The global recession and workplace malfeasance Essay

The global recession and workplace malfeasance - Essay Example nnot influence those with the opportunities to malfeasance in workplace as they are trying to maintain their jobs to reduce the impact of the global recession. Though there are media reports that there has been malfeasance in workplace, it has no clear evidence that the malfeasance is because of the economic downturns and company layoffs. The Times of London for example reports that job losses in the United States is directly linked to 58 fatalities of which 13 people were killed by a Vietnamese man who was later fired from his factory job; this does not prove it was because of the recession just because the crime was committed during that recession (35). The case proves that we can learn nothing from the business press; this is because the press does not present accurate information to the public but reports opposite of the real situations. A poll conducted among 400 employers asking whether recession has brought a recent rise in monetary theft among employees such as missing cash or fraudulent transaction showed that 18% said yes, 41% were unsure, and 41% said they had not. The poll results indicates that a small percentage of employers thought the employee theft is caused by the recession, but the business press reports that â€Å"Business Say Theft by Their Workers Is Up,† which is a complete opposite of the poll result thus we cannot learn from the business press. Regarding on how to be an informed consumer on business news, difficulty illustrations by OB help in the investigation by asking questions, analyzing situations, and considering the information source. This helps the consumers in critically thinking about problems and careful analysis of the same. Therefore, the chapter provides clues on OB issues that can inform the consumer (35). Individual privacy is violated when measurers, such as fingerprint scanner are put in all cash register to monitor what the employees do. Employees feel that their privacy is violated when every move he or she makes in

Trafficking and Prostitution Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4250 words

Trafficking and Prostitution - Essay Example As the report stresses feminist philosophy is a subject which has acquired much attention in the past decades regarding speculative arguments and practical politics. It is us who create and visualize differences, differences based upon characters and differences that emerge as if woman is entitled to a separate class. Despite these differences, feminist philosophers are able to gather and unite woman in a single perspective which in the vision of a philosophical mind is free of the misogyny and male bias that have characterized so much of Western philosophical tradition. Feminist philosophy’s challenge to this tradition has been the challenge of repairing the distortions, centring the marginalization, and valorizing what were once considered the trivial, if not invisible, facets of woman’s nature, woman’s knowledge, and woman’s happiness According to the report findings contemporary feminists believe that unless and until the feminist philosophers are free to attend towards women’s diversity, women will remain stereotyped by the same kinds of restrictive and historical paradigms as those advanced by traditional philosophy. Therefore, many feminist philosophers have not only researched women’s experience but have also advocated the exploration of the complexity and variety of women’s experience. It is through such exploration that women found themselves open to accept learning attitudes in context with their inner voices and morality differentiated by such features as race, class, and sexual preference. Critics say that by possessing such bold opinions, feminist lit hope to avoid the essentialism of claiming some single, immutable, and universal nature of 'Woman'. A 'Prostitute' Class Many feminists perceive prostitution to be among one of the classes in society. Pro-sex work feminist advocates believe that a 'free-sex' choice must be legally provided to the women for 'prostitution' is a profession after all and a woman possesses a right to choice. Feminists say that prostitutes are not only similar to other women in their society; they also possess a right to acquire the same rights as that of a

