Women in the Bible and Their Gender Roles Essay

Women in the Bible and Their Gender Roles - Essay Example Topics of sexual morality within gender studies have spurred hot debates amongst various scholars. Nevertheless, it is undeniable that sexual morality emanates from the Bible. Perceptions of sexual morality in the contemporary church significantly borrow from the ancient Israelites and the lives of Christians during the life and after the death of Jesus Christ. Many women in the Bible have shaped the perception of contemporary church on gender roles. There is no doubt that the gender roles in which Biblical women subscribed to emanated from a culture that largely differs from contemporary culture. Women in the Bible and Gender Roles The Old Testament vividly describes the life of the ancient Israelites, which shaped the perception of women and gender roles. During the classical period women were considered to be wives in charge of domestic duties and not leaders. The Biblical perspective of women as portrayed in the Old Testament is that they (women) were never expected to participat e in leading a given community (Belleville, 2000). Most women in the Bible during the Old Testament are seen as submissive and helpless as they abide by the directives of the men. From the onset of creation, Eve was created as Adam’s helper. Creating a woman as a man’s helper changed the perception of men towards women during the classical period. Consequently, women were despised and never allowed to take any leadership position within the society. In this perspective, the Bible identifies women as helpers and not leaders. Other than being wives, the other gender role of women in the Bible is being mothers. Many women in the Bible are portrayed as good and caring mothers with very few exceptions (Hancock, 2003). For instance, Moses’ mother was a good and caring mother to the extent that when Moses was born she placed him along the river banks with a view of protecting him (Moses) from Pharaoh. Even when the King’s daughter came across Moses, Mosesâ€℠¢ mother accepted to take care of him (Giles, 2002). This depicts women as mothers besides being wives. In addition, the Bible describes women as those who prepare food for the family, provides a helping hand in the fields, sews, and sells merchandise amongst other functions, which are essential the functions of a mother. Therefore, the Bible portrays women as caring and good mothers who are able to take of their husbands and the whole family (Hancock, 2003). Despite the negative perception with respect to leadership and authority, there are women who excelled more than men when they were in leadership position. This was an indication that what men can do women can also do and in most cases better. For instance, the story of Deborah and Miriam being judge and prophetess respectively is a clear indication that besides being perceived as people who cannot take leadership or authority, women are better leaders than men in some cases. What’s more, the Bible does not identify circ umstances under which God was never pleased with women leaders, an indication that besides being wives and mothers women can take up leadership roles within the society. Other than Debora and Miriam, Hulda was another woman figure that changed the perception of men towards women. Evidently, women in the Bible were not only wives and mothers but also leaders. On a different perspective, the New Testament, which revolves around the times of Jesus Christ, portrays women slightly different from the Old Testament while trying to describe various gender roles. Nonetheless, the New Testament identifies women as good and caring mothers (Groothuis, 1997). Good and caring mothers are seen amongst many women in the New Testament such as Mary mother of Jesus. Mary and Martha are also considered to be caring and

Crimes Against the Public Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Crimes Against the Public - Essay Example On most occasions when dialogue does not bear fruit, agitators opt to go rioting thus distracting public peace. In that regard, the following case briefs will shed some light on how various previous cases involving the same were handled. This will guide on how to look at the two happenings that involved offences against the public. Crimes Against the Public Introduction Crimes against the public are those intentional acts and behaviors that tend to disrupt the order in which the members of the public run their daily operations (public order). The Law checks to ensure that minimum standards of decency and civility must be upheld by all individuals as long as they are in public. For that reason, there are set rules and guidelines which must be observed by all members of the public which attract respective penalties upon breach. The following are some case briefs. Case briefs Edward v. South Carolina, 372 U.S. 229 (1963) Facts of the case: A peaceful demonstration was organized by 187 A frican-Americans to South Carolina State House grounds. The protestors divided themselves into small groups as they pushed to convey their grievances against policies of segregation in their state. This process did not disrupt the normal activities of the public and everything ran normally and no property was destroyed. This demonstration was however disrupted by thirty police officers who ordered the protesters to stop or be arrested. The students defied the order and instead chanted songs of freedom and patriotism. This led to their arrest and conviction for disruption of peace. Issues present in the case: Was the arrest of the protestors in violation of their rights and freedoms to express themselves, to gather to push for their grievances as provided for in the First and Fourteenth Amendments? Decision: The court’s ruling was that the arrest violated the marcher’s right of speech, press and assembly. Reasoning: It was held that the arrest and conviction of the marc hers was against their rights. The Court could not clearly identify the crime alleged against the protestors. The evidence provided was insufficient and did not portray acts of violence. Therefore the judge for the case ruled that there was a violation of constitutional rights by arresting the peaceful protestors. Justice Stewart said that the protestors were only exercising the First Amendment rights and that the state was not allowed to criminalize protests against controversial rules. Dissenting opinions: there were no dissenting opinions regarding this case and the court went by the judge’s ruling. Looking at the above cited case, (Edwards v. South Carolina 372 U.S. 229 (1963), 1963) we find that these marchers pushed for their grievances peacefully and did not destroy public property nor blocked traffic. It was because of that that the court regarded their acts as an exercise of constitutional rights. However, it was a different case altogether where two angry students s ent e-mails to Texas government agencies with threats to blow up a building in protest over U.S. involvement in several controversial international issues. The students were arrested and charged with threats to use weapons of mass destruction. In this case, the government did not succeed in convicting the students because the threat to blow up a building was just an expression of their thoughts (U.S. v Wise, 221 F.3d 140 (5th Cir.200), 2000). They would not be convicted because there wasn’

Effective Performance Appraisal Essay Example for Free

