Monday, January 27, 2020

Is the Family in Decline?

Is the Family in Decline? Introduction history of the family Most peoples idea of a normal household is a married couple with children. Does this longer correspond with the reality of peoples lives? In 2005 only 22 per cent of British households consisted of a couple with dependant children, compared with 35 per cent in 1971. (Fulcher J, Scott J, 2004 pg 446). Over several decades, Britain and other Western societies have seen a shift in family patterns and diverse roles, also divorce rate have risen significantly and there has been an increase in Reconstituted families formed from second marriages The family is often regarded as the basis of society; in pre-modern and modern societies alike is seen as the basis in which social organization takes place, for example socialising children, in the 1960s there was not discussion about the importance of family, at that family life was merely evolving with the modern times, the nuclear family which consist of a two generation household of parent and their children, was seen as well adapted to the demands of modern society. A classic definition of the family by George Peter Murdock (1949) The family is a social group characterized by common residence, economic co-operation and reproduction. This includes adults of both sexes, at least two of whom maintain a socially-approved sexual relationships, and one or more children, own or adopted, of the sexually cohabiting adults. Another type of family is the extended family, which includes the family members which extends vertically that would include three generations for example; grandparent and grandchildren, it also extends horizontally to include at least in laws cousins, aunts and uncles, and dependant on the perceptions and the boundaries of the family; determines how far this extends. From a functional perspective the family purpose is to work as a social institute, and according to (Haralambos Holborn 2008) the family performs four basic functions in all societies which are termed the sexual, reproductive economic and educational these are deemed essential for social life because without reproduction there would be no members of society, also without economics there would no provisions for providing food and therefore life would cease to exist, and without education as suggested by George Murdock there would be no culture and he suggests therefore that human society could not function. However according to Parson (in Parsons Bales 1956) the family social institution developed to meet two such needs that the family, and only the family, met: the needs for primary socialization and personality stabilization Primary socialisation was the process through which children obtain the basic values of society from the family from an early age. And adult personality is stabilized through the family to give emotional support through marriage, and to create an opportunity for adults to satisfy childish impulses that they could not do in public, for example playing games with their children. Parsons suggested that the nuclear family was particularly suited the nuclear family because the nuclear family roles were specialized due to one adult earning money through paid work, and the other adult bringing up the children, therefore with there being one breadwinner this was quite important factor in the industrial society due to high rates of change, this meant that this type of family were more geographically mobile and they would also keep the world of work and family separate, as industrial societies were concerned with achievement and universalism; this meant that people were rewarded according to achievements and judged according to universal standards of qualifications, and competence, the family however operated on a opposite basis; where the values of ascription and particularism; thus, status was ascribed on who one was, for example, husband of, wife of, parents would do their best to advance their children, therefore if this overlapped into the workforce this cause conflict. Marxist perspective states the capitalist system exploits the free domestic labour of the housewife through domestic labour, and that child rearing should be considered as family activities outside the operation of the capitalist economy but instead an essential part of it. This view is taken because the male breadwinner can then do longer hours, because the wife is at home tending to children and the domestic work; children were seen as the process of reproduction of labour by creating submissive workers. Due to the male bread winner being put under pressure from the work place to work much harder and faster, and quite often carrying out tedious and repetitive work in very poor conditions, which they would have very little control therefore the family was seen as an outlet for the tension and frustration, and the bullied worker may restore their self-esteem by bullying their family. Although the wife plays a significant role in the capitalist economy, she would get no pay. Some housewives worked in paid employment at a low wage, and acted as a reserve army which could be drawn into work when there was a shortage of labour, and returned back home when demand was low, therefore the nuclear family created an additional supply of cheap labour. Some sociologist argue that the family has lost certain functions in modern industrial society, and they suggest that institutions such as political parties and school, and welfare organisations are performing functions of the family, Talcott Parsons argues that the family has become functionless on the macroscopic levels. However not all sociologist agree with this idea, and they actually think the opposite, according to Ronald Fletcher, a British sociologist stated in The