Globalization and International Security

Globalization and International Security This research paper discusses the issues of globalization and international security in their interdependency and interrelation. Challenges and obstacles of the efficient international security policy are considered. Globalization and international security are two directly proportional notions: the quicker is globalization, the stricter is international security. Introduction International security is nowadays closely connected with the notion of globalization. These two concepts seem to be the basic in todays political and economic situation. Thus, to start with, we should identify the notion of the international security. International security is the set of measures performed by countries and various international organizations aimed at the provision of the mutual safety in the world politics. This set of measures involves the implementation of both military actions and diplomatic treaties and agreements. Both types of security national and international are closely connected. As far as globalization offers its ways to ever-growing interaction of people and nations in almost all aspects of the human activities, as well as greater proliferation of cultures, political, economic and social activities, this results in greater rejection. This happens because of the discrepancies in some major points such as religion, for instance, or property issues. The brightest example of the globalization influence on international challenges is terrorist attacks, particularly on September 11, 2001, because these were the first, and they entailed the complete reorganization of global vision of the international security issue. We may state that these attacks were conditioned by the effects of increasing political globalization striving of the US to get the control over Iraq and improve its position as the world leader and power controlling all aspects of the world political order. Therefore, the present paper discusses the issue of the impact the globalization has on the international security and challenges posed by this influence. As far as globalization is rather broad and general term, we will use more specific aspects of globalization such as terrorism and struggle with it, international security in the countries of the Asia-Pacific region resulting from the dramatic economic growth of this region, and other challenges of globalization as associated with the necessity to improve the international security of these countries. General discussion International security and globalization Starting from the end of the twentieth century and continuing in the twenty first century, the globalization of different issues has provided both positive and negative effects. The positive effects of globalization imply closer and thus more effective cooperation of nations on various issues. These involve the sphere of political, cultural, economic cooperation. However, the same issues may have negative effects because in such way the collision of different views happens and this results in the conflict, as we can see on the example of the terrorist attacks of 9/11 different views on the same question who will rule have predetermined the outcome of the conflict: dramatic and terrifying event, which made nations shudder in anticipation of the same threat. Thus, for the most part the growth of terrorist attacks resulted in the desire of nations improve their international security. This may be accomplished in a number of ways: either through military actions, as it has been alread y mentioned, but this method is too radical, or through agreements, treaties and participation in international security programs or associations. Despite the fact that since the ending of the Cold War, which happened more than decade ago, there was an anticipation of the dramatic improvement in the sphere of international and national security. However, these hopes have failed, for new challenges have replaced the threat of nuclear weapon and civilization destruction. New challenges and issues of international security posed by the globalization include terrorism, various forms of extremism, separatism, growth of the crime rates, corruption, weapons of the mass destruction, regional conflicts, ecological catastrophes etc. Despite the fact that these challenges existed previously, in the globalization era they have achieved another sounding, because the world became much more mutually dependent and interconnected than earlier. Therefore, these challenges have begun to obtain a universal character rapidly, thus posing a threat to both national and international stability and security. The lives of many people of different nations have become influenced by these issues and challenges posed to the regional and international communities, and this influences continues its growth. As foreign minister of Russia Igor Ivanov stated, Proof of this is the wave of terrorist acts, unprecedented in scale and cruelty that has rolled from New York to the Island of Bali and Moscow (Ivanov, 2003). The key issue nowadays is not even the disclosure of the spheres where globalization has threatened the security of states and their citizens, but rather that far more interesting nowadays question of the way the effects of international insecurity may be challenged. Besides, it should be defined, why there are so much threats confronting humanity at the beginning of the twenty first century, and what measures can be taken in order to prevent or neutralize the ever-increasing number of new challenges to the peace and international threats. Globalization has become the greatest and the most influential constructor of the new international security picture. Its influence on the development and facilitation of the relations between nations in this basic sphere is considered to be rather contradictory. Thus, on the one part, globalization furthers rapid advancement of technological and scientific progress and facilitates ever-increasing communication among nations. Thus, if we look at the issue more closely, we will see that globalization to great extent assists humanity in provision of the potentiality for improvement of the quality of the international security and brings it to another level of development. It is due to the mutual dependence between nations in almost all spheres of the political, economic, social order, that helps to develop absolutely novel political approaches targeting the creation of the democratic multiparty organizations of controlling the international system of security and in such way targeting the reliable solution of the security problems. Nevertheless, the process of globalization has negative meaning, which is expressed through the intensification of the old challenges of international security with the simultaneous raising of new challenges and dangers. The part of outer factors in the evolution of nations and countries is increasing crucially. Due to the discrepancies in the economic and financial power, the interrelation and mutual dependency between nations becomes ever more unstable and disbalanced. Despite the fact that a minor group of leading industrialized countries almost obviously plays the part of the grounds for globalization, the rest of the countries stays aside of the financial economic advancements. As a consequence, the differences of economic and social advancement of the world grow intensively. According to Ivanov, the world economy may nowadays be separated into two types of zones: zones of growth and stagnation. Therefore, as Ivanov states, in 1998 ten leading states recipients of foreign investments accounted for 70 percent of their total amount, and countries with a low development level accounted for less than 7 percent (Ivanov, 2003). At the same time eminent politician claims that While in 1960 the incomes of the richest 20 percent of the worlds population exceeded those of the poorest 20 percent by 30 times, by 2002 that gap had trebled (Ivanov, 2003). All these problems: unemployment, low wages, social injustice, discrepancies in the realm of religion, culture, etc, contribute greatly to the issue of international security improvement. Certain steps have been already made in this direction, and they appear to be rather effective, but they will be discussed later in this paper. As for the mutual dependence of globalization and international security, we may state that we become the witnesses of the transference of negative globalization aspects to the countries of the Third World. The point is that it is harder for the Third World nations to defend themselves from the negative influence of globalization, but what is far easier to people living in developed countries is that they are protected to a certain extent with the economic and political power of their states. Consequently, the deceleration of globalization processes results in the breaches widening, which concerns the gaps in speed and direction of both economic