Effective Performance Appraisal Essay In spite of this fact, however, there are some elements which are common to all effective performance appraisal systems, regardless of the actual method(s) used in the system. These elements will be discussed shortly. However, before examining these common links, a brief overview of performance appraisal as it is currently practised in American organisations is in order. Current Trends in Performance Appraisal As previously noted, controversy over the best performance appraisal system continues. The dilemma was highlighted in the 19 May 1980 issue of Business Week where the editors concluded that managers want a system that will pinpoint specific marginal behaviour that should be reinforced or discontinued, serve as a personnel development tool, provide a realistic assess ­ ment of an employees potential for advancement, and — a particularly hot issue in the 1980s — stand up in court as a valid defence in discrimination suits. Has the search for a best system affected what companies actually do in performance appraisal? A study conducted by Taylor and Zawacki[2] in 1981 set out to answer this question y sending a mail questionnaire to 200 firms located throughout the United States — these companies were selected at random from the Fortune 1000. Eighty-four (42 per cent) were returned and used in the study. The size of respondent firms ranged from less than 1,000 employees (nine), 1,000-5,000 employees (63), and more than 5,000 employees (12). Non-respondent firms did not vary significantly in terms of size. This study, which duplicated a previous one conducted in 1976, asked what kind of performance appraisal system was used for management and blue-collar employees. It also asked for the interval between ratings, productivity and employee reaction to the appraisal system, anticipated changes and respondent satisfaction to the present system. While it is not possible to go into all the detailed findings of this study, some of the most pertinent information is summarised below. ? While in 1976 43 per cent of the respondent firms had used a traditional performance appraisal system (e. g. , forced distribution) and 57 per cent had used a collaborative system (e. g. , MBO), in 1981 these figures had changed to 53 per cent and 47 per cent respectively. In other words, the proportion of companies using a traditional approach to performance appraisal had increased while the proportion of those using a collaborative approach had decreased. Several respondents provided written comments stating that they had changed to quantitative (i. e. traditional) systems in recent years in reaction to legal challenges to their previous collaborative system. In 1981, 39 of the 41 organisations using a traditional system used a graphic rating scale. Of the collaborative forms, 23 firms used MBO and 11 used a BARS system. The percentage of firms not satisfied with their current appraisal system increased from only nine per cent in 1976 to 47 per cent in 1981. In addition, those with collaborative systems were more likely to be satisfied, while the majority of firms with traditional systems expressed dissatisfaction. As far as the effect of the type of system used on employee attitudes went, 37 per cent of the ? IMDS January/February 1988 13 ? companies using a traditional approach felt that it had improved employee attitudes while 63 per cent felt it had not. Of those companies using a collaborative approach, 77 per cent felt it had improved employee attitudes and 23 per cent felt it had not. ? Of the 22 firms indicating that they anticipated changing their performance appraisal system in the near future, 12 were moving from a collaborative system to a traditional system. This is especially interesting in light of the fact that, in the 1976 study, the majority of firms indicating that they were considering a change said that the move would be from a traditional to a collaborative approach. While the 1981 study did not delve into the reasons behind this shift in attitude, Taylor and Zawacki conjectured that it was due to governmental and legal pressures for precise (i. e. , quantitative) measures which overwhelmed a desire to help people develop and grow towards becoming more effective employees. Of the firms surveyed, 49 per cent felt that their performance appraisal system had improved employee performance (roughly the same proportion found in 1976). However, the number of firms that did not believe employee performance had improved as a result of the appraisal process had gone from four per cent in 1976 to 19 per cent in 1981 — and none of these firms anticipated changing their system! (5) The appraiser should be given feedback regarding his/her effectiveness in the performance appraisal process. (6) The performance appraisal system, regardless of the methodology employed, must comply with legal requirements (notably, Equal Employment Opportunities guidelines). Since the factors listed above are consistently highlighted in the literature as essential elements of an effective performance appraisal system, each of them warrants individual attention. Performance Goals Must Be Clearly and Specifically Defined Special emphasis should be placed on this phase of performance appraisal, since the lack of specifically defined performance goals will undoubtedly undermine the effectiveness of the entire performance appraisal process. The key performance areas need to be identified, assigned priorities and stated in quantifiable terms whenever possible. The mutual goal-setting process between a manager and subordinate associated with Management by Objectives is a particularly beneficial way to foster acceptance and internal motivation on the part of the employee[3]. As is often the case, if multiple goals are established, they should be ranked so that the employee has a clear understanding of which areas may warrant more attention and resources than others. Furthermore, every attempt should be made to describe performance goals in terms of their time, quality, quantity, and monetary dimensions. This will reduce the opportunity for misinterpretation about what is to be accomplished and what limitations there are. The quantification of goals will also make it easier for the manager and the employee to measure the employees progress towards achieving the objectives. The need for quantifying objectives is succinctly summed up by George Ordione: If you cant count it, measure it, or describe it, you probably dont know what you want and can often forget it as a goal. There is still too much, do your best, or Ill let you know when its right, going around in todays organisations. If you cant define the desired type and level of performance in detail, then you have no right to expect your subordinate to achieve it. [4] ? To summarise, it would appear that while most firms wish to use a collaborative form of performance appraisal, they feel thwarted by outside forces (notably Equal Employment Opportunities requirements) in their attempts to implement such a system within their organisations. The dilemma, then, is finding a workable solution which will meet both constraints. The remainder of this article will take a look at these two seemingly conflicting areas (effectiveness vs. efensiveness) and how they can be integrated into a meaningful performance appraisal system. Elements of an Effective Performance Appraisal System While various authors use different names and modified descriptions for them, the following factors seem to be universally accepted by most authorities on the subjects as requisites for an effective performance appraisal system: (1) Performan ce goals must be specifically and clearly defined. (2) Attention must be paid to identifying, in specific and measurable terms, what constitutes the varying levels of performance. 