Writing and Business Letter

Oakley Public School Content Area: English Language Arts unit Title: Types of Nonfiction: Essays, Articles, and Speeches Grade Level: Ninth Grade unit Summary: This unit will revisit the genre of nonfiction with an emphasis on the reading of essays, articles, and speeches. The unit will reinforce the premise that the concepts and evidence presented by writers of nonfiction are factual, even though the writer may include anecdotes that are fictional, ideas that are personal, or language that is poetic.As the students read the samples of nonfiction included in this unit, they will come more proficient In recognizing the techniques of narrative, reflective, and persuasive writing. Primary Interdisciplinary Connections: Social Studies Science Technology 21st Century Themes: Standard 9. 1 -21st Century Life & Career Skills: All students will demonstrate the creative, critical thinking, collaboration, and problem-solving skills needed to function successfully as both global citizens and wo rkers in diverse ethnic and organizational cultures. A.Critical Thinking and Problem Solving The ability to recognize a problem and apply critical thinking and problem-solving kills to solve the problem Is a lifelong skill that develops over time. B. Creatively and Innovation Gathering and evaluating knowledge and information from a variety of sources, including global perspectives, fosters creativity and innovative thinking. D. Cross- Cultural understanding and Interpersonal Communication Effective communication skills convey intended meaning to others and assist in preventing misunderstandings.Unit Rationale: In order to become global thinkers with an astute awareness of the world around them, ninth grade students must be provided with the tools for reading nonfiction with comprehension and fluency. Teachers should still model active reading strategies In the high school classroom In order to assist the students In meaningful reading experiences and engage them In the reading proc ess. Making connections when reading and identifying with authors and their chosen subject matter will help and science.When reading nonfiction, students must learn to separate fact from opinion and recognize a writer's bias in order to make informed decisions about what they have read. By reading a variety of essays, article, and speeches, students should learn to identify a writer's voice and recognize that authors write with a particular audience and purpose in mind. In turn, the students will learn to develop their own unique voice as they write for a variety of audiences and purposes themselves.Learning Targets Standards : Reading for Informational Text (RI): Key Ideas and Details, Craft and Structure, Integration of Knowledge and Ideas, and Range of Reading and Level of Text Complexity. Writing (W): Text Types and Purposes, Production and Distribution of Writing, Research to Build and Present Knowledge, and Range of Writing Speaking & Listening (SSL): Comprehension and Collabo ration, and Presentation of Knowledge ND Ideas. Language (L): Conventions of Standard English and Vocabulary Acquisition and Use.ICP Number Cumulative Progress Indicator (ICP) Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text. ERR Determine a central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text, including how it emerges and is shaped and refined by specific details; provide an objective summary of the text. ERR Analyze how the author unfolds an analysis or series of ideas or events, including the order in which the points are made, how they are introduced and developed, and the connections that are drawn between them.ERR Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative, connotative, and technical meanings; analyze the cumulative impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone (e. G. , how the language of a court opinion diffe rs from that of a newspaper). ERR Determine an author's point of view or purpose in a text and analyze how an author uses rhetoric to advance that point of view or purpose. ERR Delineate and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, assessing whether he reasoning is valid and the evidence is relevant and sufficient; identify false statements and fallacious reasoning.ERR Analyze seminal U. S. Documents of historical and literary significance (e. G. , Washington's Farewell Address, the Gettysburg Address, Roosevelt Four Freedoms speech, Kings â€Å"Letter from Birmingham Jail†), including how they address related themes and concepts. ROI By the end of grade 9, read and comprehend literary nonfiction in the grades 9-10 text complexity band proficiently, with scaffolding as needed at the high end of the range. WI valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence. A.Introduce precise claim(s), distinguish the claim(s) from alternate or opposing claims, and create an organization that establishes clear relationships among claim(s), counterclaims, reasons, and evidence. B. Develop claim(s) and counterclaims fairly, supplying evidence for each while pointing out the strengths and limitations of both in a manner that anticipates the audience's knowledge level and concerns. C. Use words, phrases, and clauses to link the major sections of the text, create cohesion, and clarify the relationships between claim(s) and reasons, between reasons and evidence, and between claim(s) and counterclaims. Establish and maintain a formal style and objective tone while attending to the norms and conventions of the discipline in which they are writing. E. Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from and supports the argument presented. WWW Write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas, concepts, and information clearly and accurately through the effective selection, organization, and analysis of content. A. Introduce a topic; organize complex ideas, concepts, and information to make important connections and distinctions; include formatting (e. . , headings), graphics (e. G. Figures, tables), and multimedia when useful to aiding comprehension. B. Develop the topic with well-chosen, relevant, and sufficient facts, extended definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples appropriate to the audience's knowledge of the topic. C. Use appropriate and varied transitions to link the major sections of the text, create cohesion, and clarify the relationships among complex ideas and concepts. D.Use precise language and domain-specific vocabulary to manage the complexity of the topic. E. Establish and maintain a formal style and objective tone while attending to the norms and inventions of the discipline in which they are writing. F. Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from and supports the information or explanation presented (e. G. , articulating implications or the significance of the topic). WWW Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.WWW Develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach, focusing on addressing what is most significant for a specific purpose and audience. WWW Use technology, including the Internet, to produce, publish, and update individual or shared writing products, taking advantage of technology capacity to link to other information and to display information flexibly and dynamically.WWW Conduct short as well as more sustained research projects to answer a question (including a self-generated question) or solve a problem; narrow or broaden the inquiry when appropriate; synthesize multiple sources on the subject, demonstrating understanding of the subject under investigation. Wool Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) ND shor ter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of tasks, purposes, and audiences.SSL Initiate and participate effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grades 9-10 topics, texts, and Come to discussions prepared, having read and researched material under study; explicitly draw on that preparation by referring to evidence from texts and other research on the topic or issue to stimulate a thoughtful, well-reasoned exchange of ideas. B. Work with peers to set rules for collegial discussions and decision-making (e. G. Informal consensus, taking votes on key issues, and presentation of alternate views), clear goals and deadlines, and individual roles as needed. C. Propel conversations by posing and responding to questions that relate the current discussion to broader themes or larger ideas; actively incorporate others into the discussion; and clarify, verify, or challenge ideas and conclusions. D. Respond thoughtfully to diverse perspectives, summarize points of agreement and disagreement, and, when warranted, qualify or Justify their own views and understanding and make new connections in light of the evidence and reasoning resented.SSL Integrate multiple sources of information presented in diverse media or formats (e. G. , visually, quantitatively, orally) evaluating the credibility and accuracy of each source. SSL Evaluate a speaker's point of view, reasoning, and use of evidence and rhetoric, identifying any fallacious reasoning or exaggerated or distorted evidence. SSL Present information, findings, and supporting evidence clearly, concisely, and logically such that listeners can follow the line of reasoning and the organization, development, substance, and style are appropriate to purpose, audience, and task.SSL Make strategic use of digital media (e. G. , textual, graphical, audio, visual, and interactive elements) in presentations to enhance understanding of findings , reasoning, and evidence and to add interest. SSL Adapt speech to a variety of contexts and tasks, demonstrating command of formal English when indicated or appropriate. (See grades 9-10 Language standards 1 and 3 on pages 54 for specific expectations. ) Al Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking. A. Use parallel structure. . Use various types of phrases (noun, verb, adjectival, adverbial, participial, repositioned, and absolute) and clauses (independent, dependent; noun, relative, adverbial) to convey specific meanings and add variety and interest to writing or presentations. LO Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing. A. Use a semicolon (and perhaps a conjunctive adverb) to link two or more closely related independent clauses. B. Use a colon to introduce a list or quotation. C.Spell correctly. Apply knowledge of language to understand how languag e functions in different contexts, to make effective choices for meaning or style, and to comprehend more Lully when reading or listening. A. Write and edit work so that it conforms to the guidelines in a style manual (e. G. , MEAL Handbook, Turban's Manual for Writers) Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meanings. A. Interpret Figures of speech (e. G. , euphemism, oxymoron) in context and analyze their role in the text. . Analyze nuances in the meaning of words with similar denotations. LO Acquire and use accurately general academic and domain-specific words and phrases, sufficient for reading, writing, speaking, and listening at the college and rarer readiness level; demonstrate independence in gathering vocabulary knowledge when considering a word or phrase important to comprehension or expression. Unit Essential Questions How does understanding a text's structure help me better understand its meaning? How does fluency affect comprehension?What do readers do when they do not understand everything in a text? Why do readers need to pay attention to a writer's choice of words? How do readers construct meaning from text? How do good writers express themselves? How does process shape the writer's product? How do writers develop a well written product? How do rules of language affect communication? Why does a writer choose a particular form of writing? Unit Enduring Understandings Understanding of a text's features, structures, and characteristics facilitate the reader's ability to make meaning of the text.Fluent readers group words quickly to help them gain meaning from what they read. Good readers employ strategies to help them understand text. Strategic readers can develop, select, and apply Good readers compare, infer, synthesize, and make connections (text to text, text to world, text to self) to make text personally relevant and useful. Good writers develop and refine their ideas for thinking, learning, communicating, and aesthetic expression Good writers use a repertoire of strategies that enables them to vary form and style, in order to write for different purposes, audiences, and contexts.Rules, conventions of language, help readers understand what is being communicated. A writer selects a form based on audience and purpose. Unit Learning Targets The students will . Read developmentally appropriate materials such as essays, articles, and speeches Understand literary heritage/movements as part of global tradition Analyze how arks reflect historical/social events and conditions Evaluate appropriateness of diction and figurative language Distinguish essential/nonessential information Differentiate fact vs.. Pinion Read and follow technical and instructional manuals Critique public documents Use rubric to evaluate writing of self/others Reflect on writing; set goals for improvement Critique published works for authenticity and credibility Write compelling openings and strong conclus ions Use most effective writing format/strategy for purpose and audience Use variety of organizational strategiesDemonstrate effective delivery strategies Make impromptu revisions based on audience feedback Use rubric to improve presentations Demonstrate appropriate listener response Identify propaganda and argument Evidence of Learning Summation Assessment (One day) Types of Nonfiction: Essays Articles Speeches Business Letter Editorial Formative Assessments: â€Å"Thinking About The Selection† Questions Teacher Observation of Whole Group and Small Group Discussion Response to Graphic Organizers Equipment Needed: Overhead Projector Overhead Transparencies of Graphic Organizers Chalkboard Teacher Resources:Ninth Grade New Jersey Penguin Edition, Prentice Hall Literature, 2007 Supplemental Lesson Plans Lesson Timeshare Lesson 1: Introducing Essays, Articles, and Speeches Teacher will introduce the definitions of essays, articles, and speeches and emphasize that the writer cont ributes more than information to nonfiction, but also contributes style, tone, perspective, and purpose through the writing. Teacher will explain differences among narrative, descriptive, expository, persuasive, and reflective essays. Students will read an essay and identify the author's tone and purpose. One periodLesson 2: Main Idea and Supporting Details Teacher will introduce and model reading skill of finding main idea and supporting details in an essay. Students will read an essay and fill out an anticipation guide to perform a literary analysis of the author's style. Teacher will guide students in recognition of author's style as being formed through the diction, syntax, and tone of the writing. Two periods Lesson 3: Literary Analysis: the Expository Essay Teacher will guide students in recognizing an expository essay as a short piece of nonfiction that presents information, discusses ideas, or explains a process.Students should identify the writer's technique of providing su pport as either description, comparison and contrast, or cause and effect. Teacher will guide students in reading an expository essay and ask guided reading questions to assist students in identifying main idea and supporting details. Teacher will guide students through reading a technical document and applying skill of identifying main idea and details to reading informational materials. Students will fill in a graphic organizer to identify information learned through diagrams, headings, labels, and other visual features.Two class periods Lesson 5: Biographical Writing Teacher will introduce biographical writing as a form of nonfiction in which a writer tells the life story of another person using factual information and interpreting these pieces of information. Teacher will guide students through reading of an excerpt from â€Å"A Lincoln Preface† by Carl Sandburg. Teacher will guide students in a discussion of what makes a great leader and students will analyze details fro m Lincoln life that fit the definition of a great leader.One class period Lesson 6: Writing a Business Letter Teacher will guide students in defining a business letter as a piece of resplendence that is written in the course of conducting business or professional matters. Teacher will emphasize qualities of a business letter including clarity, directness, courteousness, and format. Students will identify six parts of a business letter to include heading, inside address, greeting, body, closing, and signature. Students will read and analyze a sample business letter for these qualities.Lesson 7: Writing a Business Letter Students will brainstorm a list of purposes for writing a business letter and select an appropriate purpose for their own letter. Students will begin outlining contents of heir letter. Students will research address of company to which they will be writing and consider audience for their letter. Begin first draft of letter. Lesson 8: Writing a Business Letter Students will finish first draft of their business letter and exchange letter with a peer to proofread and edit.Peers will provide feedback on strengths and weaknesses of letter for revision purposes. Lesson 9: Writing a Business Letter Students will use feedback form to revise letter and write a final draft. Lesson 10: Persuasive Essay convince a reader to think or act in a particular way. Teacher will emphasize that the persuasive essay usually includes appeals to reason and/or appeals to emotion. Teacher will guide students through reading a persuasive essay and assist them in identifying the author's motive and line of reasoning.Lesson 1 1: Persuasive Essay Students will read a persuasive essay independently and analyze passages as appealing to reason or emotion by creating a graphic organizer. Students will compare findings in small group and then share thoughts as a whole class. Lesson 12: Persuasive Speech Teachers will guide students in identifying a persuasive speech as one that tr ies o convince listeners to think or act in a certain way. Teacher will assist students in recognizing rhetorical devices including parallelism, restatement, repetition, and analogy.Teachers will guide students through reading and listening to Martin Luther King, Jar. ‘s â€Å"l Have a Dream† speech. Lesson 13: Persuasive Speech Students will identify examples of restatement, repetition, parallelism, and analogy in Martin Luther King, Jar. ‘s â€Å"l Have a Dream† speech by filling out a graphic organizer. Lesson 14: Persuasive Speech Students will apply skills they have learned for listening to author's purpose and heterocyclic devices in persuasive speech to Franklin Delano Roosevelt â€Å"First Inaugural Address. Lesson 1 5: Humorous Essay Teacher will guide students in recognizing a humorous essay as a form of nonfiction writing intended to make the reader laugh. Teacher will emphasize the humorous writer's use of hyperbole, understatement, and comic d iction as effective techniques. Teacher will guide students in reading of â€Å"The Talk† by Gary Sotto. Lesson 16: Humorous Essay Students will apply skills they have learned for reading a humorous essay to organizer with samples of hyperbole, understatement, and comic diction found in say and share findings as a whole class.Lesson 17: Writing to Persuade: The Editorial Students will read sample editorials and recognize the format as one decisive and public way to take a stand on an issue. Students will brainstorm a list of issues that confront the school or community about which they may choose to write. Lesson 18: Planning an Editorial Students will plan an outline for their editorial to include a clear thesis statement, evidence that supports their argument and anticipates the reader's counterarguments, effective organization, and persuasive language. Students will egging first drafts of editorials.Lesson 19: Writing an Editorial Students will write first draft of editori al with focus on solid thesis statement and gathering evidence to support it, including information that contradicts or opposes position so they may acknowledge and overcome opposing viewpoints. Editorial should include both appeals to logic and emotion. Lesson 20: Editing and Proofreading Persuasive Writing Students will exchange rough drafts of editorials with peers and offer comments on strengths and weaknesses on feedback form. Meet with teacher in a writing conference to receive additional input on writing.Lesson 21: Publishing and Presenting Editorials Students will use feedback from peers and teacher to create final draft of editorials. Students will submit editorials to newspaper or post on a website. Teacher Notes: Lessons will be developed to address learning needs of students as reflected in NJ ASK scores. Teacher discretion should be used to provide appropriate differentiation of activities based on variety of learning styles and needs of individual students in the class room. Curriculum Development Resources: (Click the links below to access additional resources used to design this unit)