and social advancement of whole regions of the world. It should be also mentioned that the very notion of the state power is changing in todays world. International security nowadays is provided with the help of not only military forces, as it has always been, but also with the help of the financial, economic, information and other resources which affect allies and opponents particularly comes to the foreground. There are certain factors which supposedly make it either easier or more complicated for countries to obtain access to the advantages of globalization, and which become ever more involved in the armory of security strategies. Thus, globalization and attempts to manipulate its processes are often used as tools of pressure in politics and economy. This peculiarity of the current state of affairs with international relations is emphasized in the UN report called The Impact of Civilization on Social Development. This report underlines that concern over globalization is partly due to the fact that the national policies of states are increasingly influenced by policies pursued outside their boundaries (UN report). Although this concerns national security policies, it is obvious that the international security policies are affected by the global politics and economy as well. As an example of such connection we can provide the example of the International Security Assistance Force although this mission was established by the UN Security Council, a lot of countries of the world responded the call for assistance. Thus, the United Nations Security Council has established ISAF International Security Assistance Force, which is the development and security mission in Afghanistan, led by NATO. The mission was established on December 20, 2001 (UNSCR) and involves approximately thirty five thousand people. The troops for this mission were contributed by thirty seven countries. The main target of International Security Assistance Force was to protect Kabul (Afghanistan) during the war in Afghanistan (started in 2001), and provide the security of the people from the Taliban, al Qaida. There are a lot of tools which are used to influence international security through the globalization processes. According to Ivanov, these tools of manipulation include the following: Investment and credit diplomacy, which benefits from the sharp need of developing nations in loans and investments of foreign capital. Information diplomacy, which targets the prevalence in the space of the world information; Political engineering, which implies the joint usage of different levers such as economic, political, and military ones for the construction of the required type of partners. In other words, states are ready to accept the conditions of the answer to both national and international challenges and issues posed from outside the boundaries of these states. In general, it should be particularly underlined that the process of new international processes started in the period after the Cold War ending, obtained to a great extent unchangeable and uncontrolled nature. Consequently, as it turns out, the situation has arisen which is filled with a great potential for the crisis outbreak, but which is simultaneously useless for the prevention or solution of international security issues collectively, meaning with the help of the whole world community. The deficiency of efficient mechanisms for control and monitoring of the actions and adapting the interests of a group of governments can be implemented as the pretence or evidential support of the statement that the purchase of weapons of mass destruction, even if its quantity is insignificant, becomes almost the only way to ensure security in international terms in todays unpredictable and unstable world. The risk and challenge of such situation is in the fact that threats to national and international security will exist until some serious measures are taken. Terrorism as the threat to international security One of the most crucial challenges the world community faces nowadays is the identification of the most sharply states problems of national and international security notions, which are often closely connected. The current attempts of the world community to fight these problems should be analyzed and the question should be answered as for the effectiveness of these attempts. As it has been already mentioned, the threat of the international terrorism nowadays is posed rather obviously and thus becomes the major threat to the security of the humanity. One of the most difficult things in fighting terrorism, according to Russian foreign minister Ivanov is that terrorists usually change their techniques and strategies of fighting for their aims, and they used to find ever new targets of their just retribution: The population of the major megalopolises on the planet and strategically important marine transportation of energy resources, computer systems that support the life of a modern state, the transportation, tourist and banking infrastructures of the world this is by no means a complete list of targets of attacks that have already happened and may happen in the future (Ivanov, 2003). The key reason for the current situation existence is that extremist leaders try to breed strife, and in such way manipulate others. The most awful thing is that usually this happens on the political level, and people dependant on the state or government suffer in such situation. Thus, terrorist leaders try to destabilize the current state of affairs in separate countries through the use of causing strife as a result of religious, cultural or national discord. Thus, they find weak sides and strike a blow influencing not those separate countries but the whole world community. The growth of international terrorism had entailed the necessity to cooperate in order to fight international terrorism. Thus, national programs aiming the interaction against terrorism were established within the frameworks of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and the Commonwealth of Independent States (Ivanov, 2003). Their target is to put an obstacle on the way of the ever-spreading terrorism, particularly in Central Asia (Ivanov, 2003). Therefore, we should always remember that the protection of rights of every citizen is the direct concern of every country, that is why it is necessary to develop new more efficient programs aiming fight against terrorism and other threats to international security. The United Nations continue to claim its opinion as for the effective struggle with terrorism. According to the UN, this struggle should be supported essentially by the international law. This problem may be solved with the help of the UN, which has always taken great interest and participated in the affairs of terrorism protection, persecution of terrorists or terrorist loyal people, assistance to those people who have suffered from the extremist activity. International security in Asia-Pacific region Asia-Pacific region may be considered the developing one, because countries of this region traditionally have underdeveloped economies, and inexpressive politics but nowadays situation seem to have been changed. That is why it is rather unexpectedly for the world community to evidence the fact that Asia-Pacific region has become the center of the international security, in other words, the Asia-Pacific is currentlyhome to a wide range of attempts at international cooperation on security issues (Goh, Acharia, 2007). It has not been until the beginning of the 1990s that considerable developments and improvements in international issues resulted in the essential changes in the international security of Asia-Pacific region. The most important events which contributed greatly to the development of this region and brought about the transformations in the sphere of international security were the end of the Cold War and the vagueness of the situation with the American strategy as for East A sia. Besides, this resulted from the advancement of China on both political and economic arena due to its dramatic economic growth. It was exactly that economic growth that opened China to the world as the prospective country leading in terms of the economic growth and bringing changes at all levels of the development. Another reason for the change was the crisis of Asian economy in 1997, which damaged the region significantly and doubted the efficiency of the international institutions and the existence of the programs on international cooperation in the sphere of security provision. The activities of the terrorists in Southeast Asia, which have incurred from the terrorist attacks in the USA on September 11, 2001, contributed greatly to the change of the approach concerning national, international and local security. These examples of globalization require further research as for the conflict solving in Asia-Pacific countries. Great variety of approaches to international and national security was considered and thus they