3) To be effective, performance appraisal programmes should tie personal rewards to organisational performance. (4) The supervisor and employee should jointly identify ways to improve the employees performance, and then establish a development plan to help the employee achieve his/her goals. The Varying Levels of Performance While setting performance goals is a crucial first step in the process, managers also need to concentrate more attention on identifying what constitutes the varying levels of performance. If the organisation uses the typical poor, fair, good, very good and excellent scale of performance, the manager has a responsibility to identify at the beginning what levels of performance will produce a very good or excellent rating. However, setting specific goals for organisational performance is not enough — managers also need to relate performance to the individuals rewards. Agreeing on what is to be accomplished and what varying levels of performance represent in terms of evaluation and rewards is crucial for the performance appraisal process to be effective[5]. Since the first two steps of this process (i. e. , defining performance goals and setting performance standards) IMDS January/February 1988 14 are closely connected, an example of how these steps might be achieved is warranted. A prerequisite for setting performance goals is to establish job tasks. To measure performance realistically, objectively and productively, we must base our reviews on job content rather that job constructs. Constructs are broad, often self-evident terms which describe a general task, activity or requirement. Richards refers to them as garbage words in terms of their usefulness as performance standards). An example might be communication skills. While few would argue the need for skills in communication for many employees, the problem is how to define the term in light of the requirements of the specific job in question. Will the employee be required to: ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? Write memos? Write letters? Conduct interviews? Deliver public speeches? Present pr oposals to clients? Describe features and benefits of a product? Resolve face-to-face conflicts? Handle customer complaints? Write job descriptions? Describe and define job standards? Manage meetings? Present ideas to top management? Initiative: Resourceful in taking necessary or appropriate action on own responsibility. Unsatisfactory Poor A routine Often waits unnecessarily worker; usually for direction. waits to be told what to do, requiring constant direction. Satisfactory Good Excellent Seeks and gets added tasks for self; highly selfreliant. Assumes responsibility. Does regular Resourceful; work without alert to waiting for opportunities directions. or Follows improvement directions with of work. little follow-up Volunteers suggestions. Table I. drinks per bottle, etc. In turn, these indicators should be broken down into measurable standards, as shown in Table II. As shown, when identifying what constitutes the varying levels of performance, we need to decide what we can expect in terms of outstanding performance, what is satisfactory and what is the minimum level of perfo rmance we can tolerate. One could argue that these are subjective determinations, and this is of course true. What is important, however, is that once these determinations have been made, performance can be measured objectively against the standard. It is important to keep in mind that standards should be set based on what we require or need in the performance of a job and not on our assessment of a specific individuals ability to do the job. Unless we specify the behaviour we want in the context of job content requirements, it will be near impossible objectively to measure someones performance under the generic construct of communication. We must determine the sort of communicating the job requires of the employee. Some organisations attempt to aid supervisors by providing rating scales which are anchored to descriptions of performance (i. e. , the BARS approach), such as the one shown in Table I. While this type of scale is certainly a vast improvement over those that offer no anchors (rating descriptions) at all, we could still argue over the ratings. The standards are subjective and unmeasurable, both undesirable traits in any performance appraisal system. To overcome these problems, the job should be broken down into responsibilities, with a series of performance indicators provided for each responsibility. In turn, these indicators should be accompanied by objective and measurable performance standards. An example will help illustrate the process. A bartenders job can be broken down into several responsibilities, including mixing drinks, cost control, inventory control, house keeping, safety, law enforcement, supervision, customer relations, etc. In turn, each of these responsibility areas can be broken down into several performance indicators. For example, performance indicators of the job responsibility mixing drinks might include complaints, returns, brands used, appearance, speed, number of Personal Rewards and Organisational Performance To be truly effective, performance appraisal programmes should tie personal rewards to organisational performance. Too many reward systems are based on time on the job, are divided evenly among employees, or offer too little incentive to increase motivation significantly. As noted by Harper[3], performance appraisal systems need to be designed with the three Es of motivation in mind. The first E refers to the exchange theory, which states that people tend to contribute to the organisations objectives as long as they believe they will be rewarded. The second E refers to the equity theory, which states that motivation is tied to the relative, rather than the absolute, size of the reward. For example, if person A does 25 per cent better than person B, but gets only five per cent more in a merit increase, then person A is likely to feel that management has actually punished him or her for doing noticeably better than person B. The third E is the expectancy theory of motivation, which asserts that motivation is a combination of the persons perceived probability (expectancy) of receiving a reward and the worth of the reward. Even when the reward is great, motivation may in fact be quite low if the employee does not believe that he or she has a reasonable chance of achieving the necessary level of performance to get the reward. Conversely, if the employee believes that the probability of receiving the reward is high, there will be little motivation if he or she does not need or value the reward. IMDS January/February 1988 15 Job: Bartender Job responsibilities Mix drinks, etc. Indicators Complaints Returns Measurements used (recipe) Brands used Appearance Time No. of drinks per bottle, etc. feedback to managers about the quality of their performance appraisal ratings would seem to have several advantages: ? ? It is relatively inexpensive and easy to develop and implement. The feedback is based on ratings made by each manager as part of the formal performance appraisal process. This enables the feedback to be tailored to the individual. The feedback can provide managers with a basis upon which to compare their ratings with those made by other managers. This normative type of feedback is rarely available to managers; as a result, there is very little information upon which they can evaluate how lenient or strict they are. A feedback system should help to ensure comparability of ratings among managers, which in turn may increase employee satisfaction with the appraisal process. That is, employees are more likely to perceive that their performance has been evaluated equitably since managers are using the same standards when evaluating performance. ? Job: Bartender Standards Job responsibilities Mix drinks Indicators Minimum Complaints 4/week Satisfactory 2/week Outstanding 0 ? Table II. In summary, then, for a performance appraisal programme to be successful in this area, it must: (1) Tie rewards to performance (2) Offer a high enough level of reward (3) Have the level of reward reflect the relative differences in the various levels of performance (4) Tailor