The Transtheoretical Model Of Health Behaviour

The Transtheoretical Model Of Health Behaviour A Critical evaluation of the Transtheoretical model of health behaviour change in light of my own experience of exercise behaviour change. â€Å"Morbidity and mortality in industrialized societies is due, in part, to individual patterns of behaviour† (Bridle 2004). Individuals contribute to their own health by avoiding health damaging behaviours such as smoking, and by adopting health enhancing behaviours such as exercise or healthy eating. There are many heath interventions in place to help people make positive lifestyle changes, and these interventions are commonly based on stage theories/models of behaviour change, providing a diagrammatic approach and a framework for research, in order to understand, predict and ultimately change behaviour (Bridle 2004 pg284). Behaviour change is seen as a dynamic process involving movement through a sequence of discrete qualitatively distinct stages, and commonly stage based interventions are more effective then non-stage based interventions (Adams and White 2005). However, recent research into the effectiveness of stage based models suggests that despite the widespread popu larity in both practice and research, more caution is necessary (see Bridle et al 2004 for a review). For the purpose of this project I chose to adopt a healthier lifestyle by increasing the amount of exercise that I did each week. The benefits of exercise are well documented (Department of health 2004) and for the purpose of this study I set a target of exercising three times a week (this is around three times as much as I previously exercised) and I did this for a six week period. I began by jogging for as long as I could manage three times a week, but after the first two weeks I realised that I was lacking motivation, so instead I joined the gym, and continued my regime with the better facilities provided at the gym and monitored my progress in the form of a diary. In the forthcoming essay I will evaluate my experience in light of models of health behaviour change, but more specifically the Transactional model of health behaviour. There is no overall consensus regarding which is the best model of behaviour change but The Transtheoretical model (TTM) (Prochaska DiClemente, 1983; (also known as stages of change model) Prochaska, DiClemente Norcross, 1992)) is commonly considered the dominant model of behaviour change in health Psychology (Norman et al 2000). The TTM of health behaviour suggests that behaviour change is not a continuous process but something that occurs through a series of qualitatively different stages (Bridle et al pg284). It suggests a total of five stages that people go through when experiencing a behaviour change and in addition to these five stages, ten social and psychological aspects of health behaviour and different self-change strategies, the so-called ‘processes of change, that are involved in the movement between different stages (Prochaska et al 1997). Different stages are associated with different beliefs such as the assessment of the ‘pros and ‘cons of the behav iour and self-confidence in ability to change the behaviour. Prochaska et al (1997) argue that interventions to promote change should be designed so that they are appropriate to an individuals current stage and moving an individual from one stage to another using the TTM will eventually lead the person to achieve the ‘maintenance whereby long term change is achieved. The Transtheoretical model provided me with a great insight into my motivational behaviour and the factors that affected my motivation within each stage. For example, the transition between ‘contemplation and ‘action only occurred when I re-located my exercise behaviour to the gym, as described in the TTM, I required environmental re-evaluation and consciousness raising (provided by staff at the gym) before I could move to the ‘action stage. However, motivation was a serious problem, even when I was regularly exercising (weeks 5 and 6) my motivation would fluctuate or increase on a whim, my mood was a strong motivating and de-motivating factor and often other factors such as work, money and other commitments would take priority. These factors can be placed within the ‘decisional balance when weighing up the pros and cons, for example in the third week when I had a lot of university work to do, my exercise was less important which is why I moved from ‘act ion to ‘preparation then back to ‘action, and according to the TTM other factors such as self-efficacy and situational temptations may have also had an influence on my mood and exercise behaviour. However, this was not always the case and my behaviour was not always as structured or as cognitively coherent as the TTM describes. Even with support from peers to do more exercise and no reason not to do exercise, I was still not motivated to actually do it, suggesting that my behaviour did not always follow decision making rules such as the pros and cons of exercise behaviour that TTM proposes. West et al (2005) provides commentary on this by suggesting that by focussing on conscious decision making and planning processes draws attention away from what are known to be important underpinnings of human behaviour (West et al 2005). Even if my behaviour was accountable under the ‘processes of change it still remains that on some occasions these processes were not apparent to me, I simply did not want to do exercise and I easily fell into my old routine of no exercise. This however did lead to ‘regret which in turn motivated me. Sometimes I would chose not to do exercise and regret not doing it, then feel motivated by regret at a later date, it may be worth incorporating the Regret Theory (Bell 1982) into TTM as part if the ‘decisional balance. Another problem that I found with the TTM was that I felt that my behaviour was not always ‘stage specific and I at times I felt as though I was in both ‘pre-contemplation and ‘action stages at the same time. However as Sutton et al (1991) observed if one can be in more than one stage at once, â€Å"the concept of stages loses its meaning† (p.195). It is a bold suggestion to make when analysing a widely used model, and research into the evidence for qualitatively different stages has provided mixed outcomes. Prochaska DiClemente claim strong empirical support for the stages of change across a wide range of populations and problems (Prochaska, DiClemente, Velicer, Rossi, 1992; Prochaska Velicer, 1997; Prochaska, Velicer, et al., 1994; Velicer, Hughes, Fava, Prochaska, DiClemente, 1995; Velicer, Rossi, Prochaska, DiClemente, 1996). However a review of stages of change literature (Littell Girvin, 2002) has provided mixed results regarding the validity of t he qualitatively distinct stages. Identifying a person stage is a fundamental step in applying stage-based interventions, but few staging methods have been validated to confirm that they accurately place the individuals in the correct stage of activity change (Adams, 2005). Not only this, researchers often adapt and change existing algorithms when they are not comfortable with the existing one (Brug, 2003). Littells review provides evidence for and against SOC, from a variety of studies using factor analysis and/or cluster charts to reveal patterns of behavioural intention. The studies provided mixed results; Carey et al (1999) found that â€Å"the number of identifiable clusters is sample dependent and highly variable† and that some clusters â€Å"do not have clear correlates in the Transtheoretical Model† (p. 251), however a separate review (Davidson 1998) found â€Å"clear profiles corresponding to the predicted stages emerged with considerable consistency† ( p. 27). This mix match of results lead Littell at al to conclude; with the exception of pre-contemplation â€Å"stages do not emerge with any consistent manner, in principle components within problem behaviours, and rather then being in one stage or another clients show patterns of differential involvement in each of the stages† (Littell, 2002). This lends support to my personal experience of SOC with regards to exercise behaviour, suggesting that the distinct stages of behaviour change identified by Prochaska et al may not be as accurate as they had originally proposed and without an accurate measurement tool, stage based interventions are of limited utility. The application of stage based interventions to exercise has provided some positive results for short term behaviour change, however little research has found support for the long term benefits of stage based interventions in behaviour change. This has been a topic of much debate over recent years, and a review by Adams and White lead to three main reasons why this may be. The aforementioned problems with validated staging algorithms are noted in Adams et als research, but also the complexity of physical activity, and the possibility that the real determinants of activity change are not included in the Transtheoretical model. Adams et al suggest that the exercise behaviour is not a single behaviour but actually a complex set of behaviour patterns. By reducing exercise behaviour down to one single entity interventions are failing to measure a whole behaviour, rather a part of a behaviour. Marttila et al, for example, identified five different categories of physical activity (occupatio nal activities, fitness activities, life style activities, commuting activities, and sports activities), and peoples pros cons and self efficacy beliefs were different for each behaviour. In my case, I had pros associated with going to the gym during my behaviour change but I did not have pros associated with walking to work every day (occupational activities), or going dancing through the night (life style activities), these behaviours do however constitute as physical activity, I was trying to increase my fitness activities and not taking into account any occupational or life style activities. Unlike smoking or substance use, exercise behaviour is multi-faceted and by failing to recognise this, investigators may be failing to recognise the true complexity and specificity of interventions required to promote activity (Adams et al), not only this, it may explain, in part the problem of validating the stages because people are falling into two groups of behaviour change for different behaviours. Adams et al also suggest that motivational factors for exercise behaviour are more complex then TTM can account for, factors