Esping Andersen Three Welfare Regime Theory Economics Essay

Esping Andersen Three Welfare Regime Theory Economics Essay SUMMARY: This essay argues the extent to which Esping Andersens three welfare-regime theory is outdated in practice and problematic in theory. I restrict myself to decomodification index (labour market policies) to explain the extent at which the theory has become outdated in practice using examples from Germany and Sweden although the classification also looked at the principles of stratification and the extent of private and public mix. Decommodification according to Esping (1990, pp.22) is the extent to which individuals can maintain a livelihood without reliance on the labour market and when a service is rendered as a matter of right. To examine the extent the theory is problematic I looked at Italy with reference to the misclassification and Denmark with reference to gender. INTRODUCTION The welfare regime theory of Gà ¸sta Esping Andersen has greatly influenced literatures, research, policies and comparison of welfare state since the 90s when the book three worlds of welfare capitalism was published. Esping(1990,pp.19,29) was of the option that there should be a re-specification of the conceptualisation of welfare state from social expenditure to decommodification, sratification and private-public mix. The social expenditure theory posited that the amount of social expenditure reveals the nations commitment to welfare. He said that although expenditure is important in welfare states simply focusing on the amount of spending could be misleading as the spending could be directed to a particular group and not based solidarity. The earlier work of Thus the work of (Boje.1996; 19 cited in Arts and Gelissen 2002;138) stated that the work Marchall(1950) on welfare state being about citizenship and Titmuss(1958) on residual and institutional welfare state laid the foundati ons for Esping-Andersens analysis. The analysis was done using 18 (OECD) welfare nations using three principles or variables. These are: de-commodification that implies the extent to which individuals a society can survive outside the labour market in terms of sickness, unemployment and pension benefits, stratification means the extent to which the state increase stratification or reduce it and private-public mix which he defined as the extent to which responsibilities of welfare is shared among the market, individual and state in the provision of welfare Esping(1990, pp.26). Looking at de-commodification he suggests that to measure the extent to which welfare states de-commodify citizens the eligibility rules and restrictions on entitlement to benefits in this case it is pension, sickness and unemployment benefits. If entitlement is not based on previous employment, financial contribution, means tested, easy to get, not for a limited duration then the welfare programme is highly de-commodifying and vice versa. In add ition, if the benefits are below the standard of leaving acceptable in the society that results in the beneficiary going back to the labour market, then the programme is not de-commodifying Esping(1990,pp.47-48). After the analysis, he states that the differences among the welfare states are not linearly distributed but cluster into regimes-types. DECOMMODIFICATION TABLE LIBERAL REGIME CONSERVATIVE REGIME AUSTRALIA UNITED STATES NEW ZEALAND CANADA IRELAND UNITED KINGDOM ITALY JAPAN FRANCE GERMANY FINLAND SWITZERLAND Adopted from: Esping Andersen, 1990: 52. From the table above we can see the three different welfare regimes and the welfare states that are under these regimes. The de-commodification table is used because my essay focus on this. In Espings(1990, p.29-33) opinion these difference going back to history are as a result of the nature of class mobilization(especially of the working class), class-political action strucutures, and their historical legacy of regime institutionalization. The difference in the interaction of these three factors in the different welfare states has also shaped their future in terms of the nature of welfare services provided. According to Esping Andersen(1990, p.26-27,48) de-commodification is low in the liberal regime and the breeding ground for inequality. The liberal regime found common among the Anglo-Saxon nations, believes strongly in the markets ability to provide for the citizen as those who want to work will be employed and that social protection only does more harm than good to the citizens. Liberal regime model uplifts the opinion that every citizen should be active in the labour market. Thus, the means-tested assistance benefit system modified from the poor law is used for entitlement to benefits. This model does not provide benefits on the grounds of citizens right and the government provision is restricted to those that cannot participate in the market. It is highly restricted. Examples are the American supplemental security income (SSI) and the British scheme of supplementary benefit. Benefits are foused on the low-income groups and state dependants. The entitlements are more restricted and associated with stigma. The conservative corporatist regime found in countries like Germany, France. In this regime Esping noted that provision of welfare was high and granting of social right was not a problem however entitlement was based on class and status. Being shaped by the church there, exist the norm to maintain the old order of the social status (feudal welfare arrangement). Entitlement through the social insurance system is conditional on the work performance (labour market participation) and financial contributions made (esping 1990, pp.26). For example the entitlement to unemployment benefit differ according to contribution in previous employment (Fleckenstein 2008, pp.178). The third regime which Esping uphold high as the highly de-commodifing welfare state is the social democratic, in which the principle of equality and universality (Beveridge principle of universal rights of citizens) is imbedded in the provision of welfare programmes rather than creating a disparity between the different cl ass in the state. Eligibility to benefits is given if one is a citizen or had stayed for a long time (flat rate benefits) and not on prior work performance, however employment is encouraged to have the recourses to provide welfare. (Esping 1990, p.27-48). OUTDATED IN PRACTICE. The presence of globalization, rising unemployment, permanent austerity as Pierson(1998, p. 411-456) noted as a result of slow economic growth, has led a shift to a more productive than a protective welfare state and as Gooby (2004, p.1) identifies that changes in