Attitudes to Risk and Entrepreneurship

Attitudes to Risk and Entrepreneurship Entrepreneurship, as defined by Stevenson (1983) â€Å"†¦ is the pursuit of opportunity beyond the resources you currently control†. Stevenson and Gumpert (1985, pp. 85-94) advise that the preceding definition represents both the individual as well as the society that he or she is embedded in as he or she identifies an opportunity they desire to pursue, and as an entrepreneur they thus must seek the resources from the broader society. The approach to entrepreneurship as voiced by Stevenson and Gumpert (1985, pp. 85-94) builds upon earlier scholars such as Schumpeter (1934) who identified the context of the interaction of the individual and wider society. The title of Schumpeter’s (1934) work â€Å"The Theory of Economic Development† could almost be suited to a title for entrepreneurship, as Harper (2003, p. 1) advises that one of the prominent features â€Å"†¦ of a competitive enterprise economy is the ability of people continually to seek out and seize opportunities for profitable new activities in local and world markets†. That statement mirrors the definition of entrepreneurship as put forth by Stevenson and Gumpert (1985, pp. 85-94). French economist Say, around 1800 stated that the entrepreneur â€Å"†¦shifts economic resources out of an area of lower and into an area of higher productivity and greater yield† (Dracker, 1985, p. 21). However, starting a new venture does not necessarily constitute entrepreneurship, and is not limited to new and or small businesses. Dracker (1985, p. 22) advises that entrepreneurship is indeed being practiced by all sizes of companies and corporations, and said activity represents the creation of something new, or different, and or the change / transmutation of value. As such, Dracker (1985, pp. 21) cites McDonald’s, which is an example of entrepreneurship. And while its product did not represent anything new, the management concepts, techniques, standardization of the product, the process of designing systems and tools, the understanding of the work that needed to be done, and devising working and training techniques to transmit this to others is what defines it as being entrepreneurial (Dracker, 1985, p.21). He also uses General Electric as an example in that the company’sâ€Å"†¦ long history of starting new entrepreneurial businesses from scratch, and raising them into sizable industries† is another example of this process (Dracker, 1985, p. 23), as well as Marks and Spencer of the United Kingdom. Sheller (2006) advises that â€Å"Entrepreneurship is a delicate organism†, continuing that â€Å"It needs the right environment to flourish†. Welsh (2003, p. 4) elaborates on Sheller’s (2006) view by stating: 1. Entrepreneurship flourishes in communities where resources are mobile, 2. Entrepreneurship is greater when successful members of a community reinvest excess capital in the projects of other community members, 3. Entrepreneurship flourishes in communities in which the success of other community members is celebrated rather than derided, and 4. Entrepreneurship is greater in communities that see change as positive rather than negative.† Given the risk taking nature of entrepreneurs, an examination of the context of this word is deemed as an important consideration before delving into the examination of the attitudes to risk and entrepreneurship. Inherent in the analysis of an entrepreneurial environment is risk, but, as stated by Culp (2001. 3) â€Å"Risk is everywhere†. Burt (2001) advises that â€Å"risk is the probability that an event will occur† and is â€Å"†¦ often used to express the probability that particular outcome will happen following a particular exposure† and also denotes the probability, or possibility of a loss. However, there are differing views and attitudes regarding risk, just as there are regarding entrepreneurship. These facets shall be examined herein, equating the various attitudes and approaches to these two areas. Chapter 1 – Introduction Implicit in understanding the context of attitudes to risk and entrepreneurship, are the words that constitute this examination. The simplistic nature of the statement belies the striations inherent in the different contexts. Follendore (2002) in commenting on that fact that words carry meaning, also states that words also can limit potential meanings. As shown by the preceding brief exploration of entrepreneurship and risk, these words have a broader dimension that one usually associates with them in general conversation, and or use. Termed linguistics, the meaning of words represents the context in which they are used in combination with other words and permits us to communicate with one another (Hill, 1969, p. 3). The character of the word stock of English has its roots in the Germanic tribes of the preromantic era and consists of French, Italian and other languages that have been incorporated into the body of words utilized by English speakers (Leith, 1997, p. 62). The foregoing is important in understanding that the word dictionary is 1. â€Å"A reference book containing an alphabetical list of words, with information given for each word †¦Ã¢â‚¬  that 3. Lists â€Å"†¦words or other linguistics items in a particular category †¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Houghton Mifflin, 2007). Its etymology stems from Medieval Latin dictinrium, and from Latin diction, which is a derivative of diction (Houghton Mifflin, 2007). The weakness of the English language lies in its lexical ambiguity. Lin and Ahrens (2001) provide a further understanding of the importance of words that in most instances have multiple meanings, thus the phrase lexical ambiguity. They go on to add that â€Å"†¦ multiple meanings associated with †¦ (words) †¦ can be etymologically associated†¦Ã¢â‚¬  The words utilized in the title of this examination fall into the category of words that have â€Å"†¦ greater number of meanings †¦Ã¢â‚¬  thus they are â€Å"†¦ recognized faster than words with few meanings† (Lin and Ahrens, 2001). Dictionary meanings, as stated by Lin and Ahrens (2001) are the form that is usually preferred by researchers as a result of their having standardized meanings â€Å"†¦ comprehensive, and easy to obtain†. However, semantically speaking, the meaning of the words attitudes, risk and entrepreneurship change depending upon the context, thus variables are added as a result of using these words in combination, further compounding the equation. As borne out by the limited exploration of meanings for entrepreurship and risk. Thus in exploring the attitudes to the preceding, this examination shall explore these combinations and seek to find common linkages to result in an understanding of the foregoing. Chapter 2 – Attitude The context of this examination, which represents an exploration into the ‘Attitudes to risk and entrepreneurship’, embodies looking at the relationships of these words to define the phrase and bring out its meanings. It is the context in which these words reside, as well as the implications thus resulting, represent the underlying precepts that provide for a broad field of interpretations and thus variants. In beginning with the word ‘attitudes’, Houghton Mifflin (2007) defines its â€Å"1. A position of the body or manner of carrying oneself, 2. a. Astute of mind or a feeling; disposition, 2. b. An arrogant or hostile state of mind or disposition, 3. The orientation of an air or spacecraft relative to a reference †¦Ã¢â‚¬  Its etymology is French, from the Italian word ‘attitudinal, which was adopted from late Latin‘aptitd’ (Houghton Mifflin, 2007). Schneider (2006) advises that the word ‘attitudes’ consists of two components. One represents belief, and the other represents feeling (Schneider, 2006). Beliefs are a mental concept association that are usually â€Å"†¦ associated with an identity †¦ and as Dr. Schneider (2006) states, â€Å"†¦ are often stereotypical†. He continues that these stereotypical beliefs are usually stemmed in the â€Å"†¦ socio demographic differences of a person †¦ (as well as their) †¦ personal experience†. Thus, based upon the context as well as usage, ‘attitudes’ brings with it the usage context as formulated within an individual’s historical framework as well. These historical preconceptions, however slight, represent influencing factors acting upon the individual as they mentally traverse through their personal feelings, and beliefs regarding the word sets that follow, thus triggering other memory concepts, feelings and beliefs. Schneider (2006), refers to Sheriff in discussing ‘norm formation which represents the prevailing understanding(s) associated with a particular word in contemporary common usage. We as individuals have grown through experiences, associations, and circumstances in our environments as impacted upon by family, friends, acquaintances, and our abilities to cope, to develop personalities as well as thinking patterns that are the outgrowth of these variables. We see the environment, filter out what isn’t relevant, evaluate what remains, then process this information through our individual self-images â€Å"†¦ and / or sets of expectations, and /or personal characteristics, motivational factors and life experiences †¦and then we respond with either â€Å"†¦ reflective or spontaneous behaviour†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Rice University, 2003). The preceding would appear in a diagram as follows: Figure 1 – Individual Environmental Perceptions (Rice University, 2003) The next step in the process is the examination of individualbehavior in the context of two individuals as an interaction. Such can consist of one of three types of interactions, as represented by superior to subordinate, leader to peers, and leader to boss (Rice University, 2003). The importance of these distinctions is that such interactions often tend to influence, impact, change, and or colour person’s perceptions, and or processing thus causing them to arrive at differing conceptualizations. Figure 2 – Individual Environmental Perceptions in a Two Party Relationship (Rice University, 2003) Under Figure 2, it illustrates the interactive effects of environmental perceptions in a two-party relationship, and how the images of Individual A can impact upon the perceptions of Individual B. Another facet of how external influences can impact upon an individual’s thinking has been put forward by Janis (1972, pp. 15-30) who states that groupthink is the psychological drive for consensus at any costs which suppresses disagreement, and thus prevents the appraisal of potential alternatives in decision making groups. Thus, an individual in a bank will have a completely different set of mental references that will occur when he or she hears the word risk, than will an entrepreneur. In a limited and distant way, the preceding represents a variant of groupthink, or the thinking adopted by an individual as represented by being part of a group or enterprise. The symptoms can be mild to strong based upon the degree of adaptation, position and or other factors, and can fall into any of the following categorizations (Janis, 1972, pp. 174-195, 242-258): 1. Negative Outcomes The examination of