A Study On Special Events Management Management Essay

A Study On Special Events Management Management Essay This essay is aimed at addressing the aformentioned issue. In order to identify the skills and qualities that are of value to future leaders in special events management, the paper is first going to outline the scope of the profession. Next, the skills and traits that the leaders in special events management are expected to exhibit are going to be named. Then, the practical expectations of the employers in respect of these skills and competencies are going to be compared and contrasted with the theoretical concepts on leadership present in the subject literature. The conclusion is going to aggregate main points of the essay. First of all, it seems necessary to provide the definition of special events in order to establish the basis for greater understanding of what the managers and leaders in the field actually do. Shone and Parry (2004, p.3) define special events as () non-routine occassions, which have leisure, cultural, personal or organisational objectives set apart from the normal activity of daily life, whose purpose is to enlighten, celebrate, entertain, or challenge the experience of a group of people. From such description it is clearly visible, that special events is a capacious term encompassing affairs such as sport fairs, weddings, presentations, fashion shows, award ceremonies and many others. Therefore, the special events management can be most simply described as a process of effective and professional organisation of such happenings, so that their intended effect on the chosen audience is achieved (Getz, 2005). The information obtained from Prospects.ac.uk (2010) suggests that generic special event manager job description can be organised around the following clusters of duties: researching, planning, budgeting, coordinating, utilizing IT software to facilitate the process, marketing, arranging and overseeing the logistics side, people management, evaluating the success of events on completion. The aforementioned list of tasks is by no means exhaustive. As such, it is clearly visible that the position of the leader in the special events management industry requires the applicant to master a variety of skills that would be easily transferrible across such a wide spectrum of duties, eventually allowing for accomplishment of the chosen aim of the special event. Therefore, it can be said that excellent organisational aptitude, people management skills, communication skills, marketing abilities, adjustability to the changing environment, and lastly the ability to conceptualise and leadership skills consitute these valued features of the successful leaders in special events management (Perry et al., 1996 in Tassiopoulos, 2005). Moreover, it is justifiable to say that organisational skills and startegic thinking are the key elements to a successful career in special events management (Anderson, 2010). Excellent time management abilities, as well as the capacity to multitask and prioritize are crucial in the hectic environment, where many duties are carried out simultaneuously often under substantial time pressure (Wignall, 2008). Analytical competency and high numeracy are other desired traits (Eventjobsearch.co.uk, 2010a). People management skills constitute a second pillar to a prominent career in the special event management industry (Goldblatt, 2005). As the role of the leader in the field is primarly concerned with people: either through coordinating internal network of contacts or by engaging with external parties such as suppliers, proficiency in delegation of duties and effective supervision is certainly needed. Excellent communication skills are another must have for a special events management leader (Eventjobsearch.co.uk, 2010b). Ongoing exchange of information between the customer and the leader, or between the leader and other parties requires skillfullness in oral and written communication to ensure that leaders vision is announced in a coherent manner. Furthermore, the tactfulness in interpersonal contact as well as the capability to listen and recept followed by the negotiation and presentation skills are truly desirable (Worldevents, 2010). The special event industry is believed to be more about whom than what one knows, thus fostering for the communication skills seems exteremely relevant. Flexibility and open-mindedness are also certainly needed (INCA, 2010). The special event management is a constantly changing process requiring ongoing re-prioritizing and finding solutions to the problems arising on the spot. Thus, adaptability to the dynamic environment and the ability to utilize ones creativity and think outside the box is of utmost importance. Marketing edge is another sought-after ability (Goldblatt, 2005). As many events are developed with the profit-generating idea in mind, or require sponsor-/ funding- seeking it is necessary for the leaders to master the knowledge of marketing that will allow them to sell the event to potential parties. Last, but not least the future leaders in special events management industry need to possess the ability to infect the followers with enthusiasm and excitement about the project, in other words depict the charismatic persona (Wignall, 2008). Such capacities are extremely important, as they enhance staffs commitment and motivation to push towards common goal, therefore are essential for facilitation of the process and task accomplishment. Self-confidence and assertiveness are also of value (Wignall, 2008), as they allow the leader to gain credibility in the followers eyes, thus legitimizing the actions taken by him/her. Having identified the skills and aptitudes that are deemed of value to future leaders in special events management, it seems worthwhile to establish whether such choice of requirements is supported by the postulates of the theoretical developments in the leadership literature. Thus, this part of the essay is dedicated to comparing and contrasting the practice with chosen theoretical approaches to leadership: the traits approach, skills approach and contingency leadership concept. The traits theory originates from mid-20th century studies into the personalities of effective leaders in order to correlate their characteristics with successful leadership practices to produce a universally applicable set of must have attributes (Sadler, 2003). Subsequent reviews of the original studies however dismissed the postulate of unidirectional relationship between identified traits and successful leadership, further disregarding the possibility of producing a consistent set of traits typical for all leaders (Jago, 1982). Stogdill (1974, in Daft 2002) proposed an extensive list