HR Audit Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

HR Audit - Assignment Example In some cases, the productivity may be at par despite the fact that some of the human resources are underperforming. In such a scenario, the best step would be to apply the HR audit, as it is the best tool to identify such hitches in an organization. Besides helping to make decisions at crucial times the HR audit can also be a very comprehensive source of data on an organization, which is essential in carrying out research work on the organization’s human resource. First step before carrying out an audit; it is best to first come up with the problem area in which the results of the audit need to address. The success of the audit in finding the cause of problems or level of performance in some areas is very high. It is for this reason that the HR audit is a reliable source of data that can be linked to the audit to solve the problem. A lot of thought must be considered when choosing who to conduct the audit and major argument should revolve around the objective of the audit. An in-house staff could be good because of their familiarity with the staff, and again this could be the disadvantage depending on the cause for the audit. Third-party staff is another best solution but sometime could be expensive and unnecessary. The main reason for the audit is to evaluate the organization’s HR and its performance; therefore the results from the audit s what determines the next step of action. According to an article by ABC NEWS Business Unit one of the five highest paid CEOs but worst among the five worst performers is the CEO of Nabors Industries (Gomstyn, 2009). The article states that the CEO is handsomely paid despite his poor performance delivery to the shareholders. This offers a good situation where there is need for the HR audit. Its objective is to find out the root cause of the company’s poor performance and if there is enough reason to retain the CEO. The weakness

Considered the Mummys Curse, a series of unexplainable, unfortunate, Essay

Considered the Mummys Curse, a series of unexplainable, unfortunate, or tragic events that happened to the people who were present at the opening of Tutankhamens tomb - Essay Example Since fruits and vegetables and other organic items were also put in tombs, and since the tombs were entirely hermetically sealed, it is possible that mold spores could have existed and stayed viable across thousands of years (Dunning, 2008). Aspergillus niger and Aspergillus flavus, for instance, are molds that can cause allergic reactions such as congestion and bleeding in the lungs (Handwerk 2006). The second theory asserts that there is no connection between the tomb’s opening and several deaths of those present when the tomb was opened. F. DeWolfe Miller, professor of epidemiology at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, argued that no archeologist is known to have directly died from the curse (Handwerk, 2012). In 2002, the British Medical Journal published a study conducted by Dr. Mark Nelson from Monash University in Australia. Nelson did a retrospective cohort analysis to determine if the dates of death actually of people who were there during Tut’s tomb opening we re hastened, due to the existence of a possible curse (Dunning, 2008). Findings showed that only 25 were exposed to the curse and lived to the average age of 70, while those who were not exposed lived to the average age of 75 (Dunning, 2008). The best theory is the one that finds no connection between the deaths and the curse of the mummy. It is clear that there is no direct relationship between the participation in the opening of the tomb and dying, as Nelson’s study showed. Furthermore, Miller also showed that archeologists involved with the tomb did not die at all. The curse is a mere coincident among deaths that the media fed

Performance Management Essay Example for Free

Performance Management Essay 1. Summarize the seven (7) components of the framework for coaching and performances management, and identify which ones you require development in and why. The seven components of the frame work for coaching and performance management are the coaching relationship\, insight, motivation, capabilities, real-world practice, accountability, and organizational context. The first and most important step in the performance management process is to communicate what is expected. The should also be identifications of any job related learning needs and possible ways to address these needs. There also needs to be a performance review periodically to make sure that job expectations are relevant and appropriate and revise them if needed. Managers are encouraged to do this jointly with their employees which observing and documenting their performance. Throughout the performance management cycle, you should observe your employees’ performance and identify instances of both good and poor performance. Specific events and details are important for employees to clearly understand the impact, results, and consequences of their performance. Thorough documentation will enable you to recognize good performance and help you to correct poor performance. Provide feedback you should provide frequent feedback and coaching to your employees regarding performance throughout the year. This is especially important for the employee who is performing poorly. To be effective, feedback needs to be immediate, specific, and expressed in relation to a particular outcome and expectation. Deal With Performance That Does Not Meet Expectations. You may wish to enlist the support of your manager. He/she can give you the benefit of his or her experience and provide input and support before proceeding. Also, you can use the services of your Human Resources or Labor Relations Components especially if you are contemplating disciplinary action. They will provide the procedural and regulatory guidance as well as assistance in looking at alternatives and providing resources, intervention strategies, and other support.