the rewards to the needs and desires of individual employees. Development Plans Ideally, the performance appraisal programme should be comprised of two separate sessions between the manager and the employee. In the first session the manager and employee review the level of performance from the previous period — what went well, what did not, and why. This session also identifies the employees strengths as well as the areas that need to be improved. The manager then encourages the employee to prepare a development plan to be discussed at the second meeting. The development plan is intended to identify areas that should be improved upon during the coming period. The subordinate should be encouraged to: (1) Concentrate on those areas that will affect results (2) Select three or four particular areas for improvement rather than an unrealistic and unmanageable number (3) Set improvement goals that are specific and measurable[6]. Whatever the end result happens to be, the employee needs to be the principal author (although the manager should offer help and suggestions) since people tend to be more motivated to accept and implement a plan of their own making. IMDS January/February 1988 16 Indications of the usefulness of such a feedback system were documented in a study by Davis and Mount[7] in which managers were provided feedback vis a vis the ratings they gave to employees. In response to a questionnaire distributed one week after they had received feedback regarding the quality of their performance ratings, 79 per cent of the managers indicated they were either satisfied (seven per cent) or very satisfied (72 per cent) with the feedback; 93 per cent said they considered it when making subsequent performance evaluations; 70 per cent said it influenced their ratings either appreciably (47 per cent) or substantially (23 per cent), and 79 per cent said the feedback had utility for making managers ratings more comparable. The test results from this study indicated that the feedback also significantly reduced the presence of leniency error (the tendency to skew the rating distribution towards the higher rating categories) in the managers ratings. This is significant from an organisational perspective because of the multiple uses of performance ratings in organisations. Often, performance ratings are the criterion on which selection tests are validated and often provide the basis on which merit pay increases are determined. According to Davis and Mount, improving the psychometric quality of the ratings may enable the tests to be validated more effectively and provide a more equitable method for distributing pay increases — an important consideration, as previously discussed. Conforming to Guidelines Obviously, in addition to the other factors which have already been discussed, another practical consideration which must be taken into account is that any performance appraisal system, regardless of the methods employed, must comply with all Equal Employment Opportunity guidelines. While a complete discussion of this important area is beyond the scope Feedback Regarding Effectiveness It is surprising how infrequently organisations provide their managers with information about their performance appraisal ratings. However, providing of this article, the Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures, put together by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and several other agencies in 1978, deserve special mention. These procedures were meant to clarify the exact requirements which appraisal and other selection systems must meet, and include the following points: (1) To continue using an appraisal system that has adversely affected one or more protected groups, the company must demonstrate that the system is valid, that it is job related, and that it accurately measures significant aspects of job performance. (2) The company must establish that there is no other available method of achieving the same necessary business purpose that would be less discriminatory in its effects, and none can be developed. According to the courts, the plaintiff (employee), rather than the defendant (company) must show the availability of the alternatives. The EEOC has told employers what they cannot do, but it has not provided them with definitive guidelines for solving the performance appraisal puzzle. However, some help in this regard was provided in the Autumn, 1980 issue of EEO Today[8]. (1) Base your appraisal on a comprehensive job analysis. EEOC guidelines dictate that you measure job performance against specific, clearly defined standards of performance. The performance you appraise, says the EEOC, must represent major critical work behaviours as revealed by a careful job analysis. Without a clear, written statement of job responsibilities, you increase your risk of EEO liability. (7) Submit the appraisal to several reviewers, especially if it is negative. To prevent conscious or unconscious bias from creeping into the appraisal process, develop a multilevel review system. Have your superior review and sign the appraisal. This system of checks and balances will reduce the risk of losing a court action. Final Comment As can be seen from the foregoing discussion, an effective performance appraisal system involves much more than a mere annual or biennial evaluation of an employees past performance. Nonetheless, astute managers are becoming increasingly aware of the value of their human resources, viewing them as an investment rather than merely an expense or overhead to be minimised. Accordingly, many organisations are taking the time and effort necessary to develop an effective performance appraisal system in order to help their people achieve their personal goals, which in turn allows the organisation to meet its own objectives[9]. Unfortunately, many managers still object that they just do not have the time to make performance review and development an ongoing process. However, if management is defined as the ability to get things done through people, and if we accept the fact that an effective performance evaluation process helps in getting the most important and productive things accomplished, then what else should managers spend their time doing? References 1. Fletcher, C. , Whats New in Performance Appraisal? , Personnel Management, February 1984, pp. 20-2. 2. Taylor, R. L. and Zawacki, R. A. Trends in Performance Appraisal: Guidelines for Managers, Personnel Administrator, March 1984, pp. 71-80. (2) Know the details of your companys 3. Harper, S. C. , A Development Approach to Performance nondiscriminatory policies. You and every other Appraisal, Business Horizons, September-October 1983, pp. manager in the company should aim for the 68-74. uniform application of all appraisal guidelines. 4. Mellenhoff, H ow to Measure Work by Professionals, Management Review, November 1977, pp. 39-43. (3) Avoid subjective criteria. According to the Albemarle Paper Co. v. Moody decision, subjective 5. Richards, R. C. , How to Design an Objective PerformanceEvaluation System, Training, March 1984, pp. 38-43. supervisory appraisals of job performance are 6. Kellogg, M. S. , What to do About Performance Appraisal, inherently suspect if they produce adverse impact American Management Association, New York, 1975. against a protected group. To stand up to the 7. Davis, B. L. and Mount, M. K. , Design and Use of a scrutiny of the courts, these judgements must Performance Appraisal Feedback System, Personnel be considered fair and job-related. Administrator, March 1984, pp. 1-7. 