have changed significantly since the times of the Cold War. In 1994 the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) Regional Forum was established, and it was the peak of the new initiatives developing in the region at those times. As for the increase of international security between countries of the Asia-Pacific region, we should state that there is growing effort to provide the international security with the combined effort of ASEAN countries, Japan, South Korea and China. Besides, great number of organizations has appeared which has certain relation to the security, such as the APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation), the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and others. As a rule, these cooperative efforts concern the issue of confidence establishing between Asia-Pacific countries. However, because of the differing conditions of these organizations operation, a lot of such efforts suffer from the deficiency of the mutual cooperation and lack of competition as well. Within the framework of the international security there are a number of questions which will be answered in the present paper. They include the concern over the APEC, the main issues of which were extended and thus achieved both greater role and importance on the political scene. So, the reason that has facilitated this transformation in goals of the APEC was the struggle against terrorism after the infamous event of 11 September. The issue of the terrorism in the era of globalization as the key concern of the world community has been considered in this paper. However, first we should answer the question how do relate those two notions of globalization and terrorism, and what are their common points. Therefore, we should mention that globalization has different layers, such as for instance political, economic, cultural and many other; and as a rule globalization is considered as the ever-growing interconnection between people and whole nations as a result of the progress and technol ogical advancements in communication facilities, transport, information technologies etc. It can be hardly doubted that the development of the communications, IT and transport as well as closer interaction between nations, has contributed greatly to the necessity of the international cooperation and security improvement. The reasons for the greater international danger may be waited from the side of international trade and economy on the whole, as far as money and power are closely interlinked and for the most part they are the reason for the majority of conflicts. Among other factors influencing international security is the institutional adaptability as stated by Goh and Acharia, who claim that it is the presence of or the presence of institutional mechanisms that could be adapted to respond to new challenges; in this case, the APECs leaders Summit was one such institution that provided a ready forum for the discussion of pressing security concerns among the regions heads of state (Goh, Acharia, 2007). They consider ASEAN and ARF to be as well corresponding in order to adopt and accommodate the supplementary frameworks of international security. However, these actions are considered to be the misuse of powers. For example, Association of Southeast Asian Nations nowadays significantly changes its previous orientation to international issues of security to the transnational ones. ASEAN Regional Forum has also adopted the program of dealing with international terrorism. According to investigation, performed by Goh and Acharia, the current standards of national interaction differ in various institutions. Thus, the most developed standards are those suggested by ASEAN, while those of Asia-Pacific institutions which are under the threat, are the standards of noninterference. It should be also mentioned here that legalization of the institutions of the Asia-Pacific region has obtained the formalized character. For instance, we can mention the the dispute settlement mechanisms created under the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA), new rules for managing forest in ASEAN countries, the Declaration of Conduct (admittedly a weaker example) in the South China Sea, and moves to deviate from the consensus principle in ASEAN and the ARF (Goh, Arachia, 2007). These steps may be considered as the formalized operations of the improved and intensified international security. International Security before 9/11 and after it Thus, the infamous events of 9/11 became the turning point in the history of the international security. The thing is that, according to Khan, the discourse and direction of the international security issues and globalization processes has been changed. First of all, it should be mentioned that before that turning point the prevalent issues of the politic and economic concerns of the global community were the issues which concerned the geoeconomy (Khan, 2001). The majority of summits and international associations and organizations were concerned with the only question of globalization and humanitarian problems. However, nowadays geopolitics and other security issues have come to the foreground and the post-Cold War organizations determine further course of events, or as Khan put it, old language and institutions of the cold war are shaping our thinking about global politics (Khan, 2001). Khan evidences, that in the sphere of politics it had been decided prior to 9/11 that democracy is the only best way to arrange the most beneficial politics. In the sphere of economy, the World Trade Organization has established its own standards and thus different countries tried to raise their standards in order to comply with the new ones established by WTO. As for the social aspect, multinational corporations, for the most part American ones, influenced greatly the world popular culture. Therefore, it was the terrorist attack of September 11, 2001, which changed everything. Globalization was accelerated, and this resulted in more or less free movement of capital, labor, technology and other material and immaterial resources across the boundaries of the countries. Thus, as far as globalization is the way to open all possible borders and make this flow across the borders free to the greatest extent, the main task of the international security, on the contrary, is to restrain this free flow and in such way secure and protect entrusted peoples and territories. Thus, one of the ideas after the terrorist attack that possessed political minds was the thought that to a certain extent this event was facilitated by the liberal policies of transactions across the borders. And as far as liberalism and democracy are interconnected notions, the position of democracy as the leading and the most appropriate political structure was undermined. The intensification of the international security thus implies the slowdown in the economy, because with harder control of the transactions the flow of capital will be slowed too. The most primitive but nonetheless still effective measures of international security are those which will prevent the free crossing of borders by terrorists: this includes stricter VISA provision, new regulations concerning border patrol and stricter policy of foreigners monitoring and control. On the governmental level national security is provided with the increase of international cooperation, which helps to ensure the legitimacy and reliability of information crossing the borders. Although this concerns national security first of all, in fact international security is also involved here, as far as nations cooperate with each other, exchange information and resources and this makes these countries vulnerable. That is why the efficient system of the international security monitoring is needed. As it has been already mentioned, the relation between globalization and international security is directly proportional, as far as it was globalization that facilitated the emerging of terrorists as the phenomenon of the world politics. However, globalization has been developing throughout many centuries, and nowadays it had just increased its pace. Of course, the most efficient measure of the security provision is at the same time the most radical and the most impossible to accomplish. The point is that it is absolutely impossible to close the borders and let each nation live without cooperation and interaction with other nations. It can be undoubtedly stated, that it is impossible to do. And Khan supports this idea stating that all advanced economies depend considerably on international trade 25% of US economy is dependent on international trade. The information technology sector in the US and increasingly in Europe now depends on technical expertise of global labor, particularly from India and China (Khan, 2001). Thus, complete separation and estrangement is impossible, and the only way to withstand the blow of terrorists is to intensify the international security policies and restrain