† (Public service commission) 2. Evaluate the validity of each of the reasons provided for failure in performance management. The reasons provided for failure in performance management versus performance appraisal discipline gap, accountability, measurement scarcity or overload, lack of balance and failure to assess impact. â€Å"There are two primary purposes of performance appraisal: evaluative and developmental. The evaluative purpose is intended to inform people of their performance standing. The collected performance data are frequently used to reward high performance and to punish poor performance.† (Smither, 2009) The developmental purpose is intended to identify problems in employees performing the assigned task. The collected performance data are used to provide necessary skill training or professional development. â€Å"The purpose of performance appraisal must be clearly communicated both to raters and rates, because their reactions to the appraisal process are significantly different depending on the intended purpose. Failure to inform about the purpose or misleading information about the purpose may result in inaccurate and biased appraisal reports.† (Cascio, 1998) 3. Identify two (2) of the barriers of success that are evident in preventing successful execution of performance management in a company you know well and recommend a solution to the problems. If you have not worked with or for a company that evaluates employee performance through performance management, imagine what the problems would be based on your knowledge of the company. Be sure to provide your rationale. Future scenarios allow organizations to explore multiple potential futures and generate robust strategies and early warning signs to understand how the future is unfolding. Where a vision articulates a â€Å"preferred future,† future scenarios describe how an organization might achieve its mission in different circumstances or environments. Organizations identify a focal issue or major decision the organization faces and the critical uncertainties in the macro environment, such as social, economic, political, environmental, and technical forces. Scenarios are developed based on combinations of these forces and robust strategies are identified to address multiple futures. Finally, indicators are identified to help understand how the future is affecting the organization’s decisions. In-order to fully understand the rationale past, present, and future analysis would have to be done on different work environments in-order to generally process the full computation of how and HR performance management society would work to stay in constant communication with the employee’s skill set.

ICT in Private and Government Organisations

ICT in Private and Government Organisations The term I.C.T, otherwise known as Information and Communication Technology, encompasses quite a wide range of the scope of multi-dimensional communication infrastructures and systems employed for enhancing effective communications in business and public organisation.   As implied by the abbreviation and also the full meaning of it, the said communication occurs at different levels and for different purposes, some of which has to be secured, but all of them share one thing in common: they are all enhanced through computers and electronic networks.In recent times, almost every organisation is dependent or assisted with one type of communication equipment or another and the fact that such communication infrastructures can be easily linked to Information Technologies could be claimed as prove of the importance of I.C.T in organisations.   To make this argument more clear, it is necessary to pinpoint some specific organisations, both private and governmental whose operation will collapse or highly hindered, should the I.C.T aspect of it be removed or for some reason cease to function. To make the picture clearer, the organisations to be analysed will be categorised and then individual organisation will now be placed undo the category they belong to before they are further analysed.   The major categories are Private and Governmental and thereafter we look at how the chains are connected and interwoven. This sector is divisible into various other major sub-categories namely:1.  Ã‚  Ã‚   Security: These are organisations such as the security agents including the police, army, customs, immigration officers, civil defence corps, and also the secret agents.   In this sector there is a lot of communication and information exchange going on, some of which are beyond the British borders, e.g. our soldiers in Iraq has to make constant uninterrupted communications via phones, internet, and other satellite-linked, wireless technology networks.   They also need to communicate with one another both as groups or platoons and also as individual.   Here, the communication network has to be as secured as can be. 2.  Ã‚  Ã‚   Social: This relates to everything from financial help to psychological helps and also political helps for foreigners such as asylum seekers and other classes of immigrants.   At this level also communication and efficient information transfer is a necessity.   