such as age, gender and socioeconomic position, these factors all have an effect of our behaviour but why not behaviour change? A study by Kearney et al (1999) looked at stages of change over a nationally representative sample and found that TTM was effective in identifying stage and attitudes towards exercise behaviour but there was considerable ‘intercountry and ‘sociodemographic variation in the distribution of stages of change. They concluded by suggesting that targeted programmes aimed at specific subgroups might be more effective in promoting physical activity. From this brief introduction to TTM research, and in light of my own behaviour change it would appear that TTM and other stage based interventions targeting exercise behaviour have a long way to go before they can significantly aid long-term behaviour change. I believe that the TTM provided me with a good insight into motivational elements my own behaviour change, however, in my opinion the spontaneous nature of my desire to/not to take part in physical activity did not always fall into the features described in the ‘processes of change or ‘decisional balance. My experience showed that consciousness raising and environmental evaluation had a part to play in stage movement, which allowed for a successful short term behaviour change, but I am not convinced that my behaviour was always stage specific. As mentioned by Bandura ‘human functioning is simply too multifaceted and multi-determined to be categorized into a few discrete stages (Bandura, 1997 pg8) and research h as provided evidence to suggest that the staging process may not be validated, confirming my experience of stages of change (TTM). Possible suggestions for the future of TTM are as follows: West et al argues that interventions should revert back to the simplistic supportive role that GPs took before stage based interventions were devised, focussing on desire to change as opposed to stages (West 2005) and Littell et al (2004) argues for a feedback system whereby stage based groups are coupled with discussions about motivation to change. In my opinion, further research is needed in to tailored behaviour interventions, and/or like Littell et al suggests coupling TTM with a personalized interview suitable for long term behaviour change. References: Adams J White, M. (2005) Why dont stage based activity promotion interventions work? Health Education Research. 20. 237-243. Bandura, A. (1977). Self efficacy: Towards a unifying theory of behavioural change. Psychological review. Bell, David E. (1982). Regret in Decision Making Under Uncertainty. Operations Research, 30, 961-981. Bridle, C; Riemsma, P; Pattenden J; Sowden A J, Mather L, Watt, I S; Walker A (2004) Systematic review of the effectiveness of health behaviour interventions based on the Transtheoretical model. Psychology and health, 20(3):283-301. Brug J. (2005) The transtheoretcial model and stages of change: a critique. Observations by five commentators on the paper b y Adams, J. and White M. (2004) Why dont stage based activity promotion interventions work? Health education research theory and practice, vol.20 no.2, 244-258. Carey, K. B., Purnine, D. M., Maisto, S. A.,Carey, M. P. (1999). Assessing readiness to change substance abuse: A critical review of instruments. In Littell, J. H. Girvin H. (2002) stages of change. A critique. Behaviour modification, 26.223-273. Davidson, R. (1998). The transtheoretical model: A critical overview. InW. R. Miller N. Heather (Eds.), Treating addictive behaviors (2nd ed., pp. 25-38). New York: Plenum. Department of health. (2004) At least five a week: evidence on the impact of physical activity and its relationship to health. A report from the Chief Medical Officer. London TSO. Kearney, J., de Graaf, C., Damkjaer, S. and Engstrom, L. (1999) Stages of change towards physical activity in a nationally representative sample in the European Union. Public Health Nutrition, 2, 115-124. Littell, J. H. Girvin H. (2002) stages of change. A critique. Behaviour modification, 26.223-273. Marttila, J., Laitakari, J., Nupponen, R., Miilunpalo, S. and Paronen, O. (1998) The versatile nature of physical activity. On the psychological, behavioural and contextual characteristics of health-related physical activity. Patient Education and Counselling, 33, s29-s38. Norman P, Abraham C, Conner M (2000) Understanding and changing health behaviour from health beliefs to self regulation, Harwood academic publishers: pg73-95. Prochaska, J. DiClemente, C. 1983. Transtheoretical therapy: toward a more integrative model of change. Psychotherapy: Theory, Research and Practise, 19, 276-288. Prochaska, J. O., DiClemente, C. C. (1992). Stages of change in the modification of problem behaviors. In M. Hersen, R. Eisler,P. M. Miller (Eds.), Progress in behavior modification (Vol. 28). New York: Academic Press. Prochaska, J. O., Velicer, W. F. (1997). Misinterpretations and misapplications of the transtheoretical model. American Journal of Health Promotion, 12, 11-12. Prochaska, J. O.,Velicer,W. F.,Rossi, J. S., Goldstein, M. G., Marcus, B. H., Rakowski,W., et al. (1994). Stages of change and decisional balance for 12 problem behaviors. Health Psychology,13, 39-46. Robinson, T, E Berridge, K C (2003) Addiction. Annual Review of psychology, 54, 25-53. In West R (2005) Time for a change: putting the Transtheoretical (stages of change) Model to rest. Society for the study of addiction. Sutton, S R (1996) Can ‘stages of change provide guidance in the treatment of addictions? A critical examination of Prochaska and DiClementes model. In Norman P, Abraham C, and Conner M; (2000) Understanding and changing Health behaviour p.g. 207-210 West R (2005) Time for a change: putting the Transtheoretical (stages of change) Model to rest. Society for the study of addiction.   

Research Paper -- essays papers

Research Paper Recent studies on parental involvement in education have found that there are many benefits for both the student and the adult when parents become involved in their children’s education. Without parent support, it is very difficult for a child to be motivated. From what I have seen growing up, only a small percentage of students are self-motivated, so it is absolutely vital that parents assist in the motivation process. I found this table to be particularly interesting and important. TABLE 3: FREQUENTLY IDENTIFIED OUTCOMES OF PARENTAL AND COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT SCHOOL # 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 To the Student: Raised self-esteem, motivation * * * * * * * * * * Increased Resources * * * * * To Staff and School: Decreased Stress / Improved Performance * * * * * * * * * * Improved Parental Support * * * * * * * * To Parents and Community Improved Realtions with School * * * * * * * * * Better able to help at home * * * (Cross Case Analysis) This is depicting ten different schools that were surveyed about their feelings on certain issues, and it turns out that eight of the ten schools thought parental involvement was necessary. This is either saying that parents are not needed by those two schools, or that their attit... ... importance of parental involvement in education can be found in the following statement. â€Å"Children whose parents are involved in their formal education have many advantages. They have better grades, test scores, long-term academic achievement, attitudes, and behavior than those with disinterested mothers and fathers.† (Henderson, 1988 p.1). Bibliography Peterson, David (1989). Parental Involvement in the Educational Process. ERIC Digest, 89 (ED 312776). Scudder, Gail (2003). Parental Involvement, a Key to Better Education. Morning Call Newspaper, 2003. The WGAL Channel. (2003). Lebanon Revises Parent Report Card Plan. The State of Texas Education. (1999). Parental Involvement in Education. http://www.cppp.org/kidscount/education/parental_involvement.html. Cross Case Analysis. http://www.stemnet.nf.ca/community/TQLLP/models/cca.htm.

Dyslexia: What It Can Teach Us :: Biology Essays Research Papers

Dyslexia: What It Can Teach Us What is a learning disorder and what can knowing more about learning disorders tell us about our own learning? Scientific research has acknowledged that many learning disorders are really just the edge of what is the normal spectrum in human capabilities.(1) Children with reading disabilities differ from one another and from other readers along a continuous distribution.(2) The aptitude to read depends upon fast and precise understanding and decoding of single words.(2) A disabled readers IQ tells very little about their skills. Disabled readers with varying IQ can display exactly the same progress, and neurobiological symptoms. This tells us that the IQ is not a suitable indicator of disability in basic reading skills. That is just one example of the many things that we can learn from people with learning disabilities that we can apply to all people. We will also see that by studying students with dyslexia we can see some of the important brain functions in reading. For a long time, research in the scientific community in respect to learning disabilities was slim. One problem in recent decades is that scientists have spent a lot of time searching for the basis of the disorder as opposed to the solution. This has created a chasm between the scientific and the educational worlds. Teachers were experiencing frustration with the influence that PhD's and MD's have on their curriculum.(2) Some teachers feel that when help is provided it can be in a non-helpful manner. Researchers don't always take into consideration what it was really like to be teaching. When we think about learning in a broad scale we think about it as repetition of memorization. On a cellular level learning is the result of change in the strength of a connection due to synaptic activity.(3) At larger levels Hebbian ideals can't really be taken much farther than simple behaviors. We can use Hebbian learning to explain repetitive actions that allow us to learn, say a piece of music. A musician plays a piece of music over and over again, until he/she knows it really well. At this point the synapses that were being used in the musicians brain have physically and chemically changed so that there is now a stronger connection. Can we explain learning disorders with Hebbian theory? Surprisingly we can. It turns out that dyslexics fail to increase activation in order to make the connections between phonologic structures and sounds.