only a few alternatives, Not being critical of the ideas of others, Failure to examine alternatives early, Failure to seek expert opinion, Being very selective in terms of gathering information, Failure to have contingency plans, 2. Symptoms An illusion of invulnerability, The rationalization of poor decisions, A belief in the morality of the group, The sharing of stereotypes that guide the decision process, The exercising of direct pressure on others, Failure to express true feelings, The maintenance of the illusion of unanimity, The use of what are termed mind guards to protect others in the group from receiving or evaluating negative information 3. Solutions The utilization of a policy forming group that thus reports to a larger group, thus forcing or bringing wider thinking latitudes into the equation, Having the leaders remain impartial, The utilization of differing policy groups to accomplish different tasks, The division of individuals into groups and then a discussion on differences to open up potential alternatives and additional thinking, Having discussions in sub groups that report back, The utilization of a Devil’s advocate to call into question all of the ideas raised by the group, Holding second meetings to provide another opportunity for other courses of action The idea of the preceding is to help minimize preconceived notions, ideas, and approaches to open them up to a broader field of discussion, ideas, alternatives, and possibilities. The foregoing is applied in individual situations by the individual taking the time for reflective thinking away for the instant pressures of now or of another’s influence. Chapter 3 Risk The Houghton Mifflin (2007) dictionary defines risk as â€Å" 1. The possibility of suffering harm or loss; danger, 2. A factor, thing, element, or course involving uncertain danger; a hazard †¦Ã¢â‚¬ . It, risk, represents a concept that carries with it the potential for a negative outcome or less that desired outcome that can potentially arise from a specific, desired or combination of actions in the present or sometime in the future (Douglas, 1992, pp. 102-105). Viscose (1998, p. 5)advises that â€Å"Individual risk perceptions are often in error †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ,explaining that â€Å"†¦ people make mistakes with respect to how they perceive risk and behave in the presence of uncertainty†. Douglas(1992, p. 102) states that it has been a long held belief that individuals are risk averse, which is based upon â€Å"†¦ the theory of rationale choice †¦ (that) †¦ assumes that the individual will always choose according to his own self-interest †¦Ã¢ €  which are choices, thus a factor of rational behaviour. Adams (1995, p. 1) simplifies the understanding of risk by personalizing it in order for us to gain aclearer perspective. He states that each and every one of us is â€Å"†¦ a true risk expert †¦Ã¢â‚¬  in that â€Å"†¦ we have been trained by practice and experience in the management of risk† (Adams, 1995, p. 1). Risk represents something that we as human being learn in infancy, starting with our trial and error processes representing learning how to crawl, walk, and then talk (Adams, 1995, p. 1). He adds to Douglas’ (1992, p.102) statement that individuals are risk averse as he points out the example of that although we as child tend to act out of â€Å"†¦ curiosity and a need for excitement †¦ (we are ) †¦ curbed by †¦ â€Å" our sense of danger (Adams, 1995, p. 1). The importance of investigating the components and foundations of risk as a part of the equation of this examination is crucial to the examination of attitudes, risk and entrepreneurship in that one needs the foundation of the theories, and usages attributed to these words and concepts. Risk, as a function of perceived uncertainty and dangerous also subject to prevailing public views, experience factors and acceptance. By any account, taking a flight in a piece of metal whose outer skin is thin, with the entire container flexing while one travels at speeds in excess of 400 km would not only sound risky to those born in ancient Rome, it would be viewed as insane. Thus risk is a changing variable based upon our degrees of exposure, the exposure of others, and its place in what we subscribe to as normal routines. Risk taking for one used to making investments, such as a financier, stock trader or venture capitalist, whose circle of acquaintances, friends, upbringing, and experiences is less than it is for a doctor, lawyer, cab driver or railroad engineer, as they lack the exposure, and mental familiarity that underpins uncertainty, and how to deal with it. The foregoing represents the third of Starr’s (1969, pp. 1234) three laws describing behavioural phenomena â€Å"†¦ 3. The acceptable level of risk is inversely related to the number of persons exposed to that risk†. The other two segments of this law are (1969, p. 1238): â€Å"1. The public is willing to accept voluntary risks about 1,000 times greater than involuntary risks. 2. The acceptability of risks appears to be roughly proportional to the third power of the benefits† Starr’s (1969, p. 1238) three putative laws however have not gained wide spread acceptance with risk specialists on all grounds, however there are those who agree with his assertion that there is a relationship between risk acceptability ad benefits. Otway and Chen(1975, pp. 76-80) however found that through a replication of the analysis that the resulting data did not support Starr’s (1969, p.1238) assertion in qualitative formulations, and instead found that individuals were indeed willing to accept high involuntary risks with large benefits. Despite the findings of Otway and Chen (1975, pp.76-80) the jury is still out regarding Starr’s (1969, p. 1238) three putative laws. And while we have been discussing risk as on an individual basis, risk exists in all forms, thus the exploration of it in institutions also has relevance as it is still a human facet. Culp (2001, p. 15) advises that we find it â€Å"†¦ tempting to associate definition of risk with measures of risk, such as the variance of returns on some asset† or in order mathematical means. Culp (2001, p.15) asserts that risk can be shown through mathematical formulas to that†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ make sense in illustrative purposes†, adding that â€Å"Risk is concept, not a particular statistical construct†. In further exploring risk, Culp (2001, p. 15) adds that attempting to glean an understanding of risk â€Å"†¦ at the conceptual level †¦Ã¢â‚¬  is a daunting task. He states that there is a tendency to use terms such as interest rate risk, maturity, accident, credit and so forth, which have their applications, and adds that the conceptualization of the â€Å"†¦ definition of risk varies with the perspective† (Culp, 2001, p. 15). Thus, he offers perspectives on how risk can be defined, and the relationships between them. Firstly, Culp (2001, p. 15) offers what he terms the â€Å"event-driven definition of risk† which works on the principle of â€Å"†¦ the type of event that can result in a loss†, such as a flood or earthquake. The second type of risk Culp (2001, p. 16) defines is ‘market risk’ thatâ€Å"†¦ arises from the event of a change in some market determined asset price, reference rate or index†. He explains that ‘delta represents the value that is the â€Å"exposure that deteriorates as a result of the price, or value of some risk factor changes†, with â€Å"‘gamma’ as the risk that delta will change when the value of an underlying risk factor changes â€Å"and ‘rho as the â€Å"risk that the interest rates used to discount future cash flows in present value calculations will change and impose unexpected losses on the firm (Culp, 2001, p. 17). Culp (2001, p. 18)defines ‘liquid risk’ as that which †Å"occurs in the event that cash flows, and current balances are insufficient to cover cash outflow requirements†, and ‘credit risk’. The other types of risk Culp (2001,pp. 18-22) defines are ‘operational risk’, and ‘legal risk’, with other risks representing a broad array of items such as intellectual risk, customer loss risk, and supply chain risks as a few examples. In equating risk with the subject of this examination, risk aversion represents the division of risk that is associated with individuals. Culp (2001, p. 34) refers to this as â€Å"†¦. the shape of a utility function dictating the degree to which an individual is risk-averse, risk-neutral, or risk-loving†. Barrett (1993, p. 2) states that inside of these risk categories is what he terms the ‘disaster threshold ‘whereby one engages in behaviour that includes risk only when it does not touch their threshold of misfortune beyond which they will not goes such would †Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ be experienced as a disaster†. He adds that when individuals have a preference for â€Å"†¦ risk-aversion †¦ (it) †¦ displaces the preference for rational decision making† (Barrett, 1993, p. 79).Under this type of thinking the rule is â€Å"†¦ to take as few risks as incompatible with the perception of opportunities, and to expect corresponding attitude i n others† (Barrett, 1993, p. 79). Lane and Cheek (2000) conducted a study on risk-aversion examining theâ€Å"†¦ role of contingencies and experimental context in human decision-making†. They subjected twelve individuals to â€Å"†¦ a series of conditions that provided response alternatives of a small, high-probability reinforce (non-risky alternative), or a larger, low probability reinforce (risky alternative)†. The range of therein forcer probabilities and amounts were utilized via a discrete trial design that had repeated trials conducted in multiple sessions. In comparing the results with prior data it was found that the subjects in the study â€Å"†¦ displayed a strong preference for the non-risky response alternative, even when doing so resulted in lost earnings† (Lane and Cheek, 2000). These results support decision, and risk models that emphasize the subjective as opposed to mathematically expected value of reinforces, and â€Å"†¦ the data highlight the important role of reinforcement contingencies, and context in risk-taking behaviour† (Lane and Cheek, 2000). Risk, as explained by Adams (1995), Viscose (1998),Douglas (1992), Starr (1969), and others is inherent in any choice that involves probabilistic outcomes. Lane and Cheek (2000) found that inâ€Å"†¦ contexts with two or more response alternatives, both the probability, and size of each alternative presumably influence decisions†. Lawrence (1992) concurs with Lane and Cheek (2000) in that the choice of decision making that occurs under uncertainty usually includes options of selecting, and or choosing to use an informational system, and a set of probable messages that take in current decisions. Under this type of thinking the rule is â€Å"†¦ to take as few risks as incompatible with the perception of opportunities, and to expect corresponding attitude in others† Barrett (1993, p. 79) whereby the taking of as few risks as possible is the preference in compatibility with opportunity perception, and the corresponding attitude of others. Hahnemann and Tversky (1979, pp. 341-350), Silberberg et al (1988, pp.187-195), and Slavic and Lichtenstein (1968, pp. 1-17) all conducted studies in risk aversion, and noted the tendency toward a mild approaching conditions as represented by gain versus no-gain. Hahnemann andTversky (1979, pp. 341-350) found that under some conditionsâ€Å"†¦equivalent outcomes with real, and hypothetical outcomes, but results from other studies are not so straightforward, and suggest that there may be differences in subjects’ decision making when real payoff contingencies are implemented†. Slavic (1969) found â€Å"†¦ when choices were hypothetical, subjects maximized gains and discounted the probability of loss, but were more risk averse under conditions in which they actually played out their choices†. In equating risk as a variable of simply participating as opposed to gain and or loss Reuchlin and Frankel (1969, pp. 444-449) found that in the utilization of gambling situations that contained no payoffs, the individuals involved in the study were indifferent to the response they selected, but when the probabilities of winning, and losing were introduced whereby monetary gains, and or losses were involved, they were real sensitive to the choices made. The understanding of why people make decisions in situations whereby an alternative is the better choice based upon some attributes of values and in others the alternative is better based upon some other attribute represents a problem of preferential choice, and judgment in psychology. Castellan (1993, p. 20) advises that in general, when people are â€Å"†¦faced with more complex decision problems involving many alternatives, people often adopt simplifying strategies that are much more selective in the use of information†. He continues thatâ€Å"†¦strategies adopted tend to be non-compensatory, in that excellent values on some attributes cannot compensate for poor values on other attributes† (Castellan, 1993, p. 20). He elaborates on the foregoing by making reference to a number of job applicants with basically the same qualifications, however, the interviewer might decide that a published article background is a determining factor which he utilizes to aid in the decision process. The preceding represents a simplification strategy for getting through, and or making a decision, which is termed heuristics for choice, which can change based upon the conditions. Tversky ( 1972, pp. 281-299) referred to such a strategy as an elimination-by-aspects process. Heuristics such as the equal weighting rule, majority of confirming dimensions, and lexicographic represent differing methods for simplifying processing in the making of choices(Castellan, 1993, p. 20). The preceding represents a factor of risk as individuals work through their own history and experience base as well as any applicable organizational or society rules in reaching a risk based decision. The equal weighting strategy simplifies the decision making process by virtue of ignoring information concerning the relative importance of each attribute (Castellan, 1993, p. 21). In the confirming decisions heuristic, the general process entails the processing of pairs of alternatives whereby â€Å"†¦values for each of the two alternatives are compared on each attribute, and the alternative with a majority of winning (better) attribute values is retained †¦.† (Castellan, 1993, p.21). In this manner â€Å"†¦processing is simplified by requiring only ordinal judgments of which alternative is better on an attribute, rather than assessments of the degree to which one alternative is better than the other †¦ (thereby the) †¦ process of pairwise comparison is repeated until all alternatives have been evaluated, and the final winning alternative identified† (Castellan, 1993, p. 21). In the final heuristic, lexicographic choice works by â€Å"†¦first determining the most important attribute, and then examining the values of all alternatives on that attribute. The alternative with the best value on the most important attribute is selected† (Castellan, 1993, p. 21). In cases of ties, the second most important attribute is considered and the process repeated until the decision making tie is eliminated. The foregoing are aspects in risk decision making that some individuals use in arriving at their choices, and are usually reserved for more long term risk analysis decision making such as investment, business decisions, long term purchases of higher monetary value and so forth. These types of risk taking processes are also associated with entrepreneurs. Chapter 4 – Entrepreneurship The Houghton Mifflin dictionary (2007) defines entrepreneur as â€Å"Adperson who organizes, operates and assumes the risk for a business venture†. An entrepreneur represents an individual who is usually of high aptitude, who possesses certain characteristics that are found in only a small portion of people in general, who pioneers change(Quick MBA, 2007). The more popular definition that is thought of by society when this word is mentioned, is of a person who wants to work for themselves. The origin of entrepreneur is French, based on the word ‘entreprendre, which means ‘to undertake’. Entrepreneurship represents the practice of beginning new companies, and or organizations as usually represented by a new business as a result of new opportunities that have, or are presenting themselves. Such naturally entails elements of risk. The equation of risk in entrepreneurship is represented by the spectre of failure, which can beat result of a multitude of business, supply, sales, market condition, financing, timing, competitive, new innovations, cost, locale, another problems that are all interweaved to result in a complex series of risks that must be examined, explored, decided upon, and dealt with correctly to minimize failure, which does not necessarily translate into success. Stevenson (1983), as previously referred to, describes entrepreneurship represents â€Å"†¦ the pursuit of opportunity beyond the resources you currently control†, which he further amplifies with Gumpert (Stevenson and Gumpert, 1985, pp. 85-94) that entrepreneurship represents both the individual as well as the society that he or she is embedded in as he or she identifies an opportunity they desire to pursue and as an entrepreneur they thus must seek the resources from the broader society. Given all of the research, and studies devoted to entrepreneurship no universal theory has been generated, as various disciplines have their â€Å"†¦own unique way of viewing entrepreneurship which remains relatively unaffected by the perspectives of other disciplines †¦Ã¢â‚¬ (Gartner, 2001). All of the foregoing have been engaged in as a part of the purpose of this study, which is to equate attitudes toward risk and entrepreneurship. The three critical words that comprise this examination have extremely broad interpretations as well as context that are dependent upon when, and how they are used. For Dracker (1985,p. 28) entrepreneurship is about risk. But his view does not take the skew of said risk being negative or positive, but rather that risk is inherent with the concept as it, risk, is inherent with business in general, simply that entrepreneurial risk is a different form. Thus, the attitudes concerning risk and entrepreneurship are individual and dependent upon the prevailing social circle, or societal views that can take on any the differing contextual concepts of any of the words in arriving at a mental conceptualization of what these words mean in combination. He describes entrepreneurship as â€Å"†¦ ‘risky’ mainly because so few of the so-called entrepreneurs know what they are doing(Dracker, 1985, p. 29). And continues that they â€Å"†¦ lack the methodology†¦ (and) †¦violate elementary and well known rules (Dracker, 1985, p.29). Thus Dracker (1985) is seemingly saying that the high degree of complexity inherent in entrepreneurship, as either demands or requires an individual who is usually of high aptitude, who possess certain characteristics that are found in only a small portion of people in general, who pioneers change (, 2007). The attention being devoted to an examination of entrepreurship is deemed as an important part of the risk attitude equation in that like risk, and attitude, it, entrepreurship, entails a large number of variants in how they are viewed contextually. Dracker (1985, p. 30) aids in providing clarity by advising that entrepreneurship requires innovation, as it â€Å"†¦ is the specific instrument †¦Ã¢â‚¬  of the process. It represents the factor â€Å"†¦that endows resources with a new capacity to create wealth †¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Dracker, 1985, p. 30). He explains that innovationâ€Å"†¦ creates a resource †¦Ã¢â‚¬  and that a resource represents something that has no value until a need, and use is found for it, and thus endows it with an economic value (Dracker, 1985, p. 30). To illustrate, he points to various plants, rock, and minerals that went unused for centuries until a use were found for them. Owing to this view, Dracker (1985, p.33) advises that innovation represents an economic term, in this context, as opposed to a social or technical one. He adds that it, innovation, â€Å"†¦can be defined the way J. B. Say defined entrepreneurship, as changing the yield of resources † as well as being â€Å"†¦ defined in demand terms rather than in supply terms, that is, as changing the value and satisfaction obtained from resources by the consumer †¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Dracker, 1985, p. 33). Francis and Demirep (2006) address the issue of entrepreneurship in the context of â€Å"Wealth, Entrepreneurship and Occupational Experience â€Å"citing that as a factor of the probability of becoming an entrepreneur, one is likely to be male, a member of the Caucasian race, in the upper middle age bracket, and married. They cite that the theoretical aspects of the preceding profile represent facets such as risk aversion, along with entrepreneurial ability, as mentioned by Dracker (1985, p. 30) â€Å"†¦and the desire to be one’s own boss† (

Mama Day by Gloria Naylor :: Mama Day Gloria Naylor Literature Essays

