of a child? This is followed by the recollection of the narrator and her father saving turkeys from drowning, and finally, the family plays Who am I?, and Cynthia is someone dead. This massive amount of hints indicate a very consciously used foreshadowing technique by the author. To sum up, I have showed in the above paragraphs how the narrative technique of Miles City, Monatana, is in accord with what the Canitz-Seamon article argued about Alice Munros techniques to create the sense of realism in fiction. I have added that language and creating imagery are also techniques used in this short story, while at the same time pointing out that the excessive use of foreshadowing technique does not fit into the line of argument about Munros realism and conscious restraint from linear story-telling. A look at other Munro short fiction could lead to a better understanding of Munros status as a realist writer.