population, family structure, labour markets and the coming to maturity of expensive welfare states has challenged the welfare states. Therefore, questions arise about the relevance of the three-regime theory in this present time. Bearing in mind that the theory is dated back as far as 1990 and several events like those mentioned above has changed the welfare system of countries in the regime clusters. In Germany, I will look at the shift in the conservative path of two separate public assistance scheme for the long-term unemployed to one integrated social assistance scheme with strong emphasis on activation. The German welfare state of Esping Andersen welfare regime was one of preservation of social status in which entitlement to benefits were based on prior employment and level of income. However presently there is a shift towards the Anglo- American model of largely means tested, flat rate jobless benefits  [1]  (Hassel and Williamson, 2004 pp.13). The Hartz IV law brought about this change. The German state previously had three different benefit systems for the unemployed namely the unemployment benefit, unemployment assistance and social assistance benefits. In other to maintain social status, the unemployment benefit was given based on last earned income and the duration varied according to amount of time spent in prior employment and age, they are not enforced to take up the job provided as thus one cold get benefits for a duration of 32 months. The unemployment assistance has unlimited duration and was usually taken those whose employment benefit had run out (Fleckenstein 2008 , pp.178). On the other hand, those that lacked entitlement from the insurance contribution had to use the strict means tested social assistance benefits and take up of any jobs was compulsory. The Hartz law however regrouped the benefit schemes into two groups, the unemployment benefit 1 and unemployment benefit II. The unemployment benefit II is the unemployment benefit and social assistance benefit integrated together for the long term unemployed and the unemployment benefit I is the unemployment benefit. Entitlement for the unemployment benefit II are based on the social assistance eligibility rules. The long term unemployed now rely on the unemployment benefit 1 as the duration of the unemployment benefit was cut to 12 months and older workers from 55 and above had theirs extended to 18months (Deutscher Bundestag, 2003 cited in Flectkentein 2008, pp.179). The long-term unemployed are then subjected to re-commodification through activation measures for reintegration into the labour market. The unemployed person is provided with training or social services to help improve the employability status of the individual and is expected to take up any job offered and show signs of actively looking for a job to prevent reduction suspension or loss of benefit. In Esping Andresens theory this was the underlying characteristic of the liberal regime but today there is a shift in the German conservative, preservation of the social order welfare state to a more liberal welfare state. Consequently, concerning Swedens social insurance based pension systems reforms have occurred that has questioned the traditional universality of the Swedish welfare state. According to Esping Andersen(1990, p.83-84) using estimate of occupational pension expenditure as a percentage of the GDP between 1950 and 1980 the Swedish pensions is one in which the private sector played a marginal role since government legislation did not support it. In addition, his analysis public-private pension mix, the Swedish private pension sector provision and social security provision of 85.5% of the GDP for 1980 and Australia that is regarded as liberal welfare state had a large private pension sector provision and a low social security pension of 59.4%. He thus posits(1990, p.80-86) that the Swedish system ensures of the eradication of status and market scheme of pension provision and the extent to which the public and private sectors provide social protection determines provides a structural contex t of de-commodification of welfare regimes . However, Esping-Andersen made his conclusions using 1980 data before the recession Sweden in the 1990s and there had to be reforms in the traditional pension system. According to Schludi (2005, pp.89,90) the traditional pension system provides basic pension for all residents in Sweden over 16 years of including foreigners and three schemes made up the national pension system these were the basic (universal flat rate pension), earning related supplementary (ATP) and partial pension schemes. The age for entitlement for the basic pension is sixty-five. With the recession Schludi (2005, p.97) also noted that the pension system sifted from the defined-benefit to the defined-contribution type and the private pension scheme exist on a mandatory basis. This is based on lifetime income unlike the previous system that was based on best fifteen years and a full pension was gotten after thirty years of contribution. The entitlement age increased from sixty-five to sixty-six, there were also strict eligibility rules of forty years of residence and thirty contribution years into the earning related supplementary pension scheme. Prior to this time, every one that has resided in the country for five years was entitled to the benefits. A data from Jackson and Howe (2003,pp.24) showed that private pension benefit as a percentage of the GDP for the year 2002, was 2.2% and is projected to increase to 5.3% in 2040. This shows increasing participation in the private sector in the provision of pension benefit. Also concerning unemployment insurance be nefit the Swedish reform programme for the growth of Jobs 2008 to 2010 report  [2]  shows that the unemployment insurance waiting day was increased from five to seven days and the duration of unemployment insurance benefit for the part-time unemployed is limited to seventy-five days. In addition (OECD.2004, p.11) report revealed that the eligibility for a renewal of the unemployment insurance benefits is no longer given on the bases of participation in the active labour market programmes, and the unemployment benefit can only be extended only once making a total of 600 days(300 days the first time and only one additional 300days), unlike before when it could be extended over and over again  [3]  . This shows tightening of the eligibility criteria and the pushing of people back to the labour force. Problematic in the theory The theory of Esping Andersen has faced several criticisms from commentators. Arts and Gelissen(2002,p.) notes that these criticisms range from the