8. Block, J. R. , Performance Appraisal on the Job: Making it (4) Document! Keep records. That is the only way Work, Prentice-Hall, Inc. , Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, 1981. you can support whatever subjective judge ­ 9. Butler, R. J. and Yorks, L. , A New Appraisal System as ments creep into the appraisal process. (They Organizational Change: GEs Task Force Approach, are inevitabl e. ) Personnel, January-February 1984, pp. 31-42. (5) Aim for a group of appraisers who have common demographic characteristics with the group being appraised. This criterion was established in Rowe v. General Motors. When only white males appraise blacks, Hispanics, women and other protected groups, the courts question the fairness of the. system. Once a system is challenged and shown to have adverse impact, the company must prove its validity. (6) Never directly or indirectly imply that race, colour, religion, sex, age, national origin, handicap, or veteran status was a factor in your appraisal decision. Making any disciminatory statement, orally or in writing, will make your organisation subject to court action. Additional Reading Kaye, B. L. and Krantz, S. , Preparing Employees: The Missing Link in Performance Appraisal Training, Personnel, May-June 1982, pp. 23-9. Performance Appraisal: Curre. Practices and Techniques, Personnel, May-June 1984, pp. 5799. Heneman, R. L. and Wexley, K. W. , The Effects of Time Delay in Rating and Amount of Information Observed on Performance Rating Accuracy, Academy of Management Journal, December 1983, pp. 677-86. The Trouble with Performance Appraisal, Training, April 1984, pp. 91-2. Gehrman, D B. , Beyond Todays Compensation and Performance Appraisal Systems, Personnel Administrator, March 1984, pp. 21-33. IMDS January/February 1988 17

The Public And Private Sectors In Bhutan Economics Essay

The Public And Private Sectors In Bhutan Economics Essay The private sector is the part of the economy which runs for private profit and it is not controlled by the government where as public sectors are that part of the economy conserved with providing basic government services. In Bhutan, both public and private sector plays an important role in economic development of the country. Though private sector is considered as an engine of economic growth, which contributes more to government revenue, generates high employment opportunities and contributes more towards countrys GDP (GNI), and increase the economic growth. But at the same time public sectors also plays an important role in reduction of economic inequalities and public sector is an important instrument which the country can employ in preventing of monopolistic tendencies. The point of the public sector can be utilized to promote general welfare of the country. Since Bhutan is landlocked country with low entrepreneurial talent due to very new nature of most sectoral activities, and there are certain difficulties in development of private and public sectors like inefficient human factors, lack of credit facilities, inadequate infrastructural facilities, lack of technology and also lack of resources etc. While Bhutan is on the path to be a middle income country by 2020, with self-reliance economy and private sector to play the lead role and government move as facilitator and promoter and wants to achieve full-employment by 2020 (estimated, 97.5%). Both private and public sector plays an important role in economic development of the country. Though private sector is important for economic growth but public sector is also an important instrument for economic development and social welfare. Both public and private sector have contributed to GDP (current 6.7%) which helped in increasing the government revenue and Gross domestic capital formation in the economy. Private sector is the branch of an economy that is governed by an individual that does not falls under the direct control of government as are designed to earn their own benefits. The private sectors make their own choice of production for their benefits and compete with other private sectors in the economy. Wilson and Clark (1997, p.76) defined private sector as The part of an economy that is owned by individuals and operated for their personal benefit. It is made up of private citizen. This statement means that the private sector is the privately owned business where individual operate for their sole benefit and the private individual has right to determine over their production, allocation and distribution of goods and services. The private sector produces private goods and services that mostly promote the economy welfare of owners of private sectors. It is every individuals views to maximize their cost and benefits through the idea of competition with others. The competition and efficient utilization of resources is the guiding principle behind every private sector. Nevertheless, the private sector produces and generates majority of income in economy development which potentially contributes to the economy growth. Therefore, private sectors are sensible to refer as the engine of economic growth. Public sector on the other is a different sector from private sector as its services are fully regulated by government. The resources in this case are publicly owned. According to Wilson Clark (1997, p.77) states, The public sector is the part of the economy that is owned by the whole society and operated for its benefit. Unlike private sectors, the costs and benefits in case of public sectors are collectively shared by all the consumers in the economy. The components of public sector greatly vary across the country. In Bhutan, public sector includes such services as the police, military, public roads, public transit, primary education and healthcare for the people. So the following paper will be focusing on the roles of private and public sector that play in the economic development of Bhutan, history of these two sectors. It also discusses some of the indicators of economic development in Bhutan followed by the contributions made by these two sectors towards GDP (GNI) and employment in Bhutan and some of the difficulties in development of private and public sector in Bhutan. History of Private and Public sector Bhutan is one of the most isolated countries since 1961, it started its first development plan by opening its door of economy to the rest of the world with the inception of first five year plan with assistance from Government of India. With opening the economy with the rest of the world the private sector activity was only agriculture supplemented by some immature trading facilities. The economy has taken off to a higher growth since 1980 and has registered a long-term average annual growth rate of 7.6% in the 26 years after 1980. The average annual growth rate in the 1980s was 7.4% but de-accelerated to 5.9%, however, accelerated again to 7.9% in the first six years of the present decade. (Economic Development Policy of the kingdom of Bhutan, 2010, p.3). Today, Bhutans private sector is operating in an extensive range of activities in the country at present day. Bhutan had experience the modern system of economy until at the end of self imposed policy of isolation in country since 1961. The wise monarch late king Jigme Dorji Wangchuck ended the age old policy and bought the country into the international mainstream whereby the economic liberalization is the important reform taken by the late king besides other socio-political reforms. The true modern Bhutanese economy started with inception of First Five Year Plan (1st FYP) in 1961.At present Bhutan is in the progress of the 10th FYP and the country has achieved so much within half a century. In modern Bhutan the public sector has contributed so much to the growth of economy since Bhutan is welfare oriented country. The commencement of 1st FYP was the first step towards transforming the rural barter economic system to modern economy. The state undertook ventures in the manufacturing and service sector there was no potential in the private sector during those days. Indicators of economic development of Bhutan There are various indicators by which