the pace of globalization. Conclusion Consequently, in the present paper we have discussed the issues of the international security and the influence of globalization on the international security. As a result of the research, it became obvious that globalization and international security are closely connected. First of all this is true because they are directly proportional, i.e. with the acceleration of globalization the international security policies should be intensified. Despite the fact that for the most part the paper is dedicated to international security and related issues, in fact it is very difficult to differentiate the notions of national and international security, because again due to globalization these two concepts became mutually dependent and interrelated. Consequently, having discussed the abovementioned issues we may state that the impact of the globalization on the international security and challenges posed by this influence are rather various but in any case complicated. Using globalization as a general term, we have used more specific aspects of globalization such as terrorism and war against with it, international security in the nations of the Asia-Pacific region coming from the considerable economic growth of this region, and other challenges of globalization as connected with the necessity to improve the international security of these countries. As for the countries of Asia-Pacific region, their policies of international security has been developing and intensifying since the ending of the Cold War. ASEAN Regional Forum, ASEAN Free Trade Area, APEC and others are the decisions taken in response to the globalization advancement and international security improvement. Bibliography 1. Acharya, A. (2001). Constructing a Security Community in Southeast Asia. London: Routledge 2. Acharya, A. and E. Goh.(2007). Reassessing Security Cooperation in the Asia-Pacific: Competition, Congruence, and Transformation. The MIT Press 3. Blair, D. (2000). Security Communities the Way Ahead for Asia, InternationalHerald Tribune, April 21, 2000 4. Garofano, J. (2002). Power, Institutions, and the ASEAN Regional Forum: A Security Community for Asia? Asian Survey, 42 (3), 502-521. 5. Gilpin, R. (1987). The Political Economy of International Relations. Princeton: Princeton University Press 6. The Impact of Civilization on Social Development. (2004). UN report. 7. Ivanov, I. (2003). International Security in the era of globalization. Khatmandu: The Telegraph 8. Khan, M. (2001). Terrorism and globalization. Retrieved 19 Nov. 2007 from Glocal eye website: http://www.glocaleye.org/ 9. Maloney, S. M. (2005). Enduring The Freedom: A Rogue Historian In Afghanistan. Dulles: Potomac Books, Incorporated 10. Ruggie, J. G.. (1993). ed., Multilateralism Matters: The Theory and Praxis of an Institutional Form. New York: Columbia University Press 11. Tow, W. (2001). Asia-Pacific Strategic Relations: Seeking Convergent Security. New York: Cambridge University Press 12. Wesley, M. (2003). Mediating the Global Order: The Past and Future of Asia-Pacific Regional Organizations, in David Lovell, ed., Asia-Pacific Security: Policy Challenges Singapore: ISEAS

Drag Racing

Although the tire tracks of its history are clear, the origin of the term â€Å"drag racing† is not. The theories are almost as many and varied as the machines that have populated its ranks for five decades. Explanations range from a simple challenge (â€Å"Drag your car out of the garage and race me! â€Å") to geographical locale (the â€Å"main drag† was a city's main street, often the only one wide enough to accommodate two vehicles), to the mechanical (to â€Å"drag† the gears meant to hold the transmission in gear longer than normal).The first â€Å"dragsters† were little more than street cars with lightly warmed-over engines and bodies chopped down to reduce weight. Eventually, professional chassis builders constructed purpose-built cars, bending and welding together tubing and planting the engine in the traditional spot, just in front of the driver; the engines, and the fuels they burned, became more exotic, more powerful, and, naturally, more te mperamental. Like almost all racing cars, they have undergone tremendous evolution as racers upgraded, experimented, theorized, and tested their equipment.Safety and innovation paved the way to rear-engined Top Fuel cars in the early 1970s, and once drag racing legend Don Garlits – himself a victim of the front-engined configuration when his transmission, which was nestled between his feet, exploded in 1970, severing half of his right foot – perfected the design, the sport never looked back. Today's Top Fuel dragsters are computer-designed wonders with sleek profiles and wind-tunnel-tested rear airfoils that exert 5,000 pounds of down force on the rear tires with minimal aerodynamic drag.It started out as a wild activity practiced by hoodlums in hopped-up cars, but over the course of a few decades, drag racing would ultimately transform itself into one of the world's most popular motor sports. Drag races after World War II were held on military runways, growing out of speed runs (sanctioned and otherwise) on California's dry lakes. Many recognize Goleta Air Base north of Santa Barbara, California as the site of the first organized drag race in 1949. These early drag strips were temporary facilities with no safety barriers or grandstands—just pavement, people and fast cars.Thousands of spectators turned out to watch early racers run 10-second elapsed times (E. T. s) on the measured quarter-mile—a distance chosen because it was about the length of a city block. Most cars were driven to the track or towed to the races on open trailers. Corporate sponsorship and glistening transporter trucks were far in the unimaginable future Drag racing is best described as a tournament consisting of a two-car straight-line race. It is an all-out acceleration contest from a standing start between two vehicles over an exact distance.Professional drag strips are available for public use all over the world, but the illegal street racing culture has popul arized drag racing nowadays in such a way that most common folks think of drag racing as a bunch of sticker-clad street cars causing mayhem at night. Well, whatever gets you going; it is a fact that the launch becomes the deciding factor in any drag race where the machinery is equal . The race may depend on the launch, but it also depends on how much you know about your car. Every car has its own launching method, and the techniques detailed here will help you determine what is best for your car.All you need to do is experiment with your car, and be aware of any changes to your setup, tarmac quality or weather conditions that could change what you thought was the best method. Pretty much the only hard and fast rule is to practice in various conditions. Drag racing is definitely hard on your car, but to become consistent in your driving, you will have to sacrifice some hard-earned cash for tires, repairs and modifications . With the onset of summer, police across the country are gett ing ready to deal with this potentially deadly pass-time for young people.Across the country lawmakers and police are looking for new ways to prevent the drag races. In Florida, the legislature has approved a bill that would send repeat offenders to jail for up to a year and confiscate their cars. In Los Angeles, police are visiting schools and universities to talk about the dangers of drag racing. And the town of Gastonia, North Carolina is now working on a plan to combat drag racing. Police there say a drag racer lost control of his car and hit five pedestrians . Many Americans, young and old alike, admit they speed at times.But street racing and driving totally too fast is especially deadly for young, inexperienced drivers. Speed cheats them of the time needed to react to road hazards and keep from crashing. Not that many teens, no matter how bright they are, are â€Å"street smart† when it comes to speed. For example, few understand how long it takes to being a speeding c ar to a full stop, no matter how powerful its braking system is . For the record, automotive engineers agree that it takes 268 feet or about the length of a football field for a car going just 50 mph to come to a full stop. At 70 mph, a car or truck would travel almost TWICE that distance.Just imagine what little stopping power a car driven 90 mph has ! The moral of this story is that Drag Racing, is an enjoyable American past time, but only when in a controlled environment. The race may depend on the launch, but it also depends on how much you know about your car. Every car quality or weather conditions that could change what you thought was the best method. Pretty much the only hard and fast rule is to practice in various conditions. Drag racing is definitely hard on your car, but to become consistent in your driving, you will have to sacrifice some hard-earned cash for tires, repairs and modifications.