Help-line telephone services that is installed with up- to-date software for managing calls, sometime on a 24-hour basis and transferring such calls automatically to the officer responsible for each individual cases and also to maintain an orderly queue where necessary. A log of all the official activities is created and stored in the appropriate database, which is connected via LAN networking system and thus the internet or intranet network system to transfer the logged cases to other concerned offices within the department or to the outside near and fear government departments for preparing statistical data (such as spreadsheets), prepare budgets or to inform deliberations on crucial social issues, such as how to manage illegal migration into the country. 3.  Ã‚  Ã‚   Commercial: Sometimes, the government is also involved in commercial ventures, especially in the area of social amenities, such as electricity, telecommunications, transportation, agriculture, and some special production sectors, e.g. exploration and export of mineral resources. 4.  Ã‚  Ã‚   Education: Governments role in the education sector is very high. From nurseries to University education and adults literacy and vocational trainings, the governments hands will always be found in the pie.   To effectively plan and monitor the activities in this sector, the government need to be well equipped with the relevant I.C.T. infrastructures.   A good database that is interpreted and organised by a good spreadsheet software.   Appropriate networking facilities that will link every arm of this education systems ladder to the monitoring departments and sections must be in place.It must be noted here also that each of the education levels have their individual basic I.C.T needs.   For example, At the secondary school level, the teacher manages his classes, schedules and attendance register from a laptop computer, running probably on Windows XP Professional Operating System and installed with Bromcoms Winfolder which is currently version 2.03.   This soft ware is the one that collects daily register for the teacher from the schools server, which is equipped with Bromcoms e-School MIS version is 2.10.2, the softwares that prepares the register ready for the other day. The teachers laptop is either connected either via the CAT5e cables to the Ethernet LAN port which links him to the server, or connected wirelessly via network cards. The server which probably runs on Microsoft SQL houses the schools database and connects to the outside network system via optic fibres of the type Fibre Optic Multimode GBIC (1.25Gb/s bi-directional). The server is secured against power interruptions through the use of Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS). UPS is a battery system that enables to server to carry on functioning for a period of time in the event of a power outage, or enough time for it to safely shut down if the power outage is for an extended period.The teacher takes class attendance to ascertain that all the registered pupils are in attendanc e and send same via the internet to the data base which is equally connected to back-up storage outside of the school premises to secure against accidental data loss. The library system is another complex I.C.T. system that is active both locally and also on the network to the outside, running on effective software that facilitates an dynamically updated warehouse of information about the whereabouts of library materials and also for calling materials that is in urgent need, or have overstayed with the borrower. 5.  Ã‚  Ã‚   Health: Health is wealth as the saying goes.   The governments involvement in the health sector in deep and this ranges from procurement of hospital equipments to physical maintenance of the hospital premises-employment and payment of wages.   Monitoring of all the activities at the health sector is quite important and this often is done in real time or through other communication channels including writing on paper, which is printed out on a printer connected to computer system connected to both intranet and internet networks.   The health sector is undoubtedly another fertile soil for the I.C.T. systems.   If we have to start analysing the way in which the hospital, as an entity, operates on a daily basis; we will see how appointments are booked on phone, and the doctors secretaries will keep a log of the appointments, having sent a notice to the concerned doctors calendar of schedule.   The patient may have to be sent a printed letter of notification as a reminder of the appointment date and time.   All these activities are also stored in the departments database, which is sent automatically to the hospitals central database, which probably is equipped with multiple hard drives in a RAID array to allow the system to continue functioning in the event of the loss of any one hard drive and also back-up tape drive, which allows a back-up of vital information and for several copies of this data to be kept off site. The doctors, office and consulting room is equipped with computers, which run on up-to-date Operating Systems and also have special software featuring medical encyclopedia, and maybe old cases database, from which they could compare difficult cases and find solutions via the network. The doctors always record their finding on Dictaphones and this is probably for sharing with other colleagues for knowledges sake, but our concern here is that all these equipments are I.C.T based.Heart-beat monitors, incubators, ultra-scan equip ments, X-ray and physiotherapy equipments and many more are scattered all around the hospital.   Patients survive on dialysis machines, which are monitored through computer and network systems. 6.  Ã‚  Ã‚   Administration:   For administration purposes at all levels of governance is the process dependent on I.C.T infrastructures: Databases, civil registration numbers, national insurance number, passports and national identity cards, budgeting, population distribution and statistics, elections, and many more functions of the government are done via reliable I.C.T. infrastructures. Looking at the private sector, there is much more application of the I.C.T. equipments.   