Understand the expected pattern

Explain the sequence and the rate of each aspect of development from birth to 19 years The sequence of child development means the expected development of a child from birth to 19 years. Child development refers to the biological and psychological and emotional changes that occur within this time. As the individual progresses from dependency to increasing autonomy.Because these developmental changes may be strongly influenced by genetic factors and events during prenatal life, genetics and prenatal development are usually included as part of the study of child development. Related terms include developmental psychology, referring to development throughout the lifespan, and paediatrics, the branch of medicine relating to the care of children. Developmental change may occur as a result of genetically-controlled processes known as maturation, or as a result of environmental factors and learning, but most commonly involves an interaction between the two.It may also occur as a result of h uman ature and our ability to learn from our environment. Human beings have a keen sense to adapt to their surroundings and this is what child development encompasses. Each child usually develops at the same rate as another child. Age Intellectual Social / Emotional Language Gross motor Fine Motor Infant – Birth to one year Learns about things with hands and mouth Attaches to mother and father, begins to recognise faces and smile; at about 6 months begins to recognise parents and expresses fear of strangers.Plays simple interactive games like peek-a-boo Vocalises, squeals and imitates sounds, says ‘dada' and ‘mama'Lifts ead first then chest, rolls over, pulls to sit, crawls and stands alone Reaches for objects and picks up small items; grasps rattle Toddler 1-2 years Learns words for objects and people Learns that self and parent(s) are different or separate from each other, imitates and performs tasks, indicates needs or wants without crying Says some words other than ‘dada' and ‘mama', follows simple instructionsWalks well, kicks, stops and Jumps in place, throws balls Unbuttons clothes, builds tower of 4 cubes, scribbles, uses spoon, picks up very small object Presch0012-5 years

Natural Sci 3 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Natural Sci 3 - Essay Example Finally, it will present a conclusion based on the data gathered and present recommendations for people who will try this test in the future. More often than not, people avoid cockroaches or try to kill or repel them, mainly because they carry disease and germs, and the fact that many people either find cockroaches disgusting, or are afraid of them. This is why these people spend money on insecticides, repellants, exterminators and other chemicals and gadgets for the purpose of getting rid of cockroaches. As commonly known, cockroaches are attracted to food, and are often found in dark confined places of the home. These cockroaches that we see are actually only a small percentage of the actual number of cockroaches in your home. According to an article by extension.umn.edu, â€Å"Cockroaches are nocturnal, hiding during the day and becoming active at night. The number of cockroaches people see is usually a small percentage of a much larger population.† And this means that ther e are definitely more cockroaches in your home than you expect. ... It will break down the pre-experiment and post-experiment information as such: Project design plan Problem Statement Relevance of the study Review of related literature Experimental design Dependent, independent and controlled variables Threat reduction to internal validity Hypothesis Post-experiment data analysis Data collection method Graphs and charts of the data collected Interpretation of results from the data collection Conclusions and recommendations Project design plan Problem Statement The problem that this paper aims to test is if the pandan plant is effective in repelling cockroaches from food. This paper aims to test the effectiveness of an all-natural, inexpensive, low-maintenance and non-toxic alternative for repelling insects. This paper will use a scientific style of experimentation in order to determine if the pandan plant is effective at repelling cockroaches. Relevance of the study This study aims to test the effectiveness of the pandan plant in order to determine if it can be used as a good alternative for electronic or chemical insecticides or repellents. This study is significant to several people and groups such as: Homes and families If proven, this natural alternative can help homes and families reduce the number of cockroaches in their home without having to spend so much money and avoid the danger of chemical repellants. This also gives families the ability to secure their food and rooms from cockroaches and the germs they bring using a low-maintenance method. Schools This gives schools the opportunity to keep their students secure and safe from the disease brought by roaches and keep their facilities from being infested by the roaches using a natural and low-maintenance

Asian American women before 1950 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Asian American women before 1950 - Essay Example Prior to this the community endured a century of hardships that mitigated their integration into mainstream American socio-culture. If racial prejudice was a sizeable challenge on its own, the issues were compounded for womenfolk. The rest of this essay is an overview of the Asian American experience prior to 1950. Sociological theories on ‘gender’ and ‘intersectionality’ were perused as were classic literary works and essays pertaining to the subject. It is instructive to look at theoretical perspectives that make lucid the Asian American women’s experience before 1950. During much of the evolution of sociology, studying history and society through the axis of gender was not common practice. Race, ethnicity, age, class and nation were the common definitive parameters for groups that were studied. Understanding socio-history from the perspective of gender was mainly an offshoot of feminist movements of mid-twentieth century. The second wave feminist m ovement was especially instrumental in introducing this approach. The relational identities of women of 19th century as either someone’s daughter, husband or mother is fully applicable to Asian American women. ... .the goal is to discover the range in sex roles and in sexual symbolism in different societies and periods, to find out what meaning they had and how they functioned to maintain the social order or to promote its change†. (Scott, 1986) Seen in the backdrop of this theoretical framework, it is fair to claim that Asian American women had a decidedly more arduous century prior to 1950 than their male counterparts. This is evident in the literary works of the time, especially that of Jade Snow Wong’s ‘Fifth Chinese Daughter’. The short novel is filled with real life events of the author as she lived through the transition from a native Chinese culture steeped in tradition and the more liberal outlook afforded in America. The book shows the patriarchal familial set up among the Chinese and how this can be a hindrance for immigrant women looking to avail of opportunities for personal and professional growth in the New World. ‘Intersectionality’ is ano ther useful theoretical basis for studying Asian American women’s experience, for it brings the core problems from different domains to the analysis. It helps the studied group to â€Å"invent and inhabit identities that register the effects of differentiated and uneven power, permitting them to envision and enact new social relations grounded in multiple axes of intersecting, situated knowledge.† (Chun, Lipsitz, and Shin, 2013) The theory is seen in action in Jew Law Ying’s ‘Coaching Book’ - a touching historical document that brings out the extent of Asian American women’s struggle for citizenship in the USA. The work is a translation of the ‘coaching book’ which the author’s father sent to her mother prior to the latter’s long voyage to America. The book

Managing Change and Innovation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Managing Change and Innovation - Essay Example This discussion stresses that change management is undertaken in organizations as being a structural approach towards shifting or transitioning the organizations, teams and individuals from their present state to a desired state in the future. It accounts for an organizational process which is aimed at the empowerment of the employees towards accepting or embracing a change in their organizational or business environment. The strategy begins with a systematic approach for diagnosing the present situation for determining both the need for change and also the capacity of the organization to implement changes. However, at the beginning of the plan the purpose, objective and process of the change must be specified to every member of the organization. Most organizations have acknowledged the idea of managing innovation in their organizations. In fact the performance of innovation varies greatly across organizations which suggest that both the organizational and structural factors affect t he influence of innovation on performance. As the report declares the change management strategies are explained in terms of Kotter’s eight steps to change. The theory is one of the most important and most widely accepted texts in modern organizations. It defines eight steps in which changes can be implemented in organizations effectively. Although the steps are primarily meant for organizations, they also find application in personal change initiatives. Successful change management is also explained in terms of the Lewin’s model of organizational change.... It defines eight steps in which changes can be implemented in organizations effectively. Although the steps are primarily meant for organizations, they also find application in personal change initiatives. Successful change management is also explained in terms of the Lewin’s model of organizational change. The model is responsible for the introduction of the force field analysis which identifies both the driving forces and the resisting forces for a given change situation. Explanation of Theories John Kotter’s eight steps model for change John Kotter’s eight steps begin with the creation of a sense of urgency, which is required for initiating a change process. This would draw the people’s focus towards the process of change. This is followed by placing a guiding team for directing the change process in order to confront with any difficulty collectively. This can be in the form of a coaching team or a team of experts. They would be responsible for creating the vision or the strategy which would be the driving factor for the change. The change process must be repeatedly communicated to people to keep the context in the minds of people. People must also be empowered to undertake the change. The change must include short term visions to make the process real and enthusiastic. This would effectively build the momentum for the change process. The consecutive steps must be designed and implemented carefully to increase the momentum and confidence of people. Finally a new culture must be nurtured to ensure that the change lasts for long and awareness prevails (Rock & Page, 2009, â€Å"John Kotter’s eight steps to change†). Lewin- Three step model Lewin has proposed which is based on three