Evolution of Management Theory

ABSTRACT In this paper, we examine how management theory concerning appropriate management practices has evolved in modern times, and look at the central concerns that have guided its development. First, we examine the so-called classical management theories that emerged around the turn of the twentieth century. These include scientific management, which focuses on matching people and tasks to maximize efficiency; and administrative management, which focuses on identifying the principles that will lead to the creation of the most efficient system of organization and management.Next, we consider behavioural management theories, developed both before and after the Second World War, which focus on how managers should lead and control their workforces to increase performance. Then we discuss management science theory, which developed during the Second World War and which has become increasingly important as researchers have developed rigorous analytical and quantitative techniques to hel p managers measure and control organizational performance.Finally, we discuss business in the 1960s and 1970s and focus on the theories that were developed to help explain how the external environment affects the way organizations and managers operate. By the end of this chapter, one would understand the ways in which Management Theory has evolved over time. You will also understand how economic, political, and cultural forces have affected the development of these theories and the ways in which managers and their organizations behave. INTRODUCTIONChanges in management practices occur as managers, theorists, researchers, and consultants seek new ways to increase organizational efficiency and effectiveness. The driving force behind the evolution of management theory is the search for better ways to utilize organizational resources. Advances in management theory typically occur as managers and researchers find better ways to perform the principal management tasks: planning, organizing , leading, and controlling human and other organizational resources.The evolution of modern management began in the closing decades of the nineteenth century, after the industrial revolution had swept through Europe, Canada, and the United States. In the new economic climate, managers of all types of organizations—political, educational, and economic—were increasingly trying to find better ways to satisfy customers’ needs. Many major economic, technical, and cultural changes were taking place at this time. The introduction of steam power and the development of sophisticated machinery and equipment changed the way in which goods were produced, particularly in the weaving and clothing industries.Small workshops run by skilled workers who produced hand-manufactured products (a system called crafts production) were being replaced by large factories in which sophisticated machines controlled by hundreds or even thousands of unskilled or semiskilled workers made produ cts. Owners and managers of the new factories found themselves unprepared for the challenges accompanying the change from small-scale crafts production to large-scale mechanized manufacturing.Many of the managers and supervisors had only a technical orientation, and were unprepared for the social problems that occur when people work together in large groups (as in a factory or shop system). Managers began to search for new techniques to manage their organizations’ resources, and soon they began to focus on ways to increase the efficiency of the worker–task mix. CLASSICAL MANAGEMENT THEORIES One of the first schools of management thought, the classical management theory, developed during the Industrial Revolution when new problems related to the factory system began to appear.Managers were unsure of how to train employees (many of them non-English speaking immigrants) or deal with increased labor dissatisfaction, so they began to test solutions. As a result, the classic al management theory developed from efforts to find the â€Å"one best way† to perform and manage tasks. This school of thought is made up of two branches: scientific and administrative management, described in the following sections: Scientific Management Scientific Management arose because of the need to increase productivity and efficiency.The emphasis was on trying to find the best way to get the most work done by examining how the work process was actually accomplished and by scrutinizing the skills of the workforce. The classical scientific school owes its roots to several major contributors, including Frederick Taylor, Henry Gantt, and Frank and Lillian Gilbreth. Frederick Taylor is often called the â€Å"father of scientific management. † Taylor believed that organizations should study tasks and develop precise procedures. Also, he developed an incentive system that paid workers more money for meeting the new standard.As a result, many theorists followed Taylor 's philosophy when developing their own principles of management. Henry Gantt, an associate of Taylor's, developed the Gantt chart, a bar graph that measures planned and completed work along each stage of production. Based on time instead of quantity, volume, or weight, this visual display chart has been a widely used planning and control tool since its development in 1910. Frank and Lillian Gilbreth, a husband-and-wife team, studied job motions. In Frank's early career as an apprentice bricklayer, he was interested in standardization and method study.He watched bricklayers and saw that some workers were slow and inefficient, while others were very productive. He discovered that each bricklayer used a different set of motions to lay bricks. From his observations, Frank isolated the basic movements necessary to do the job and eliminated unnecessary motions. Workers using these movements raised their output from 1,000 to 2,700 bricks per day. This was the first motion study designed t o isolate the best possible method of performing a given job. Later, Frank and his wife Lillian studied job motions using a motion-picture camera and a split-second clock.When her husband died at the age of 56, Lillian continued their work. Thanks to these contributors and others, the basic ideas regarding scientific management developed. They include the following: †¢ Developing new standard methods for doing each job †¢ Selecting, training, and developing workers instead of allowing them to choose their own tasks and train themselves †¢ Developing a spirit of cooperation between workers and management to ensure that work is carried out in accordance with devised procedures †¢ Dividing work between orkers and management in almost equal shares, with each group taking over the work for which it is best fitted Administrative Management Whereas scientific management focused on the productivity of individuals, the classical administrative approach concentrates on the total organization. The emphasis is on the development of managerial principles rather than work methods. Contributors to this school of thought include Max Weber, Henri Fayol, Mary Parker Follett, and Chester I. Barnard. These theorists studied the flow of information within an organization and emphasized the importance of understanding how an organization operated.In the late 1800s, Max Weber disliked that many European organizations were managed on a â€Å"personal† family-like basis and that employees were loyal to individual supervisors rather than to the organization. He believed that organizations should be managed impersonally and that a formal organizational structure, where specific rules were followed, was important. In other words, he didn't think that authority should be based on a person's personality. He thought authority should be something