This sector can be further sub divided into the following categories:1.  Ã‚  Ã‚   Commercial:†¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Transport:   From Land to air and the sea, transportation is deeply dependent on I.C.T. infrastructures.   From Scheduling to announcements, you will always find I.C.T.   Take the train services for example, most trains in the UK runs on electric and are scheduled and monitored in real time.   Apart from the internal daily runs of this system, the travellers are also included in the chain via e-commerce, such as internet booking and ticketing; the credit card and debit card accessible ticket kiosks are erected for self-services and you can also receive train and coach schedules on your mobile phones in the form of short text messages.†¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Manufacturing: Most manufacturing outfits, especially those involved in the production of continuous process products, su ch as cars, telephones, plastics, dairy products, breweries, etc, are engaging the services of different types of industrial robots for their operation.   These robots or programmable production lines are mostly 100% dependent, because daily running of them depends on information communicated through I.C.T media and the whole activities is afterwards, logged for records purpose and also to monitor the process and know when the machine should be over hauled.†¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Banking and Finance:   Financial institution today are one of the organisations that depend to a high degree on I.C.T. Imagine what the day will be like for the banks and other money markets operators, e.g. Stockbrokers, without their I.C.T. systems. No computers, no internet connections, no printers, no telephones.   How will international banking thrive without the internet?   How about the credit and debit cards? The situation is better imagined than experienced.†¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Insurance:   Ins urance organisations are more or less like banks.   They need a sound I.C.T system for a smooth running of their business every second of the day.†¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Supply Chain sector:   With the advent of e-commerce, supply chain sector is undergoing some kind of revolution right now.   Tesco Supermarket is a testimony to this fact.   Other than the fact that they need a good database for managing their wares, they also use laser scanners, bar code readers for both price tags and security of the wares.   They also use mobile phones to communicate and collaborate towards, customer satisfaction and use public address systems to make announcements.†¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Communication: The story of I.C.T in organisations can never be complete without mentioning the communication sector, whose daily operations are entirely dependent on I.C.T infrastructures.   From   mobile telephony, featuring mobile phones (with camera, video recorder with playback functionalities, MP3, r adio, WAP, Interactive games, chatting, internet, and now T.V; and PDAs with GPS functionalities for navigating continents. Letters are sent within seconds via email messaging, people chat online in written form and also verbally in real time.   It was first on the internet that it was possible to see the person you are chatting with via the web cam.   Pictures and digital music (MP3) is another mystery of the internet communication and information exchange of limitless magnitude. Now we are having internet television and online cinemas.†¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Advertisement: This sectors business revolves around I.CT. very much. They use computers for graphic design, store information, make and edit video materials and digital animations, scanning and printing are part of their daily activities.   These cannot be done without I.C.T infrastructures.†¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Consultancy Services: This organisation requires a good database, and sound network system.†¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Heal th: This is similar to that of the government sector earlier mentioned.†¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Agriculture: Cow milking, feeding and branding and monitoring have all gone hi-tech.   This is made possible through I.C.T.†¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Education: The story in the private sector in not much different from that of the government sector.†¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Journalism:   From news gathering to editing to disseminating, everything in this sector is I.C.T related: Video recorders, digital cameras, Dictaphones, electronic typewriters, computers, etc, are their instrument of office.†¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Others: There are many more areas to be cited.2.  Ã‚  Ã‚   Non-profit organisations: Though they are not profit oriented, these organisations still require I.C.T. based equipments such as telephones and Personal Computers (PC) with internet connections, good printers, fax machines and scanners for their daily operations.   Their major areas of operation is as listed:†¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   S ocial Help†¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Environmental Fig. 1. A chart showing I.C.T-related sectors of the human endeavours and some examples of the infrastructures.Conclusion:The role of I.C.T in many organisations surrounding our lives cannot be underestimated.   They are the pivot on which our entire system revolves.