Economics Analysis when Chicken food price is going up Term Paper

Economics Analysis when Chicken food price is going up - Term Paper Example The intersection point of the demand and supply curves is called the equilibrium point (Thomas & Maurice 2008). In the given scenario, there is an increase in the input cost for products made from chicken. The input costs are higher as the chicken feed price goes up. There are certain input costs and the increase in their prices results in a reduction of the supply of the products in which they are used. An increase in input cost causes the supply curve to move towards left. In other words, an increase in input costs reduces the overall profit to the supplier and hence, the supplier reduces the level of supply. The quantity demanded, as a result, does not satisfy and remains unchanged. In our case, the result of an increase in chicken feed prices will reduce the chicken output. Relating this to the Restaurant industry, the reduced supply of chicken will result in higher prices of chicken and eggs related cuisines like Burgers, Omelets, Sandwiches and most of the baked items like cakes. The equilibrium price in the restaurant industry for the foods containing eggs goes up due to the shift in t he demand curve. The equilibrium quantity, however, has shown a declining trend. The increment in feed cost moves the supply curve to the left. The reduced supply of chicken will lead to change in the price and demand of certain products. The price of all products in which chicken is used will go up and the quantity will also be reduced as shown in the figure above. Assuming Beef as a major substitute to chicken, it is obvious that with the rise in prices of chicken products, the demand for substitutes like beef-made products will rise. The demand curve shifts towards right (Krugman & Wells 2009). The consumer demand to have meat products will then be satisfied by the consumption of beef hence an increase in the demand for beef boosts up. The poultry industry will definitely be affected adversely due to the rise in

The debt ceiling Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

The debt ceiling - Term Paper Example This happened since the government did not want a repeat of 2001 fiscal crisis, which was because of the Congress refusing to raise the debt ceiling. However, raising the debt ceiling has driven the national debt to wanting levels; $14.3 trillions. In my opinion the debt ceiling should be raise, but as a short-term measure. This is because failure to raise the ceiling would have consequences. The first consequence is that the government may be unable to pay its workforce their salaries. This may lead to unrest in the country. Secondly, the government may default on what it owes other creditors, for examples, holders of government securities. These are monies in terms of bonds’ principal and interest. This would result to the US government having a bad credit rating. Government securities’ risk would go up causing the rate of interest attached to them going up. As a result, the cost of capital in the entire economy would go up thus increasing the cost of doing business. This in turn would lead to economic growth slowing down (Allen, 2012). Thirdly, foreign investors might lose faith to the US government thus refusing to lend to it. They may also sell their US government’s securities. This, in turn, may lead to the dollar losing value against the world currencies. All these may compound the situation and return the economy back to recession (Allen, 2012). Additionally, other conditions should accompany the raising of the debt ceiling. These should be long-term measures. First, the government should cut spending on unproductive activities such as wars and defense. These are some of the government expenses, which do not add value to the economy. Cutting spending on these activities would reduce the budget deficit, which would enable the government to lower the debt ceiling in future. Finally, the government should increase taxes on corporate and the rich to reasonable rates that should not hurt the economy. This too would help in reducing the budget

Write It Right Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Write It Right - Assignment Example Is the text clear and readable? Is papers structure logical? Do all my ideas coincide with the structure of my message? Can I change anything else in the message to make it better? ("Revising your Thesis"). According to POWA the four elements of the "writing context" are Content, Purpose, Writer, and Reader. Every writer, who is not writing for fun, has the purpose of his message. This purpose is embodied in message content, and is intended for certain readers. If I were the reader of my message I would have asked the following questions. Who is the writer and what type of person is he/she? What was the initial purpose of a writers message? How did writers features and mood influence the content of the message? Am I the only type of readers, for whom this message was created? Could I understand the content wrong? ("The Writing Context"). Very often a writer-beginner or the one without experience uses too many words while writing a paper, which are unnecessary and prevent a reader from understanding the main idea of the text. "Tightening" is one of the text revising technique, that allows to cut the excess words from a message, thus making it shorter, but more smooth and clear. "Tightening" can be done by restructuring a sentence or phrases in it to omit some of the words, making one big sentence from several short ones, using synonyms or set expressions instead of long descriptions and definitions

What is the reason behind the success of Open Source Essay

What is the reason behind the success of Open Source - Essay Example For software to become popular there is need to have a large pool of users. Many users ensure that the software penetrates communities at a higher momentum which in turn creates a snowball effect. Open source software needs also to be compatible with the end users’ needs. It is important to note that consumers of software products need to be protected to a certain degree by developers. However, this liability is not that tight in open source programs. An example is Linux which comes with no warranty or liability clauses and consumers are forced at times to stay with their problems. This reduced obligation by the corporate in respect to functionality or failures of the system makes many engage in open source development. Again in the corporate scenario there are time limits within which problems need to be fixed in case of failures. Open source developers usually save on cost in this respect by having another party make changes or offer support at a small fee. An example of thi s arrangement is Linux and Red Hut. Licensing of open source receives relaxed regulations for example from Free Software Foundation. These regulations make it possible to integrate technical support from a pool of experts. Therefore, for an open source to be adopted by many, programmers are supposed to integrate their resources in bridging the gap of consumer needs. Source Management There is a great deal of difference when an individual develops software and when a pool of programmers develops the same. One person is highly likely to overlook many aspects that are necessary in making the software compatible with the needs of the end user. It is however a challenge to have many developers scattered all over the world doing parallel jobs but it is even worse when there are many development streams involved. This is the case with Linux where the support team is required to deal with various end user preferences all at the same time. In software development and fixing of bugs one chang e can lead to changes in many other segments of the system. This problem has however been simplified in the last decade or so owing to the availability of high speed internet connectivity at low cost for example the AOL (Rehman & Carleton University, 2006). This makes testing of changes faster and efficient. In overall, the free or low cost connection coupled with high speeds provide for the execution of real time changes. This in turn promotes usage and access for many people; both end users and programmers from around the world. Development Environment In developing open source three things are necessary; network, software and the hardware. It is a fact that more people today are able to access internet at the comfort of their homes than it was the case a decade ago. It is however important to note that programmers mostly require high speeds to do their job efficiently. Cable internet in many countries and expanded bandwidth per user, especially at home have hugely increased the n umber of developers. These two factors act as motivators for programmers to take their time to develop software. The hardware on the other hand has changed over the years. Pentium III has been replaced by Pentium IV and now Duo Core machines are in the market. The hardware efficiency and capability to handle huge tasks are other factors to consider. Developers not only require high internet speeds but also high speed machines. There are pieces of software that are more complex than others therefore requiring high speed machines with big hard drive; all of which are possible nowadays. These current capabilities are in line with the increasing sophistication in integrating software development. However, Eclipse IDE is an example of a facilitator which enables programmers to use various operating systems (Rehman & Carleton University, 2006). Through this technology developers are able to scan libraries for materials with increased flexibility and ease. Such software

Fracking Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Fracking - Research Paper Example Any support and activities on fracking is equivalent to sitting on a time bomb and doing nothing about it. It is time for environmentalist to take action and stop fracking activities before the earth is in for irreversible troubles. Fracking and its related activities cause numerous harm to the environment and human beings, in addition to being unethical practice, and thus, it should be stopped. Fracking uses a lot of water, which in most cases is not available at the fracking site. Therefore, the stakeholders involved seek water also used by the community, which leads to depletion of community water sources; depleting water supplies could affect the cost of water for farmers and nearby communities. Transportation of water to the sites is very expensive, and the costs used in this transportation would have been put into better use like supporting the needy in society. Not to forget that clean water is a precious resource and scarce; hence it is very unfair to misuse it for fracking activities (Berkowitz 24). Moreover, transportation of this water uses a lot of energy, which can be put into other useful uses. Furthermore, the tracks for transporting this water release toxic gases into the atmosphere, which pollutes the air and cause environmental degradation. Furthermore, trucks used to transport the fluids cause extensive destruction of roads hence increase in the costs ass ociated with road renovation. The transport trucks are also responsible for noise pollution, not forgetting the large volumes of dusts associated with them. A combination of the above negative effects causes discomfort on the locals around the fracking sites hence in flinching on their rights to clean and healthy environment. Research shows that the chemicals used in fracking have carcinogenic properties; in the event that they escape through accidents or leakages and contaminate ground water, serious health concern arises due to possible

My Journey Through Life Essay Example for Free

My Journey Through Life Essay When I started college back in 1994 I thought that this will be the last time that I would start my education at a new school, but life did not happen the way that I thought that it would. In this paper I will describe my past life experiences, and analyze my experiences that have made me the person that I am today using the adult development theories from this class. During this paper I will also state how I will look forward to accomplishing my future goals. I grew up in a small town in Massachusetts. As I child I grew up around my family owned garage. During this period of my life I saw my families get divided by the power of money. My father and uncle inherited the business when my grandfather passed away. Before when my  grandfather was alive everything was great in life, but ever since he passed everything changed. I saw how my uncle who was the eldest take control of the money, and how he treated my father differently than before. During this time of my life it me that money can change any person no matter who they are even if they are related. As a child growing up I played sports all year long. I played football, basketball, and baseball. Since I was the youngest one in my family I followed my older brother around and his friends. My brother is three years older than myself. I would always play sports with his friends, and it made me a better athlete competing against older kids. All I wanted to do since I was a child was to go out and play sports. Growing up my family took many vacations. My fondest times were when we would go camping all around the United States. During these times I got to see all different parts of the country and it helped us bond as a family. Each time we went on vacation my mother and father would never fight. These vacations were my fondest ones just for that reason that we seemed like the perfect family. Then once we got home my parents seemed to be the exact opposite then when we were on vacation. My dad had problems with his brother at the garage and took out his frustration on my mother. This was like night and day from the family that we were on vacation. Growing up my mother was my most influential person in my life. I remember her playing catch with me when my dad was not around. My mother would always attend my sporting events even though she did not understand any of the games that I played. My mother always told me to never let any person tell you that you cannot do anything in life that it is up to yourself what you choose to accomplish. Growing up I played sports all year long. During the course of the year I had my same coaches for many years and they became like father figures to me. They taught me that playing sports was a privilege that had to be earned. They taught that it did not matter how good you were at sports that if you did not have good grades that you were not allowed to play. Playing sports also instilled in me that you have to trust and respect others, because you cannot do everything yourself. As a student in high school I had many different teachers. I had one teacher Mr. Rice who would be very hard on me when I would make a mistake on my assignments. He would always call me out on my mistakes in front of everyone in class to let me know when I was wrong. Once I completed his  class he pulled me aside and told me that I was one of his best students since I learned from my mistakes and never quit. Growing up my parents made me get a job once I turned sixteen. Even though I played sports all year around my parents told me that not everything in life is giving to you. One of my first jobs was a stock boy at our local grocery store. During this time I had to schedule my work, sports, and school work around my work so I would not fall behind. This was a very important lesson in my life that taught me time management along with responsibilities that come along with growing up as a young adult. Once I left college after two years to become an adult I found a job at my brothers company being a micro-electronics technician. This job helped me move out of my parents’ house and become an adult. I learned some of my most valuable lessons in life. This job taught me that I was responsible for every daily activity. I had to provide my own food all the way down to paying each bill to keep a roof over my head. This was a very important lesson in my life that helped prepare myself for next job. After five years of being a micro-electronics technician I moved to Florida and found a job in the quality assurance field. This was one of my most important jobs that would affect my life. As I have grown into an adult and have integrated what I have learned. The â€Å"universal ethical principles state that ideas about right and wrong come from within after a long period of thinking, reasoning, and integrating what we have learned about life† (Witt Mossler, 2010, CH 3, â€Å"Moral Development†). This job made me realize what I wanted to do in life, and helped me think about what is right and wrong . Before this job the only thing that I cared about was the money. This job gave me satisfaction of what I do on a daily basis. This job did bring me to Florida. I lived in Massachusetts for 26 years until I took my job in the quality field. It was a total culture shook when I moved here. Before this move I was accustomed to my environment in Massachusetts. I realized that things up north move at a faster pace than things in the south. This move was a big culture change for me. This moved helped me grow in many ways than I could have never imagined. I had to learn on how to adapt to different cultures and beliefs that I was not used to. One of the greatest achievements that I have made was moving to Florida and meeting my wife. At the time when I meet her I was unemployed and was running out of money. She brought back hope in my  life and me realize that I have a lot more to offer than just walking around with my head down. Since her belief in me when we got married, I have bought a brand new house, a new truck, and I have more money in my bank account than I have ever before. Meting my wife was one of the best achievements in my life. A few months after getting married to my wife we welcomed our daughter into this world. With her arrival she has taught me many life lessons that I did not have before. She taught me the importance of putting others first. Before her I never thought really about how I could improve upon my life. Since her birth I started to think about finishing my education so I can provide her and my wife with a better life. Going back to school is a very big achievement for me. I would have never thought about going back to school at age thirty eight. But since my daughter was born many of my past thoughts have changed. I realized that I need to set a good example for my daughter. I do not want her growing up thinking why daddy did not finish his degree. By continuing my education this will â€Å"result in employment and wage gains and has a positive influence on continuing education.† (National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy, B. A. (2002). As a result of continuing my education my employment opportunities will open up as well as my daughter’s thoughts that you can continue education no matter how old you are. In Conclusion, I have discussed some of my life experiences that have made me the person that I am today. I have broken down some of my key experiences using adult development theories from this class. Finally I have presented my future goals and how I plan on achieving them. The experience and knowledge that I have learned throughout this course will help me as I continue in my journey throughout life. Reference National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy, B. A. (2002). The First Five Years: National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy, 1996-2001. Retrieved from EBSCOhost. Witt, G. A., Mossler, R. A. (2010). Adult development and life assessment. Retrieved from https://content.ashford.edu/