that was part of a person's job and passed from individual to individual as one person left and another took over.This n on-personal, objective form of organization was called a bureaucracy. Weber believed that all bureaucracies have the following characteristics: †¢ A well-defined hierarchy †¢ Division of labor and specialization †¢ Rules and regulations. †¢ Impersonal relationships between managers and employees. †¢ Competence. †¢ Records. Henri Fayol, a French mining engineer, developed 14 principles of management based on his management experiences. These principles provide modern-day managers with general guidelines on how a supervisor should organize her department and manage her staff.Although later research has created controversy over many of the following principles, they are still widely used in management theories. They are: †¢ Division of work †¢ Authority and responsibility †¢ Discipline †¢ Unity of command †¢ Unity of direction †¢ Subordination of individual interest to general interest †¢ Remuneration of personnel †¢ Centralization †¢ Scalar chain †¢ Order †¢ Equity †¢ Stability of tenure of personnel †¢ Initiative †¢ Esprit de corps Mary Parker Follett stressed the importance of an organization establishing common goals for its employees.However, she also began to think somewhat differently than the other theorists of her day, discarding command-style hierarchical organizations where employees were treated like robots. She began to talk about such things as ethics, power, and leadership. She encouraged managers to allow employees to participate in decision making. She stressed the importance of people rather than techniques — a concept very much before her time. As a result, she was a pioneer and often not taken seriously by management scholars of her time. But times change and innovative ideas from the past suddenly take on new meanings.Much of what managers do today is based on the fundamentals that Follett established more than 80 years ago. Chester Barn ard, who was president of New Jersey Bell Telephone Company, introduced the idea of the informal organization — cliques (exclusive groups of people) that naturally form within a company. He felt that these informal organizations provided necessary and vital communication functions for the overall organization and that they could help the organization accomplish its goals. Barnard felt that it was particularly important for managers to develop a sense of common purpose where a willingness to cooperate is strongly encouraged.He is credited with developing the acceptance theory of management, which emphasizes the willingness of employees to accept that managers have legitimate authority to act. Barnard felt that four factors affected the willingness of employees to accept authority: †¢ The employees must understand the communication. †¢ The employees accept the communication as being consistent with the organization's purposes. †¢ The employees feel that their act ions will be consistent with the needs and desires of the other employees. †¢ The employees feel that they are mentally and physically able to carry out the order.Barnard's sympathy for and understanding of employee needs positioned him as a bridge to the behavioral school of management, the next school of thought to emerge. Behavioral Management Theory As management research continued in the 20th century, questions began to come up regarding the interactions and motivations of the individual within organizations. Management principles developed during the classical period were simply not useful in dealing with many management situations and could not explain the behavior of individual employees. In short, classical theory ignored employee motivation and behavior.As a result, the behavioral school was a natural outgrowth of this revolutionary management experiment. The  behavioral management theory  is often called the human relations movement because it addresses the human dimension of work. Behavioral theorists believed that a better understanding of human behavior at work, such as motivation, conflict, expectations, and group dynamics, improved productivity. The theorists who contributed to this school viewed employees as individuals, resources, and assets to be developed and worked with — not as machines, as in the past.Several individuals and experiments contributed to this theory. Elton Mayo's  contributions came as part of the  Hawthorne studies,  a series of experiments that rigorously applied classical management theory only to reveal its shortcomings. The Hawthorne experiments consisted of two studies conducted at the Hawthorne Works of the Western Electric Company in Chicago from 1924 to 1932. The first study was conducted by a group of engineers seeking to determine the relationship of lighting levels to worker productivity.Surprisingly enough, they discovered that worker productivity increased as the lighting levels decreased — that is, until the employees were unable to see what they were doing, after which performance naturally declined. A few years later, a second group of experiments began. Harvard researchers Mayo and F. J. Roethlisberger supervised a group of five women in a bank wiring room. They gave the women special privileges, such as the right to leave their workstations without permission, take rest periods, enjoy free lunches, and have variations in pay levels and workdays.This experiment also resulted in significantly increased rates of productivity. In this case, Mayo and Roethlisberger concluded that the increase in productivity resulted from the supervisory arrangement rather than the changes in lighting or other associated worker benefits. Because the experimenters became the primary supervisors of the employees, the intense interest they displayed for the workers was the basis for the increased motivation and resulting productivity. Essentially, the experimenters became a part of the study and influenced its outcome.This is the origin of the term  Hawthorne effect,  which describes the special attention researchers give to a study's subjects and the impact that attention has on the study's findings. The general conclusion from the Hawthorne studies was that human relations and the social needs of workers are crucial aspects of business management. This principle of human motivation helped revolutionize theories and practices of management. Abraham Maslow,  a practicing psychologist, developed one of the most widely recognized  need theories,  a theory of motivation based upon a consideration of human needs.His theory of human needs had three assumptions: †¢ Human needs are never completely satisfied. †¢ Human behavior is purposeful and is motivated by the need for satisfaction. †¢ Needs can be classified according to a hierarchical structure of importance, from the lowest to highest. Maslow broke down the needs hierarchy into fiv e specific areas: †¢ Physiological needs. Maslow grouped all physical needs necessary for maintaining basic human well-being, such as food and drink, into this category. After the need is satisfied, however, it is no longer is a motivator. †¢ Safety needs.These needs include the need for basic security, stability, protection, and freedom from fear. A normal state exists for an individual to have all these needs generally satisfied. Otherwise, they become primary motivators. †¢ Belonging and love needs. After the physical and safety needs are satisfied and are no longer motivators, the need for belonging and love emerges as a primary motivator. The individual strives to establish meaningful relationships with significant others. †¢ Esteem needs. An individual must develop self-confidence and wants to achieve status, reputation, fame, and glory. Self-actualization needs. Assuming