of attributes of successful leaders, further concluding that possession of the identified traits alone does not guarantee effectiveness in leadership, but is a function of those and contextual factors. Kirkpatrick and Locke (1991) describe the traits as potential only that needs to be activated by the leaders affirmative action in order for the leadership practice to be successful. Nevertheless, the main postulate of the traits approach that leaders do differ from other people in their personalities remains valid, therefore reassuring the application of the theory to business setting. Daft (2002) aggregating conclusions of Bass and Stogdills (1990, in Daft, 2002) and Kirkpatrick and Lockes (1991) studies identifies a set of personal characteristics of leaders that are believed to trigger effective practice. The author notes the importance of drive and desire to excel, motivation, honesty and integrity, self assurance, cognitive capacity and intelligence, knowledge of the industry, as well as to less extent charisma, flexibility and open-mindedness, enthusiasm and sociability as the activators of successful leadership. Looking at the proposed list it is easy to notice the convergence between the traits identified as necessary by the researchers and those previously described as of value to the future leaders in special events management. Nevertheless, it seems that the traits that are denied equal attention in ordinary business setting, i.e. flexibility, creativity and enthusiasm, in special events management find stronger appreciation. Furthermore, the traits theory fails to appreciate the importance of personal growth occurring throughout ones carrier thus denying the future leaders the option to develop the identified traits; what is more disregarding the importance of contextual factors. The unique nature of special events allows the leaders to gain experience through direct participation in the production process of every single event, as well as emphasizes the need to adapt to changing settings, therefore pointing out the weaknesses of the application of traits approach to the purpose of validating such choice of required traits and skills. The skills or otherwise known as capability approach seems to overcome the first of aforementioned drawbacks by focusing on the competencies rather than personal attributes that leaders ought to possess to deliver the appropriate performance (Northouse, 2004). The model sees leadership as concerned with solving problems arising in everyday organisational setting (Mumford et al., 2000a). The skills approach postulates that leaders performance is generated via utilization of three types of skills: problem-solving skills, solution generation skills, as well as social judgement skills subject to development throughout ones career under the influence of the individual attributes such as motivation and personality and the environmental context (Mumford et al., 2000b). Unlike traits theory this model appreciates that leadership potential that can be transformed into effective practice rests within everyone (Northouse, 2004). The skills model successfully provides explanation for the choice of some of the competencies deemed of value to potential leaders in special events management, emphasising the importance of motivation and enthusiasm, as well as people-oriented skills. However, similarly to the traits theory this concept presents some limitations in its applicability. Leadership in special events management requires exceptional organisation and strategic thinking abilities, which are denied sufficient importance by the skills model that sees the leaders as facilitators of quick solutions to arising problems rather than visionaries. Furthermore, the applicability of the model is believed to be limited by the specificity of the research setting (i.e. US army) (Northouse, 2004). The last model to be analysed against the practical requirements of future leaders in special events management is the contingency concept originally devised by Fiedler (1969, in Sadler, 2003). According to this theory the effectiveness of leadership practice depends on (i.e. is contingent on) three aspects of the situation in which it takes place: the nature of the leader-followers relationship (the loyalty, trust etc), the nature of the tasks (degree of clear indication of requirements) and the position power of the leader (i.e. authority available to the leader) (Sadler, 2003). Depending on the combination of the aforementioned variables the leader is believed to adopt a relationship-motivated or task-motivated behaviour that allows for either accomplishment of set goals or fostering for growth in interpersonal relationships (Torrington et al., 2005). However, this approach is also said to entice some limitations mainly concerned with the validity of the research methods in use an d the suitability of the concept in explaining actions to be taken in the event of a clash between the contextual factors and leaders personality (Northouse, 2004). Nevertheless, from the proposed description it is visible that the contingency model of leadership is highly relevant to special events management setting. By pointing at contingency of leadership on the context it provides the explanation for the large variety of transferable skills expected of the applicants in special events management: every event can be seen as a unique project, thus concerned with different people and contextual factors, therefore requiring distinct leadership practice. Furthermore, this approach overcomes the shortcomings of the previously discussed concepts by emphasizing the importance of the holistic appreciation of environmental context for the choice of most effective leadership practice and the need for the leader to flexibly adapt to the followers requirements, thus accentuating the leader-follower relationship as the core of the leadership concept (Northouse, 2004). To conclude, the conducted analysis of the practical requirements against the traits, skills and contingency theory reveals that despite identified limitations, the theoretical concepts on leadership originating from research in general business setting provide adequate rationale for emphasis placed on the problem-solving and people-management skills; as well as traits such as enthusiasm, charisma and creativity visible in the job advertisements for positions in special events management. Nevertheless, taking into consideration the total array of the practical requirements, it can be said that indeed, leadership in special events management is organised around a distinct combination of skills and traits that find complete explanation in the characteristics of the profession, rather than theoretical concepts.