economics use to see the performance of the economy. In the Bhutanese context, some of the variables which are usually adopted to measure the development are listed below; Gross Domestic Product Literacy Rate Measures of Poverty Life expectancy Balance of payment 1. Gross Domestic Product Gross domestic product (GDP) defined as the total output of goods and services that are produced within the domestic territory of a given country during the fiscal year. Bhutans GDP stands at Nu. 61,223.5 millions with GDP Per Capita of Nu. 89,639.1 in 2010 (Bhutan 2010, Data Sheet).The real GDP grew at an average of 9.6% over the Ninth Plan period between 2003 to 2007, showing the growth of 21.4% in 2007. GDP per capita in 2002 and 2006 estimated US$ 835 and was US$ 1,414.01. (10th Five Year Plan, 2008-2013, p.4). In 2008, the countrys per capita income was US$ 2152. (Economic Development Policy of the Kingdom of Bhutan, 2010, p.1). So it indicates that the economic development is progressing. The gross domestic product for the year between 1996 and 2005 is given in the following graph. Source: Statistical Yearbook of Bhutan 2006 One of the main indicators of economic development is Gross domestic product. It indicates that the gross domestic product in Bhutan has been increasing over the year. So it means that the economic activity in our country is increasing over the years. In the above graph, we can see that the GDP in 1996 was Nu.11405.2million and it had increased to Nu.13971.1 in the fiscal year of 1997. It counts Nu.32.178.3million and Nu.36941.6 in the year 2004 and 2005 respectively. 2. Literacy rate The literacy rate is the percentage of people who are eligible to read and write in their everyday life. Education is one of the most essential and impressive indicators of economy development. The literacy rate in Bhutan is at 59.5% (Bhutan 2010, Data Sheet, Towards supporting evidence based-decision making). It indicates that Bhutan is not economically developed and shows that Bhutan is working hard on education and skilled people in developmental programmes. It is the productive and skilled labors which directly pull up the nation economy. If there is high literacy it also indicates the positive sign of economy were skilled and knowledge of people is considered as driving forces for social and economic development. Therefore, higher the literacy rates better the development condition in the economy. 3. Measures of Poverty The National Statistical Bureau determined the poverty line as Nu.1096.94 to a person a month, of which Nu 867 is for food and the balance considered as non-food expenditure. Food poverty concerns not only the sufficiency in quantity but also the nutritional intake of food. In Bhutan poverty rate has decreased from 31.7 percent to 23.2 percent between 2004 to 2007. (Poverty Analysis, 2007). The poverty reduction is the main objective of the 10th FYP and government aims to reduce poverty to 15% by the end of 10th FYP. The recent Mid-term review reveals significant reduction in the poverty rate. The poverty data helps in planning and decision making process to develop the economy. 4. Life expectancy The life expectancy is another indicator of the economic development which shows that higher the life expectancy, better indicator of economic development. The overall life expectancy was 68.9 were for male was 68.4 and for female 69.4 as of 2010 life expectancy rate. It brings the development in health, education and other social services. So it acts as an instrument that indicates the economic development in a country. (Bhutan 2010, Data Sheet. Towards supporting evidence-based decision making). 5. Balance of Payment; Positive balance of payment shows better economic development as it shows more inflow of capital, more export than the import and better competition in the international market. Bhutans balance of payment shows positive because the negative balance of payment is finance through foreign aids. Contribution of Public and Private Sector towards GDP (GNI) of Bhutan The GDP of a country is defined as the value of final goods and services produced by normal residents of a country during a fiscal year. Private sector contribution to economic growth in Bhutan is very significant. This is due to strict government control over private sector business activities, lack of access to credit, inadequate legal framework for private sector activities, limited entrepreneurial skills, and an inefficient government-controlled financial system that does not meet private sector credit needs. As also Bhutans financial system was heavily burdened with nonperforming loans on average across all financial institutions, were close to 40%. It was therefore imperative to strengthen the financial institutions in many basic ways, to move toward a market-based system as distinct from a centrally administered system, to privatize financial institutions, and to establish an effective banking supervision system. The table below shows the GDP contribution by major private and public sector. Table 1: Gross domestic capital formation in constant price (Million Nu.) In current prices 2000 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 1. Machinery and equipments 3,031 3,476 5,060 4,432 1,408 1,183 Government 973 619 741 535 893 659 Private 2,058 2,857 4,319 3,898 515 524 2. Construction 6,835 10,661 11,272 9,565 9,242 10,671 Government 2,108 1,607 1,880 2,168 2,865 3,679 Private 4,728 9,055 9,392 7,397 6,377 6,975 3. Gross fixed capital formation 9,866 14,137 16,333 13,997 10,650 11,855 4. Change in stock -354 -204 -44 86 103 53 5. Gross domestic capital Formation 9,512 13,933 16,288 14,083 10,752 11,908 Source: National Accounts Statistics Report 2000-2007 In the table above, the Gross domestic capital formation has continued to increase from 2000 onwards thereafter 2005, there seems a declining trend in the economy. Employment Contribution from both the sectors The employment generation by these sectors of economy is the significant contribution towards economic development .Government has launched a concerted effort to create additional 35,000 to 40,000 jobs from the priority sectors with 40-45% in rural areas. Construction sector has employed close to 35,000 people in the past and additional 10,000 local jobs expected in the construction sector over the next three years. The tourism sector is expected to create around 10,000 additional jobs with tourism sectors aim to increase tourist to 100,000 by 10th FYP. The current formal sector work force is around 60,000 persons (of which about 30,000 are thought to be non-nationals employed mostly in the construction activities) the creation of an additional 90,000 jobs in private sector appears as a formidable challenge. Vibrant private construction sector to create employment opportunities for this increasingly literate workforce has been recognized by the Royal government as a high priority issue and now forms a central tenet of the Ninth Five Year Plan. Table 2. Number of person employed in type enterprise Sector Number of persons employed Government 49,900 Public corporation 10,500 Private corporation 8500 Armed forces 4900 Private Business 66,000 Agriculture farming 180,200 NGO/INGO 1000 Total 320900 (Source: Labor Force Survey Report, 2010) From the above table we can find that private sector offers more economic employment as compared to public sector and private sector is still working for its betterment. However, Bhutan being backed-up by agriculture, many people are engaged in agriculture sector which also symbolized the literacy rate in Bhutan is low and the living standard of people is poor. Vibrant private business and corporations creates more employment opportunities which shows that the development progress is positive that brings better position in the economy. Difficulties in Development of Private and Public Sector in Bhutan 1. Inefficient Human resources 2. Underdeveloped infrastructure 3. Financial inadequacy 4. Lack of market 5. Lack of entrepreneurship skill 1. Inefficient Human resources A lack of skilled Bhutanese workers or manpower and unwillingness of Bhutanese workers to undertake menial or unskilled work. Although Bhutan has made rapid advancement in the field of education and human resource development, much work remains before the nation is equipped with the human resources required to sustain the process of development. The nations skill base is extremely limited and just over one-half of the population is considered literate. As have less number of technically trained professionals. Thus, the lack of adequate human resource has forced our private and public sector to remain technically backward leading to very slow space of progress. 