Empowerment supports organisational objectives at the expense of the individual worker Essay

Introduction Companies today are designed in someway, at some level, to develop individuals either for their own sake, the company’s sake or hopefully for both. The team has become a sophisticated structure. I t is ‘finely engineered, maintained to a high standard, and when running smoothly it is highly productive’ (Cole, G, A, 1997: 63). It provides an environment in which energy can be maximised towards corporate needs, which also allows the individual to satisfy his or her own needs within work, rather than only outside of it. So often seemingly dull unimaginative and uncreative employees surprise their companies when they reveal the depth of their energy outside work. However it is the ‘corporate attitudes’ (Legge, K, 1995: 104) that stifled them, and when released companies recognise they have a pool talent, a wealth of resources, at their fingertips. In the ‘1980s and 1990s rationalisation and downsizing’ (Legge, K, 1995: 53) were very much the order of the day therefore empowerment became a business necessity. Empowerment has been in the ‘forefront of quality improvement efforts’ (Cole, G, A, 1997: 23). Several businesses worldwide have been and still are currently closely watching quality the ability to produce superior and distinguished goods and services to meet customer needs. The commitment to quality today is very present in ‘service industries, non-profit organizations, government agencies, and educational institutions’ (Mabey at el, 1998: 48). Total Quality, also known as Total Quality Management (TQM), is seen differently by different people. Organizations are reportedly introducing ‘soft and hard’ (Cole, G, A, 1997: 67) employee relations policies associated with the shift to human resource management (HRM). Softer aspects of HRM, based on the encouragement of employee commitment in support of management aims, have received particular attention given their proposed linkage with ‘improved organizational performance’ (Cole, G, A, 1997: 67). This has, in turn, led many organizations to adopt schemes designed to encourage employee involvement. The concept of empowerment has been identified as a ‘recent and advanced manifestation of employee involvement’ (Cole, G, A, 1997: 68). Empowerment has been defined in different ways. Some have claimed it is ‘a fundamentally different way of working together’ (Spencer & Pruss, 1992: 271) and ‘quite different from the traditional notion of control’ (Cole, G, A, 1997: 94). Cole (1997) is able to define the concept of empowerment as an application to ‘none managerial roles’ such as team members. However, he argues there are several possible meanings. These can range from having ‘increased authority’ (Cole, G, A, 1997: 53) and therefore their ability exercise a wider range of choices at work and to be given a more varied and interesting job in the form of job enrichment. At best empowerment increases individuals discretion over how they do their work. It may also provide additional opportunities for group problem solving on operational issues. Empowerment is seen as ways of giving people more opportunity or ‘power’ (Mabey et al, 1998: 38) to exercise control over, and have responsibility for, their work. It is intended to encourage individuals to use their abilities by enabling them to take decisions. According to Potterfield (1999), empowerment will be best defined as a way of bestowing upon employees ‘the power to use more judgment and discretion in their work and to participate more fully in decisions affecting their working lives’ (Legge, K, 1995:84). Others are more sceptical. Armstrong (1996) points out that ‘Empowerment, for example, may mean little more than giving employees the opportunity to make suggestions for change’ (Armstrong, 1996: 76). In practice, empowerment is intended to release active employee engagement only so long as it falls within the parameters for which it was selected as a strategy. In most organisations it is ‘management which defines and adjudicates and ultimately exercises control’ (Armstrong, 1996: 78). The concept of empowerment ‘is based on the belief that to be successful, organisations must harness the creativity and brain power of all the employees not just a few managers’ (Graham & Bennett, 1995: 3). The idea that everybody in the business has something to contribute represents a radical shift in thinking away from the old idea that managers managed and the workforce simply followed orders. The fact that empowerment does represent a radical shift in thinking explains why, in many organisations, the initiative has failed. Empowered organizations are composed of empowered persons, although it is not necessarily true that a group of empowered persons automatically creates an empowered organization. Organizations that are ‘truly empowered have moved out of the old paradigm of competition and beliefs in limitation and scarcity’ (Sparrow & Marchington, 1998: 291). The face of the contemporary workplace is drastically changing. More and more companies are realising the value of more ‘flat democratic organisational structure’ (Mabey et al, 1998: 23) over the traditional autocratic, hierarchical management styles. In contrast to empowered workplaces, disempowered workforce suffers from poor self-esteem, lack of a personal vision and a feeling of hopelessness. These ‘attitudes and beliefs form inner barriers that block growth and proactive development’ (Legge, K, 1995: 63) and manifest in the worker in the form of reluctance to accept responsibility, hesitance to communicate openly, lack of commitment and ownership and, ultimately, in below average performance. Such employees ‘become passive passengers who are more focused on having their personal needs met than on contributing fully’ (Sparrow & Marchington, 1998: 82) so that the company can grow. Because they feel afraid, uncertain and insecure, they will unconsciously sabotage new interventions and approaches. An example of this is the resistance management often experience when implementing a ‘quality management system’ (Sparrow & Marchington, 1998: 82). In this way employees become a stumbling block to progress instead of much-valued assets. In companies where managers make a concerted effort to delegate and share power and control, the ‘results are not always impressive’ (Graham & Bennett, 1995: 93). The reason for this is either a lack of understanding of the nature of empowerment, or a greater focus on applying a set of managerial techniques than on creating conditions that are essential for empowerment to thrive. Where empowerment does not work it is because ‘people do not think it through’ (Mabey & Salaman, 1997: 83). To avoid such failures it is important to gain commitment for the senior management team, and then to cascade this down to other levels of management. The hardest group to convince about empowerment are ‘middle managers’ (Spencer & Pruss, 1992: 92), because it is their jobs that are most likely to be affected. It is because these managers often have the most to lost that they may have a tendency to undermine or delay implementation of a new policy. The implementation of empowerment in organisations instead of the traditional hierarchies means a ‘flatter organisational structure’ (Cole, G, A, 1997: 57), which can give rise to considerable resentment and individual resistance. There are, naturally, many problems that can arise in the empowerment process. Many workers may ‘resist these new responsibilities’ (Mabey et al, 1998: 23); they in fact like having their decisions made for them and will resent the extra burdens (and work). There still may be those workers who resent the implications of greater self-direction, possibly even arising from an obvious fear. There is an interesting theory underlying this reaction. Maslow has called this the Jonah Complex, ‘the fear of one’s own greatness’ (Maslow, 1971: 34). While Maslow discussed this term in a more mystical, spiritual context, it is associated as a sort of classic block to self-actualisation. Since empowerment speaks to the same sort of needs as self-actualisation, it could be drawn that there is the possibility of a collective sort of Jonah Complex at the heart of many conflicts in organizational transitions. Employees may also be ‘cynical and suspicious of this approach’ (Gennard & Judge, 1997: 235, Hitchcock and Willard, 1995:27) as another way to get more work out of them for less money. However allowing employees to take an active part in the change process from the very beginning, and showing them that their organization is truly changing will remove some of their wariness. There is also the danger of the ’employees feeling too empowered’ (Legge, K, 1995: 57); in feeling so independent of other facets of the organization that there might also be troubles in transitioning to teams. Empowerment supports organisational objectives at the expense of the individual worker to ‘speed up the decision making processes and reducing operational costs’ (Sparrow & Marchington, 1998: 293) by removing unnecessary layers of management such as staff functions, quality control and checking operations. In retrospect empowerment is usually advocated to ‘release the creative and innovative capacities of employees’ (Armstrong, M, 1996:386), to provide greater job satisfaction, motivation and commitment and giving people more responsibility enables employees to gain a great sense of achievement from their work therefore. The reasons for ’empowerment emerging as a concept for our time’ (Armstrong, M, 1996:385) is the need to generate energy release in employees by providing them with visionary leadership and a supporting environment and by treating them as a valuable asset to be invested in rather then as a cost despite the fact that organisatio ns are driven by profit generating, cost reduction and market pressures. Empowerment at workplace level has ‘greater justification for management in HRM terms’ (Beardwell & Holden, 1994:582). Management needs to decide how much power to delegate to employees while controlling their levels of creative energies and at the same time ‘not undermining managerial prerogatives’ (Beardwell & Holden, 1994: 582). TQM (total quality management) ‘suggests a system whereby worker empowerment is restricted very much within the boundaries set by the management’ (Beardwell & Holden, 1994: 582). Training can provide ‘an opportunity to empower and motivate employees’ (Honold, L, 1997). Empowering workers