Evaluation of Estella from Great Expectations Essay -- Great Expectatio

Evaluation of Estella from Great Expectations. Evaluation of Estella "The lady whom I had never seen before, lifted up her eyes and looked archly at me, and then I saw that the eyes were Estella's eyes." From this passage, I believe it is safe to infer that Pip notices a great change in Estella's appearance and the way she carries herself, once she comes back from finishing school, but is there really that much of a change in the rest of her? Although she may change her methods, she's still unemotional, she still takes orders from Miss Havisham, and she still leads Pip on. Speaking of leading Pip on, Estella leads Pip on. When Pip is at Miss Havisham's for the second time, Estella acts as if she likes Pip and does something very unlike herself. "There was a bright flush upon her face... she stepped back into the passage and beckoned me. 'Come here! You may kiss me if you like! I kissed her cheek as she turned it to me. I think I would have gone through a great deal to kiss her cheek. But, I felt that the kiss was given to the coarse common boy as a piece of money might have been, and that was worth nothing." (Page 93, paragraphs 2-4) As you can see Estella is definitely leading Pip on. Estella also leads Pip on in the second half of the book. She goes with Pip to balls and other parties. She also goes down to Miss Havisham's with him, but these things have no meaning.] As I just mentioned Pip and Estella go down to Miss Havisham's together. This is because; although she is grown-up Estella is still controlled by Miss H. What I'm saying is that Miss H makes them go (well not so much Pip; he just comes along for the ride). She also controls Estella in other ways. She makes her write notes ho... ...the book, but I've got more proof from the second half. At this part Pip tries to compliment Estella and she laughs right in his face. "'I live quite pleasantly there; at least-'It appeared to me that I was losing a chance. 'At least?' repeated Estella. 'As pleasantly as I could anywhere away from you.' 'You silly boy,' said Estella, quite composedly, 'how can you talk such nonsense?'" (Page 226, paragraphs 8-11) Hey, I don't know about anyone else, but I think that was pretty mean (although it wasn't the same kind of meanness that was in the first part). That's exactly what my paper's on. I think I've just proved that Estella is the same person throughout the whole book, but the kind of person she is changes (whether she's leading Pip on, being controlled by Miss Havisham, or being her mean ol' self). If I have then my mission was successful. Evaluation of Estella from Great Expectations Essay -- Great Expectatio Evaluation of Estella from Great Expectations. Evaluation of Estella "The lady whom I had never seen before, lifted up her eyes and looked archly at me, and then I saw that the eyes were Estella's eyes." From this passage, I believe it is safe to infer that Pip notices a great change in Estella's appearance and the way she carries herself, once she comes back from finishing school, but is there really that much of a change in the rest of her? Although she may change her methods, she's still unemotional, she still takes orders from Miss Havisham, and she still leads Pip on. Speaking of leading Pip on, Estella leads Pip on. When Pip is at Miss Havisham's for the second time, Estella acts as if she likes Pip and does something very unlike herself. "There was a bright flush upon her face... she stepped back into the passage and beckoned me. 'Come here! You may kiss me if you like! I kissed her cheek as she turned it to me. I think I would have gone through a great deal to kiss her cheek. But, I felt that the kiss was given to the coarse common boy as a piece of money might have been, and that was worth nothing." (Page 93, paragraphs 2-4) As you can see Estella is definitely leading Pip on. Estella also leads Pip on in the second half of the book. She goes with Pip to balls and other parties. She also goes down to Miss Havisham's with him, but these things have no meaning.] As I just mentioned Pip and Estella go down to Miss Havisham's together. This is because; although she is grown-up Estella is still controlled by Miss H. What I'm saying is that Miss H makes them go (well not so much Pip; he just comes along for the ride). She also controls Estella in other ways. She makes her write notes ho... ...the book, but I've got more proof from the second half. At this part Pip tries to compliment Estella and she laughs right in his face. "'I live quite pleasantly there; at least-'It appeared to me that I was losing a chance. 'At least?' repeated Estella. 'As pleasantly as I could anywhere away from you.' 'You silly boy,' said Estella, quite composedly, 'how can you talk such nonsense?'" (Page 226, paragraphs 8-11) Hey, I don't know about anyone else, but I think that was pretty mean (although it wasn't the same kind of meanness that was in the first part). That's exactly what my paper's on. I think I've just proved that Estella is the same person throughout the whole book, but the kind of person she is changes (whether she's leading Pip on, being controlled by Miss Havisham, or being her mean ol' self). If I have then my mission was successful.