Mama Day by Gloria Naylor The comparisons--North vs. South, city vs. country, technology vs. nature--are numerous and have been well documented in 20th century literature. Progress contrasts sharply with rooted cultural beliefs and practices. Personalities and mentalities about life, power and change differ considerably between worlds... worlds that supposed-intellectuals from the West would classify as "modern" and "backwards," respectively. When these two worlds collide, the differences--and the danger--rise significantly. This discrepancy between the old and the new is one of the principal themes of Gloria Naylor's Mama Day. The interplay between George, Ophelia and Mama Day shows the discrepancies between a "modern" style of thinking and one born of spirituality and religious beliefs. Dr. Buzzard serves as a weak bridge between these two modes of thought. In Mama Day, the Westernized characters fail to grasp the power of the Willow Springs world until it is too late. "When I was just out of school I worked with a team of engineers in redesigning a nozzle for a nuclear steam turbine generator... It was an awesome machine... And when it ran... lighting up every home in New York, a feeling radiated through the pit of my stomach as if its nerve endings were connected to each of those ten million light bulbs. That was power. But the winds coming around the corners of that house was God" (251). George's experience in the hurricane is just one example of the contrasts between technology and spirituality. George ardently believes that every problem can be solved with rational thinking, planning and plenty of hard work. His obsession with fixing the bridge after the hurricane further illustrates this point; despite assurances from Mama Day and Dr. Buzzard that the bridge would be built in its own time, George diligently pushes the townsfolk beyond their capacity to work. His behavior surrounding the bridge--not to mention the boat he tries to mend--is bas ed on his desire to save Ophelia from a strange illness. He ignores the advice and guidance of Mama Day and plunges into the crisis through rational means. Ultimately, he loses his own life when saving his beloved wife, though George never understands how or why. Dr. Buzzard had warned him that "A man would have grown enough to know that really believing in himself means that he ain't gotta be afraid to admit there's some things he can't do alone" (292).

Huck Finn :: essays research papers

The truth has withstood the test of time. Since the beginning of time the search for truth has plagued humankind. It has caused man to travel to distant lands, to fight one another, and to gain knowledge in its search. It is this truth that will unlock the door that has stood between man and the discovery of his true purpose and innermost self. Man searches for the truth not only for himself but to help benefit society as a whole. The truth teases humankind and implores him to bring it to light, yet the closer he gets the more confusing it becomes. It is because of this search that society has come to develop its ethics as well as the rules and standards for morality. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a novel written by Mark Twain. This book is very controversial and has even be deemed immoral by some members of society. One particular character that some have said is immoral is Huck Finn. But is he? In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain the character of Huck can be seen as a moral person who grows through his actions and experiences both on land and in the river, even though his actions might go against the set standards of society.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Huck is a moral person at the beginning of the novel before he begins his journey on the river. The character of Huck can be seen as subdued in the beginning of the novel. Huck has not let out his true self and it is important to understand this point that Mark Twain tries to get across. This is so important because at this point Huck is conforming to society and following all the standards and guidelines which it has set. The moral correctness of his actions are not questionable. The character who represents society and its views is Widow Douglas, and it is to her that Huck conforms. While on land at the beginning Huck is taken captive by Pap, his estranged father. Huck then starts to see another side of society. When Huck is captured by Pap he is upset because he does not like his father and would rather stay with Widow Douglas. As time goes on Huck begins to enjoy being away from Widow Douglas and the rules of society. Huck begins to feel a sense of discovery and true freedom, but what he does not see is that Pap also represents society.

Islam, Christianity, Judaism: Compared Essay

In the past decade, Muslims have been in the front pages of newspapers for militancy, from Palestinian intifadah (uprising) in the West Bank to Hezbollah’s armed warfare against the Israeli military forces. The most dramatic being the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States by the Al Qaeda. This attack later on spawned â€Å"suicide† bombings in London, Indonesia and elsewhere around the globe. To date, the Al Qaeda remains active albeit possibly weakened and its leaders on the run. Its alleged associate groups such as the Jemaah Islamiya (in Indonesia) and Abu Sayyaf (in the Philippines) also remains active and continue to battle government forces in their respective countries. The Taliban continue their armed resistance in Afghanistan where they once held the reins of government. Undoubtedly, it is their faith that fuels the militancy of these groups. Whatever political motivations they may have in their struggle is underpinned and premised on their religious beliefs. Islam, Christianity, Judaism: Compared Judaism, Christianity and Islam claim to be monotheistic and worship one God. They claim a common ancestry through Abraham and share the prophetic tradition through Moses and the prophets. They all believe in angels and angelic activity in behalf of man. They believe in divine revelation and the last judgment. All adopt laces of worship and teaching, Judaism the Synagogue, Christianity the Church and Islam the Mosque. They place a heavy emphasis on prayer and hold special weekly days of worship, Judaism the Sabbath, Christians the Lord’s Day (or Sunday) and Islam the day of Salat (or Friday). (A Christian Comparison With and Evaluation of Islam, 2007). With these similarities, where lies the source of militancy and steadfastness of the Muslim mujahideen and jihadists? Why would a devout Muslim sacrifice himself in bombing military and civilian targets? The main area of theological difference pertains to the Christians’ (particularly the Catholics) concept of Holy Trinity. Christians see God has having three persons – God the Father, God the Son (or Jesus Christ) and the Holy Spirit. On the other hand, Muslims and Jews are simple monotheists and believe in one God, called Allah and Yahweh respectively. Both the Jews and Muslims see Jesus as man and not God but they differ in perceiving the significance of Jesus’ life. To the Jews, Jesus was an ordinary Jew (not divine) who crucified for claiming to be the Messiah. Muslims also see Jesus as a human (not divine) but that he was a prophet, a messenger of God (Qur’an, 5:17; as cited in Comparison Table between Christianity, Islam and Judaism, 2007). Furthermore, Muslims say that Jesus was not crucified, but was raised to Heaven by Allah (Qur’an, 4:157 – 158; as cited in Comparison Table between Christianity, Islam and Judaism, 2007). In addition, the Holy Spirit is also seen differently. It is a divine power given to the prophets according to the Jews. Muslims view the Holy Spirit identical with the Angel Gabriel who came to give God’s message to Muhammad. Comparison Table between Christianity, Islam and Judaism, 2007) Islam: An Overview Islam is a monotheistic religion that originated from the teachings of Muhammad. The word Islam means totally surrendering oneself to Allah (God). The word Islam is derived from the Arabic aslama which means to accept, surrender or submit. Its fundamental theological concept is that there is only one God (Allah). (Islam, 2007) An adherent or believer of Islam is known as a Muslim. Islam originated in Arabia in the early seventh century. At around this time, Muhammad had begun to proselytize. As of today, there are two major denominations of Islam, namely the Sunni and the Shi’a (or Shiite). The schism took place in the seventh century on the issue of rightful succession in the religious and political leadership of the Muslim community. Islam instructs that all faiths essentially have one common message: the existence of a Supreme Being, the one and only God. It teaches that God’s Sovereignty must acknowledged in worship and in the pledge to obey His teaching and commandments. These teachings and commandments are conveyed through His messengers and prophets who were sent at various times and in many places throughout history. (Zahid, 2004) In this regard, Muslim’s believe that God delivered his final message for humanity to Muhammad through the angel Gabriel. Muhammad is a prophet. He is man and not a god although being a prophet, he is closest to perfection of man. (Islam, 2007) Muslims believe that some prophets, even though human, are able to perform miracles to prove their claim of being messengers of God. In this light, Muslims consider Jesus as just one in the long line of prophets since Adam. The central religious text of Islam is the Qur’an that was written down by Muhammad’s companions while he was still alive. Nevertheless, the Muslims believe that the Qur’an is not simply holy scripture; it is the holy word of God. Hence, the words and meaning of God’s message can best be understood in Arabic, the language of Muhammad. Also, Muslims all over learn to recite portions of the Qur’an in its original language. (Islam: A Worldwide Religion and Its Impact in Southeast Asia, 2007) Qur’an literally means â€Å"recitation†. While the Christian Bible has been translated into as many languages as possible, the Muslims see differently. Any translation is simply considered as a commentary or interpretation of the Qur’an due to language differences and fallibility of the translators. It is also impossible to preserve the original’s inspired (by God) style. A supplement to the Qur’an is the Hadith (meaning â€Å"reports†). The Hadith is a complete and authentic record of the life of Muhammad. It recounts his words, actions and personal characteristics. (Zahid, 2004) Muslims are encouraged to emulate Muhammad in their daily life. They are to follow the Sunnah (literally, â€Å"trodden path†), Muhammad’s normative example. Five Pillar of Islam Obligatory actions are required of Muslims and these are collectively called the Five Pillars of Islam. Cline (2007) wrote, â€Å"Unlike Christianity, Islam is founded on orthopraxy (right action) rather than orthodoxy (right belief)†. The Five Pillars are ritual acts of worship. These were ordained in the Qur’an as a means to discipline humanity to remember God constantly. (Zahid, 2004) First is the declaration of faith or shahadah. This is expressed in the statement â€Å"Ash-hadu anla ilaha illal-Lahu Wahdahu la Sharika Lahu wa-ash-hadu anna Muhammadan abduhu wa rasuluhu†. The English translation is â€Å"I bear witness that there is none worthy of worship except Allah, the One, without any partner. And I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and His Messenger†. (Shahadah: Declaration of Faith, 2007) Second is prayer or salat. This is offered five times a day because the prayers cannot be said all at the same time. As a result, they create a rhythm that structures a Muslim’s day. Prayers are to be recited at fajr (after dawn but before sunrise), duhr (early afternoon till late afternoon), ‘asr (later afternoon till sunset), maghrib (just after sunset), isha (late evening till late at night). The prayers are recited in the Arabic language. They consist of verses from the Qur’an. The third pillar is alms-giving or zakat. In Islam, man holds wealth as a trust from God. As trustee, possessions must be used wisely including sharing with the unfortunate. In practice, Muslims are required to annually give a fixed amount of excess personal assets for the benefit of the poor, the sick and the welfare of the community. Zahid (2004) calls this â€Å"purification of wealth†. Sharing, through zakat, becomes an act of purifying not just the wealth but also the giver for having disciplined oneself against greed through selflessness. Fourth is fasting or sawm. The fourth pillar actually refers to self-purification through fasting. Every Muslim fasts from sunrise to sunset during Ramadan, the ninth month of the Muslim lunar calendar. It involves abstinence from eating, drinking, smoking and marital intercourse. Sawm is a reminder of the believers’ dependence on God as well as their kinship with others who involuntarily fast due to lack of food or its unjust distribution. (Zahid, 2004) The last pillar is piligrimage or hajj. All Muslim should undertake a pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in their life. The hajj is a ritual to create a single community out of the diversity of the believers. Hence, ten kilometers away from Mecca, all pilgrims are required to wear the same clothing, which consists of two white seamless sheets.