Global Citizenship Essay -- Government

The concept of citizenship and its boundaries are contested, yet its definition in the plainest form is to be a member of a political community, such as a nation-state and possess legal rights and political duties. As can be seen from its many ideals – namely republican, liberal, bound, cosmopolitan, pluralist or solidarist – citizenship has multiple sources of meaning, be they cultural, religious, ethnic or gender related. These conceptions each have their respective merits and downfalls, which shall be assessed and measured in this essay by the extent to which they permit the best use and protection of the citizen’s rights and duties. Although the arguments of Linklater (1998) and Miller (2000) shall form either side of the examination and debate between cosmopolitan citizenship (or what shall be referred to as global citizenship in this context) and bounded citizenship, it does not mean that by the end of this analysis one shall be the better alternative. Furt hermore, the shared flaws of either shall be highlighted. This leads to the conclusion that a compromise can be found between the two; whereby the thoughts of Kant are considered (1795), particularly that of compassion towards the alien and having a representative form of cosmopolitan citizenship, yet also there is sympathy to be found within the argument that bounded citizenship promotes civic involvement and responsibility, which may be lost if a wholly cosmopolitan form was adopted. In the case made by Miller (2000) he employs the natural evolution of bounded citizenship, which initially began ‘within the walls of the city-state’ (2000, p.88), as a reason for it being the better conception, as over time it has preserved its value – potentially at the expense of excl... ...essed 7/01/12. Post, R. (2007), Religion and Freedom of Speech: Portraits of Muhammad. Constellations, 14: 72–90. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-8675.2007.00423.x Pufendorf, S (1964b). DE OFFICIO HOMINIS ET CIVIS JUXTA LEGEM NATURALEM LIBRI DUO, Volume Two, The Translation By Frank Gardner Moore. 2nd ed. New York, London: Oceana Publications Inc. Wildy & Sons Ltd. p32. http://www.constitution.org/puf/puf-dut.htm#1 Date acc. 6/01/12. Rousseau, J. (1772). Considerations on the Government of Poland and its Proposed Reformations. Available: http://www.constitution.org/jjr/poland.htm Date acc. 7/01/12. Vattel, E. (1758). The Law of Nations. Available: http://www.constitution.org/vattel/vattel.htm Date acc. 7/01/12. Wendt, A. (1994), Collective Identity Formation and the International State, The American Political Science Review, Vol. 88, No. 2 (Jun., 1994), pp. 384-396

indians :: essays research papers

the native american indians are very spiritula people. They hunt bison and buffalo In Indian Blood II, I incorrectly stated that Allan W. Eckert started "the Blue Jacket War."   He did not.   It seems clear now that Robert Van Trees did.   In fact, to call it a war is to mischaracterize this mindless tirade by Van Trees and some of his ardent supporters over a simple academic question:   Was Blue Jacket white?   Ã‚      Blue Jacket was a Shawnee chief and it is not really important  whether he was adopted or native--any more than it makes a difference whether one of his wives was white, which Van Trees does not dispute.   According to the information on Carlyle Hinshaw's website, Hinshaw called for a "crusade," using his word, to protest and suppress the republication of Eckert's The Frontiersmen. Thereafter, Eckert's publisher was bombarded with  letters and phone calls from the dozen or so people involved.   Letters were sent and some were posted on the site. Several people wrote Allan Eckert directly.   Ã‚      When asked for comment, Eckert said that some of the letters  he received in this "crusade" were actually hate mail, personally attacking him and calling him names. Pointless harassment.   I should point out that none of the responsible Shawnee scholars--neither Randy Noe nor John Sugden--would join in this disgraceful display of lynch-mob mentality.   Ã‚      I was given Hinshaw's web address by another Shawnee researcher.   Hinshaw's website   at first favorably impressed me, but after I came upon a page of protests led by Van Trees‘s article  entitled "Bluejacket and Swearingen Families Declare War on Eckert," I was taken aback. "Declare War," he says, in such strong language that makes you think of terroristic attacks, some kind of crazy holy war for, in his words, our "honored dead."   This strikes me as unfair and bizarrely un-American, like shouting down the opposition.   Ã‚     This is, after all, a simple and rather silly academic issue. If someone--Rev. Jesse Jackson, say--should write a book claiming that Blue Jacket was actually black and that historians had been wrong in their account of him all these years, would there be a similar protest?   I hardly think so.   Why not just write your own book and let the other fellow write his?   Ã‚     When I asked Mr. Van Trees about this, he said that the tirade against Eckert was justified and by US Mail he sent copies of the rabid hate mail that Robert Denton Bluejacket and others had sent  to Eckert--as if that explained everything.