Assess the significance of Henry Ford in shaping modern America

Out of all the people associated with the American boom, Henry Ford is amongst the most well known. It was due to his work ethic; aim to make an affordable car for all Americans, and his invention of the assembly line that improved America's infrastructure and made personal mobility easier and more affordable. In this essay, I will explore the changes that occurred in America due to Henry Ford, and weigh up their significance to modern America today. I will compare modern America with America in the 1920's and will look at the significance of Henry ford in the changes between them. Henry Ford wanted to make a car that was cheap enough for all American families to afford. Although this was a near impossible dream, it did result in Henry Ford trying to reduce the cost of cars, and therefore ending up with the idea for the ‘Model T'. A great fan of ‘Taylorism', Ford wanted to make the production of his cars faster and more efficient. Workers were timed and they were then given tasks that required less time and effort in order to speed up the process of making the ‘Model T'. Taylor's ideas and Fords aim (to make a car cheap enough for average Americans to buy) eventually amounted in the birth of the assembly line. This meant that instead of the workers in the Ford factory going to each car, and spending lots of time making the parts of the cars, then attaching them, the cars were brought past the workers. The workers towards the beginning of the assembly line may do a job such as attach the spokes of the wheel to the main frame, and then a worker near the end of the line would attach the fully completed wheel to the body of the car. The assembly line meant that more and more cars were being produced every day, and at the factories best, they were producing a car every 60 seconds. The mass production of the ‘Model T' sparked the idea of using assembly lines in many other industries, and many other companies began to emulate Fords idea. Mass production of radios, clothes and refrigerators began, and this therefore resulted in the increase of advertising. America in the 1920's had very little advertising, but as household products began to be mass produced, there was a need for advertising as the companies needed to reach their target audiences. This relates to the booming advertising industry that now advertises nearly every product on the market in America. Without the idea of an assembly line, mass production wouldn't have come about, and there would have been no need for advertising. This is one significant affect Ford had on America. Because the ‘Model T' was being mass produced, the price of it went down – in 1914 a ‘Model T' cost $850 whereas in 1926 they cost $295. This meant that more people could afford one, and more people began to purchase them. Because of the increasing sales of the ‘Model T', ford was getting more money. This was useful, as in order to stop workers leaving the factories to work elsewhere (due to their repetitive and tedious jobs on the assembly line) he could increase their wages. Ford increased his workers wages from $2. 50 to $5, twice the average pay per day. This also created a ready market for the ‘Model T' car, as workers were offered the chance to save their extra money in order to buy a car. Because Ford increased his workers wages, he brought up the average wage for workers in America, which meant more people had more disposable income, creating a market for buying cars. It also meant more people could afford to buy more in general, especially as they could buy with credit as well. This meant that people were spending their extra money, and in some cases (because they used credit) money they hadn't got, which meant the American economy was booming with the extra amount of money being spent on goods within the country. The increase in the workers wage, and the ease at which people were allowed to use credit to buy goods, meant that more and more people were buying cars. In 1930, 23million cars were on the road, and half of them were ‘Model T's'. This shows just how popular the cars were, and how many people were buying them. The increased number of cars on the road also meant that the government had to build more roads for people to travel on. This meant that Americas infrastructure dramatically improved, with links from major cities being built for cars to travel along, which improved connections between cities, and meant that American citizens could explore their own country without having to rely on public transport. This is true to this day, as 1 out of 6 Americans have never left their own country. Ford contributed to this, as the impact of so many people having cars meant that people could go on holidays around their own country more often. This meant, and still means, that fewer people feel the need to travel outside of America. It also meant that the leisure industries began to flourish, as more people had the time to enjoy leisure activities, and due to the rise in average wage, they had more money to spend on leisure activities too. The increasing number of car owners also meant that more people could choose where they wanted to live, as they now didn't have to live near their work. Instead, they could live further from the cities and travel in each day in their cars. This resulted in the growth of suburbs, which are today some of the most desirable places to live in America. They offer the space that people wanted/still want, without being to far away from the cities where people generally worked/work. It is due to the mass production of cars, which was started by Ford, which led to people being able to commute to their work places. In conclusion, Ford was an important figure in shaping modern day America. The mass production of cars, which originated from his business idea of the assembly line, meant that more people were able to afford a car. This meant that more roads had to be built around America, linking major cities, and improving communications. The car also meant that people could carry out daily tasks, such as shopping, with more efficiency, and because they were able to buy larger things, or produce in bulk, they spent more money which went into America's economy. Because businesses emulated Fords idea of an assembly line, mass production of goods such as the radio came about. This meant more advertising, and so the advertising industry was born. Ford's aim of making an affordable car for average American citizens meant that more people lived away from work, hence the growth of suburbs which are now spread across America, and are seen as desirable places to live. Ford had a lot of significance in shaping modern America, as his ideas and business ethic meant that cars became a necessity. Americans could live and travel wherever they wanted in the country. Because so many people were buying cars due to the ‘Model T', roads had to be improved, and the infrastructure of America grew and vastly improved. Workers were paid more on average due to Ford raising his workers salaries, and due to the increase in disposable income and credit, more money was constantly being paid into the economy.