in this small way (i.e., schedule the training sessions) during the actual implementation of the organizational change can provide workers with a small degree of control over what is essentially a change in process over which they have no control. Empowerment can be argued ‘as an objective in its own right as a means of extending worker satisfaction’ (Gennard & Judge, 1997: 211). This can be related to the concept of Quality of Working Life (QWL). It refers primarily to how efficiency of performance depends on job satisfaction, and how to design jobs to increase satisfaction, and therefore performance. The early psychological basis of QWL and of justifications of empowerment relating to increased worker motivation was Herzberg (1968). Herzberg developed a theory called the two-factor theory of motivation. Herzberg argued that ‘job factors could be classified as to whether they contributed primarily to satisfaction or dissatisfaction’ (Spencer & Pruss, 1992 : 64). There are conditions, which result in dissatisfaction amongst employees when they are not present. If these conditions are present, this does not necessarily motivate employees. Second there are conditions, which when present in the job, build a strong level of motivation that can result in good job performance. Management very rarely discusses the practical problems in attempting to apply empowerment through ‘quality management’ (Mabey & Salaman, 1997:34) therefore employee views and feelings are unheard. The argument in supporting quality management requires an increase in ‘workers skills and results in genuine employee empowerment’ (Mabey & Salaman, 1997:34). However, in contrast to the optimistic approach is the argument that empowerment through quality management results in the ‘increasing subordination of employees in return for little or no extra reward’ (Mabey & Salaman, 1997:35). Recently, empowerment has become ‘an important Human Resource Management tool’ (Graham & Bennett, 1995: 93) in many organisations. It has been portrayed as the ultimate tool to access unleashed potential and help leaders get the best from their people. In reality, however, organisations that are trying to empower people may be fighting an uphill battle. Managers who harbour a fear that affirmative action may jeopardise their jobs, may be more worried about keeping their jobs than about empowering others. With the rationalization of layers of management, promotion is becoming less realistic and, therefore, middle managers share with non-managerial employees ‘growing feelings of cynicism as well as a heightened sense of estrangement from the predominant goals and values of their employing organizations’ (Denham, N et al, 1997). According to Maslow (1998), people need a sense of ‘self-determination, autonomy, dignity, and responsibility’ (Legge, K, 1995: 221) to continue to function in a healthy, growth-motivated way. When placed in an environment where any or all of these qualities are removed from them and they are instead ‘forced to submit to another’s will and think and act under constant supervision’ (Legge, K, 1995: 221), their sense of esteem and self-worth is robbed from them. The implementation of empowerment can be used successfully as a HRM tool as it provides a competitive advantage ensuring ‘organisational survival’ (Mabey & Salaman, 1997:25) and at the same time protecting employees jobs. However, employee’s maybe compelled to work harder and more flexibly ‘for their own good’ (Mabey & Salaman, 1997:25) otherwise they might be made redundant for the greater good. The aim of empowerment is to ‘enable employees to actually have to deal with problems to implement solutions quickly and without recourse to supervisors’ (Gennard & Judge, 1997: 71) and or higher levels of management. This is increasingly necessary as large and bureaucratic organisations ‘delayer’ (Beardwell & Holden, 1994: 91) management hierarchies in the search for administrative efficiency and lower costs. Employee empowerment is a very important aspect when considering human resource management. The failure of employers to give employees an opportunity to participate in decisions affecting their welfare ‘may encourage union member ship’ (sparrow & Marchington, 1998: 53). It is widely believed that one reason managers begin employee involvement programs and seek to empower their employees is to ‘avoid collective action by employees’ (Cole, G, A, 1997: 83). Employee empowerment offers the employers and the employees the chance to be on the same level, so to speak. Empowerment allows them to help make decisions that affect themselves, as well as, the company. Basically, through empowerment, employers and employees are in a win-win situation. The ’employees feel like they are needed and wanted, while the employers gain satisfaction through their prosperity’ (Mabey & Salaman, 1997: 64). Employee empowerment can be a powerful tool. The now advanced leadership style can ‘increase efficiency and effectiveness’ inside an organization (Graham & Bennett, 1995: 13). It increases productivity and reduces overhead. Overhead expenses are those needed for carrying on a business, i.e. ‘salaries, rent, heat and advertising’ (Mabey & Salaman, 1997: 39). It gives managers the freedom to dedicate their time to more important matters. Managers can highlight the talents and efforts of all employees. The leader and organisation take advantage of the ‘shared knowledge of workers’ (Beardwell & Holden, 1994: 64). Managers at the same time ‘develop their own job qualifications and skills attaining personal advancements’ (Spencer & Pruss, 1992: 38). Empowered employees can make decisions and suggestions that will down the line improve service and support, saving money, time and disputes ‘between companies and their customers’ (Gennard & Judge, 1997: 291). Empowerment of qualified employees will provide exceptional customer service in several competitive markets; therefore it will ‘improve profits through repeated business’ (Beardwell & Holden, 1994: 76). Customers prefer to deal with employees that have the power to manage arrangements and objections by themselves, without having to frequently inquire of their supervisors (Beardwell & Holden, 1994: 76). Empowerment is a strong tool that will increase ‘revenue and improve the bottom line’ (Sparrow & Marchington, 1998: 280). Empowerment is also the best way to ‘promote a good long-lasting employee-customer relationship’ (Sparrow & Marchington, 1998:32). Empowerment also brings benefits to employees. It makes them feel better about their inputs to the company; it promotes a greater productivity, and provides them with a ‘sense of personal and professional balance’ (Cole, G, A, 1997: 91). It exercises employees’ minds to find alternative and better ways to execute their jobs, and it increases their potential for promotions and job satisfaction. It results in ‘personal growth’ (Mabey at al, 1998: 174) since the whole process enlarges their feelings of confidence and control in themselves and their companies. It is a process that makes workers utilize their full potentials. This enables them to stay behind their decisions, assume risks, participate and take actions. It is a ‘win-win situation’ (Wilkinson, A, 1998); customers benefit from sharp employees; organizations benefit from satisfied customers and sharp employees; and employees benefit from improving their confidence and self-esteems. Benefits come with changes in the organization’s culture itself. Benefits require ‘changes in management and employees’ (Mabey at al, 1998: 54). For empowerment to succeed, the ‘management pyramid’ (Mabey et al, 1998: 54) must be inverted. Old-fashioned managers must take a step back and for the first time serve their subordinates and give up control. Old-fashioned employees must also agree to changes. They could see ’empowerment as a threat’ (Spencer & Pruss, 1992: 147), especially if they became use to the convenient old style of management structure where the ‘rules and decisions always came from above’ (Legge, K, 1995: 94). Employee involvement and participation schemes are to ‘enhance job responsibility’ (Legge, K, 1995: 24) by providing individuals with more influence over how they perform their tasks (employee empowerment). Each individual can make a personal decision on how to perform his or her task instead of being instructed on how to do so by management. When employees are involved, they have some influence on how they perform their job. This in turn is likely to ‘increase their contentment with the job’ (Mabey at al, 1998: 134), the probability that they will remain in that job and their willingness to except changes in the task that make up the job. Individual employees are more likely to be ‘effective members of the workforce’ (Sparrow & Marchington, 1998: 76) if management taps into their knowledge of the job by seeking their opinion on how the job should be performed and how it can be organised better. For employees, the greater empowerment and control given to frontline staff and to their teams has meant a great degree of freedom than ever before in controlling their own working lives (Sparrow & Marchington, 1998:166). The power that managers have, the capacity that managers have to influence the behaviour of employees and work responsibilities, must be ‘now shared with employees’ (Gennard & Judge, 1997: 73) through the creation of trust, assurance, motivation, and support for competitive needs. Work-related decisions and full control of the work is being pushed down towards the lowest operating levels (Armstrong, M, 1996: 58). Self-conducted teams have also emerged, which are groups of empowered employees with no or very little supervision. These groups are able to ‘solve work problems, make choices on schedules and operations, learn to do other employees’ jobs, and are also held accountable and responsible for the quality of their outputs’ (Beardwell & Holden, 1994: 12) Guest (1987) argued under ‘high commitment management’ workers would be committed to management’s vision, and that management would favour individual contracts over collective agreements as a mean of furthering worker commitment and dependence, thus making unions redundant. Employees who feel they are in a stable work environment ‘will feel more secure and empowered’ (Cole, G, A, 1997: 94). Advancement opportunities and rewards/incentive programs should also be implemented, as they feed into how committed and employee feels to making positive contributions and whether or not they are recognised