that all the previous needs in the hierarchy are satisfied, an individual feels a need to find himself. Maslow's hierarchy of needs theory helped managers visualize employee motivation. Douglas McGregor  was heavily influenced by both the Hawthorne studies and Maslow. He believed that two basic kinds of managers exist. One type, the Theory X manager, has a negative view of employees and assumes that they are lazy, untrustworthy, and incapable of assuming responsibility.On the other hand, the Theory Y manager assumes that employees are not only trustworthy and capable of assuming responsibility, but also have high levels of motivation. An important aspect of McGregor's idea was his belief that managers who hold either set of assumptions can create  self-fulfilling prophecies  Ã¢â‚¬â€ that through their behavior, these managers create situations where subordinates act in ways that confirm the manager's original expectations. As a group, these theorists discovered that people worked for inner satisfaction and not materialistic rewards, shifting the focus to the r ole of individuals in an organization's performance.Management Science Theory Management science theory is a contemporary approach to management that focuses on the use of rigorous quantitative techniques to help managers make maximum use of organizational resources to produce goods and services. In essence, management science theory is a contemporary extension of scientific management, which, as developed by Taylor, also took a quantitative approach to measuring the worker–task mix in order to raise efficiency.There are many branches of management science; each of them deals with a specific set of concerns: †¢ Quantitative management utilizes mathematical techniques—such as linear and nonlinear programming, modelling, simulation, queuing theory, and chaos theory—to help managers decide, for example, how much inventory to hold at different times of the year, where to locate a new factory, and how best to invest an organization’s financial capital. â € ¢ Operations management (or operations research) provides managers with a set of techniques that they can use to analyze any aspect of an organization’s production system to increase efficiency. Total quality management (TQM) focuses on analyzing an organization’s input, conversion, and output activities to increase product quality. †¢ Management information systems (MIS) help managers design information systems that provide information about events occurring inside the organization as well as in its external environment—information that is vital for effective decision making. All these subfields of management science provide tools and techniques that managers can use to help improve the quality of their decision making and increase efficiency and effectiveness.Organizational Environment Theory An important milestone in the history of management thought occurred when researchers went beyond the study of how managers can influence behavior within organiz ations to consider how managers control the organization’s relationship with its external environment, or organizational environment—the set of forces and conditions that operate beyond an organization’s boundaries but affect a manager’s ability to acquire and utilize resources.Resources in the organizational environment include the raw materials and skilled people that an organization requires to produce goods and services, as well as the support of groups including customers who buy these goods and services and provide the organization with financial resources. One way of determining the relative success of an organization is to consider how effective its managers are at obtaining scarce and valuable resources. The importance of studying the environment became clear after the development of open-systems theory and contingency theory during the 1960s Contingency TheoryAnother milestone in management theory was the development of contingency theory in the 1960s by Tom Burns and G. M. Stalker in the United Kingdom and Paul Lawrence and Jay Lorsch in the United States. 39 The crucial message of contingency theory is that there is no one best way to organize: The organizational structures and the control systems that managers choose depend on—are contingent on—characteristics of the external environment in which the organization operates. According to contingency theory, the characteristics of the environment affect an organization’s ability to obtain resources.To maximize the likelihood of gaining access to resources, managers must allow an organization’s departments to organize and control their activities in ways most likely to allow them to obtain resources, given the constraints of the particular environment they face. In other words, how managers design the organizational hierarchy, choose a control system, and lead and motivate their employees is contingent on the characteristics of the organizational environment. CONCLUSION The search for efficiency started with the study of how managers could improve person–task relationships to increase efficiency.The concept of job specialization and division of labour remains the basis for the design of work settings in modern organizations. New developments like lean production and total quality management are often viewed as advances on the early scientific management principles developed by Taylor and the Gilbreths. Max Weber and Henri Fayol outlined principles of bureaucracy and administration that are as relevant to managers today as when they were written at the turn of the twentieth century. Much of modern management research refines these principles to suit contemporary conditions.For example, the increasing interest in the use of cross-departmental teams and the empowerment of workers are issues that managers also faced a century ago. Researchers have described many different approaches to managerial behaviour, including The ories X and Y. Often, the managerial behaviour that researchers suggest reflects the context of their own historical era and culture. Mary Parker Follett advocated managerial behaviours that did not reflect accepted modes of managerial behaviour at the time, but her work was largely ignored until conditions changed.The various branches of management science theory provide rigorous quantitative techniques that give managers more control over their organization’s use of resources to produce goods and services. The importance of studying the organization’s external environment became clear after the development of open-systems theory and contingency theory during the 1960s. A main focus of contemporary management research is to find methods to help managers improve the way they utilize organizational resources and compete successfully in the global environment.Strategic management and total quality management are two important approaches intended to help managers make bet ter use of organizational resources. REFERENCES CliffsNotes. com, (2013). Classical Schools of Management. http://www. cliffsnotes. com/study_guide/topicArticleId-8944,articleId-8851. html. David Sibbet, (1997). 75 Years of Management Ideas and Practice. Supplement, Harvard Business Review, Reprint number 97500. David Stauffer,  (2011). An Overview of Management Theories. http://www. ernsanalysis. com/sjsu/ise250/history. htm James Swartz, (1994). Evolution of Management Thought. Productivity Press, Portland OR Lyndsay Swinton, (2010). Frederick W. Taylor: Master of Scientific Management. http://www. skymark. com/resources/leaders/taylor. asp M. Bosman, (2010). Historical Evolution of Management Theory. http://www. scribd. com/doc/37785213/Evolution-of-Management-Theory Prof. M. Thenmozhi, (2007). EVOLUTION OF MANAGEMENT THEORY. Indian Institute of Technology, Madras.