Cultural Differences Paper “Driving Miss Daisy” Essay

There are many ways that the movie â€Å"Driving Miss Daisy† portrays cultural issues. There are a number of scenes in the film in which different cultural issues are described and in which racial issues are prominent. It is important to note that the movie is set in 1948 in Atlanta, Georgia. According to Edward Hall there is a reality that everyone lives in that is a particular reality as there are a number of reasons for which this occurs but mainly it is because we are looking through our own reality as though it were a screen. There are a number of cultural issues that are dealt with in the film, â€Å"Driving Miss Daisy† and through this film and looking at Edward Hall’s beliefs on the issue there a number of examples that can be noted. According to Geert Hofstede’s there are five dimensions of cultural patterns. These dimensions are most commonly used in international business but can be adapted to everyday life situations as well. These five patterns include the following: (1) low vs. high power distance (the way that those who are in power interact, meaning between those who are on the low end of the spectrum and have little power to those who are on the high end of the spectrum and have a lot of power), (2) individualism vs. collectivism (this is the extent to which one is able to stand up for himself or expects others around him or those who are part of his group to stand up for him), (3) masculinity vs femininity (this is the association with traits that are generally thought to be gender biased), (4) uncertainty avoidance (when someone tries their hardest to avoid any uncertainty and takes special precautions in order to do so), and (5) long vs short term orientation (this is the standard by which something is measured as in whether or not it is in the long term or in the short term). Each of these areas can be explored through the movie, â€Å"Driving Miss Daisy. † Cultural Identity— Each person has the ability to have an identity. The different social groups, structures and classes that each person fits in with and feels a connection to is an example of their cultural identity. This identity makes each person whom they are and continues to give each person a reason to look for a particular group or a particular culture with which to identify. In the beginning of the movie as Daisy is refusing a driver this is again because of a screen that she is seeing herself through. She believes that if she has a driver that she should be embarrassed. This is because she thinks that there is either going to be a problem where others think of her as very wealthy or they will know her embarrassment of being too old to drive. In this aspect of the film, Daisy is fighting hard against being associated as being part of the aging crowd or so it could be examined through Hall’s theory. This is also an example of Hofstede’s ideas on uncertainty avoidance. This is because Daisy is so uncertain of what will happen when she loses her power to drive. This would mean that she would not be able to come and go as she pleases and that she would not be able to just jump in her car and drive and see friends or to go to the store to grab that last forgotten item. In a way this is so much more important in this situation than it is with other issues as the aging process is one that is hard enough without all of the added dilemmas and problems. So the idea that Daisy is having such a hard time with the aging process should not be a surprise to those who are around them. Another area of culture that is seen in this movie is the culture of the aging. Through Hall’s theory Daisy thinks that she is okay to drive at the beginning of the movie but her son is sure that she needs a driver and that she is not going to be able to drive on her own as there were too many problems with her driving in the past and she was unable to keep her driver’s license. Towards the end of the movie her driver has aged and is no longer able to drive either which makes for an interesting plot as he attempts to take taxi cabs to visit her while she is in the nursing home. While she is in the nursing home it is noted in the movie through character dialogue that Daisy has good days and bad days and when she is having bad days it is hard to connect with her. This could be a way of being able to look at the orientation of the individual as looked at by Hofstede. As Daisy is having problems with losing her identity and losing her ability to communicate as well as she used to she is having a harder time with her orientation and being able to be oriented to the present rather than issues from the past. Cultural Bias— A cultural bias is where one culture is favored over another. Therefore the culture that is favored has an advantage in all areas where concerned. This is because there are a number of different areas in which the culture with the advantage is able to take advantage of the situations and make things easier for their cultural or their beliefs and harder on those whom they disagree or can not connect with. In one scene Daisy truly begins to see the racism that has been around her. She is being taken by Hoke to her brother’s party in Mobile, Alabama. While she is on the trip with Hoke she begins to realize how differently people view him and how he is treated just because he is African American. This is something that she has previously been blind to as she was a very open and accepting individual. Again this is an example of how Hall’s theory has affected Daisy as she has been looking at things from a different perspective than before. This overt racism is a part of the ideas that have been passed down from generation to generation. This is an example of what Hofstede referred to as low vs high power as the racial issues are typically interacted between those who are in low or high power at the time. In this way the lower power race is the African Americans while the higher powered race is the white Americans. Another area of the movie that explores racial issues looks at the many problems that Daisy has faced herself being a Jew. She also realizes at one point, after her synagogue is bombed that she is treated differently too. Through the relationships and beliefs in the movie many different issues involving racism are explored. This movie is able to look at cultural issues and serious issues with racial injustice from a different perspective than other films have done as it was from two different view points, both who were being prejudiced against but in different ways. Again this has been looked at a few different times in the movies and it is again a power struggle between those who have less power and those who have more power. Cultural Patterns— There are many different cultural patterns that can be seen in the movie, â€Å"Driving Miss Daisy. † These patterns include that there are a number of different areas in which there are ways that the cultural identity of a person is considered to be either a negative or a positive trait. The problem is that there is off a miscommunication and a lack of connection between the two. There were a lot of scenes in the movie where there were times when the characters were involved in areas that were necessary for interactions. Verbal and Non-verbal Intercultural Communication— Throughout the movie, â€Å"Driving Miss Daisy† there is a number of different areas of communication. There are times when the communication is done through spoken dialogue while other times the communication is in a look or gesture that is done between two different characters. Each of these type of communication play an important role in the overall communication process and in how a character is able to communicate with another in one way or another. One example of Hall’s theory is the interaction between Miss Daisy and her driver, Hoke Colburn. She believes that she is better than him and that she should be able to have him do what she wishes. This is because the story takes place at a time when African Americans were only known to be servants or slaves to white Americans. Through her screen or her perspectives as they were taught to her, Daisy has been taught in her culture and during this time period that she is above these other citizens and that they are not equal to her. This is a common misconception among many individuals when cultural issues are concerned as there is often a time period where the individual has feelings or thoughts on a subject purely based on what they have learned. After some time however Daisy’s mind is changed about Hoke and she believes him to be a true friend to her, she even tells him that he is her best friend. There was another scene in the movie where an Alabama state trooper sees the two of them driving off together and he states â€Å"An old nigger and an old Jew woman takin’ off down the road together†¦that is one sorry sight! † This just goes to show the overall perceptions of reality in particular areas (the area in the South where Daisy is from) and the time period that they are living in. Through communication it can also be obvious which parts of the communication are through a group effort or group opinion and which ones are that of an individual. This is shown in many areas where racism is occurring in the movie. For example when the synagogue was attacked it was a sign that there was a group of individuals who did not like the idea of being a Jew. Hofstede’s theory would look at these issues and why there were times when this racism was prevalent on an individual basis and there were times when it was based on a group basis or a group effort. Conclusion— In conclusion the movie, â€Å"Driving Miss Daisy† touched on a lot of cultural issues having to do with age and race. This movie is about a growing relationship between an elderly woman and her driver and their amazing bond that they have which helps them to each see and understand a number of things about themselves, their culture, their heritage, and the overall connection between a social group.