Family and Marriage in Britain (1966)that the family has retained its functions but also those functions have increased in detail and importance and specialised institutions such as schools and hospitals have added to and improved the family functions, rather than suspended them, some example of these changes are the expectations of the parenting role; they are expected to do their best to guide, encourage and support their children through education and their. Young and Wilmott (1973) claim that the symmetrical family is developing where spouses are sharing domestic, work and leisure activities; these types of relationships are called joint conjugal roles as opposed to segregated roles which previously meant the marital roles of husband and wife were largely segregated. In the symmetrical family, conjugal roles have become more joined, the wife still has primary responsibility for housework and child rearing, however husbands have become more involved with domestic chores like doing the washing and ironing, and share the decisions that affect the family The structure of the British family has shifted significantly over the last 50 years, a major influence of this is through the decline of marriage and the rise in cohabitation according to the Office of National statistics 2008 Due to the changes in marriages, divorce and cohabitation to the growing number of new types of families Two in five of all marriages are now remarriages, which makes step families one of the fastest growing family forms in Britain, currently making up one, in the decade to 2006, the number of single parent families also increased to 2.3 million, making up 14% of all families in ten of all families.18. Ethnic diversity is on the increase due to the increase of international migration is another source of diversity, for example the structure of Afro-Caribbean and Asian families; looking at the diversity in relation to origin and considerations of how these have changed in the context of British society. According to (Elliot 1966; Berthound 2000) the lower-class Afro-Caribbean family is centred on the role of the women, and marriages are weakly institutive and low due to the men wandering; therefore the women commonly head the households, and relationships between mothers and children are much stronger than those between fathers and children, and family life tends to be supported by other women other than the biological mother. African-Caribbean women have been more economically active than women from other ethnic groups, and see paid work as a basis fro financial independence and are more likely to control the use of their earnings than Asian or White women, however this is only made possible by the sharing of the mothering role with other women. There are considerable cultural difference between south Asian nationalities that have come to Britain, however there are similarities, for instance families from rural areas in South Asia typically have extended forms of family, that include three generations in one household and are organized through a network of males, are bound together through religious beliefs in brotherhood and family loyalty. Marriages are arranged and seen as a contrast of two families. According to young and Willmott the home centred symmetrical family is more typical of the working class than the middle class, they suggest that the working class are more fully home-centred because they are less fully work-centred; and this is due to compensating for uninvolved and boring work, and because little interest is expected at work, and manual workers tend to focus more attention on family life, therefore according to Young and Wilmott see work as a major influence on family Migration to Britain severely disrupted extended families of this kind and for many women this has left them socially isolated at home and unsupported by the kin. Sikh household have become more focused on couples and women have renegotiated traditional patterns, through greater independence through paid work, however in contrast Pakistani and Bangladeshi cultures have been limited to homework or family business by Islamic prohibition of contact with unrelated men, this has lead to women being exploited as cheap labour and confined to the home. Many sociologists are concerned about what they see as the decline in marriage and family life, and they see this as a threat to the family, for example Brenda Almond (2006) believes that the family is fragmenting, there is also an increase in the legal and social acceptance of marital breakdown, cohabitation, gay and lesbian relationships and so on. Colin Gibson (1994) claims through the development of modernity this has increased the likelihood of conflict between spouses due to much emphasis upon the desirability of individual achievement, Gibson believes that people now live in an enterprise and free-market culture of individualism in which the licence of choice dominates The last 100 years have seen changes in legislation, technology, attitudes and expectations  that have led to a massive feminisation of the workforce since the second world war, also widespread contraception leading to deferred decisions about the start of families; and divorce, remarriage and cohabitation becoming much more acceptable. A relaxation of societal attitudes towards marriage means it is no longer seen as unusual to be involved in a complicated family structure. Families are no longer just made up of married parents living with their children. Although seven in ten households are still headed up by married couples, this proportion has been declining for some time. Families are now a mix of cohabiting parents, stepfamilies, single parent families, those living apart together and civil partnerships, as well as the traditional nuclear family.