2. Underdeveloped Infrastructures The lack of infrastructure and the insufficient capital equipments are also the main obstracles in the progress of private and public sectors in Bhutan. Moreover Bhutan has poor capital with low saving and low investment. In order to have capital formation large savings are essential and the rate of saving also depends upon the size of income of the people. Even due to inefficient labor and lack of improved technologies hinders the development of private and public sectors in Bhutan. However, the Bhutans young and unstable Himalayan mountain ranges progress very less development with heavy expenditure. 3. Financial inadequacy Financial inadequacy is also one of the most difficulties faced by both sectors. Our private and public sectors are financially constrained. The most government undertaking has to depend on the foreign aid and other donor agencies. The domestically produced revenue is not enough for all economic activities. The profit in private sector is bare minimum as the commodities are primary product dominated. Therefore, it is very difficult to engender enough revenue to upgrade the business. 4. Lack of market Bhutan is landlocked country with mountainous and rugged topography most of the inhabitants are scattered. The lack of strong road network lacks a strong market base which further hinders the capital formation in the country. Moreover, with the landlocked country water transportation is absolutely not possible and most of the public and private sectors will be nearby sea level. More over demand for market shares are also low due to peoples low income and low population. Our goods and services have less competence in world market. Therefore it has been always a problem for both sector of the economy to progress. 5. Lack of entrepreneurship skill The lack of entrepreneurship ability is another factor that backward the economy growth. Though the entrepreneurship is regarded as the corner stone for the growth of economy, most of the public and private sectors lack fundamental key in the development and most of Bhutanese are not risk lovers and they always look for immediate lump-sum reward. The lack of market and private property also pulls back the development. While most of the business individuals lack the business skills that are fundamental in the development of private sectors. The Role of Private Sector in Bhutan The private sector produces goods and services that mostly promote the economy welfare of private sectors owners. It is every individual views to maximize their cost and benefits through the idea of competition with others. However, the private sector produces and generates majority of income in economy development which potentially contributes to the growth of economy. Thereby, private sectors are sensible to refer as the engine of economic growth which plays the major roles as given below; 1. Employment generation The employment generation is the significant contribution from private and public sector of the economy. The development in private sector creates thousands of opportunities which help government to solve the unemployment problems. The private sectors like tourism and construction sector offers huge employment opportunities. The current employment rate is 3.7% as of 2010 (Bhutan 2010, Data sheet). 2. Increase government revenue The private sector is also considered as the basis government revenue generator. The contribution in the form of tax is also the important source of government revenue. As when more and more public sector develops, there is always explosion of country in to better state. The mode of economy transaction increases and thereby the more revenue or taxes can be generated. Therefore contribution in the form of taxes becomes the government revenue. 3. Infrastructure development The growth in private sector is an indicator of improvement in the infrastructural facilities in the economy. The social services like health, education, proper water supply and sanitation facilities, transportation, would come up with increase number of private sectors. Role of Public Sector in Bhutan To accelerate the rate of capital formation Capital formation is one of the most important roles of the public sector in the country. Bhutan still has lack of factors that determines the capital formation mainly due to slow development of public sector. The rate of capital formation depends upon saving and investments were Bhutan has low propensity to save and invest. Redistributing Income The important role of the public sector is redistributing of income, however, in Bhutan there are many individuals who are not able to earn enough income to survive. It is notice that some members of our society who are handicapped and simply they are unable to work at productive position. On other hand, public sector impose the taxes to the income of those who work and result into redistributing certain part of their income to those who are unable to work. So in context to Bhutanese society, the maximum private property we own are the maximum income we have and more opportunities we have of being capable to produce. This condition tends to make the rich become richer. However, by redistributing income, our government is trying to provide equity and justice among Bhutanese people and it try to make many other opportunities to earn equally. Redistributing of income provide public assistance to low income groups and opening many opportunities available for their survival and this help in alleviating poverty in the country. Conclusion The development of public sector started with commencement First Five Year Plan and above all private sector is at emergent stage in our country. However, our economy is young and has a future potential to become the vibrant economy. As our economy is recent phenomenon and it has experienced the achievement of planned economic development. In this paper it reveals that both sectors of the economy challenged by many removable constraints like lack of efficient human capital, market, infrastructure, financial inadequacy and in particular private sector pressured with excessive regulation. So it recommended that government and private individual to invite technical expert to train our human resource and share their views and ideas, to create market for economy. By advancing loans at affordable interest rate. This will help in achieving the role private and public sector in economic development of Bhutan. To increase our private sector, the government must minimize the regulation to make efficient use of available resources in sustainable manner so that it can also help our private individuals to make use of their full potential skills and resources for the development.Therefore, It is also recommended that government must revise the existing system of plans, policies and strategies that government must make encourage labour and taxation policies like tax holiday and incentives for labour for the developemnt of the private sector.