Ilm M3.01 Solving Problems and Making Decisions

ILM management Course Shaun Barratt Work based assignment:M3. 01 Problem Solving The Joint Service for Disabled Children is a partnership developed by Enfield’s Children’s trust. It comprises specialist, inclusive, voluntary, health and education services to support and promote opportunities for all disabled children and their families in Enfield. The service is open to any disabled children and young people who have significant global delay, autism or life threatening conditions under the age of 18. In my role as inclusion development manager I am responsible for enabling disabled children and young people to access mainstream activities of their choice within the borough. I provide the resources, staff and training for any universal activity to support identified disabled children. This ensures that all disabled children and their families are supported to take part in and enjoy local community life, whenever possible using local childcare facilities, leisure and recreational activities. I am also part of the management team tasked with generating new ideas to improve the lives of disabled children and their families. It is this role that we were presented with the following problem – Significant numbers of parents have presented to the service requesting over night respite (essentially a night away for their child at a recognised respite provider). The cost of over night short breaks (respite) is highly significant in the services overall budget, far in excess of any other service we provide, and even a small increase would put a huge strain on resources. Far more cost effective is to build support mechanisms around the child and family in their own homes. This is done by building packages of support which provide short breaks but without the huge cost of outside provider overnights. So in order to understand this issue more we firstly needed to ascertain what it was about the overnight breaks which were so appealing and see if we could find another possible solution. We decided to utilise our parent’s forum to generate ideas. Understandably this generated a wide array of reasons for why parents valued over nights so highly, however there were significant threads and themes which consistently appeared and by far the most significant was that a high proportion of parents identified the need for a full night sleep, something they are unable to achieve due to being disturbed by their disabled child. In addition when asked about factors which significantly affect their quality of life sleep deprivation was one of the most significant factors right across the spectrum of need and demographic. There is a wealth of evidence to support the notion that sleep problems are far higher in the disabled population than in mainstream families (Pahl and Quine 2004) The service holds an away day twice a year and part of the session was given to a brain storming session around the issue of sleep problems and what we as a service should do to address them. By involving the team in this process this will ensure that any ideas generated will have team ownership. A number of ideas were put forward, but by consensus there were four areas which were felt were appropriate responses to the issue of demand for increase in over night provision. [pic] The first option was for the team to think more laterally in terms of what we offer to parents. This could be done by identifying key areas in the day that parents were struggling with and identify additional support during these times. This could be around bed times and waking times etc. nd in turn offering parents more support to recharge batteries through offering additional short breaks (a short break is an activity such as playschemes or after school groups etc). Another solution would be to analyse what the service is spending in other areas and cut other budgets significantly to fund additional overnights and in a similar vein to task the team with finding more cost effective over night breaks by opening up to tender to find possible other cheaper providers. The final and most popular idea was to offer some form of sleep counselling to enable parents to gain back control of this part of their lives through behaviour management and support to change their child’s sleep habits. A simple decision making grids illustrates how this might meet the main areas of need as identified by the parents. Decision making model Criteria |Offer more diverse |Sleep intervention |Offer increased over |Find cheaper over night | | |respite |program |night respite |options | |Cost |( |( | |( | |effective | | | | | |Parental approval |( |( |( | | |Long term sustainability| |( | | | |Improved sleep | |( |( |( | |opportunities in short | | | | | |term | | | | | |Improved sleep in the | |( | | | |long term | | | | | Intuitively the sleep intervention program is an appropriate response as it directly responds to the parents need for their sleep deprivation to be addressed. It’s more sustainable than the others and it’s focussed on the area identified and not just fire fighting and therefore a potentially proactive way of working which is easier for staff to identify with. It’s cost effective with just the initial outlay and staff counselling time. Its solution focussed with clear parameters on intervention times. Parents will hopefully support something which gives them a long term solution to their problem and not just a short term solution which is offered by overnights. A potential sleep programme training course was identified which would involve five members of staff being identified to be trained to become sleep counsellors. They would work directly with the parents and enable the arents to change bedtime routines and behaviours in order to improve sleep patterns in the child. Before presenting to the joint service steering group we carried out an SWOT analysis to anticipate issues which may be raised in the presentation. SWO T analysis of sleep program Please see appendix (1) The use of a SWOT analysis provides a methodical and honest assessment of our services strengths and weaknesses for carrying out a defined sleep program. It will also expose threats which may pose a threat to its sustainability and opportunities afforded by the process. The objective of the analysis is to ascertain whether the sleep program is a viable affordable, sustainable response to the need for a sleep intervention process. Strengths in more detail The major strength of the programme when functioning to its potential is its affordability and sustainability. Even a minor reduction in over night’s expenditure will see the program more than pay for itself. The initial outlay of training could be offset against respite savings. The difficulty is that preventative work is difficult to quantify and illustrate as it hasn’t happened, but a reduction in the number of looked after children may be used as a key indicator. The program clearly tackles the root cause of the presenting problem; whereas overnights give short term relief to parents the sleep problem itself is still there in the future. There is plenty of evidence to suggest that improved sleep is positively correlated with improved cognitive performance (The national Sleep Foundation 2004) This would also have significant impact on incidences of challenging behaviours, reducing it dramatically (Green et al 2010) and better quality of life indexes for parents of disabled children (Prosper, Mard and Beecham 2011), both of which could act as markers for the success of the program. The practical applications of a sleep program can be applied to other complimentary areas of work (Sleep Scotland 2001) such as home care and other counselling conditions. Weaknesses in more detail Identification of our weaknesses needed to be done as constructively as possible with no blame or finger pointing, however several key points emerged The first is can the staff hours be found to sustain a sleep program? How can we illustrate that time spent in the program will in the long term reduce hours in other areas. Have the current staff gr oup the necessary communication skills to make effective counsellors? As the sleep service grows there will become a need for additional staff time, resources as well as someone to coordinate the service administer the service and manage the new counsellors. A fundamental question is it possible for the recruitment process to reflect the need for new workers to potentially add to the service. Marketing and branding are also time consuming as the service grows. All these growth factors had to be factored in to produce a long term picture Opportunities in more depth There are opportunities to offer the counselling service to outside agencies with a cost attached. There is no other comparable service within the borough so this is a viable option. This could help in sustaining the service or even to expand it. The publicity afforded of a proactive response to significant and widespread sleep problems, identified by the parents of Enfield themselves, will help put the service in a positive light. This in turn will help our cause when decisions on future cuts are made. This is in turn compliments the move politically for parents to have more control over their lives. Pro active approaches are also always easier to â€Å"sell† to staff by addressing the cause rather than fire fighting the effects. In its favour additional funding streams are available to those ideas generated and supported by parents and children. More effective use of money and resources will also appeal to stakeholders. The positive outcomes of a sleep program such as improved concentration of children resulting in a reduction of incidences of challenging behaviour, and increased educational achievement is going to appeal to a number of partners, which may influence them to invest. Finally and most importantly, an effective service will put less pressure on other related services resulting in economies for the stakeholders Threats in more depth The current economic climate is going to have a huge bearing on the success or otherwise of the project. Given this there is a danger that parents may interpret this as a cost cutting measure around over nights. Parents may still need overnights despite intervention making it a costly additional service. Research needs to be carried to ensure their isn’t a larger service such as MENCAP that can deliver the sleep service more economically. Does the political economic downturn means that projects which offer projected savings are less attractive than short term cuts to services? In order for the service to grow future training opportunities are essential, is this going to be viable when it’s acknowledged that the first budgets to be reduced are training budgets. Are the funding streams used currently likely to remain as further cuts are deemed necessary? Will the outlay of intense training be viable if staff retention is problematic? Could collaborative efforts for example coordinating approaches with medical interventions i. e. use of melatonin in conjunction with psychological interventions be more cost effective? Inter agency working is