Saturday, January 18, 2020

The emphasis (of MBO)

 «The emphasis (of MBO) is on trying to predict and influence the future rather than on responding and reacting by the seat of the pants. It is also a ‘results-oriented† philosophy of management, one of which emphasizes accomplishments and results. The focus is generally on change and on improving both individual and organizational effectiveness. » A successful implementation of MBO in any country requires a narrow examination of such elements as customs and traditions of that country, which give support to the application of MBO. These elemets are higly influenced by the history. Starting from the early centuries, Russian people got accustomed to live under the central rule when the tsar was the only decision-making body in the country. The communication between the rulers and ruled was flowing only one-way. The landlords, owning the farmers, set quotes to farmers without thinking whether they would be able to achieve them. Afterwards, when the bolshewiks came to rule instead of the monarchy, the same thing happened. Working for a state enterprise, the employees didn†t have a chance to set objectives for their work they performed. The central planning department set quotes, by which all the organizations had to obey even if those planks were set too high to reach. Workers were responsible for reaching organizational goals no matter for at what costs, but on the other side the means by which they had to reach the organizational goals were predetermined by the central planning department. So, we can see that the word  «central », which  «disables » MBO, was quite common and used heavily thrughout the whole history of Russia. Nevertheless, I would say, there were some elements of MBO such as rewarding the employees when they exceeded the quotes set by the central department. Reward was very seldom material. Usually, you would have received a red flag for an excellent work, and your photo would have been printed in the organization†s newspaper. In addition to the rewards, people were working for a common purpose: to reach the communism. And each piece they had produced contributed to this goal. Anyway, this system of rewards worked; it was a good source of motivation although it was resting solely in the willigness of the employees to contribute to the process. Factors that influence management in Russia After we had examined the historical factors that influence the application of MBO, let†s come down to determine factors that influence overall management in Russia now. As a result, it gives also some impact on the ability of MBO to be successful in this country. The first and also the most important factor is the social one. Managing an organization became a real challenge for managers during these hard times. Their decisions are highly influenced by the social environment surrounding the organization. Such a factor as, for instance, values goes hand in hand with the organization†s purpose (profit) in Western societies, but Russian people†s values are different. Russians, as they got accustomed that the only aim of the organization is to contribute to the public welfare, can†t and do not want to understand that the transition to capitalism and, particulary, to a free market economy will delete all the organizations that don†t bring profit that is at least enough to cover the expenses. That is why, for instance, formerly free hospitals are forced to charge fees. No matter whether it is for-profit or non-for-profit organization. It happened so that every organization should make money to live on. As Russia has been passing its stage of transition to a free market economy for only 7 years, there is a lack of specialized managers. Formerly, the best profession was considered to be a physician, but starting from 1991, people realized that the economy needed skilled managers (and employees), lawyers, etc. So, at the time being, there are only a few organizations that are led by professional managers and the rest by, for instance, doctors and teachers; as a result, Russia has a high rate of firm†s failures. The overall atmosphere of distrust has created such a situation where it is difficult to deal with any firm. You are afraid of being cheated; as a result, people are more likely to go for help to a state-owned organization than to a private one. Political instability in Russia explains why organizations in this country are so highly centralized. Due to need of the availability to adapt to the continuously changing situation, which requires application of conceptual skills, managers are forced to have a total control over their  «child », no matter how big the organization is. Lack of important laws creates another challenge for the Russian managers; however, for some of them it is an advantage, for instance, for Mafia. Such an important function of management as planning, which is important for MBO in order to be successful, can†t be realized fully because of ever changing situation. The manager can†t predict the future and plan for the organization because of the uncertainty about the future. That is why in Russia, also called  «the country of wonders », it is more likely to fail in business than in other countries. Another challenge for a manager is to run an organization under economic instability. The heavy dependence on the foreign investments from the USA, World Bank, IMF etc. contributes to factor of uncertainty: no investments – economic recession. In addition to that, the main financial resources are concentrated within a small group of people, called  «semibojarshina », owning the largest firms in Russia. And these become more and more involved in the political process. They extract resources, pass laws only if they are advantageous for their companies. The rest can only watch this  «game ». Focusing on the USA has led to copying the Western way of life, trying to produce goods and services like Americans without actually having knowledge or background in it. All these factors put pressure on the managers and influence the relationship between managers and employees, which is a prediciding factor for applying the MBO approach to a particular organization. Relationship between the employer and the employee MBO offers people a field within which to penetrate. Workers have a relative freedom of choice in deciding which means to choose for reaching a stated goal. They are motivated through reward given to individuals on the basis of how close they come to reaching their goals. Under MBO people should be self-directed and should like their work, and, of course, any MBO program is based on responsibility and proposes democratic leadership. Throughout the previous paragraph we can see that MBO works best under Theory Y. In order to know whether individual†s way of thinking about workers enables MBO to exist in this country, I†ve taken twenty Russian people (all work for Russian organizations) and tried to get out their assumptions about workers. The result was as follows. From the results we can see that most participants stuck to the Theory X, the theory that incorporates people who do not like work, must be forced to do the job, are motivated through the threat of punishment, see their personal gain in job security, and deslike responsibility. Under such conditions, an autocratic leadership is necessary. And only 4 people prefer the Theory Y. The theory that incorporates that people do not dislike work, work through self-direction, are motivated through recognition & reward, see their personal gain in fulfillment, and accept responsibility. Under such conditions a democratic leadership is possible. We see that the Theory Y, which enables MBO, got only 20%. From this research, I†ve proved my assumptions that the way of thinking about workers does not allow any MBO program to be implemented successfully. An impact on MBO has also the system of expectations, so it is important to know what different counterparts (employer and employee) expect from each other. To know what a Russian employer expects from a Russian employee I†ve asked 5 Russian people that are running companies to fill out a questionnaire. The result was the following. The second answer crosses out to ability of MBO to be successful. It does not allow an employee to be creative, to be able to set objectives together with the superior†¦ So we can see that the employer is not  «mentally » ready to apply the MBO approach at the time being. To know what a Russian employee expects from a Russian employer I†ve asked 15 Russian people that are working for Russian organizations to fill out a questionnaire. The result was the following. Nobody has mentioned any of the MBO†s characteristics (ability to set objectives,†¦). That gives us much food for thoughts. If employees† primary goals, while working for an organization, do not match the MBO†s gains (advantages), then MBO won†t be advantageous for the employees. As a result, the question arises  «Why should employees be for the application of MBO at their organization? »