Globalizare

I live in a country with a relatively young democracy. I experienced times when freedom of speech was prohibited and the access to information was strictly forbidden. And now I live in great times when bounds can be formed without the limits placed on humanity by the authorities, religion or race. The freedom that Internet gives us is wonderful, we can change Ideas, share information, enjoy art.Now, the access to information means power and I would like to give an example of n event that took place in Romania and which the International press named It â€Å"Romania autumn†. Thousands of people all over the country, with no leaders and organized mainly on social networks, protested against the open cast milling project that would use cyanide and destroy four mountains In the area, project that Is proposed by a foreign company In partnership with our country government.For this course project, I used an Image that represent one of the most valuable resource the earth has  œ gold, an Image that represents a great work of art – â€Å"the table of silence† made by the great Romania sculptor constantly Branches and an Image that represents a masterpiece of late Stone Age art, The Thinker, believed to be the oldest known prehistoric sculpture that reflects human introspection. We, the viewers, must reflect about the true values in our lives.We must think about the proverbial â€Å"Golden handcuffs† and about the possibility that there may be a truth behind this concept that can be easily translated in to a money language. The viewers must realize the huge responsibility that we humans have in order to preserve the natural resources for future generations, to live in harmony with all the species that inhabits the earth and, most important, to find a common language with nature because, like it or not, globalization affects the entire planet, sadly, not always in good ways. Internet gives us is wonderful, we can change ideas, share info rmation, enjoy art. N event that took place in Romania and which the international press named it organized mainly on social networks, protested against the open cast mining project that would use cyanide and destroy four mountains in the area, project that is proposed by a foreign company in partnership with our country government. For this course project, I used an image that represent one of the most valuable resource the earth has – gold, an image that represents a great work of art – â€Å"the table of silence† made by the great Romania sculptor Constantine Branches and an image that