The Clash of Civilizations: a Summary of Samuel Huntington’s Controversial

POLI 100 – F10N01 Gabrielle Bishop The Clash of Civilizations: A Summary of Samuel Huntington’s controversial Political Analysis and its Critics â€Å"Culture and cultural identities, which at the broadest level are civilizational identities, are shaping patterns of cohesion, disintegration, and conflict in the post-Cold War World† – Samuel Huntington POLI 100 – F10N01! Gabrielle Bishop In a 1993 article published in Foreign Affairs, Harvard Professor of Government and Political Scientist Samuel Huntington made a prediction for the 21st century that would go on to be both disputed and supported by experts around the globe.As the Iron Curtain of ideology of the Cold War had fallen, Huntington theorized that a new â€Å"Velvet Curtain† of culture would rise1. While the Cold War divided the world up into â€Å"communist and democratic† societies, the 21st century would feature con? icts between â€Å"clashing civilizations†, whose disputes would be rooted in various ethnic, cultural, and/or religious differences 2. In 1996, Huntington wrote a book titled: â€Å"The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order†, which expanded upon these points. Some were intrigued, others, extremely offended.But, few could ignore the controversial predictions Huntington made about the future of global politics. Huntington divides â€Å"The Clash of Civilizations† into ? ve parts, the ? rst of which is titled as: â€Å"Part One: A World of Civilizations†. In this chapter, he identi? es the six principal civilizations that make up the world, as well as two other â€Å"possible† civilizations3: 1. Sinic4: Includes China and the Chinese communities in South-East Asia. Vietnam and Korea are also in this group. 2. Japanese: Huntington stresses that Japanese civilization is very distinct, and does not necessarily ? in with other â€Å"Far Eastern† nations; having split off from China betw een 100 and 400 AD. 3. Hindu (Also referred to as â€Å"Indian† or â€Å"Indic†): Huntington notes that while there are Muslim communities within India, Hinduism has been essential to the culture of the subcontinent since for almost 4,000 years. 4. Islamic: This civilization emerged around 700AD in the Arabian peninsula, and quickly spread across North Africa, the Iberian peninsula, central Asia, the Subcontinent, and Southeast Asia. Many unique Islamic â€Å"sub-cultures† exist because of this (ex: Malay, Turkic, Persian, etc. 5 5. Western (formerly known as â€Å"Western Christendom†): This civilization is widely viewed as having emerged at around 700AD, Huntington states, and comprises many states in Europe, and North & Latin America, as well as many European settler countries (such as Australia and New Zealand) 6. Latin American: While this civilization has its roots in European civilization, Huntington states that its corporatist & authoritarian cult ure is what truly sets it apart from Europe and North America. 7. Orthodox (possibly): Huntington mentions brie? that some other academics consider the Orthodox Russian civilization to be separate from Byzantine and Western Christian civilization. 8. African (possibly): Huntington also mentions that most scholars do not consider there to be an African civilization, with the exception of French Historian Fernand Braudel6 . He notes that North Africa is part of the Islamic civilization, and that Ethiopia has been known to constitute a civilization of its own7 . He theorizes that because of their rapid growth of identity, Sub-Saharan Africa could indeed become its own civilization, with a chance of South Africa being its â€Å"core state†8.In choosing to identify civilizations in this way, Huntington received a number of rebuttals; such as the one from Fethi Keles (who teaches in the Anthropology department at Syracuse University)9. In â€Å"The The Antinomies of Samuel P. Hunt ington: Some Anthropological Reflections on the American Pundit†, Keles criticizes Huntington for being â€Å"Eurocentric†, and too general; for not recognizing that cultures are not so simple that they can be categorized into six (or, eight) different civilizations 10.Keles also notes that Huntington never once cited a foreign-language reference (a detail first noticed by anthropologist Hugh Gusterson)11. Feles instead proposes that he â€Å"[pay] more attention to detail, of the sort provided by anthropology† 12. Only then, she states, will his predictions improve from a â€Å"constantly risk-running sort to a relatively risk-averse one†13. Huntington begins the next section, â€Å"Part 2: The Shifting Balance of Civilizations†, by stating that the power and influence the West once held is now dying14.Although the civilization did experience success with the collapse of the Soviet Union, Huntington argues that the West has become â€Å"exhaustedà ¢â‚¬ 15. He brings to light two opposing arguments: (A): That the West still holds a monopoly over economic consumption, military strength, and technology;16 and, (B): That the West is losing its influence and power. 