Friday, January 10, 2020

Pakistan Media

Media enhance the knowledge of public and communicates all the happenings to the public. Media industry of Pakistan is growing fast with much potential and seemingly bright future ahead. Media should not use negative tools to increase their viewership. Role of media in Pakistan is getting quite irresponsible; as there are so many talk shows and political debates on the screen all the time and sometimes they seems to be crossing their limits. Media should work in its limits and according to some rules and regulations. Besides spreading exaggeration, Pakistani media should resolve the matters with positive attitude.Media is supposed to be responsible for the present society, trends, norms, values and so on. People are what they see, around them. Media reflects the society and it is the responsibility of media to expose the country to the whole world. Role of media in Pakistan cannot be neglected; Pakistani media relates dramas, movies, sports, news and entertainment and so many feature s to the people. Its dramas reflect society and happenings and issues in the society not only to the people of Pakistan but also to the whole world, news channels alarm the people about all the current happenings, within and outside the country.MASS MEDIA IN PAKISTAN 1. We are living in the age of information explosion, where the world has shrunk into a global village. 2. The vital function of Mass Media is that it is the thinking mode of any society. Following are the types of Mass Media: – (a)Print Media (b)Electronic Media (c)Interactive Media 3. Tools of Media. Since the media plays a war of words, the important tools Include ‘vocabulary’, being ‘vigilant about different developments’. (a)Reading. (b)Vigilant (c)Punctual (d)Alertness (e)Lingual Competence FACTORS FOR GROWTH OF MEDIA 1.Mass media is wholesaler of M. Communication. Pak inherited 05 radio channel son its birth. International Trend played important role in development of Mass Media i n Pakistan. Initial decades of Pakistani Media’s history have been dominated by PTV. 2. Government was compelled to permit freedom of media (a)Liberalization of airway in India led to mushroom growth of TV channels (b)In Kargil war India was able to sell its viewpoint to the world and cashed on its version while Pak suffered since it had only the state channel. (c)Economic boom in telecom in Pakistan.Commercial nature of Media was discovered in the economic advantages related to it. Revenue generated by Media in 2002 was 2 billion and in 2007 this soared to Rs. 17 Billion. (d)Literacy rate / level grew in Pakistan and played a role in media Development. (e)Arrival of cable operators / network and its growth held vision. (f)Govt policies played vital role, especially of President Musharraf. Javed Jabbar. Said â€Å"Media is more powerful then nuclear devices† he worked on PEMRA 3. Private sector was involved and posed challenge to state media.State Media to compete with Pvt Media has to improve and become more open and provide realistic stories, this reformed the State Media as well _ since realistic input was being provided by the Pvt Media. 4. Pak Media Market was in raw form and was untapped; it had the potential to grow. Phenomenon of community based radio channels i. e. FM channel, community based Services (print / elect) have played important role in media development. 5. Number of Press Media / Printing groups were permitted and have launched their TV channels e. . Jang Group – Geo, etc. 6. Mass media is the major source of providing news and entertainment to the people who wants to know who is doing what and what is happening. Aristotle in his book â€Å"Poetics† has written that â€Å"Media is a means of catharsis and is must for normal living†. 7. The entertainment and news value of media has played very important role its development. However, electronic media enjoys larger scope over print media, since it has wider audience, is easily accessible and be understood by even illiterate people.The media provides wide range of entertainment / news according to interest of people of different age groups / liking / languages. Talk Shows Mania has brought more liberalization and has revolutionized the concept since erstwhile taboo issues are being discussed enhancing the awareness of people. 