Literature Review of Cultural Leadership Essay Example for Free

Literature Review of Cultural Leadership Essay Cultural leadership is a diverse subject to touch upon. This aspect of leadership is constantly growing and changing. People should not look into cultural leadership with biased opinions. Dividing cultural leadership into sub groups just gives people an opinion on how to look at people differently. Cultural leadership should be looked at as a whole, as we are one, working together, with the same goal to be successful. Cultural leadership profiles are used to classify what followers expect from leaders in ten cultures cluster groups comprising of sixty-two countries. Six different leadership behavior classifications are used to show what profile is dominant in varying strengths in each region. A successful leader involves more than just planning, coordinate, managing and supervising. A successful leader also has the ability to deal with all genres of people. Whether in involves ethnicity, sexual orientation or people with different cultures. The success of an organization is highly impacted by its culture, which is part of a strategic planning of an organization. What is culture? Culture is defined as the universally shared beliefs, values, and norms of a group of people. Two factors that can hinder cultural awareness are ethnocentrism and prejudice. It is challenging for leaders because it averts them from fully understanding the world of others. Prejudice has a negative impression because it is self-orientated and restrains leaders from seeing the many sides and qualities of others. Whatever makes them unique is their culture. Having a clear understanding of one’s culture, communicating with each other will be much more efficient. Culture has been the attention of many findings across a variety of principles. In the past 30 years a significant number of studies have focused on specifically on ways to recognize and categorize the various dimensions of culture. Determining the rudimentary dimensions or charismas of different cultures is the first step in being able to recognize the relationships between them. Ever since World War II, globalization has been progressing throughout the world. Globalization is the increased interdependence (economic, social, technical, and political) between nations. People are becoming more interconnected. There is an increasingly significant amount of international trade, cultural exchange, and use of worldwide telecommunication systems. In the past ten years, our schools, organizations, and communities have become a lot more global. Increased globalization has created many challenges as well, for example the need to design effective multinational organizations, to identify and select appropriate leaders, and to manage organizations with culturally distinctly different employees. Globalization has also fashioned a need to understand how cultural differences affect the leadership performances. Globalization also created the requirement for leaders to become knowledgeable in cross-cultural awareness and practice. First, leaders need to understand business, political, and cultural settings worldwide. Second, they should learn the perspectives, tastes, trends, and technologies of multiple cultures. Third, they basically need to be able to work concurrently with people from many cultures. Fourth, leaders must be able to familiarize to living and communicating in other cultures. Fifth, they need to acquire to relate to people from other cultures from a position of equivalence rather than cultural supremacy. Anthropologists, sociologists, and many others have questioned the meaning of the word culture. Because it is a theoretical term, it is hard to define, and many different people often define it in unrelated ways. Here, culture is defined as the learned beliefs, values, rules, norms, symbols, and traditions that are common to a group of people. It is these shared qualities of a group that make them matchless. In summary, culture is the way of life, different customs, and script of a group of peoples. Related to culture, are the expressions of multicultural and diversity. Multicultural indicates an approach or classification that takes more than one culture into interpretation. It mentions to the existence of multiple cultures such an African, American, Asian, European, and Middle Eastern. Multicultural can also denote to a set of subcultures defined by race, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or age. Diversity signifies to the subsistence of different cultures or ethnicities within a group or organization. Ethnocentrism is the inclination for beings to place their own group (ethnic, racial, cultural) at the center of their interpretations of others and the world. People tend to give importance and value to their own beliefs, attitudes, and values, over and above other groups. Ethnocentrism is the sensitivity that one’s own culture is better or more expected than the culture of others. Ethnocentrism is a worldwide tendency, and each and every one of us is ethnocentric to some degree. Ethnocentrism can be a major impediment to effective leadership because it averts people from fully understanding and/or respecting the perspectives of others. The more ethnocentric we are, the less open or accepting we are of other people’s cultural customs and practices. Prejudice is a general continual attitude, belief, or emotion believed by an individual about another individual or group that is based on defective or unproven statistics. It refers to assumptions about others based on previous decisions or occurrences. Prejudice involves obstinate generalizations that are impervious or change or evidence to the opposing. Prejudice is often thought in the framework of race. In addition to combating their own prejudice, leaders also face the experiment of dealing with the prejudice of followers. These prejudices can be toward the manager or the leader’s culture. Additionally, it is not infrequent for the leader to face followers who symbolize several culturally different groups, and these groups have their own prejudgments toward each other. A experienced leader needs to find ways to negotiate with followers from numerous cultural backgrounds. Training programs about culture and diversity have been admired for many years. At the center of these programs, people are educated about the degrees and characteristics of different cultures, and how to be perceptive to people in other countries and cultures. Considerate about issues about culture is useful in several ways. The discoveries about culture can help leaders recognize their own cultural biases and inclinations. Tolerant of their own preferences is the first step in accepting that people in other cultures might have different predilections Additionally, the findings help leaders to apprehend what it means to be a noble leader. Different cultures have different ideas about what they desire from their leaders. These verdicts help our leaders adapt their style to be more operative in different cultural settings. Third, the findings help leaders correspond more effectively across cultural and geographic boundaries. By considering cultural differences, leaders can become more empathic and precise in their communication with others. Information on culture and leadership has also been applied in very concrete ways. It has been used to construct culturally perceptive Web sites, design new employee orientation programs, organizing programs in relocation training, advance global team effectiveness, and expedite multinational merger implementation. These illustrations clearly specify the wide range of applications for research on culture and leadership in the workplace. GLOBE researchers allocated the data from the 62 countries they studied into regional masses. These masses provided a expedient way to investigate the similarities and differences between cultural groups, and to make significant generalizations about culture and leadership. In sum, these regional masses exemplified a valid and dependable way to differentiate countries of the world into 10 distinct groups. The GLOBE studies compromise the greatest body of findings to date on culture and leadership. GLOBE researchers studied how 17,000 managers from 62 different countries perceived leadership. They evaluated the similarities and differences between regional clusters of cultural groups by grouping countries into 10 distinct clusters; the outcome was a list of leadership attributes that were universally recognized as positive and negative. The representation of an ineffective leader is someone who is asocial, malicious, self-focused, and autocratic. The conceptualization of leadership used by GLOBE researchers was consequential in part from the work of Lord and Maher on implicit leadership theory. Concurring to implicit leadership theory, individuals have implicit beliefs and opinions about the qualities and theories that differentiate leaders from non-leaders and effective leaders from ineffective leaders. â€Å"Leadership is in the eye of the beholder.† Leadership refers to what people see in others when they are demonstrating leadership behaviors. To depict how different cultures view leadership behaviors in others, GLOBE researchers identified six global leadership behaviors: * Charismatic/Value-Based Leadership: Reflects the ability to inspire, to motivate, and to expect high performance from others based on strongly held core values. This kind of leadership includes being visionary, inspirational, self-sacrificing, trustworthy, decisive, and performance oriented. (Peter Northouse 2012). * Team-Orientated Leadership: Emphasizes team building and a common purpose among team members. This kind of leadership includes being collaborative, integrative, diplomatic, non-malevolent, and administratively competent. (Peter Northouse 2012). * Participative Leadership: Reflects the degree to which leaders involve others in making and implementing decisions. It includes being participative and non-autocratic. (Peter Northouse 2012). * Humane-Oriented Leadership: Emphasizes being supportive, considerate, compassionate, and generous. This type of leadership includes modesty and sensitivity to other people. (Peter Northouse 2012). * Autonomous Leadership: Refers to independent and individualistic leadership, which includes being autonomous and unique. (Peter Northouse 2012). * Self-Protective Leadership: Reflects behaviors that ensure the safety and security of the leader and the group. It includes leadership that is self-centered, status conscious, conflict inducing, face saving, and procedural. (Peter Northouse 2012). Cultural Leadership in organizations always seems to miss the discussion of how leadership keeps culture in organizations stable. Charisma is where it all begins. Therefore having multiple cultural leaders helps to resolve this issue. Most leaders do and say different things, but in the end, everyone just wants success. Whether that success is culture, coordination, or a profitable business, or all of those things, many people learn to cope with differences by experience. Experience is the best form of knowing, therefore, to be a great leader; you have to start somewhere. The leader, the followers, and the situation, all have to do with leadership. As well as playing a significant role in cultural leadership. Or any type of leadership for that matter. Personal qualities, perceived situation, vision and mission, followers’ and attributes, leader behaviors, performance, administrative actions, use of cultural forms, and the use of tradition all are key elements to a successful leader, their followers, the business, and the outcome of the business, organization, company. Multicultural is increasing all over the world. Even though America is known as the melting pot, everywhere across the world have cultural behaviors within their organization. Ethics affects leadership, as well as tradition. But studies complied on cross-cultural leadership have been attained, and this helps us to understand the differences between different cultures from our own. Decaregorization is a cultural leadership style for employees to become more aquinted with one another. This style helps companies get to know onw another and interact in a positive manner doing something else besides work. The leader would old a funraiser, etc. Therefore, rather than group-based interactions, this approach will focus on individuality. The following quotes are crucial to cultural leadership, and accepting differences among others. â€Å"Moral excellence comes about as a result of habit. We become just by doing just acts, temperate by doing temperate acts, brave by doing brave acts.† – Aristotle, Nichomachean Ethics (350 BCE). â€Å"Lead them with culture and regulate them by the rules of propriety, and they will have a sense of shame and, moreover, set themselves right.† – Confucius (5110479 BCE). The results of ethical leadership came up with six main themes from the responses of all six societies. Accountability, consideration and respect for others, fairness and non-discriminatory treatment, character, collective orientation – organization and social, openness and flexibility. Each society is unique, and to understand the differences, you must experience it firsthand. Reading and learning will only give your insight. Aforementioned cultural leadership must be learned in person, by the leader and its followers, for they are working towards a common goal. Leadership profiles are used to describe how cultures view leadership behaviors. There are six leadership behaviors identified by Globe researchers, they are: charismatic/value based, team-oriented, participative, humane- oriented, autonomous, and self-protective.