Strategic Risks in Retail - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 3 Words: 992 Downloads: 6 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Management Essay Type Argumentative essay Did you like this example? Part A In part A, we are to discuss the main drivers of risk for the retail business and I have highlighted the Strategic Risk. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Strategic Risks in Retail" essay for you Create order Introduction Risk management is much more extensive than simple financial or operational risk. Ideas, for example, strategic risk management, integrated risk management and enterprise risk management now depict the more extensive provision of such thinking, tools and techniques. There is a typical view that strategic risk is about overseeing risk strategically as opposed to inspecting strategic risk as a classification like operational, financial and other risk regions. This regular perspective reasons disarray and may be one of the reasons that strategic risk is not further examined or particularly overseen. (Rowe, 2009) Definition Slywotzkyand Drzik (2005) attempt defines strategic risk as à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“an array of external events and trends that can devastate a companyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s growth trajectory and shareholder valueà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  Strategic risks are those that emerge from the key choices that chiefs take concerning an associations goals. Basically, strategic risks are the risks of neglecting to accomplish these business targets. A helpful subdivision of strategic risks is: Business risks à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" Risks that determine from the choices that the board takes about the items or administrations that the association supplies. They incorporate risks connected with creating and showcasing those items or administrations, economic risks influencing item deals and expenses, and risks emerging from progressions in the technological environment which affect on deals and generation. Non-business risks à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" Risks that dont infer from the items or administrations supplied. For instance, risks connected with the long haul wellsprings of fund utilised. Strategic risk levels connect in with how the entire association is situated in connection to its surroundings and are not influenced exclusively by what the executives choose. Competitor movements will influence risk levels in item showcases, and technological developments may imply that creation procedures, or items, rapidly get out-of-date. Responsibility for strategic risk management Strategic risks are controlled by board choices about the targets and heading of the association. Board strategic arranging and choice making methods, thusly, must be intensive. The UK Cadbury report suggests that chiefs make a formal calendar of matters that are saved for their choice. These ought to incorporate critical acquisitions and transfers of benefits, speculations, capital ventures, and treasury approaches. (Weller, 2008) Conclusion To take strategic choices viably, boards need sufficient data about how the business is performing, and about significant parts of the financial, business, and mechanical situations. To evaluate the assortment of strategic dangers the association confronts, the board needs to have a thickness of vision; thus governance reports prescribe that a board be adjusted in abilities, learning, and experience. Then again, regardless of the fact that the board takes after corporate governance best work on concerning the techniques for strategic choice making; this wont essentially guarantee that the chiefs settle on the right choices. Part B In Part B, we are to prepare a risk mitigation management plan for Lunaà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s Convenience Store senior management adopt considering the risk management strategies in different areas. I will be discussing the Employment Practices. Introduction There are fundamentally three levels to ensuring your business from financial damage as an after-effect of employment practice claims: Identification of risk zones, Developing and managing your organizations employment policies and procedures and Insuring against financial loss. It is a decent thought to create a program that joins each of the three. (Employment Practices, Risk and Management) Identification of Risk Comprehensive list of exposures to employment practice lawsuits common to most businesses: Hiring decisions Promotion, discipline and termination Discrimination Sexual harassment Invasion of privacy Developing and Managing Employment Practices Having a written policy in place for hiring, reviews and office conduct is imperative. That can appear daunting for a little business however there are assets accessible for help. Agendas for interviewing, job descriptions and qualifications; performance desires and estimations; job compensation evaluations, pay for performance arrangements and performance assessment procedures are essential records that, when legitimately utilized, can minimize risk of claims in numerous risk regions. Once finished, these policies, procedures and records ought to be checked on occasionally to verify they stay exceptional. A training program will be required for managers so they know how to execute the general program, conduct reviews, and give feedback and record issues. Representative training ought to blanket workplace conduct and additionally any progressions in job assessment. Finally, no policy or method is extremely significant unless it could be showed that it is emulated reliably and with uniformity over the organization. Development of procedures and policies is just the first step. Training and documentation are additionally vital. Insuring Against Financial Loss Indeed the most generally oversaw business, with sound, overall executed work hones and superb general worker spirit can in any case wind up in court. As a last layer of danger administration Employment Practice Liability Insurance (EPLI) is turning into a standard a piece of numerous business protection programs. Comprehensively talking, this kind of protection spreads asserts by representatives and employment seekers who accept their lawful rights have been maltreated. There are numerous various types of approaches that give contrasting levels of assurance. Conclusion This is not by any methods a complete rundown however it is a decent place to begin. Conflict in taking care of choices in these ranges and an absence of an archived approach in regards to these practices makes defencelessness to budgetary misfortune. Numerous more diminutive organizations, which dont have a devoted human asset or misfortune control capacity or in house guidance, are frequently more at danger due to this absence of dedicated focus. References: Slywotzky, A., J; Drzik, J. (2005). Countering the Biggest Risk of All. Harvard Business Review, (April). 78-88. Employment Practices, Risk and Management. (n.d.). Retrieved from Blaine Insurance: https://blaineinsurance.com/blog/employment-practices-risk-and-management Rowe, C. (2009). Examining Strategic Risk à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"Strategicà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ Risk or à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"Strategic Riskà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ Management? Risk Management Blog ClearRisk . Weller, N. (2008). Strategic and Operational Risks. Retrieved from https://www.accaglobal.com/content/dam/acca/global/PDF-students/2012s/sa_sep08_weller.pdf