17 Huntington takes the side of Argument B, and expands on it further. He notes that while the West’s power and influence may indeed be declining, it will be a very slow process and is therefore not an immediate threat presently to global forces 18.Huntington stresses the growing role religion is now playing in global politics. He notes that religion often gains popularity in response to a society’s changing needs. He mentions, for example, how many South Koreans have abandoned their traditional Buddhist beliefs in exchange for Christianity as their nation has become increasingly urban and economicallybased. Kang Jun In criticizes Huntington in his article: â€Å"Confucianism and Democracy in East Asia: A Critique of Samuel P. Huntington’s Third W ave†, published in Korea Journal in the Autumn of 1999.In states that Huntington is guilty of arguing that â€Å"East Asian countries which have Confucian tradition can attain the ‘salvation of democracy’ only by self-denial – the denial of their own tradition – and ‘assimilation’ of modern Western culture. †19 , quoting him saying â€Å"Confucian democracy may be a contradiction in terms, but democracy in a Confucian society†20. Ultimately, people â€Å"need new sources of identity, new forms of stable community, and new sets of moral precepts to provide them with a sense of meaning and purpose†21, Huntington argues.Huntington also notes that Muslim societies, contrary to their Asian counterparts, have expressed their culture through the resurgence of religion, noting that Islam â€Å"embodies the acceptance of modernity, rejection of Western culture, and the recommitment to Islam as the guide to life in the modern world†22. This is largely because of the emergence of a large, devout and young generation of Muslims has been paired with an authoritarian style of government. In â€Å"Part 3: the Emerging Order of Civilizations†, Huntington notes that during the Cold War, countries were either labelled as â€Å"communist† or â€Å"non-communist†.Now, countries who cannot easily identify themselves have entered into an identity crisis 23. Because of this, many new international organizations (Ex: the European Union, the North American Free Trade Agreement, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, etc). came together; uniting nationstates under common â€Å"ancestry, religion, language, values, and institutions†, and in doing so, distanced themselves from different nations who did not share these characteristics 24. However, not all nations have been successful in identifying with one particular culture, Huntington states, referring to Mexico, Turkey, Russia, a nd Australia 25.These states, he says, could be described as â€Å"torn countries†26; countries which are torn between multiple cultural identities – the tradition cultural identity they’ve held, and the new cultural identity they wish to adopt. â€Å"A torn country†¦ has a single predominant culture which places it in one civilization, but its leaders want to shift it to another civilization. They say, in effect, ‘We are different peoples and belong in different places’†27. In â€Å"Chapter 7: Core States, Concentric States, and Civilized Order†, Huntington states that a small, powerful number of core states will be the centre of a new structure of civilizations.France and Germany are examples of these states in the European Union. He goes on to describe â€Å"core states†, the divide between Western Europe (Protestantism & Catholicism) and Eastern Europe (Orthodox Christianity & Islam), and the lack of a core state in Isl am. In â€Å"Part 4: Clashes of Civilizations† (arguably the most important section of the book), Samuel Huntington predicts that â€Å"In the emerging world, the relations between states and groups from different civilizations will not be close, and will often be antagonistic. 28 He hypothesizes that the three principal roots of conflict will be arise from the interaction of the following: 1. The arrogance of the West; 2. Islamic intolerance; and 3. Sinic assertiveness 29. As the chapter progresses, Huntington states that Islam and Christianity have almost always been at odds with each other, and that the Islamic and Western civilizations will inevitably clash in the 21st century. There are a number of reasons for this, from the Muslim population growth placing large numbers of unemployed and dissatis? ed youth in the hands of Islamic extremists; to the West? attempt to â€Å"universalize† its values, culture, and military (thus generating intense resentment from Mus lim communities), to an exaggerated view of differences between the two civilizations as a result of increased communication and interaction between them30 . ! Huntington notes that with the emergence of Asia and China? s growing economies has come an antagonistic relationship with the United States31. He predicts that the combination of China? s growing military with Asia? s growing economy could indeed result in an international con? ict. He also notes that the con? cts of the 21st century will be fought along â€Å"fault lines† (such as Islam vs. Christianity). He goes on to provide a list of fault line characteristics: †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ â€Å"Communal conflicts between states or groups from different civilizations Almost always