( House Javidan, 2004) Charismatic/value based leadership is being visionary, inspirational, with the ability to motivate high performance from others based on strongly held core values. Team-oriented leadership is instilling a common purpose among team members to encourage a team effort by being collaborative, diplomatic, and administrative competent. Participative leadership involves making others in the decision making process and includes being non-autocratic and participative. Autonomous leadership is being unique, independent, and a individualistic leader. Humane-oriented leadership is being modest and sensitive to other people, being supportive, compassionate, and generous. Self-protective is self-centered, face saving, status conscious, ensuring the safety and security of the leader and group. There are ten distinct groups to differentiate countries of the world into regional clusters ( e. g. Ronen Shenkar, 1985) Middle East, made up of Qatar, Morocco, Egypt, Kuwait, and Turkey. Nordic Europe which includes Denmark, Finland, and Sweden. Latin Europe comprising Israel, Italy, Spain, Portugal, France, and Switzerland. Latin America made up of Ecuador, El Salvador, Columbia, Bolivia, Brazil, Guatemala, Argentina, Costa Rica, Venezuela, and Mexico. Southern Asia which includes The Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, India, Thailand, and Iran. Sub-Saharan Africa consisting of Zimbabwe, Namibia, Zambia, Nigeria, and South Africa. ( Black caucus) Anglo consists of Canada, the United States, Australia, Ireland, England, South Africa( white caucus) and New Zealand. Confucian Asia includes Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, China, South Korea, and Japan. Eastern Europe is Greece, Hungary, Albania, Slovenia, Poland, Russia, Georgia, and Kazakhstan. Germanic Europe includes Austria, The Net herlands, Sweden, and Germany. Middle Eastern culture and leadership perceived to be effective in this region of the world are the interrelationships among societal culture, organizational culture and leadership methodologies. Data collected from four Middle Eastern nations (Iran, Kuwait, Turkey, and Qatar) provide an insight into the framework of societal and organizational values and management practices in Arab countries. The great majority of the population in Iran, Kuwait, Turkey, and Qatar are muslins. Turkey has a formal state ideology; the state is independent of religious rules and is run by secular rules mostly adapted from the west. Iran, Kuwait, and Qatar are not secular, but religious laws dominate. Also differences in the Islamic sects, Iran being predominately â€Å"shiite†, Kuwait, Turkey, Qatar people largely â€Å"sunni†. Language may account for part of the differences in Middle East region, while Islamic religion seems to be a common attribute. In making plans and forecasts all four nations are below average and very close to each other, which involves the concept of fate embodied in Islamic beliefs. Effective leadership attributes in Middle Eastern societies have universalistic characteristics and some culture-specific attributes with participation having a different meaning compared to western societies, being centered on satisfaction of egos rather than to improve quality of a decision. Organizational leaders tend to be more sensitive to local cultures and traditions and more future-orientated practices, plus promote change.( Introduction to the special issues on Leadership and Culture in the Middle East, Hayat Kabasakal and Ali Dastmalchian) Face saving and status are important characteristics of effective leadership, and deemphasizes charismatic/value based and team- oriented leadership. Looking after one’s job and security is of the upmost priority for most leaders in this group category. Diversity of management systems exist across contemporary Europe, and societal culture diversity remains unquestionable and frequently preserved as much as possible. The formation of the European Union has opened up all borders, increasing diversity if cultures, all intermingling, changing cultural clustering, and cultural divide between eastern and western Europe. Prior studies of cultural distinctions, cross-cultural studies between east-west and north-south European distinctions are changing from prior data and may need further studies. Managers in Germanic countries make more participative decision-making behavior, central Europe makes more autocratic decisions. West European (Nordic, Anglo, Latin) empathize more â€Å"Equality â€Å"or egalitarian commitment. East and near East countries lean more toward hierarchy or conservatism. North Europe has shown to favor equality and participation, while managers from Southern Europe prefer more hierarchy. A coaching leader is preferred in North Europe, while preference is for a directing leader in South Europe. While self centered and malevolence are seen as impeding leadership in all clusters. Eastern Europe leader would be independent while maintaining strong interest in protecting their position as leader. Nordic Europe want leaders who are inspiring and involve others in decision making, not concerned with status and other self-centered attributes. Anglo Europe want leader to be exceedingly motivating and visionary, considerate of others, team orientated and autonom ous and not autocratic. Latin America leader is charismatic/value based but somewhat self serving, collaborative and inspiring. Confucian Asia leader works and cares about others but uses status and position to make independent decisions without input of others. Sub-Saharan Africa sees effective leadership as caring, should be inspirational, collaborative, and not excessively self centered. A portrait of a leader who is high in integrity, is charismatic/value based, and has interpersonal skills is one whom almost everyone would see as exceptional. (Dorman et al. 2004) After major corporate failures and financial failures of banks and other high impact institutions, being honest and trustworthy could be a high priority for leadership positions in all culture groups. Other personal traits or learned skills would be useful and desirable attributes but lower on the priority scale. Being positive and intelligent definitely would be useful as a leader of any type of venture or business. There are a lot of other positive attributes that would be desirable for leadership; among them is one that plans ahead, having foresight to accurately see what is coming up in near and long range time predictions. Being a team builder, instilling confidence in others encouraging them with a just and dependable example. Personal traits such as being administrative skilled, decisive, and motivating people to be excellence oriented would be very beneficial to any leader and followers. Leaders should be aware and knowledgeable of the many undesirable attributes that can be obstacles in being an effective leader. Being a loner and anti-social would be very negative in showing followers your concern for them and gaining their confidence. The most visible and destructive undesirable attribute in recent events is that of being ruthless, as you would think of people in financial leadership of banks and wall street that caused the massive collapse of the world economies. Being dictatorial and egocentric is very bad for keeping a positive relationship with followers. Personal traits like being irritable and non-cooperative would be hard to understand by followers. There are many strengths associated with classifications of culture groups into clusters that can be easily be utilized for leadership profiles so as to provide a data base of reference for managers of international corporations. Providing valuable asset for training more efficient leaders is one of the strength, it also provides a good understanding of how different cultures have an impact upon leading a workforce into better cohesion and productive atmosphere in the workplace. What followers expect from leaders is a signal to upper management as to what type of person would be more effective with a certain culture group. A second strength could be that this provides useful information/guidelines about what is accepted as good and bad leadership, a yardstick for managers/leaders to measure how do I measure up? Leadership and culture are two separate studies, but inseparable in effective leadership programs. There are some criticisms on culture and leadership classification studies in that a lot of findings about perceptions of leadership in different cultures do not provide a clear set of assumptions and propositions that can be used to provide a single theory about the way culture influences the leadership process. Another one would be in that some of the terms used are hard to understand without any education about the diversity of world culture. The meanings of some terms are very vague. The conceptualizations in these studies of culture and leadership integration has had varying reception from people on that it being a process of being perceived by others as being a leader. Also the way a provocative list of universally endorsed desirable and undesirable leadership attributes are presented. Different cultures have different ideas about what they want from their leaders. Understanding the diversity of cultures in the workplace today can be very positive for leaders and followers in their pursuits. While there are many studies on culture leadership and the GLOBE Study, there is also a model that helps leaders in achieving effective cultural leadership. In that it helps them understand the difference that exits among national cultures. The model was developed by Geert Hotstede. In his research he outlines the variation of national culture into five dimensions. They are as follow: individualistic/collectivistic, high power distance/low power distance; high and low uncertainty avoidance, achievement/nurturing; and long-term/short-term orientation. Familiarity with the GLOBE Study and the Hofstede model, leadership culture is made easy and will increase organizational effectiveness. This will also create better relationship among nations. This will benefit the common good of all through respect and better communication. Individualistic people; according to Hofsede, worry about themselves and that of those who are close to them or who are like them. They tend not to trust outsiders. In contrast, collectivistic work in groups, much like team players. The second dimension of Hofsede’s study is power distance. Some cultures have accepted high power distance and others low power distance. High power distance cultures display great respect for those in authority or power holders. This model is seen based on the difference between leaders and their followers. It is obvious in pay scale, benefits and promotions. Though lower power distance: power is distributed more equally among group members; there is much lateral communication line between subordinates and leaders. Third dimension is high uncertainty avoidance. This dimension is concerned with the impact of societal norms, ritual and what is being done in avoiding uncertainty. Organizations want to be able to predict the future based the rules of cultures are used. They live under constant stress because of fear of the future. In contrast; low uncertainty avoidance is comfortable with risks, they do not impose or create friction over differences in behaviors and or others opinions. Those cultures in the low uncertainty avoidance tend to be more tolerant of others. The next dimension is achievement; those belonging to this group tend to be more aggressive. They are assertive, they are confrontational, there is a lot of greed for money and they lack humility. They encourage competitiveness among them and others. Whereas the opposite of that is nurturing, they value relationship and are genuinely concern about the wellbeing of others. The last set of dimension of natural culture is long-term orientation. They are optimistic of the future and they are persistent. Though short-term orientation, they stay in the past, they place high importance on values of the past. In addition to the Five Dimensions of National Culture as described by Hofsete, there is for additional dimensions that affect cultural leadership. They are as follows, and I quote as listed in Northouse (2010): * Institutional Collectivism: An organization or sociality encourages institutional or societal collective action. (Peter Northouse 2012). * In-Group Collectivism: People express pride, loyalty, and cohesiveness in their organizations or families. In-group collectivism is concerned with the extent to which people are devoted to their organizations or families. (Peter Northouse 2012). * Gender Egalitarianism: An organization or society minimizes gender role differences and promotes gender equality. (Peter Northouse 2012). * Assertiveness: People in a culture are determined, assertive, confrontational, and aggressive in their special relationships. (Peter Northouse 2012). * Future Orientation: People engage in future-oriented behaviors such as planning, investing in the future, and delaying gratification. (Peter Northouse 2012). * Performance Orientation: An organization or society encourages and rewards group members for improved performance and excellence. (Peter Northouse 2012). * Humane Orientation: A culture encourages and rewards people for being fair, altruistic, generous, caring, and kind to others. (Peter Northouse 2012). Through all of the studies it has been concluded that there is exact correlation between the culture of an organization and its effectiveness. And it also shows that a lot of those dimensions have a negative impact on the organization. In conclusion, cultural leadership is one of the major principles every organization, company, person needs to fully grasp. For decades, many researchers have been prophesying that globalization, increased technology, civil rights legislation, and changing demographics will generate new encounters for leaders who administer a diverse organization. All of these elements place a considerably improved probability that workers from both genders, diverse nationalities, ethnic backgrounds, numerous races, and a mixture of religious will be essential to work jointly. This in sum, employees must work together to create a positive environment. This is what naturally will happen, and this is an international effort. References Leadership Theory and Practice Fifth Edition Peter G. Northouse Introduction to the Special Issue on Leadership and Culture in the Middle East(2001) Hayat Kabasakal Ali Dastmalchian Cultural Variations Across European Countries(2000) Felix C. Brodbeck Michael Frese THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF INTERDISCIPLINARY SOCIAL SCIENCES (http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=a2b5ee8b-a9d2-4bae-a8ed-16919582d9c5%40sessionmgr115vid=4hid=14) Chrobot-Mason, Donna, Ruderman, Marian N. Weber, Todd J, Oholott, Patricia J, Dalton, Maxine A. (Nov 2007) Illuminating a Cross-Cultural Leadership Challenge: When Identify Groups Collide. Volume 18 (11) 2011 (26). Retrieved From http://discover.linccweb.org/primo_library/libweb/action/display.do