for their efforts. Morale, too, provides a good measure of the culture of the organisation. Organisations with a ‘restrictive, secretive environment where information is tightly controlled’ (Beardwell & Holden, 1994: 162) will have less informed less empowered employees. Organisations with a more open environment, where ideas are encouraged from all levels will have a freer flow of information, better-informed employees, and thus higher empowerment. Through the process of employee empowerment, ’employees feel more valued’ (Beardwell & Holden, 1994: 40) because they are able to participate in the planning process and the decision making process. Empowerment gives employees the opportunity to contribute to the company’s overall success (Beardwell & Holden, 1994: 40). This helps an employee feel that he/she is truly valued, rather than that they are just a back to be stepped upon by those trying to reach the top. All in all, if the employee is happy with their job, than a paying customer will see that and want to return. Empowerment allows an employee to find ‘new ways to express their creativity’ (Armstrong, M, 1996: 161). Through creativity, employees are able to make sales or transactions an unforgettable and pleasurable experience for customers, thus ensuring the customers return. Employee empowerment can have a ‘profoundly beneficial impact on the bottom line if used correctly’ (Mabey et al, 1998: 18). Empowerment allocates responsibility to an employee and creates the motivation to surpass customer expectations. In order to keep customers for life, employers must empower their employees to make their own decisions. Empowerment gives ’employees the opportunity to make decisions and suggestions’ (Cole, G, A, 1997: 39) that will down the line improve service and support, saving money, time and disputes between companies and their customers. Empowerment is an aspect, which must be considered in ‘negotiating an effective team contract’ (Spencer & Pruss, 1992: 69) .The team must be empowered to seek and find information across the existing management structures. The communication aspect of empowerment means that the team must be clearly shown where their work adds value to the company, where their effects will show results and where their work fits in with the company’s objectives. ‘Organizations wishing to instil a culture of empowerment must find a way of establishing systems and processes that do not restrict employees. By concentrating on what behaviour is considered optimal for the employees and what they do well, management can adapt, develop and change the organizational structure to produce the sought after behaviour’ (Erstad, M, 1997). Culture changed programmes are ‘commonly promoted’ (Mabey et al, 1998: 132) to increase the power of the worker, through empowerment. However, critics have argued empowerment is a means of increasing work intensity and gaining greater managerial control over labour (Brambell, 1995, Legge, 1989). Conclusion Work place attitudes such as ‘praising teams for success and punishing teams for failure are inherent in our society’ (Mabey et al, 1998: 32) where winning and survival have become synonymous. Businesses are installing empowerment into their organisations to ‘give people more responsibility and asking them to test the corporate boundary limits’ (Graham & Bennett, 1995: 91). A t the same time, organisations are asking staff to be more entrepreneurial, and take more risks. It can be argued employees who empower themselves can be called troublemakers and those who take entrepreneurial risks and fail are referred to as failures. The business ethic which condemns failure as a bad thing is going to ‘restrict its best people’ (Beardwell & Holden, 1994: 12), force them to avoid taking risks that may one day be beneficial and will prevent the team experiencing the excitement of the empowerment which is vital to motivation and team dynamics. The advantages gained through empowerment are numerous. Employee empowerment allows an organization to unleash the vital, untapped forces of employee creativity and motivation to solve business problems (Legge, K, 1995: 50). Empowering employee also allows them to make decisions on the spot. This is very important when you work in an industry where you work directly with a paying customer. When employees are empowered, the employer enables them to offer full service to their clients and protect them from the competition. ‘The rewards of empowerment outweigh the risks of losing the employees themselves’ (Spencer & Pruss, 1992: 203). The retail industry is a perfect example. Managers are ‘learning to give up control’ and employees are learning how to be responsible for the actions and decisions (Cole, G, A, 1997: 34). It is fundamental that management shares information, creates autonomy and feedback, and trains and creates self-directed teams for empowerment to work properly. Managers often prefer not to ‘communicate with employees, and not to share some extremely important information’ (Beardwell & Holden, 1994: 247) with them, but an effective leader must have no hidden agendas. They must treat employees as ‘stakeholders for the road of success’ (Beardwell & Holden, 1994: 247). Employees must have a clear vision of success, because if they are not aware of what success means to the company and where the company is heading, there is no way they can feel empowered to help accomplish this success. ‘Empowerment is not something, which can be passed over from management to employees as a pen is handed from one person to another. It is a complex process, which requires a clear vision, a learning environment both for management and employees, and participation and implementation tools and techniques in order to be successful’ (Erstad, M, 1997). Â   Bibliography Armstrong, M (1996) ‘A Handbook of Personnel Management Practice’, Sixth Edition, Kogan Page Beardwell, I & Holden, L (1994) ‘Human resource Management- A contemporary perspective’, Pitman Cole, G, A (1997) ‘Personnel Management’, Fourth Edition, Letts Denham, N, Ackers, P & Travers, C (1997) ‘Doing yourself out of a job? : How middle managers cope with empowerment’ , Employee Relations; Volume 19 No. 2; Erstad, M (1997) ‘Empowerment and organizational change’, International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management; Volume 9 No. 7; Gennard, J & Judge, G (1997) ‘Employee relations’, Institute of Personnel & Development Graham, H, T &Bennett, R (1995) ‘Human Resources Management’, Eight Edition, M+E handbooks Honold, L (1997) ‘A review of the literature on employee empowerment’, Empowerment in Organisations; Volume 5 No. 4 Legge, K (1995) ‘Human Resource Management-Rhetoric’s & Realities’, Macmillan Business Mabey, C & Salaman, G (1997) ‘Strategic Human Resource Management’, Blackwell Business Mabey, C, Skinner, D & Clark, T, (1998) ‘Experiencing Human Resource Management’, Sage Sparrow, P & Marchington, M (1998) ‘Human Resource Management-The New Agenda’, Pitman Spencer, J & Pruss, A (1992) ‘Managing your team’, Piatkus Wilkinson, A (1998) ‘Empowerment: theory and practice’, Personnel Review; Volume 27 No. 1

Environment in a Montessori School Essay

Young children like to explore experiment, tinker and try new things. They like to touch and feel and manipulate objects. They feed their minds through activities. They learn through their senses to satisfy their insatiable appetite for things to do. The first of the child’s organs to begin functioning are his senses. Dr. Maria Montessori based her method of teaching young children considering the fact that a child between two to six years passes through the ‘sensitive period for the refinement of senses’ and they can be helped in the development of the senses while they are in this formative period. In order to serve this purpose Dr. Maria Montessori introduced a subject called ‘Sensorial’ where the materials are specially designed to enable the children to use their senses to explore different attributes of the world. â€Å"it is necessary to begin the education of senses in the formative period, if we wish to perfect these sense development with the education which is to follow† (Maria Montessori, The Montessori Method, page 221) Montessori classrooms provide a prepared environment where children are free to respond to their natural tendency to work. The prepared environment offers the essential elements for optimal development. The key components comprise the children, teacher and physical surroundings including the specifically designed Montessori educational material. All of the materials in the Montessori classroom have been specifically designed to attract the interest of the student, while at the same time teaching an important concept. The purpose of each material is to isolate a certain concept the child is bound to discover. Montessori believed that â€Å"what the hand does, the mind remembers†. The materials are simple, direct and are easy to understand. Children use these materials in spontaneous exercises. The sensorial materials are concrete bits of information which can be organized into meaningful patterns. The didactic nature of the material gives the children hands on experience with all concepts, taught. Human senses can perceive nine qualities in an object: Shape, Colour, Texture, Sound, Smell, Taste, Temperature, Weight and Size. Montessori materials are made to isolate each of these qualities in order to individually perfect the senses that identify them. Hence, a child who is subjected to these materials are refining, exercising and sensitizing all five basic senses; visual sense, tactile sense, auditory sense, gustatory sense, olfactory sense and also the additional senses; baric sense (sense of weight), thermic sense (sense of temperature) and stereo gnostic sense (sense of shape and size of an object by feeling it with hands). For example: a child using his tactile and visual sense explores different dimensions of an object i.e. height, diameter etc. in the presentations like Knobbed cylinders, Pink tower, Brown stairs and so on. He explores different intensities of colours using his visual sense in Colour boxes. His auditory sense is enhanced while exploring different intensities of sound; loud and soft in Sound boxer while he can differentiate between tow textures; rough and smooth using his tactile sense in Touch boards. In Baric tablets, he gets a clearer perception of weight – light or heavy using his baric sense and so on. â€Å"A tower of blocks will present to the child only a variation