My Favorite Seasons: Summer and Winter Essay example -- Personal Narrat

If I had to choose my favorite season it would be a very difficult choice. All four seasons are unique in their own special way, such as the climate, scenery, and activities. Although I enjoy the warmer months of summer, I also enjoy the cooler months of winter. In a sense, I have narrowed my favorite seasons down to two; summer and winter. The biggest difference between summer and winter is the climate. One of the main attractions of summer is the warm weather. I like being outside on a bright sunny day, and letting the sun warm my body. I also like that we get an occasional thunder storm. The excitement fills the air when I see the thunder clouds rolling in. The sound of thunder, and the lighting shows that come from the storms are fascinating. On the other hand winter i...

Art as Reflection of Anciant Civilization :: essays papers

Ancient Egytian and Greek sociaties both made significant contributions to western civilization, specificaly in the areas of politics and social structure. The political system of antient Egypt was primarily based on the religios belife that the Pharoah was a divine entity, while Greek politics were based in a democratic system that valued individuals in a unique way. The poitical and social advancments of both Greek and Egyption civilizations are best reflected in the advancement of each cultures artwork. In the early kingdom of the Egyption civilization the Pharoah rulled as a God-King and dictated the religion and laws of the land. He promoted a polytheistic religion that was used to explain natural phinaminans and life after death. Accourding to this religion all Egyptions not only the ruling class were offered the hope of survival in the next world, as a reward for a good life in the present world. The idea of a good life is defined by the devotees accomplisments in the eyes of Osiris â€Å"the judge of the dead†. Funeral services were divised to exeplify these belifes and help to guid the spirit of the dead into the afterlife (Cunningham and Reich, 6). The ridged structure of this Thocracy greatly limited individualism in all aspect of life, but most importantly art. The art of the Early kingdom was prodominetly bassed on the divinity of the Pharoh, and his statuse in sociaty. The most famuse example of the Theocracies influance on art would be the Great Spinx and the Pyramids of Chefren. These emence works of art were created to show the importance and divine power of the Pharoah, as well as, to serve as a burial tomb. The Sphix itself is sculped with great percisian and close attension was paid to the basic anatimy of the human face, but the fetures of the Pharoah are idialize. â€Å"It is a portiat not of an individual but of the concept of divinity† (Cunningham and Reich, 9). The lion body, falcon headdress and transendental stare of the Sphinx shows a certain calmness and mystery, that encapsalates the ideal perfection of the ideal perfection of the Pharoah. In the Middle Kindom Akhenaton came to power and changed the religius structure of Egypt. He belived in a monotheistic system that placed all faith in one God, Aton-Ra. Akhenaton did not dipict himself as an all powerfull God-King, but a messenger through which Aton-Ra spoke (qtd.

Should Higher Education Be Made Available to All

Education is a channel to understand the real world better and whether this education should be provided to the students by the universities should be free or not, is one of the most debated topics over last many decades. In the today's fast growing civilization this education has become everyone's necessity to survive. Everyone understands the value of education in their lives; hence they compete hard to get the best of the education. So to give this education free to some students would be an injustice on the part of the others. Therefore, from my perspective education should not be given by the universities free of cost. In my opinion, if the students will not pay for their education then who would pay for that, is a big question that requires an immediate solution. Thus it can create further confusions in the society. For example, if the government would pay for students' education then they will extract the money from public only by increasing the taxes and this can further complicate the situation. Another reason is that to get education from good universities students usually take some kinds of loans, which I feel, make them more serious towards their studies and responsible so that they can clear the debts in future. Therefore, education received by giving money stands more value to them as they have sacrificed something to get that education. The third reason is that the money universities take from the students is used by the universities for the upliftment of the university's standard only. The university utilize this money to pay the teachers, to introduce most recent advances in all the aspects of education like getting new equipments in laboratories, building new classes with more advanced technologies, new books for the libraries, new hostels etc. Nevertheless, the proc ess of financial support through Bank Loans, Philanthropic Trusts, Corporate Social Responsibility funds and a National kitty should be augmented and structured and worthy candidates screened well through a competency based selection process should be supported. Making higher education free for all will only dilute the standard of education. The impact of this on society at large is not difficult to visualize. We just need to think about Doctors, Engineers, Pilots, Architects and Pharmacists, to just name a few, who may come out from our colleges with free education, where they have not put anything on stake, participated wholly in all kinds of college level politics and hooliganism, and then sit down to treat serious patients or build bridges, buildings and industries, or fly an aircraft with hundreds of lives at stake or even make medicines with complex chemicals only to damage the lives of so many innocent citizens, who have trusted their University degrees. Therefore , in my opinion universities should not provide education for free because the amount they get from the students is used for the welfare of the students only because it has been seen before also that universities that provide education for free are lower in standards compared to universities taking an appropriate amount of money from the students. I believe, that there is no good thing that we can get for free in the world.