Bringing Democracy to Africa

Bringing Democracy to Africa Free Online Research Papers Does Africa need elective, majority democracy or some other method of government? Maybe what Africa needs is a different method of government instead of modern democracy. History and the statistics seem to favour this view, and it is the aim of this article to explore it.Obviously there are various forms of democracies and numerous other methods of governance which nations can choose to model themselves around. I have this feeling that constitutional democracy achieved by majority vote maybe somewhat flawed for the African continent, as indeed it is not universally embraced outside Western Civilization. Africa found itself adopting models of government of former masters by default, without regard to how they ruled themselves previously. Someone I highly respect first suggested this notion to me and of course I naturally scoffed at it, dismissing it out of hand. On close inspection of trends within the African continent and disasters that countries there have encountered as they strived to institute democracy along the Western model really got me thinking, and researching. Historically, Africans have always had kingdoms, which kingdoms were successful and whose subjects were always proud of their king. The king either died in office or was overthrown. Kings were kings for as long as they could subdue all would be conquerors. The closest form of government to African culture was therefore Aristocracy, Meritocracy or Monarchism. Think about it for a moment, I will give you examples in Southern Africa with which I am familiar. Take Shaka the Zulu, and other Zulu kings before him in the Zulu Kingdom. He won his leadership by proving his ability to lead and by conquest. He could only step down by conquest or death. Can you imagine him giving up his leadership to someone else simply because ten, twelve or fourteen years making up his two terms were up? There were other empires in Southern Africa, like the Munhumutapa Empire. The Mambos (kings) successfully ran their kingdom which covered large parts of many countries in Southern Africa to the Mozambiquean C oast for several years, only to be dislodged largely by the coming of the Colonialists. The Swazi Kingdom is another example, the vestiges of which remain to this day. I believe this was replicated across the African continent beyond Southern Africa. I obviously advocate for progressiveness and civilisation and am by no means implying Africa should have remained in that state where rulership was purely by conquest, but the argument is that there are other forms of government which might have been more suited to our African background than democracy along Western Standards; where an adored and respected leader could lead for as long as he was able, where he could appoint successors to his rulership. The idea of constitutional democracy and multi-partism, in my humble submission, has more managed to destabilise the African continent than do anything else. There could then be a mixture of, say Monarchism and some form of managed democracy, for example that you find in the British Empire or in many Islamic Countries. Another aspect of African kingdoms which we threw away with constitutional democracy was the Theocratic inclination of the Kingdoms. The Kings was often a Spiritual leader as well, or worked closely with Spiritual leaders. In effect, the King was obliged to be a moral leader, which requirement present day leaders gleefully trample upon. In the end, what has happened is that a lot of African leaders have clung on to power, but have been largely demonised not really because of failure alone, but because in the first place, they were expected to have vacated office earlier. In many instances, those that felt the leaders had overstayed, particularly from the West, created conditions where their positions were not tenable anymore. Obviously former colonialists had vested interests to protect, apart from governance, which is why they have encouraged anarchy in other former colonies where it suited them, for example in the DRC. So despite the gospel of Constitutional democracy being preached to Africa, there is an interesting pattern of long-serving African leaders, turning their countries into de-facto Monarchs. Name them(and years in power!): Omar Bongo (41), Muammar Gaddafi(39), Gnassingbe Eyadema (38), Eduardo Dos Santos (28), Robert Mugabe(28), Hosni Mubarak (27), Yoweri Museveni(22), Paul Biya(25), Denis Sassou Nguesso(20), Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali (21),King Makhosetive Mswati (21), Lansana Conte(20), Milton Obote(15), Idi Amin, Kibaki, Nunjoma etc. An affinity for power characterise these leaders, using any and all at their disposal to remain in power. Consequently they have been labelled dictators, but would that perception have been different if they were doing this under a different governance model. Just lets take one extreme and notorious example of Robert Mugabe. For those in the know, you will agree with me that RG did not start as a despot. He was loved by his people, envied by his foes and admired by those that beheld. Why, the queen of England is said to have given him the highest order of the British Empire, he is Sir Robert Gabriel Mugabe! In his early rule education, medical and many critical aspects of social welfare were accessible to the ordinary people. Zimbabwe is highly literate today because of his policy of Education for All. The catastrophic developments in Zimbabwe that have really led it down the precipice were largely done by RG to gain political mileage, because his rule was threatened. Right from gra nting of unreasonable War Veterans pensions, parcelling out land in an unplanned manner etc, was all mostly done to gain political high ground. My question is, would it have been different if he had not been under this pressure and knew he would rule or occupy a position of respect no matter what he did or did not do? On the other side, only Nyerere, Mandela, Chissano and a few others are exceptions to the rule in that they have stepped down graciously without manipulating their Countries’ constitutions etc to remain in power, handing over power or losing graciously; but they are by far in the minority. The writer hence concludes that this cannot be coincidence: democracy is foreign to African states and another form of governance must be found, otherwise we will always be going backwards and forwards in our quest for stability, development and progress. The recent developments in Kenya show the fragility of our democracies even when they ‘exist’. Research Papers on Bringing Democracy to AfricaAssess the importance of Nationalism 1815-1850 EuropeCanaanite Influence on the Early Israelite Religion19 Century Society: A Deeply Divided EraRelationship between Media Coverage and Social andComparison: Letter from Birmingham and CritoPETSTEL analysis of IndiaHip-Hop is ArtQuebec and CanadaBook Review on The Autobiography of Malcolm XThe Effects of Illegal Immigration