of size from block to block- not a variation in size, colour, design and noises†¦Ã¢â‚¬ (P.P. Liliard, Montessori A modern Approach, Page 62) Though the idea of didactic materials is taken from Seguin, Dr. Montessori modified them based on her observations of the children. By Didactic materials we mean the materials which are self-corrective and by the process of trial and error a child can achieve the end result without much assistance from the. This is basically known as ‘Auto Education’. For example, when working with the sound cylinders, the child can check the bottom of the cylinders to see if the dots/numbers match. If they do, she knows she has matched them correctly. In the Montessori classroom the materials represent abstract ideas. The use of concrete materials to learn abstract concepts and operations is essential to the development of the child’s mind. The materials can be felt and manipulated so that the hand is always involved in the learning process. Later, as they master the concrete they begin to move to the abstract, where the child begins to solve problems with paper and pencil while still working with the materials. â€Å"..The lessons are designed to enable the child to sort out and digest the large numbers of impressions he possesses, to assimilate additional ones through experience, and to stimulate and refine the child’s power of observation preliminary to acquiring judgment and understanding†( E.G. Hainstock, The Essential Montessori, page 92) The sensorial activities provide self-confidence, independence, concentration and memory which leads to more abstract learning. Since, the sensorial training introduces a child to work with all other Montessori materials, the sensorial materials become an important part of the prepared environment. For example, the touch boards provides the initial sensitivity to rough surfaces required for sand paper letters and the red rods provides the basis for number rods. In a Montessori classroom, The first thing which is given to a child is usually is the knobbed cylinders. This piece of material is entirely self-corrective, and needs no supervision. When it becomes easy for a child quickly to get all the cylinders into the right holes, he goes on to other exercises, One of the exercises which it is usual to offer him next is the construction of the Pink tower. Pacing the biggest at the bottom, the next biggest on that, and so on to the apex made by the smallest one- basically teaches the difference between big and small. The difference between long and short is taught by means of ten squared Red rods of equal thickness, but varying length, the shortest one being just one-tenth as long as the longest. The Long Stair is constructed by the child with these. Thickness and thinness are studied with the Broad stairs; ten solids, wooden bricks, all of the same length, but of varying thickness, the thinnest one being one-tenth as thick as the thickest. With these the child constructs the Broad Stairs. After the construction of the Long Stair and the Broad Stair, begins the training of the eye to discriminate between minute differences in shades, is carried on steadily in a series of exercises. After this, the child is usually ready for the exercises with different fabrics to develop his sense of touch, and for the first beginning of the exercises leading to language; especially the strips of sandpaper pasted upon smooth wood used to teach the difference between rough and smooth. At the same time with these exercises, begin the first ones with color which consist of matching spools of identical color, two by two. When these exercises of the tactile sense have been mastered, the child is allowed to attempt the more difficult undertaking of recognizing all the minute gradations between smooth and rough. After such initial exercises children move to more abstract exercises like geometric insets, where children are taught to trace along the geometric shape and inset before fitting it in; thus imprinting the muscular habit of tracing the shapes later used to introduce letters & numbers. â€Å"Dr. Montessori set out to produce abstract ideas in a concrete form. She took each main abstract idea necessary for the understanding of the curriculum and made a piece of sensorial material to help children understand† (Course manual 105, The five senses, page 3) The objective of Montessori is to develop the concept first. Montessori students use concrete hands-on learning materials that make abstract concepts more clear. Lessons and activities are introduced simply and concretely in the early years and are reintroduced several times during the following years at increasing degrees of abstraction and complexity. Concrete materials make concepts real, and thus easily internalized. Therefore, sensorial materials not only provide the refinement of sense but it actually prepares the child for many other subjects which the child encounters afterwards. By using concrete materials during the early, sensitive years, the Montessori child can learn the basic concepts of mathemati cs and language. Maria Montessori believed that all humans are born with a â€Å"mathematical mind†. From the beginning, the students are introduced to mathematical concepts in concrete form. This approach to math is logical, clear and extremely effective. It allows the students to internalize math skills by using concrete materials and progressing at their own pace toward abstract concepts; to help students understand and develop a solid foundation in mathematics. As most mathematical topics, Geometry too, relies on the concreteness of the materials. Traditionally, geometry is taught as an abstract series of rules, theorems, and propositions meant to be memorized by the student. Maria Montessori saw geometry as firmly rooted in reality. Her geometry curriculum uses concrete, sensorial experimentation that lead students to concepts through concrete research. The focus of the geometry work is not as dependent on the result as it is but the work the student has done to achieve the result. Hence, the sensorial materials offer an excellent way of introducing Geometry to a child at a very tender age by the presentations of Geometry Cabinet, Geometry Solids etc. in every presentation a child thinks logically or compares the materials with other to achieve the final goal. This actually sharpens the comparative study skills and logical thinking of a child. Additionally, almost all materials indirectly prepares a child for decimal system because most of the materials are ten in number. Sensorial materials also prepares a child for languages starting from introduction of letters to other aspects of language like adjectives, opposites, comparatives, superlatives and also new words by the three period name lesson given on each material. The presentation of drawing insets prepares a child to write while the knobs present in the materials being the thickness of a writing pencil prepares the hand for holding it. As all Montessori materials, sensorial materials continue to reflects the basic concepts of left to right & top to bottom, imprinting pattern in the child’s mind, for future reading and writing. The student works abstractly (paper and pencil) when he or she has internalized the pattern and no longer needs the Montessori material. Therefore to initiate a child into world of spontaneous education using his senses and his natural propensities sensorial materials provide a vital basis As montessorians, we need to understand how children move towards understanding concepts and how different ways of using the materials match children evolving conceptual development. Montessori designed her sensorial curriculum area considering these facts. The child who has worked with the sensorial materials has not only acquired a greater skill in the use of senses but also guides his exploration of the outside world. Since, â€Å"The education of senses makes men observers.† (Maria Montessori, The Montessori Method, page 228)

Population Is a Source Not Burden

Population; A Human Source Or Burden Zawar Hussain The world population milestone that is sparking a global discussion on today’s most pressing environmental, health and justice issues, Pakistan’s population has continued to grow at break-neck speed. This has put immense pressure on the resources Pakistan has or can generate. Some would argue that every birth produces a consumer. Increasing population is actually a blessing in Islam, Christianity and Judaism. So in religious sense its good. Also if we analyze it, increasing population is actually good.Man power is a resource and not a burden, It is a burden if the wealth is distributed in an unjust manner, like for instance in Pakistan, India and through out the world. So if we want to follow capitalism there will always be an unjust distribution of the wealth. But if we follow the Islamic concept of Zakat. 2. 5 % tax on savings (gold, money, silver property etc)not on salary, and we quit corruption then its a blessing. And man power can be used in agriculture, industries and other productive things. In this way there won’t be capitalistic pyramide and jobless people.Population, A Human Resource; A huge population can prove to be a nation’s biggest asset. For the all-round progress of a large nation, it is essential that all its people contribute significantly to diverse areas and sectors of the economy—like agriculture, service industry, construction and other industries, to name a few. The talented and hardworking people of a nation can emerge as a highly competitive human resource. A country marches ahead largely on the strength of its talented, educated and enterprising manpower. Many nations like Japan and Israel have proved it time and again.These nations are poor in natural resources: they lack land and other natural resources such as minerals, metals and water, and various sources of energy like natural gas and crude oil. But these nations have shown that the general p opulace could be turned into a valuable human resource. Further, huge populations of young people, a majority of whom are hardworking and enterprising, can make a nation that finds respect worldwide, often evoking the envy of other nations which are under populated and lack the valuable human resources necessary for taking a nation forward. Highly talented and educated people can be proved valuable y providing their expertise and technical and no technical know-how to various industries and vocations, and can tremendously add to the overall growth of nation. Nation