Análisis de la Producción Legislativa 1990-2008

Anà ¡lisis de la Produccià ³n Legislativa 1990-2008 I. Resumen El presente trabajo titulado â€Å"Anà ¡lisis de la Produccià ³n Legislativa 1990-2008†, tiene el propà ³sito de analizar el desempeà ±o institucional del Congreso, como Poder del Estado, especà ­ficamente a su funcià ³n legislativa, en el perà ­odo comprendido entre el 1 ° de enero de 1990 al 31 de diciembre del 2008. Esta investigacià ³n nace de la inquietud de la relacià ³n entre el Poder Ejecutivo y el Poder Legislativo a raà ­z de la modificacià ³n a nuestra Constitucià ³n en el aà ±o de 1994. Luego de una crisis de legitimidad de unos comicios electorales, se modifica la fecha de las elecciones para elegir al Presidente de la Repà ºblica; nos encontramos con un Poder Legislativo, donde la mitad del perà ­odo iniciarà ­a con un ejecutivo y la otra mitad con otro ejecutivo diferente. Surge la inquietud de evaluar la produccià ³n legislativa y La Efectividad del Poder Legislativo: Entre el Poder Polà ­tico y el Poder Institucional Hablar de la labor del Congreso en tà ©rminos de produccià ³n presenta retos conceptuales significativos pues dicha labor no es reducible a una cuantà ­a objetiva y tangible sobre lo que pueda emitir el criterio comà ºn. Existe una dimensià ³n cuantificable en dicha labor: el Nà ºmero de leyes y Resoluciones emanados de la Asamblea Legislativa en determinado perà ­odo. Intentar dar igual peso a cada unidad de legislacià ³n representarà ­a importantes diferencias cualitativas entre ellas. Peor aà ºn, puede crear una ilusià ³n de eficiencia en perà ­odos en que crece la aprobacià ³n de leyes triviales o de ineficiencia en perà ­odos en que se aprueban tan solo unas pocas pero fundamentales. Es posible analizar la legislacià ³n aprobada cualitativamente, clasificando su relevancia segà ºn la opinià ³n de expertos (Mayhew, 1991). No obstante, es imposible hacerlo sin introducir un alto grado de subjetividad en el anà ¡lisis. La excelencia objetiva de la legislacià ³n aprobada solo puede valorarse con respecto a la legislacià ³n potencial-la agenda polà ­tica en un momento determinado. El estudio analiza y evalà ºa la produccià ³n del Poder Legislativo como à ³rgano de gobierno. Aunque las funciones del Parlamento son muy amplias y variadas (representar, debatir, controlar) su actividad legislativa es la que lo ubica como Poder co-gobernante y le otorga una posicià ³n central en el proceso polà ­tico de toma de decisiones. La razà ³n para analizar la produccià ³n legislativa del Congreso consiste precisamente en que el cumplimiento de sus otras funciones ha sido visto, frecuentemente, como un obstà ¡culo para su desempeà ±o como à ³rgano de gobierno. Adicionalmente, su condicià ³n asambleistita y el pluralismo de su integracià ³n, son los factores estructurales que apoyan una visià ³n crà ­tica que ve al Poder Legislativo como una institucià ³n â€Å"ineficiente† que bloquea el proceso de gobierno. En consecuencia, este anà ¡lisis y evaluacià ³n de la produccià ³n legislativa del parlamento busca establecer con precisià ³n la cuantà ­a de su contribucià ³n al proceso de gobierno y las caracterà ­sticas con que se desarrolla. Nuestro trabajo se centra, especà ­ficamente en las leyes y reformas a leyes aprobadas por mayorà ­a absoluta y no aborda las otras funciones constitucionales del Congreso. Dentro de este campo, la investigacià ³n presenta los siguientes productos: a) Nà ºmero total de leyes promulgadas por el Poder Ejecutivo; b) Ordenamiento de ese conjunto en base a un â€Å"Indice de Importancia Polà ­tica†, con una metodologà ­a de ponderacià ³n; c) Efectividad del Poder Ejecutivo y del Poder Legislativo en materia de iniciativas legislativas sancionadas en dicho perà ­odo, d) Vetos Institucionales, e) Nà ºmero de Partidos Polà ­ticos. Los resultados de la investigacià ³n en cada uno de estos puntos, se exponen en los respectivos capà ­tulos del informe, respaldado con cuadros y grà ¡ficas. El estudio està ¡ organizado de la siguiente manera: El Primer Capà ­tulo del informe es fundamentalmente un desarrollo conceptual que presenta una caracterizacià ³n del parlamento como institucià ³n. Inicialmente se establecen, de forma general, el conjunto de funciones de los parlamentos en los regà ­menes democrà ¡ticos y se muestra como sus caracterà ­sticas pueden variar en funcià ³n de ciertos aspectos del diseà ±o institucional. En el segundo apartado se da cuenta de las crà ­ticas que han recibido los Congresos tanto desde quienes le exigen eficiencia como desde los que lo acusan de debilidad institucional. Finalmente se desarrolla una caracterizacià ³n del parlamento dominicano, describiendo su ubicacià ³n institucional, composicià ³n, funciones, se describen las normas que regulan el proceso legislativo y algunas puntualizaciones sobre la evolucià ³n del Congreso en las dinà ¡micas de gobierno. El Segundo Capà ­tulo del informe desarrolla una propuesta metodolà ³gica para evaluar la produccià ³n legislativa del parlamento. Como es natural, el trabajo parte de la consideracià ³n de la cantidad de leyes sancionadas por el Poder Legislativo. El nà ºmero total es 1329 leyes en 18 aà ±os es en sà ­ mismo significativo. De todas formas parece obvio que las normas aprobadas son de muy diversa naturaleza, complejidad e impacto. En consecuencia un anà ¡lisis en profundidad debe necesariamente realizar una discriminacià ³n entre ellas. Es asà ­, que de forma complementaria se propone la utilizacià ³n de un â€Å"à ­ndice de importancia† de las leyes que las clasifica en cuatro categorà ­as en funcià ³n de la utilizacià ³n de cuatro criterios. Los criterios refieren a: i) el origen del proyecto en funcià ³n de resulta de una iniciativa del Poder Ejecutivo o del propio Poder Legislativo; ii) su alcance en tà ©rminos de impacto en la sociedad; iii) la repercusià ³n en la opinià ³n pà ºblica; y iv) la existencia o no de debates en los plenarios de las cà ¡maras. El à ­ndice se construye agregando los cuatro valores para cada ley generando cuatro categorà ­as de importancia: Muy alta, alta, media y baja. El Tercer Capà ­tulo entra de lleno en el anà ¡lisis longitudinal de la produccià ³n legislativa en Repà ºblica Dominicana, 1990-2008. En primer tà ©rmino se muestra la evolucià ³n del nà ºmero de leyes aprobadas durante los 18 aà ±os incluidos en el estudio. En esta primera aproximacià ³n se constatan dos regularidades. a) Es la aparicià ³n de una tendencia creciente con el tiempo en el nà ºmero total de leyes aprobadas. b) Es la presencia de un ciclo dentro de cada legislatura que muestra una tendencia al aumento en el nà ºmero total de leyes aprobadas hacia el final de cada perà ­odo legislativo. En segundo tà ©rmino se observa la legislacià ³n aprobada durante el perà ­odo de anà ¡lisis en funcià ³n de los resultados que surgen de la aplicacià ³n del à ­ndice de importancia de las leyes. Allà ­ se observa que las leyes de baja importancia son la mayorà ­a. Asimismo los diferentes tipos de leyes muestran comportamientos cà ­clicos disà ­miles dentro de cada legislatura. Mientras la aprobacià ³n de leyes de alta importancia se concentra en los primeros aà ±os de cada perà ­odo presidencial. Se sostiene que esta diferencia obedece principalmente a dos factores. A) el Poder Ejecutivo promueve a nivel legislativo buena parte de su agenda de gobierno al inicio de cada administracià ³n. B) en los primeros aà ±os de cada mandato se constituyeron mayorà ­as legislativas que hicieron viables los proyectos propuestos por el gobierno, esa incidencia se manifiesta de forma muy fuerte al inicio de cada administracià ³n y va decayendo con el transcurso de la misma. El cuarto capà ­tulo: Claramente el alto porcentaje de leyes importantes aprobadas por unanimidad en el perà ­odo 1996-200 obedece a la legislacià ³n vinculada al proceso de desarrollo institucional que vivià ³ el paà ­s. En cuanto a la disciplina legislativa de los partidos polà ­ticos, lo primero a destacar es que todos los partidos dominicanos, contrariamente a lo que se cree, muestran niveles de disciplina muy altos. Al considerar las votaciones de las leyes de alta importancia, se observa que en la gran mayorà ­a de ellas, todos los partidos votaron en bloque. El à ºltimo capà ­tulo del informe estudia la interposicià ³n de vetos por parte del Poder Ejecutivo a las leyes aprobadas por el Parlamento. Este comportamiento responderà ¡ de forma evidente a la existencia y permanencia de una coalicià ³n mayoritaria de gobierno o como reaccià ³n del Poder Ejecutivo, en condicià ³n minoritaria, frente a un Parlamento que tiende a mostrarse â€Å"proactivo† y ajeno a sus prioridades en materia polà ­tica, a medida que se aproximan las siguientes elecciones. En una apreciacià ³n inicial, considerà ¡bamos que los congresos eran dà ©biles desde el punto de vista de la produccià ³n legislativa quienes otorgan la legitimidad democrà ¡tica al proceso ordinario de elaboracià ³n de la ley. Es decir, el paso de las leyes por el Congreso, no sà ³lo es obligatorio en todo proceso legislativo, sino que es el elemento legitimador de las mismas ante la sociedad. Durante el desarrollo de la investigacià ³n fue evidente que el Legislativo es un à ³rgano sumamente complejo, que requiere de anà ¡lisis muy detallados sobre las dinà ¡micas que le dan forma. Debemos reconocer que en Amà ©rica Latina el Poder Legislativo es un actor mà ¡s poderoso de lo que generalmente se cree y que —precisamente por ello— es necesario tenerlo en cuenta, pues en muchas ocasiones termina moldeando y acotando el poder que se atribuye a la Presidencia de la Repà ºblica. La propia investigacià ³n deja abiertas varias interrogantes y muestra la necesidad de profundizar en otras funciones del Congreso, que son igualmente relevantes y que en conjunto muestran la efectiva densidad del desempeà ±o y de la legitimidad de las Cà ¡maras como cuerpos primarios del sistema democrà ¡tico: control y fiscalizacià ³n del Poder Ejecutivo y de otros organismos estatales. Dentro de este campo, la investigacià ³n pudiese desarrollar los siguientes productos: a) desempeà ±o de los partidos polà ­ticos, en tà ©rminos de incitativa legislativa y en tà ©rminos de disciplina; b) anà ¡lisis del proceso de tramitacià ³n de las leyes consideradas, disciplina de los conjuntos partidarios, etc. Serà ­a interesante poder evaluar la capacidad de propuesta y de respuesta de las representaciones congresionales, las modificaciones que se introducen a los proyectos en debate y los eventuales rechazos, los tipos de aprobacià ³n y sus alternativas concretas, observando las formas de disciplina, los intercambios y los procesos de negociacià ³n (inter e intra partidarios y sectoriales, entre los legisladores y los agentes ejecutivos) y estudiar los procesos de trabajo en las comisiones, que constituyen nà ºcleos estratà ©gicos de la labor legislativa y laboratorios privilegiados para el anà ¡lisis. Todo lo cual implica una relacià ³n inter-institucional compleja y un proceso dinà ¡mico de construccià ³n de mayorà ­as, para la sancià ³n de cada producto legislativo concreto. Sin perjuicio de alguna publicacià ³n, por mà ­ desconocida, que sirva de antecedente, el presente trabajo corresponderà ­a al primer estudio de este tipo que se realiza en el Repà ºblica Dominicana, lo que es un avance importante para el anà ¡lisis de polà ­tica comparada. Confiamos en que el producto inicial de à ©ste informe sea de utilidad para la labor legislativa, los estudios acadà ©micos. Es nuestro interà ©s abrir el debate de la funcià ³n de los poderes legislativos en el entorno presidencialista. Esperamos que de su lectura el lector especializado pueda extraer à ¡ngulos de anà ¡lisis o sugerencias que deberà ¡n contribuir al despliegue de su propia reflexià ³n. II. El Congreso Como Institucià ³n 2.1.Tiempos de Cambios El Congreso ocupa un lugar relevante en la estructura de gobierno de Repà ºblica Dominicana, como lo establece la normativa constitucional, pero tambià ©n a causa de las modalidades del rà ©gimen polà ­tico y de la composicià ³n nutrida del arco de partidos, afirmando una cultura cà ­vica con tradiciones democrà ¡ticas. Es sin duda una institucià ³n estratà ©gica de un sistema que se ha ajustado histà ³ricamente a un formato efectivo de separacià ³n, de independencia y de equilibrio entre los poderes del estado, que resulta a su vez alimentado por la dinà ¡mica polà ­tica, las representaciones de la ciudadanà ­a y la intervencià ³n consistente de los partidos. Varias circunstancias han ayudado a à ©ste perfil. En primer tà ©rmino, existe una tendencia histà ³rica universal de larga data que afecta a todos los sistemas democrà ¡ticos y que redunda en el reforzamiento del papel del Poder Ejecutivo y de las demà ¡s unidades de la administracià ³n en los procesos decisorios. Mà ¡s que à ³rganos de ejecucià ³n tenemos asà ­ un verdadero â€Å"poder gubernamental† -segà ºn la acertada caracterizacià ³n de Maurice Duverger [1](1962)- que se desarrolla como nà ºcleo de produccià ³n polà ­tica, en un sistema cambiante de relaciones institucionales, con nuevos và ­nculos de separacià ³n y articulacià ³n, cooperacià ³n y competencia entre los cuerpos mayores de gobierno, que modifican a su vez las caracterà ­sticas del proceso legislativo y los congresos de ejercicio de las demà ¡s funciones del Congreso. En tà ©rminos mà ¡s generales, las transformaciones corrientes inciden en la configuracià ³n de los factores de poder y de las alternativas de control, en el à ¡mbito de la economà ­a y en el conjunto de la sociedad. Se modifican las formas, las funciones y hasta el alcances de la polà ­tica, el oficio de los partidos y los patrones de legitimacià ³n, en un contexto de creciente complejidad y al tiempo que van cambiando las estructuras del estado y los modos de gobierno, los sistemas de gestià ³n pà ºblica y los requerimientos tà ©cnicos De este conjunto de factores y de las transformaciones concurrentes en la normativa constitucional, surge otro cuadro de condiciones para el ejercicio del Poder Legislativo. Nuevos componentes y problemas en la fabricacià ³n de la polà ­tica y de la legislacià ³n, un atado de relaciones institucionales de balance dificultoso y relativamente asimà ©trico. Habrà ¡ exigencias renovadas en la gestià ³n parlamentaria, particularmente en lo que toca a los procesos de trabajo y a la organizacià ³n, a los flujos de informacià ³n y a la disposicià ³n de saberes, a la capacidad colectiva de sus cuerpos y al desempeà ±o particular de los representantes y las bancadas, a las relaciones con la ciudadanà ­a y la opinià ³n pà ºblica. Estos elementos trazan un escenario de transicià ³n: en el que el Congreso es un actor con responsabilidades primarias en los procesos de cambio y debe tramitar a la vez su propia reconversià ³n polà ­tica e institucional. Siendo de hecho, sujeto y objeto de la reforma polà ­tica y del estado. Un centro que compite por participar con efectividad en los procesos de decisià ³n y un organismo mutante, que ha de ajustarse a las innovaciones en curso, mejorar sus capacidades y la calidad de su produccià ³n, corrigiendo sus dà ©ficits de â€Å"modernizacià ³n† y afrontando constantemente nuevos desafà ­os. 2.2. El Congreso: Funciones y Desafà ­os A travà ©s de distintas à ©pocas histà ³ricas, desde la antigua Grecia, las ciudades-estados, hasta nuestros dà ­as, y con modalidades por cierto muy diversas, la existencia de una asamblea deliberante y representativa, que albergue las expresiones del pluralismo y sea una instancia de participacià ³n, constituye una pieza fundamental en la configuracià ³n de un Rà ©gimen Polà ­tico Legà ­timo. En los sistemas democrà ¡ticos modernos, los Congresos son precisamente asambleas de naturaleza colectiva, composicià ³n plural y carà ¡cter permanente (Cotta, 1988), cuya centralidad deriva de las competencias que en esa condicià ³n tiene asignadas, como poder del estado y à ³rgano de gobierno: representacià ³n polà ­tica y debate, cuerpo de control e instancia de decisià ³n, titular primario de la funcià ³n legislativa y responsable de otras funciones pà ºblicas (constituyentes, jurisdiccionales, de administracià ³n, actos habilitantes o de autorizacià ³n). La fortaleza y la debilidad de los partidos y del sistema de partidos, su consistencia y su grado de institucionalizacià ³n, influyen obviamente en el peso polà ­tico y la capacidad de accià ³n del Congreso. Por otra parte, el balance entre el Poder Legislativo y el Poder Ejecutivo, el ascendiente del Jefe de Gobierno, las formas de articular su liderazgo y de ejercer la conduccià ³n polà ­tica, asà ­ como sus potestades para determinar la agenda parlamentaria, que dependen de las recursos institucionales de que à ©ste dispone por derecho, pueden igualmente variar en funcià ³n de los poderes de fuente partidaria y asimismo, con la formacià ³n de coaliciones polà ­ticas. La forma de las coaliciones y en particular, los và ­nculos de cooperacià ³n y de competencia entre los partidos asociados, asà ­ como las relaciones con otros partidos y con las escuadras de oposicià ³n, dibujan el margen de discrecionalidad polà ­tica del Presidente, modelan los trà ¡mites concretos de formacià ³n de mayorà ­as y determinan (o â€Å"sobre-determinan†) las modalidades de construccià ³n de la agenda congresional y los procesos legislativos. Segà ºn ello, las Cà ¡maras y los sectores partidarios representados los que està ¡n en la oposicià ³n y los que revistan en la coalicià ³n que apoya al gobierno- pueden tener frente a à ©ste, alternativas diversas de autonomà ­a y de disciplina, con diferentes posibilidades de iniciativa y de respuesta. No obstante, en casi todas las democracias modernas, las grandes decisiones pasan necesariamente por el Parlamento, mediante actos de habilitacià ³n o autorizacià ³n y afirmando las prà ¡cticas del â€Å"gobierno por legislacià ³n† (Sartori, 1994). El Parlamento se ubica en una posicià ³n estratà ©gica, como poder del estado y à ³rgano de gobierno, en articulacià ³n con los otros poderes y con la red compleja de entidades que componen la estructura pà ºblica. Por su naturaleza y su calidad intrà ­nseca es depositario mayor de la soberanà ­a y tiene a su cargo el cumplimiento de cometidos que resultan esenciales para el desenvolvimiento del rà ©gimen democrà ¡tico, en tà ©rminos de legitimidad y de equilibrio institucional, de garantà ­as ciudadanas y de calidad de los procesos de decisià ³n polà ­tica. 2.3. Las Crà ­ticas al Congreso. Los eventos de la à ©poca han afectado la imagen pà ºblica del Parlamento y lo enfrentan a crà ­ticas y autocrà ­ticas, que apuntan doblemente a su là ³gica de funcionamiento y a su debilidad institucional, con razonamientos que hacen pie en la realidad parlamentaria y tienen causa cierta, pero no dejan de ser a la vez paradà ³jicos y con puntos discutibles. Ante las crà ­ticas recordadas cabe reafirmar que el cumplimiento estricto y adecuado de las responsabilidades Constitucionales del Parlamento es un componente fundamental de la calidad de la democracia y de la legitimidad del Sistema Polà ­tico. Esta premisa vale para el conjunto de las competencias del Parlamento, tanto para la funcià ³n legislativa, como para las funciones de representacià ³n y de control, en su calidad de instancia deliberativa y de à ³rgano de gobierno. En lo que toca especà ­ficamente al Proceso de Produccià ³n Legislativa hay que tener en cuenta el equilibrio complejo y de hecho la tensià ³n, entre los distintos â€Å"factores† y â€Å"valores† que intervienen: las necesidades del gobierno y los requerimientos de la participacià ³n parlamentaria, la calidad de la ley junto con la celeridad y la eficiencia en su tramitacià ³n, los intereses de la jefatura ejecutiva y las alternativas de respuesta que surgen en el recinto legislativo, el propà ³sito de construccià ³n de mayorà ­as, las disidencias en los bloques oficialistas y el derecho de oposicià ³n. La relacià ³n existente entre los Poderes Legislativo y Ejecutivo, debe ser analizada como una relacià ³n de equilibrio, de coordinacià ³n y de competencia. Este dispositivo regular, se presenta de manera caracterà ­stica en el tipo de gobierno presidencial, que ha sido definido como â€Å"un sistema de instituciones separadas que comparten el poder† (Neustadt, 1960). Tenemos asà ­ un esquema de separacià ³n, con dos instituciones legitimadas por una eleccià ³n directa, que por naturaleza y por diseà ±o, comparten el poder y compiten por à ©l en rigor, son orgà ¡nicamente â€Å"alentadas a competir† (Charles Jones, 1994), a fin de hacer valer su propia representacià ³n y para concretar su participacià ³n en los procesos de gobierno (Sartori, 1994 y Mark Jones, 1995). En tà ©rminos generales, en estos principios deberà ­a basarse el anà ¡lisis adecuado de las funciones del Parlamento, asà ­ como los debates tà ©cnicos y polà ­ticos sobre su performance, tanto en una perspectiva histà ³rica, como en lo que toca a las alternativas del tiempo actual. Y es con tales fundamentos en una reivindicacià ³n explà ­cita de los postulados indicados que entendemos necesario encarar este estudio sobre la Produccià ³n Legislativa, dentro de las coordenadas especà ­ficas del sistema dominicano. 