8. The realization in the people and Government about the role of media in society / economic development is there. Indian soap operas have a large viewer ship and their popularity has attracted lots of commercials / advertisement. The commercial aspects attached to the media have contributed to its rapid development. . The Infrastructure Development has taken place. Modern state of art studios /introduction of latest equipment / communication facilities like video conferencing, fax, electronic data transfer, chat / mobiles, etc have brought in a revolution and contributed immensely in the media development. 10. T he advertisement / commercials have brought big money to media market. The contents of programmes are changing. The high economic stakes attached to the media have brought in Professionalism in all its related fields. Due open market, there is a Scarcity of professional media men 11.The abundance of media outlets has on one hand has created lot of employment opportunities but on the other has posed challenges to the media men to excel in their fields. Jang Group has more than 50,000 employees; media persons are getting enhanced wages. Today we have number of highly professional and well-known media persons who are stalwarts of Pakistani Media and form its backbone. 12. Dozens Of other factors have played role in the development of Pakistani Media. It has been a â€Å"watchdog† on actions of the state, people strengthened the media. Media has played important role in discussing un-touched subjects.It has helped harmonizing the nation on otherwise contentious issues. The compet ition among the channels is bringing in qualitative improvement in the content and other aspects of programmes MASS MEDIA IN PAKISTAN EFFECTS OF MEDIA 1. Level of Awareness. The level of awareness has increased. Media has contributed a lot in increasing the general knowledge, who is who and what is what, knowledge of current issues etc. The programmers having media discussions, current affairs, documentaries, etc have been instrumental in enhancing the common man’s awareness.

Thursday, January 2, 2020

Ethical And Ethical Theories Of Ethics - 1103 Words

Ethical Analogy Opinions lead our society. Everyone is entitled to their reasoning and how strongly they feel that their approach to life is the right way. Moral beliefs are the stone foundation behind the way people think and their ethics. Look at morals as code of conduct. Each society has its own moral beliefs but come to an understanding that everyone’s entitled is clear. It’s a rule that’s not writing as a law but more so the common way. The act of a person behavior all falls into their ethical belief. Different people causes for different responds to a situation. Furthermore ethics’ is a way to solidify the difference between good, bad or wrong and right. Morally and ethically there is a wrong and right way to every issues we face however, no one can truly say what is right the proper behavioral response due to emotions that move us. One approach used to helping with ethics is Utilitarism. It is described as the means to an end. Created by John Stuar t Mill and Jeremy Bentham, this theory tries to answer moral questions with emotion of one and religion. The outcome is for the greater good of all or the most people. It’s the idea of putting other before you. The moral good is defined as the greatest happiness for the most amounts and the immoral would be the less good for the least amount. Kantian another theory that is very opposite of, Utilitarism means to end. It’s the law of not satisfying one’s own needs, created by Immanuel Kant. The two questions used asShow MoreRelatedThe Ethical Theory Of Ethics898 Words   |  4 Pages Ethics also known as moral philosophy is a branch of philosophy that involves the classification, defense and endorsement of concepts of right and wrong actions that govern an individual’s behavior. 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