has to excel in many fields by making the most imaginative use of its large human resource. If the huge rural population is suitably educated, trained and equipped in agriculture know-how, the nation would achieve excellence in agriculture of an unforeseen kind. This way the burden on the economy will ease and the nation will progress by leaps and bounds as all its people will have a significant role to play in the nation - building process.A few lakh young people graduate every year in Pakistan,a sizeable section of them in professional disciplines. Very few nations of the world can boast of such a feat. Conclusion; According to my point of view and above all discussion,population is a human source, not burden. Some great personality had said –  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Population is not a burden in itself† It means that a large population is not a burden on its own. A large population can be turned up as an asset for the country. The biggest example we can cite is China.It has a bigger population than even India has, but we can see the level of development that China has when compared to India. It does not take its population to be a burden. It does not get tensed and does not think about what to do with such a big population, but it uses its population as an asset. Population can be used as an asset if we have an attitude. we don't actually understand that population can be used as an asset instead o f taking it as a burden. We can use our population as an asset by planning a good system of classification and sending people to various fields, as per their qualifications.We need to provide better education system and we need to keep it up continuously. We need to produce good human resource. . This we do easily. We are producing so many professionals every year, but the problem is that we are not able to send them to work in different fields, we are not able to employ them. So I think that a population can be used as an asset only and only if we understand this theory. We will need to train our people and fix them to work and then we won't take up our population as a burden.

The British Constitution

A country’s constitution serves as the foundation of its existence, operation and dealings; both among people and sectors of the nation as well as domestic and foreign relations. The significance and effectiveness of a charter are attributed not on the statute’s traditional solidity and constancy. This is because foremost the supposed changes which happened, it is the realization of the constitution’s growing implications which manifest the ultimate transformation and evolution of its system.In light of the existing and considered established measures of the land, it is empirical for the nation and its people to make the best out of it. Despite whatever is perceived to be flaws of a nation’s constitution, there is no good in returning to the past. What must be done to any current constitution instead is to directly address its underlying issues, prevent its negative premises to occur and for the country and its people to grasp its impacts. Constitution is presented in several forms and ways.In doing so, varying interpretations of such kind of recognized document are provided like in literary works. It is in this condition that the public is offered with a manner how to evaluate and realize the relevance of a constitution. Hence, a literary piece will prove to be valuable at analyzing the essence and grabbing the effects of a constitution. Such illustration of a clear principle was best exemplified by Anthony King’s (2007) â€Å"The British Constitution. † By arguing, the author made the public realize the concrete facts concerning the constitution of the United Kingdom.Beyond the details given by the author, however, the worth of the book lies on its thesis which fundamentally justifies its dispute. That is, the British constitution was never continuous since its establishment but it rather allowed opportunities to evolve which collectively affected the nation and its people. â€Å"The British Constitution,† an O verview Refuting people’s idea about their existing constitution is the main position of King in the book â€Å"The British Constitution. † The author debated that the country’s constitution was not to be regarded exactly as it was during the sovereignty of Queen Victoria.By far, the book is a revelation that the majority of British nationals appear to be knowledgeable of the successive modifications which transpired in their constitution (King, 2007). However, the book revealed that hardly any realized that the mounting implication of the existing constitution is exactly the complete modification of the quality of the system of British charter. The disclosure also served as the book’s assertion that the Victorian statue no longer exists and that the present constitution is generally regarded as a chaotic document.It is in this situation that the King’s book serves its very goal and essence. This is under a principle that what need to be considered are not the changes to the past constitution or its muddled current version. What is essential is just to exploit and make the existing constitution works to the advantage of the people and the country in general (King, 2007). By itself, the book is not a reference literary material or particularly a textbook. Unlikely for a serious-natured journalist, political critic and notable member of the academe, the author’s sense of humour paved the way for the book’s distinction.The book was a well-defined work because of its contention that it will do no good if UK and its people opt to return and still refer to the earlier constitution. In short, reminiscing on the past and its supposed solidity will not be a good guide in an effort to steer the country towards the changes being brought about by the present-day and even the future (King, 2007). In realizing the issues concerning the contemporary United Kingdom, the book directly battled with such problems.In particular, th e book provided the readers with sharp and critical evaluation of the escalating conflicts. Through the book, King exposed the disagreements existing between England, Wales and Scotland. Such idea was based on the ground of the decentralization and damaging analysis of the new House of Lords. King specifically expressed alarm over the positions at the Parliament’s second house which he claimed to be dangerously occupied by a diversified group of swindlers, failed leaders and political wannabes (King, 2007).Such condition sums up the entirety of the book. In today’s modern United Kingdom, the book is one whole statement of the need for the public to recognize the collective impacts of the existing statue. While the said effects were brought about by the supposed current constitution, in reality it is still plagued by the earlier period of influence. Ultimately, the book functions as the creation of the past, present and future’s manifestation and consideration of the British charter.This makes it a crucial material which will meet one’s awareness and concern about the nature and prospect of the political setting in United Kingdom. People’s Conformity with the Constitution King’s â€Å"The British Constitution† explored on the changes which took effect in UK’s charter for the three decades. As the author depicted, it is notable that Britain is regarded as a nation which unfortunately did not possess the needed capital-C constitution. By this the author implied that majority of free-thinking democratic systems have their respective constitution in black and white.In contrast, the existing charter of the United Kingdom was unwritten. Unlike the usual charter of other countries such as the United States, that of the Britain is composed of big and relevant qualities and features which were not placed in paper making it different compared with other countries’ capital-C statues (King, 2007, p. 5). The aut hor, however, clarified that the British charter is not totally the contrast of a capital-C or written constitution. Such condition only signified that what UK has is a charter with a small-c constitution.This is because the book manifested that Britain really possessed a collection of â€Å"the most important rules and common understandings in any given country† which, in turn, control the influence and restrictions of the central state organizations as well as their affiliation with the citizens. However, the book noted that such significant measures and guidelines were indeed unwritten which resulted into their classification as small-c constitution and not capital-C constitution (King, 2007, pp. 3-5).In particular, the book further explained that the existing British constitution is comprised of both unwritten big chunks of capital-C charter and written small-c constitution. This presented the public with the reality that what UK requires is not a written charter but a co ded or codified statue which refers to the capital-C constitution. The underlying principle behind this premise presented by the book is simply the supposed relationship between the government and its people. That is, the link between the government and/or various institutions as well as its people needs to be established (King, 2007).As an emphasis, the book made it clear that the differences in the qualities of the written small-c and unwritten capital-C constitutions pave the way for the changes that happened between the government and people for the last three decades. The author has inclined that a radical change of the present constitution may no longer be needed. However, the apparent defects in the existing British constitution, particularly as far as its present functions are concern; have likely caused the changes in the relationship between the state and its population (King, 2007).A further analysis, however, revealed irrational conclusions made by the book. This is part icularly illustrated when King studied the reduced influence or authority of states which he claimed is due to the globalization of the economies around the world. He corroborated such situation with the supposed mounting lack of enthusiasm among the voting public to recognize and be part of the system of political voting (King, 2007). The book’s sensitivity likewise appeared when King assessed the policy concerning the power of the parliamentary.Such government sovereignty became the core of the constitution during scholar Walter Bagehot’s time in the nineteenth century. In contrast, King portrayed in the book that