between people of different religions Prolonged duration Violent in nature Identity wars (us vs. them), eventually breaks down to religious identity Encouraged and financed by Diaspora communities Violence rarely ends permane ntly Propensity for peace is increased with third party intervention†32 In the final Chapter of the book, â€Å"Part 5: the Future of Civilizations†, Huntington oncludes that the West needs to be prepared to accept the growing influence of rival civilizations, if it wants to remain a global political power. As previously cited, Anthropologist Fethi Keeles was very critical of Huntington’s approach, in her piece published in the Journal of Third World Studies. Quoting Edward Said, a prominent critic of Samuel Huntington, she noted: â€Å"What culture today – whether Japanese, Arab, European, Korean, Chinese, or Indian – has not had long, intimate, and extraordinarily rich contacts with other cultures? 33 She then accuses him of being â€Å"indifferent to the complex nature of the multicultural world†, and argues that in his analysis he failed to address intra-cultural or civilizational variation34. ! However, Somali-born human rights activist and former Dutch MP Ayaan Hirsi Ali begs to differ. She argues that the greatest advantage of Huntington’s civilizational model of international relations is that â€Å"it reflects the world as it is – not as one wishes it would be† 35. â€Å"The Clash of Civilizations†, she states, â€Å"is a classic that should be taught in every international relations and history class — until a new world emerges. 36 No matter what the reader’s background is, it is difficult to argue that the nations of the world are not facing any forms of international conflict in the early 21st century. Where many critics choose to differ is on the grounds of the origins of said international conflict, asking: are the growing international conflicts truly due to opposing civilizations, or are the issues simply ideological? Samuel Huntington says these conflicts are predominantly rooted in culture and religion, and that the 21st century will inevitably be a period ch aracterized by â€Å"the Clash of Civilizations†.Bibliography: Huntington, Samuel P. The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1996. Print. Charron, Nicholas. â€Å"Deja Vu All Over Again: A Post-Cold War Empirical Analysis of Samuel Huntington's ‘Clash of Civilizations' Theory. † Cooperation & Conflict 45. 1 (2010): 107-27. EBSCO Host. Web. Ali, Ayaan Hirsi. â€Å"The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order. † Foreign Affairs 89. 6 (2010): 198-99. EBSCO Host. Web. Perry, Glenn E. â€Å"Huntington and His Critics: the West and Islam. † Arab Studies Quarterly 24. 1 (2001): 18. EBSCO Host.Web. In, Kang Jung. â€Å"Confucianism and Democracy in East Asia: A Critique of Samuel P. Huntington’s Third Wave. † Korea Journal 39. 3 (1999): 315-37. Print. Hendrickson, Holly. â€Å"Book Summary of The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order by Samuel P. Huntington. † Beyond Intractability – More Constructive Approaches to Destructive Conflict. Conflict Research Consortium, University of Colorado. Web. Keeles, Fethi. â€Å"The Antinomies of Samuel P. Huntington: Some Anthropological Reflections on the American Pundit. † Journal of Third World Studies. 14. 2 (2007): 131-43. Print.Sullivan, Anthony T. â€Å"Has Samuel Huntington’s Prediction Come to Pass? † Journal of the Historical Society 2. 2 (2002): 169-78. Print. Endnotes: Huntington, Samuel P. The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1996. Print. 1 2 3 4 Huntington 28. Huntington 45-46. Huntington had previously labelled this civilization as â€Å"Confucian†, in his 1993 Foreign Affairs article. He decided to use â€Å"Sinic†, as he felt Confucian teachings were not at the core of the civilization he was describing. (Huntington 1996:45) 5 6 7 8 9 Huntington 45. Huntington 47.Huntington 47. Huntington 47 . Keeles, Fethi. â€Å"The Antinomies of Samuel P. Huntington: Some Anthropological Reflections on the American Pundit. † Journal of Third World Studies. 14. 2 (2007): 131-43. Print. 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 Fethi 131. Fethi 142. Fethi 142. Fethi 142. Huntington 82-83. Huntington 82. Huntington 83-90. Huntington 90-91 Huntington 91. In, Kang Jung. â€Å"Confucianism and Democracy in East Asia: A Critique of Samuel P. Huntington’s Third Wave. † Korea Journal 39. 3 (1999): 319. Print. 20 21 22 23 Huntington 308; 308-310. Huntington 97. Huntington 110. Hendrickson, Holly. Book Summary of The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order by Samuel P. Huntington. † Beyond Intractability – More Constructive Approaches to Destructive Conflict. Conflict Research Consortium, University of Colorado. Web. 24 Huntington 126. 10 POLI 100 – F10N01! Gabrielle Bishop 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 Huntington 139. Huntington 138. Huntington 13 8. Huntington 183. Huntington 183. Huntington 211. Huntington 218. Hendrickson web. Keeles 143. Keeles 143. Ali, Ayaan Hirsi. â€Å"The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order. † Foreign Affairs 89. 6 (2010): 198-99. EBSCO Host. Web. 36 Ali 99. 11