essential for the sleep program to succeed, is the communication system robust enough for multi agency support? Will cuts mean only front line services that are statutory in nature be preferred over seemingly peripheral services such as a sleep counselling service? Will elements of the service be put out to tender and is this likely to be picked up in this? Given the threats outlined by the swot analysis it is clear that in order to present a convincing case to our steering group it is necessary to present an outline and costing for how the service might develop. The main objective would be could we illustrate the effectiveness of the sleep program as an intervention? Could we illustrate parental satisfactions as a response to sleep issues? Therefore we identified a diverse number of partners to carry out a pilot project. With it being multi agency the strain on any one service could be portrayed as manageable. The SWOT analysis illustrated that there are major potential benefits to partner agencies so there involvement and investment was essential. We would carry out analysis of the success or otherwise of a sleep clinic with a small number of parents from diverse backgrounds. They would be asked to fill in a number of satisfaction questionnaires prior to and after the intervention. Feedback on behavioural changes from a previously obtained baseline would be obtained from partner agencies involved ie schools. We would need to highlight circumstances when the intervention could have most benefit i. e. care plans in child protection cases, complex issue children or families in other types of crisis. All of these will have great appeal to senior management teams. After the pilot parents and senior management would be invited to a presentation of the results. An exercise would be given to the parents whereby they become budget holders. They would be â€Å"given† the money that they are entitled to for their children. They would then be given the costs of all services available to them. By this means parents will be able to see for themselves the cost effectiveness of the intervention and the huge costs of over night respite. They would be empowered to know how they could have a substantial package of support around them for the cost of very few overnights. The issue of sleep programs would be shown to be a very cost effective tool in obtain a good nights sleep. Finally the sleep clinic team would present to all partner agency staff. Cascading of skills would be essential and appeals for constructive critisism of the scheme could be made. Essentially there has to be a selling process and ownership of the service throughout the joint service. If it is then a viable option we would meet with managers to move the project forward!!! Appendix 1 |Strengths |weaknesses | |(i) Affordability and sustainability |(i) Is there sufficient availability of staff to undertake the | |(ii) Tackles root cause of presenting problem |training | |(iii) Cognitive improvements as a result of better quality |(ii) Staff skilled enough to communicate at the highest level |sleep |in order to make venture successful | |(iv) Improved Staff skills set |(iii) Who has time to coordinate project? | |(v) cascading of skills will appeal to budget holders |(iv) Therapeutic change can be time consuming | |(vi) reduction in aggressive incidences which are as a direct |(v) Does recruitment reflect the need for these particular | |result of sleep deprivation |skills? | |(vii) additional resource to offer families in crisis child |(vi) Who is going to marke t and brand the service? |protection etc |(vii) Need for administrator and stats holder | |(viii) a new approach to empowering parents to enable them to | | |take control of their own lives | | |opportunities |Threats | |(i) Outsourcing counselling service to other agencies if proved|(i) Parents may interpret this as a cost cutting measure around| |successful |over nights | |(ii) Response to significant and widespread sleep problems |(ii) Parents may still need overnights despite intervention | |identified by the parents of Enfield themselves |making it costly additional service | |(iii) Above (ii) compliments the move politically for parents |(iii) Could a larger organisation undercut the sleep service? |to have more control over their lives |(iv) political economic downturn means | |(iv) addressing the cause rather than fire fighting the effects|(1) long term savings options less attractive than short term | |(v) Additional funding streams are available to those ideas |cuts | |generated and supported by parents and children |(2) Training budgets are the first to be cut when money is | |(vi) More effective of money and resources will appeal to |tight – threat to future growth | |stakeholders |(3) Service once offered will need to grow to meet need is this| |Improved concentration of children and young people resulting |viable? |in a reduction of incidences of challenging behaviour, and |(4) Are there more cost effective services already in existence| |increased educational achievement |that that Enfield could tap into instead | |An effective service will put less pressure on other related | | |services | | ———————– Need for more overnights and better quality of sleep Increase in overnights by moving other budgets Offer diverse options to support parents in coping Support parents in managing their sleep Seek out cheaper respite units

To what extent has the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR’s) case law recognised and protected the right not to be discriminated against on the ground of sexual orientation, in relation to marriage.

Abstract There has been much discussion as to whether the ECHR’s attempts to recognise and protect the right not to be discriminated against on the ground of sexual orientation have been successful. This is because, although the UK has in recent years made positive changes towards the equality of same-sex couples, discrimination is still prevalent in many other countries. This study aims to identify the extent to which such discrimination still exists and consider how effective the ECHR has been in preserving these rights. Introduction It will be examined the extent to which the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR’s) case law has recognised and protected the right not to be discriminated against on the ground of sexual orientation. This will be examined in respect of same-sex marriages and by considering whether same-sex couples are still being discriminated against or whether the ECHR has been successful in helping to protect the interests of such couples. Various case law of the ECHR will be examined and a review of the academic literature in this area will be conducted. These will be acquired by accessing relevant text books, journal articles, online databases and governmental reports. Once all the applicable information has been gathered an appropriate conclusion will then be drawn demonstrating that the ECHR has made significant attempts to protect the rights of individuals when it comes to their sexual orientation. However, it will be demonstrated that whilst this has proven successful in the UK, othe r countries are still reluctant to employ the ECHR’s approach. Literature Review The Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013 came into force on the 13 March 2014 to legalise same sex marriages as this was previously prohibited under section 11 (c) of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973. This prohibited led to much debate and controversy for a number of years as it was felt that same-sex couples were being discriminated against and that their right to equality, as provided for under Article 14 of the European Convention of Human Rights 1951 (ECHR), as incorporated by the Human Rights Act 1998, was being violated. This controversy occurred regardless of the fact that civil partnerships were introduced under the Civil Partnership Act 2004 since it was still being argued that same-sex couples entering into a civil partnership were not provided with the same rights and responsibilities as heterosexual couples under a civil marriage. Inequality therefore still existed as the status of marriage was not capable of being acquired by same-sex couples. This was considered highly d etrimental and it was argued by Francoz-Terminal that; â€Å"if at one time homosexuality was considered as a choice that implied no procreation, nowadays legal systems have had to face a new factual reality.†[1] This highlights the importance of equality and it seems as though there has never been more of a pressing need for the provisions contained in the ECHR to be implemented. Not all agree that same sex-couples should have been permitted to marry rather than merely enter into a civil partnership, yet because of the increasing recognition of same-sex couples in many European countries it was evident that the permitting of gay marriages have been relevant when discussing reforms in England and Wales.†[2] There was clearly a pressing need for reform in this area since the 2004 Act had proven ineffective in providing same-sex couples with equal rights to heterosexual couples when it came to marriage. Nevertheless, whilst it was argued by some that civil partnerships were simply marriages under a different name, this was not entirely true. This is because the equal rights and responsibilities that were given to heterosexual couples were not being given to same-sex couples. For example, same sex couples were not allowed to get married in a church or other religious on the basis that these types of places are prohibited from conducting civil partnership ceremonies under the law. This was considered highly unfair given that some ministers were willing to marry same-sex couples; however they were prevented doing so by law. Modern beliefs that all people should be treated equally were therefore not being ascertained and all of the traditional views of marriage were upheld. Not all agree with the new changes, however, as churches can still refuse to marry same sex-couples which leaves same-sex couples open to further discrimination.[3] Yet, it is believed that the law should not restrict a person’s choice and that churches ministers should still have the ability to choose whether or not they would like to marry same-sex couples. This provides a fairer system overall because although some churches will permit same-sex marriages whilst others will not, the fact that marriages can be conducted in churches in the first place is a major step forward.[4] The debate as to whether same-sex marriages should be permitted has been going on for some time, and the courts have attempted to protect an individual’s right not to be discriminated against on grounds of sexual orientation on marriage. In The Attorney General for Ontario v M and H[5] it was held by the court that; â€Å"provincial governments are to take legislative action to ensure that individuals in same-sex relationships are afforded equal treatment with others in marriage-like relationships.