the British government under the profile of the Parliament’s lower house, the House of Commons, is merely a powerless or weak body aside from being far from independence (King 2007). The book’s fundamental theme is what its author referred to as Britain’s conventional charter which basically signified the strains and requirements for mo dification as well as what the significance of such changes.As far as the book is concern, the basis of the conventional constitution is the separation between the government and its people. The author’s declaration, which manifested that the governors are apparently only ruling however the people still have their customary pronouncements, supported the said foundation (King, 2007). This was particularly depicted in the book when King mentioned about the outside bodies. He noted the recent inclusion of the governors in the government as well as practically in majority of positions and sectors. It is in this situation that the said outside bodies were regularly conferred with.However, as their nature implies, the outside bodies continue to be exactly as external parts (King, 2007). It is in this condition that the book is to be commended because of its clear presentation of a significant subject matter. That is, the need for people’s agreement or conformity with their c onstitution depends on the premise that they are not merely consulted. What is really necessary is the effective involvement of the people in Britain’s decision-making because it is them who compose majority of the population and not the few ruling governors.For this, King stressed: â€Å"Consultation was not to be confused with active participation in the making of policy† (King, 2007, p. 49). To further account for the principle of people’s conformity with their constitution, the book also presented another aspect where the system of British constitution also succeeded. This is where King discussed the definite and genuine distribution of goods to the people. This was efficiently carried out by the book’s presentation that the agreement of the people is achieved if services such as potable water, constructions as well as other basic good and services were provided to them.Thereafter, the book cautioned that there will be risk once the country’s c onstitution failed to provide what it has stated (King, 2007). Old Paving the Way for New Subsequent to the important concept of people’s agreement to the constitution hence enhancing the relationship between the government and people, King for the rest of the book succeeded in presenting how the past constitutional connections have paved the way to something new. The author referred to the new phenomenon as versions which are based from realistic responses to new situations instead of intentional and conscious ones.In explaining further, the book has taken into account several events such as the termination of the British Empire, the fall of the nation’s economy, the time when social deference has stopped, the last parts of the post-war agreements within the political setting, the escalation of a rebellious workforce society which started in the middle of 1960s and the power of the leftist in Britain’s Labour Party during the beginning of 1980s (King, 2007).In presenting this condition of old giving way for something new, the book stated that the most relevant modifications were attributed to British’ choice to be involved in the then referred to as the European Common market in 1973. This particular decision was the corrective action made by Britain concerning its mistake of conceitedly being on its own when several countries including Italy, Germany and France created a trade coalition trough the 1957 Treaty of Rome.The said trade blunder resulted into Britain’s economic disaster in mid-1960s and eventually disclosed the flaw and being reluctant on the country’s manufacturing industry (King, 2007). It is from the perspective of the author that there is no particular improvement in contemporary period which shows more ability to change the system of British constitution. That is, previous choices made by Britain have become the foundation of the existing constitution and that their massiveness made it unlikely for ne w alterations to set in.Hence, it is difficult to argue with King’s outlook that the lawful and constitutional outcomes of the country’s concurrence with the Treaty of Rome were enormous enough to be changed (King, 2007). Since the book presented that the superiority of European Community decree over the measures of UK, King was justified in his claim that the battle between the two laws resulted into the law created by the continent having more bearing over Britain’s law. Relatively is the case with the British courts since implementation of Community law is more required which made UK as secondary.With Community measures having more significance, British people took up their legal grievances and actions against the British government in Community courts (King, 2007). Noting such inevitable circumstances and outcomes, the book was correct when it said that Britain failed to foresee the imminent conditions. This is because the nation got involved in said Communi ty without taking into consideration its possible consequence. In fact, it was Britain’s apparent desire to be a member of a union which eventually affected the nation’s constitution (King, 2007).This idea was precisely supported by the book wherein King said that Britain then was more concern in entering the markets and did not think of the possible implications. It was unfortunate to note then that it was Britain’s sovereignty which was affected. This was affirmed by the author when he presented the condition of globalization. This is because when the practice took effect, the community of various countries evolved as the European Union or EU hence blocking the region as part of worldwide economy. In its worst effect, more significant impacts to the constitution happened.Such European power over the government of Britain have greatly affected the nation’s policy aspects, such as in agriculture and environment, which were previously classified as interna l but eventually became only a portion of the whole power of EU (King, 2007). The book was correctly critical in its discussion of the judiciary’s assertion of self-rule from the executive branch. King was also vivid when he presented the system of review of government decision done by the judiciary. He explained that such mechanisms lessened the authority of local governments.These governments were regarded by the author as mere â€Å"pale shadow of its former self. † This is because contrary to its previous influence, local governments became nobody and just turned out to be symbols of control by the primary government (King, 2007, p. 151). The book’s various manifestations of constitutional and policy changes were comprehensively provided, supported as well as rationally analyzed by the author. These include the modifications which happened during the free-market capitalism under Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.In the following two decades, changes were also depicted by the privatization of the government’s basic services to the people and fall of locally-generated incomes (King, 2007). Such changes significantly paved the way for similar adjustments in the branches of Britain’s governments which, in turn, affirmed more the earlier premise of Britain having a small-c and decoded constitution. This was effectively established by the book as King wrote that Prime Ministers barely visit the House of Commons with exemption if they need to address specific questions (King, 2007).This goes the same with the Parliament which is frequently in recess because of the emptiness of the chambers most of the time. This has resulted into laws or measures which were created and just provided by the government to its people otherwise the bills do not have opportunity to be formed and even put into law. The said modification even led to announcements of government laws and policies that are carried out through the mass media. The book noted that this is definitely in contrast to the established process when the parliament is appraised at the onset (King, 2007).As opposed to such condition of the Parliament, Britain’s executive branch upheld its constitutional power and authority. This was proven by the influence of the Prime Minister which was more strengthened to the detriment of the cabinet system. This was supported by the book when it provided the readers with several situations that showed the increased power of the PM (King, 2007). Constitution as Gauge of Government’s Fitness The driving factor which lies underneath the changes made to the British constitution is precisely the idea of the need for the government to be suitable in its main function of governing the country and people.Fortunately, this was clearly noted and shared to the public by the book. This is when it was able to effectively portray that the government adhered with its functions of ensuring that it is indeed fit and capable for all its roles. These purposes of the government, which were attributed from the changes made to the constitution, include its economic, political and economic principles and practices (King, 2007). Being involved in multi sectors, King reasonably centred on the supposed needed changes to the constitution thereby resulting into strengthened relationship between the government and its people.Since the nation was subjected to several crises, the book noticed the need for the constitutional modifications which, in turn, assured the competency and ability of the government to both run the country and establish favourable relationship with people. Conclusion It is certain that a country needs to have an established constitution which serves as the binding principle and performance of its government and for the citizenry to follow. Such foundation may be manifested in different and even opposing manners.However, it is the only way at placing the systems in place and in good form. While th e British charter underwent changes, it is such conditions which eventually signalled its aspiration. Since the earlier times up to the present, UK’s constitution has proven its worth and significance. It is in this understanding that King’s book served its very purpose and essence of making the public realize the possibilities and implications of the British constitution. Reference King, A. (2007). The British Constitution. New York: Oxford University Press.