2.4. El Proceso Legislativo Dominicano Las caracterà ­sticas del proceso legislativo en Repà ºblica Dominicana son conocidas y resultan familiares para los agentes polà ­ticos y en particular para los parlamentarios. Sin detenernos pues en los detalles de su descripcià ³n, creemos no obstante conveniente repasar algunos de los rasgos principales que encuadran dicho proceso desde el punto de vista polà ­tico institucional. En este sentido, debemos subrayar que se trata de un proceso regulado minuciosamente por la propia Constitucià ³n de la Repà ºblica en forma mà ¡s detallada que en otros à ³rdenes jurà ­dicos. Historia: El Poder Legislativo dominicano tiene su origen en el informe de la comisià ³n encargada de redactar la Constitucià ³n de 1844 que debà ­a ser sometido para su discusià ³n al Soberano Congreso Constituyente. La primera Constitucià ³n Dominicana del 6 de Noviembre de 1844 consagrà ³ un Congreso Nacional compuesto por 2 Cà ¡maras: El Tribunado y el Consejo Conservador. El trabajo de esos cuerpos legislativos en ese primer aà ±o fue intenso y lleno de dificultades, pues en el paà ­s todo estaba por reglamentarse. Entre las disposiciones tomadas, pueden citarse; la Ley de Instruccià ³n Pà ºblica, la Ley de Patentes de Navegacià ³n, la Ley del Rà ©gimen de Aduanas, la Ley de Administracià ³n Provincial, la Ley de Subdivisià ³n Polà ­tica de las Provincias, la Ley de Atribuciones y Responsabilidades de los Secretarios de Estado, la Ley que adaptà ³ los Cà ³digos Franceses y la Reforma a los Bienes Nacionales; entre otras. Funcià ³n: El Artà ­culo 16 de la Constitucià ³n Dominicana le asigna una definicià ³n especà ­fica de â€Å"Congreso de la Repà ºblica†, institucià ³n polà ­tica colegiada, de carà ¡cter pluralista y electivo, que funciona normalmente dentro del contexto de las democracias liberales, cuyas atribuciones principales son hacer las leyes, examinar todos los actos del Poder Ejecutivo y ejercer control sobre el gobierno y la administracià ³n en general. El Congreso ejerce el poder constituyente derivado. Esta conformacià ³n de las asambleas parlamentarias supone el establecimiento de un cuerpo estable y especializado, que inviste la representacià ³n de la ciudadanà ­a y de los partidos en un à ¡mbito de pluralidad, como: o Cuerpo Deliberante: Realizan deliberaciones e intercambio de posiciones y luego son discutidos pà ºblicamente por una asamblea constituida en autoridad pà ºblica. o Cuerpo Representativo: Permiten canalizar demandas emergentes (en tà ©rminos de agregacià ³n y regulacià ³n, de compromiso y de autoridad, articulando los intereses particulares con las producciones de interà ©s general). o Es un Órgano Polà ­tico Colegiado: Compuesto por un grupo de personas elegidas democrà ¡ticamente mediante sufragio popular para representar a los ciudadanos. o Es una Asamblea de Carà ¡cter Permanente: El Congreso origina decisiones continuamente, asegurando la gobernabilidad. o Expresià ³n de Pluralismo Polà ­tico: Es la à ºnica institucià ³n que consiente la presencia conjunta y continua de todos los sujetos polà ­ticos y no excluye ningà ºn sector social; llevà ¡ndole en fin a recoger opinià ³n, formarla y participar en las opciones de gobierno, fundamentalmente mediante la construccià ³n del orden jurà ­dico y del imperio de la ley, dentro de un estatuto constitucional que ofrece garantà ­as de divisià ³n de poderes, de control y de equilibrio polà ­tico. De acuerdo con el mandato Constitucional y las normas reglamentarias de la institucià ³n, las funciones Congresionales son tres: Legislar, Fiscalizar y Representar. o La actividad de Legislar o de hacer leyes es considerada la funcià ³n bà ¡sica de un Congreso, ya que los Senadores y Diputados tienen la indelegable misià ³n de transformar en textos claros, precisos y coherentes todo aquello que se pretende instituir como norma para regir conductas o relaciones individuales o colectivas. o El mandato y el mecanismo de Fiscalizacià ³n se refiere a la inspeccià ³n, fiscalizacià ³n, revisià ³n e interpelacià ³n sobre la actividad que realizan el Poder Ejecutivo y sus dependencias; es decir, Secretarà ­as de Estado y Direcciones Generales, asà ­ como sobre cualquier otro funcionario electo. Esta trabajo de control ejerce una funcià ³n de contrapeso frente a las actuaciones del gobierno central, o El concepto de Representacià ³n es moderno. En polà ­tica, implica actuar en interà ©s de los representados, de una manera sensible ante ellos. El compromiso de representacià ³n es doble, ya que los legisladores representan a la nacià ³n y a la provincia o circunscripcià ³n que los ha elegido. Congreso Bicameral: A travà ©s de la separacià ³n de poderes -que sigue siendo un principio vigente en las constituciones polà ­ticas modernas y en la nuestra- el Parlamento es a su manera un à ³rgano de gobierno (co-gobernante), mediante un desempeà ±o adecuado de sus dos cà ¡maras, donde ambas Cà ¡maras participan en pie de igualdad. La produccià ³n legislativa por lo que podemos decir que es un proceso fuertemente reglamentado y complejo, que presenta alternativas complicadas y diversas, desde el punto de vista del desempeà ±o institucional y la negociacià ³n polà ­tica, como pieza estratà ©gica de las acciones de gobierno. La constitucià ³n bicameral del Poder Legislativo ha sido histà ³ricamente concebida como un mecanismo que limita las posibilidades de dominio simple de una mayorà ­a parlamentaria (una eventual â€Å"tiranà ­a†, segà ºn los constitucionalistas clà ¡sicos, temerosos de la concentracià ³n de la autoridad pà ºblica) y es en sà ­ misma una garantà ­a suplementaria de la separacià ³n de poderes, actuando como un factor mà ¡s de equilibrio, al interior del organismo legislativo, en el conjunto de las instituciones pà ºblicas y en relacià ³n a la ciudadanà ­a. Es este un ingrediente bà ¡sico de la civilizacià ³n democrà ¡tica, que permite una mayor amplitud en la representacià ³n polà ­tica, favorece el pluralismo y brinda la oportunidad de un mejor procesamiento (polà ­tico y tà ©cnico) de los productos legislativos, en un mà ©rito que se extiende a otras competencias parlamentarias[2]. La estructura bicameral conlleva a que los proyectos de ley deban pasar necesariamente por el examen de ambas Cà ¡maras (â€Å"doble escrutinio†) y sà ³lo resulten aprobados si se llega a una voluntad coincidente de los dos cuerpos, con sus mayorà ­as respectivas. Si median diferencias, el proyecto es objeto de una segunda revisià ³n. Los sistemas bicamerales hacen que el proceso de la formacià ³n de la ley sea mà ¡s responsable y cuidadoso, evitando la aprobacià ³n precipitada de los proyectos y, ademà ¡s, resulta mà ¡s acorde con el rà ©gimen democrà ¡tico, por cuanto garantiza mejor una autà ©ntica representacià ³n tanto polà ­tica como regional y social. Conformacià ³n y Eleccià ³n: Nuestro Poder Legislativo està ¡ conformado por un Senado, compuesto por 32 miembros, uno por el Distrito Nacional y un representante de cada Provincia y. una Cà ¡mara de Diputados. El Senado està ¡ La Cà ¡mara de Diputados està ¡ compuesto por 178 miembros, a razà ³n de uno por cada cincuenta mil habitantes o fraccià ³n de mà ¡s de veinticinco mil. Por cada provincia debe haber por lo menos dos (Constitucià ³n Dominicana, Art. 24). Ambos representan al pueblo, a travà ©s de distintos partidos polà ­ticos, son elegidos por representacià ³n proporcional desde las listas partidarias y de forma nominal, por votacià ³n directa secreta y universal, en todo el paà ­s, para un perà ­odo de cuatro aà ±os (Constitucià ³n Dominicana, Art 21, Art. 24) Las elecciones nacionales para elegir diputados se harà ¡n mediante circunscripciones electorales con el objeto de garantizar que los ciudadanos que resulten electos en las elecciones generales, sean una verdadera representacià ³n del sector de los habitantes que los eligen.[3] La Constitucià ³n de la Repà ºblica no delega en los partidos polà ­ticos la representacià ³n del pueblo, mà ¡s bien los contempla como instrumentos para realizar el procedimiento electivo mediante el cual los ciudadanos eligen cada cuatro aà ±os a sus representantes. Quorum: En cada Cà ¡mara se requiere la presencia de mà ¡s de la mitad de sus miembros, como quà ³rum mà ­nimo para la validez de las deliberaciones. Las decisiones se toman por mayorà ­a absoluta de votos (Art. 30). La legislatura ordinaria dura noventa dà ­as, pero puede prorrogarse por sesenta dà ­as mà ¡s (Art. 33). Proceso Legislativo: En una investigacià ³n sobre la participacià ³n de los parlamentos en la produccià ³n polà ­tica, Olson y Mezey (1991) afirman que el proceso legislativo està ¡ determinado por tres conjuntos de factores: a) las influencias externas sobre la legislatura; b) la capacidad de actuacià ³n de los legisladores; y c) el contenido de las polà ­ticas que se procesan. Las influencias externas està ¡n determinadas por el dispositivo constitucional, la estructura estatal, la normativa electoral, el sistema de partidos, los intereses de los grupos de la sociedad y la agenda pà ºblica de gobierno. El alcance de actuacià ³n de los legisladores està ¡ determinado por el formato organizacional del Parlamento, las reglas de funcionamiento de las cà ¡maras y de las comisiones, las estructuras de los partidos, asà ­ como la operativa especà ­fica de las bancadas y finalmente, las caracterà ­sticas personales de los integrantes del cuerpo. El contenido de las polà ­ticas depende de la naturaleza de los proyectos que se presentan en el Parlamento y del tipo de actores e intereses a que tales proyectos afectan. Para alcanzar pues un resultado unificado, que manifieste la voluntad formal del Poder Legislativo como à ³rgano mayor del estado, es necesario recorrer un itinerario complejo, de instancias eslabonadas, que respeta la composicià ³n bicameral del Parlamento, asà ­ como la calidad representativa de los cuerpos que lo componen y de sus integrantes, respondiendo a los requerimientos tà ©cnicos y polà ­ticos de la gramà ¡tica legislativa. Este proceso està ¡ integrado por cuatro fases: a) la proposicià ³n del proyecto de ley, b) el trà ¡mite del proyecto, c) la aprobacià ³n de la ley, y d) la promulgacià ³n de la ley. En sentido general, Todo proyecto de ley puede iniciarse en cualquiera de las dos Cà ¡maras y pasan usualmente a las comisiones parlamentarias respectivas, sean à ©stas especiales o permanentes, actuando mà ¡s de una vez en forma integrada. Las comisiones son organismos fundamentales del sistema parlamentario y obran con un potencial de buena polà ­tica legislativa, agregando a esta tarea, una mayor densidad, garantà ­as y posibilidades de calidad[4]. Cuando el trabajo en la comisià ³n ha concluido, el proyecto es presentado en el plenario de la Cà ¡mara correspondiente para su discusià ³n y aprobacià ³n. Luego de admitido en una de las Cà ¡maras debe ser sometido a dos discusiones distintas, con un intervalo de un dà ­a por lo menos entre una y otra discusià ³n (Art. 39), de acuerdo al procedimiento para la aprobacià ³n de leyes. Sà ­, en el caso de que el proyecto fuese declarado de emergencia debe ser discutido en dos sesiones consecutivas (Art. 39). Cada Cà ¡mara es independientemente en sus funciones de acuerdo al criterio mayoritario de sus miembros. Cualquier proyecto de ley recibido en una Cà ¡mara, despuà ©s de haber sido aprobado en la otra, serà ¡ fijado en el orden del dà ­a; pero el mismo puede ser aprobado, modificado o rechazado por esta (Art. 40). Sancià ³n: El procedimiento de sancià ³n legislativa se inicia con el debate en Sala, a partir de la intervencià ³n de los voceros de las comisiones actuantes. Luego, los legisladores discuten el proyecto en general y luego en particular, artà ­culo por artà ­culo, mediante un procedimiento ordenado por el Reglamento de Funcionamiento de cada Cà ¡mara. Todo proyecto de ley aprobado por la Cà ¡mara de origen pasarà ¡ a la otra Cà ¡mara para su consideracià ³n, desarrollà ¡ndose un procedimiento de ida y