† Regardless of these views, it wasn’t until the ECHR began to recognise such rights that Parliament decided to take action. In Schalk v. Kopf v. Austria[6] it was made clear by the ECHR that; â€Å"a failure by a state to allow same-sex couples to marry amounted to a violation of the article 12 right to marry.† This decision highlighted the need to make amendments to section 11 (c) of the 1973 Act so that same-sex couples were not being discriminated against on the basis of their sexual orientation when it came to marriage. It was quite surprising when the 2013 Act was implemented given the widespread concerns that existed and as put by Norrie; â€Å"the trouble with gay and lesbian people is that they are never satisfied. Give them a crumb and they want a slice of bread. Give them a slice of bread and they want a full meal.†[7] Nevertheless, although changes were made under the 2004 Act to provide same sex couples with equal rights to heterosexual couples, the ECHR did not believe that this went far enough and still found that discrimination subsisted. It could be said that civil ceremonies were the same as marriages, yet because the nature of the ceremonies were different as well as the rights that were provided to married couples, it was clear that further changes were needed if complete equality was to be attained. It was argued by Eireann that the 2004 Act was akin to marriage in that it allowed same-sex couples to â€Å"formally declare their allegiance to each other, register their partnership and commit themselves to a range of duties and responsibilities.†[8] On the other hand, because equality of choice and opportunity was removed from same-sex couples, their rights under the ECHR were not being fully recognised[9], which is why drastic changes to the law were implemented in 2013. Whether all 47 countries will follow the ECHR’s decision in Schalk is questionable[10], given the political backlash that some countries will be subjected to. Although the ECHR is of the view that same-sex marriages should be permit ted, they are also aware of the fact that not everyone agrees with this position. As a result, they made it clear in their judgment that the choice to marry same-sex couples should still remain with the minister conducting the ceremony and that the rights of ministers should also be upheld.[11] Therefore, whilst it is important that the rights to equality are being maintained when it comes to the marriage of same-sex couples, it is also important that the rights of ministers not to be discriminated against if they choose not to marry such couples are also preserved. The ECHR has made great attempts to recognise and protect the rights of individuals not to be discriminated against on grounds of sexual orientation over the years, which is enunciated in various case law decisions. An example of this can be seen in the Niemietz v Germany[12] case where it was made clear that the right to a private life under Article 8 of the ECHR included the right to establish relationships with other human beings regardless as to whether they were of the same sex or not. Therefore, the fact that there were laws against same-sex marriages demonstrated that the right to a private life under this Article was also being violated. This was also identified in Bensaid v United Kingdom[13] where the court held that â€Å"gender identification, name and sexual orientation and sexual life† were all capable of protection under Article 8. Arguably, the ECHR has been a pioneer for same-sex relationships for some time and has clearly made significant attempts to eradicat e discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. In Mata Estevez v Spain[14] the Court held that same-sex relationships could be protected by the right to respect for private life, although it was held that homosexual relationships could not be protected by the right to a family life. However, this has since been resolved in the Schalk case above. The Schalk case is a major development within this area of the law, yet because many states have not yet legalised the marriage of same-sex couples it is manifest that the development of this area does remain ongoing. It remains to be seen what changes, if any will be made by other Member States because although this was a positive decision inferences were not drawn by the Court. This leads to confusion as to whether puzzling all States should follow suit and as has been noted; â€Å"the door may have been unlocked but remains closed (or half open) for now?†[15] Consequently, even though same sex marriages are now being permitted in the UK, inequality will still exist by the ability for ministers to refuse to marry same-sex couples. Whether this will ever be changed is doubtful since all individuals still have the right to freedom of belief and religion under Article 9 of the ECHR. Hence, there will still be many churches that will refuse to allow such marriages to take place, yet nothing can be done to stop this as this too will result in a violation of human rights. At present an attempt to strike a balance between these competing interests has been made and it is unlikely that discrimina tion on the grounds of sexual orientation with regards to marriage will ever be fully eradicated. Still, the rights same-sex couples have to marry has increased substantially over the years, though there will continue to be different views in relation to the acceptance of such marriages by society. Every person has a right to have an opinion and by forcing ministers to conduct same-sex marriages would seriously contravene. In addition to the UK, Belgium, the Netherlands and Canada, also allow same-sex marriages to be conducted, which demonstrates the movement that is being made towards achieving greater equality across the globe. This is believed highly desirable and as noted by the court in Fourie and Another v Minister of Home Affairs and Others;[16] â€Å"the limitation of marriage to opposite sex couples was unconstitutional.† Same-sex marriages should therefore be recognised in all countries as societal views are continuously changing and same-sex couples are starting to become the â€Å"norm.† It is questionable whether this will be implemented by all and as stressed by Herring; â€Å"the tensions between the traditional family ideal of what a family should be like and the realities of family life today indicate that family law is quite different from family law 30 years ago and where family law will be in 30 years time is hard to predict.†[17] Now that same-sex couples are able to marry under the 2013 Act, such couples are now able to claim a family status. This is necessary given that there is â€Å"no institution of a de facto family† as pointed out in McD v L & Another.[1 8] It is thus in the best interests of a child to be served in a marriage-based family and because same-sex couples can adopt, it is necessary for them to be able to marry also; N and Another v Health Service Executive & Ors[19] Nevertheless, because same-sex marriages are not permitted in all countries, such as France, it cannot be said that the ECHR’s approaches have been completely successful. It was recognised by Francoz-Terminal that the emergence of same-sex families has been challenging for French Law, yet it has been said that the courts do actually seem prepared to meet these challenges.†[20] Attitudes towards same-sex marriages have changed considerably over the years and are likely to continue to do so until such marriages are considered a normal part of society. As a result, â€Å"the married family can no longer be assumed to be the near-universal institution of civil society it once was.†[21] Because of the changes that continue to be made within society, it is vital that the law is able to keep abreast with such changes which can be achieved by making sure individuals are not discriminated against on the basis of their sexual orientation. Conversely, it has been said that marriage is being undermined as a result of this,[22] yet the courts should not be able to interfere in one’s beliefs as shown in Burden and Burden v UK.[23] The right to marry is enshrined in human rights law and is thereby considered a â€Å"fundamental part of the freedom of the individual to form personal relationships according to his or her own inclination.†[24] Resultan tly, individuals should have the right to marry whoever they wish regardless as to whether they are of the same-sex or not, though it remains to be seen whether other European countries will adopt the same approach as the UK in protecting such rights. Conclusion Overall, it is evident that the ECHR has recognised the rights of same-same couples for a number of years and has made great attempts to recognise and protect the right not to be discriminated against on grounds of sexual orientation. Nevertheless, it is only recently that the UK has implemented changes to reflect the stance taken by the ECHR by enacting the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013. This Act makes it permissible for same sex couples to marry in religious settings. Although the Civil Partnership Act 2004 was said to provide similar rights, these were not considered enough and same-sex couples were still being subject to much discrimination. Since the 2013 Act was implemented, greater equality is now capable of being attained in the UK. The ECHR in Schalk is considered a major breakthrough in this area as this decision is what sparked the introduction of the new law. Nevertheless, because not all countries have followed the same approach as the UK, the ECHR still has some way to go in attaining equality for all. This is likely to prove difficult given the divergence of opinions that exist in this area, yet because the marriage of same-sex couples is becoming the ‘norm’, it is likely that other European countries will follow suit. The fact that ministers are able to choose whether or not to conduct same-sex marriages also ensures that their rights are also being protected. This maintains a balance between the rights of individuals not to be discriminated against on grounds of sexual orientation with the rights of belief and opinion. Bibliography Books Herring, J. Family Law, Longman, 4th Edition, (2009). Lowe, N. and Douglas, G. Bromley’s Family Law, OUP Oxford, 10th Edition, (2006). Probert, R., Family Law in England and Wales, Kluwer Law International, (2011). Standley, K. Family Law, Palgrave MacMillan, 7th Edition, (2010). Troyer, L. Church in Society, Xulon Press, (2011). 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Consensus is the Right Approach for the European Court of Human Rights, The Guardian, (12 August, 2010), Available [Online] at: http://www.guardian.co.uk/law/2010/aug/12/european-court-human-rights-consensus Cases Bensaid v United Kingdom (2001) 33 EHRR 205 Burden and Burden v UK [2008] All ER (D) 391, Application No 13378/05; (2008) 47 EHRR 857 Fourie and Another v Minister of Home Affairs and Others Application No. 56501/00, 10 May 2001 Niemietz v Germany (1992) 16 EHRR 97 Mata Estevez v Spain Application No. 56501/00, 10 May 2001 McD v L & Another [2009] IESC 81 N and Another v Health Service Executive & Ors [2006] I.E.S.C. 60 Schalk v. Kopf v. Austria [2010] ECHR 30141/04 (25 June 2010) The Attorney General for Ontario v M and H [1999] 2 SCR 3