misclassification of Italy under the corporatist model and Antipodeans countries(Australia and New Zealand) into the liberal regime, the neglect of the Mediterranean countries(Spain, Greece and Portugal) from the theory, to the neglect of gender(women) in the provision of welfare and the focus of welfare state analysis on social transfers neglecting the fact welfare state is also about the delivery of services like health care, education and social services. in this lights, several people have come up with more typologies. Concerning the misclassification of Italy the article by Ferrera(1996, p.17-37) will be used. Esping Andersen (1990, p.52) grouped Italy alongside Germany, France results in the neglect of certain peculiar characteristics of the particular groups of countries like Greece, Spain and, Portugal, which he neglects in his analyses. He noted that although in Italy like the conservatives cash benefits especially pension is based on occupational status, contributions and is fragmented in that there are different schemes for the private employees civil servants and the self employed. However, they are different from the pure conservative countries, in the sense that there is a tremendous gap between the core sectors workers (white collar workers) of the labour market that receive very high benefits (sickness or temporary unemployment benefits) and the workers in weak sectors receive weak support. There is also lack of minimum national income scheme for low-income families. The young unemploye d receives no basic benefit from the state, there is thus high dependence on the family. Due of lack of safety net for the citizens the state is characterised by strong political corruption and public institutions are ruled and manipulated by strong political force for their selfish interest. To the extent, that citizens sell their votes to get social assistance benefit at times. This shows that although Italy and conservative welfare states share catholic history and the occupational and contribution based benefit. The social political trajectory differs in the sense that the conservative States have welfare systems that covers the population. As such Esping Andersens theory, missed out a very important welfare sate path (southern welfare state) that is necessary for effective comparison of welfare sates and social policies. Apart from the miscalculation of Italy as part of the conservative regime, Esping Andersens regime theory failed to incorporate gender in his analysis of welfare states. Several commentators as Lewis 1992, Bussemaker and Kersbergen 1994 have stressed incorporating gender will help gain a better understanding of welfare state policies and a more valid regime theory. Esping Andersen noted by, Bussemaker and Kersbergen(1994, pp.12,13), neglects the fact that apart from the state and market the family also provides welfare. Lewis (1992, p.160) referred to this as unpaid work. Esping Andersens analysis focus on how the relationship between the sate and market affect the arrangement of social policy, and Bussemaker and Kersbergen (1994, pp.20) noted that it is not enough to consider the relationship between the state, market and the society without looking into assumptions of gender that shape the infrastructure of social policy. For example in Denmark, gender relations have shaped social policy and help to understand the Dutch social policy. Bussemaker and Kersbergen (1994, pp.23) asserted that the Dutch welfare system can be effectively understood when the historical distinction between the breadwinner and caretakers are taken considered. The foundation of the Dutch welfare was on the distinction between the paid labour (men) endowed with generous social rights and unpaid labour (women) derive benefit based on married and domestic status and, means- tested arrangement is used to obtain benefits. This leads to high level of stratification between men and women. The moral ideology behind this distinction is that equal social citizenship rights will be a threat to solidarity. This implies That although Denmark welfare State is characterized with high degree of de- commodification, universality and low inequality as Esping Andersen theory suggests, it is because the de-commodification index used focused on wage labour (mainly to men),who receive generous benefits. Thus, the theoretical framework of Esping Andersen (1990) failed to provide in-depth analysis of the Dutch welfare state policies. CONCLUSION In the face austerity, causing Welfare States to restructure welfare polices the fate of Espign- Andersens three regime theory on de-commodification will continue to face the threat of been outdated.

The History of Film Essay examples -- Informative, Film

A major change that has occurred in the development of film is the linearity of narrative. The history of film spans over one hundred years ago, with classical narrative emerging in Hollywood around the nineteen thirties. The classical narrative period had a strong emphasis on linearity and coherence, where characters where goal centred and consistent in personality and action. In the nineteen sixties a change began to emerge in Hollywood, with Breathless (Jean-Luc Godard, 1960) breaking the editing rules, and narrative coherence, with the introduction of jump cuts. This film among others greatly contributed to the outburst of non-linear narratives, a narrative technique wherein events are portrayed out of chronological order. In the twenty-first century a range of independent films with a variety of non-linear narratives have been getting mainstream release. Within this essay I will briefly explain the different types of narratives and the reasons for their popularity. The directorial intent for many non-linear narratives can be to evoke mood, maintain suspense, indicate the malleability of memory, signify dream, and above all to provide visual pleasure. The involvement that a spectator can feel from a non-linear narrative can offer both a sense of pleasure and relation. The fact that it is up to the viewer to keep up, put things together, and make sense of the narrative provides a sense of satisfaction, and can become the reason they are watching the film. Removing the chronological order of a story and rearranging its components can make a it more compelling than if the scenes progressed in chronological order. An advantage of non-linear narrative is its ability to involuntarily feed the viewer information. This means that th... ...d anthology. Abstract series acts independently or semi-independently of the conventional relationship of narrative time, space, and causality whilst anthology, or multi-strand narrative, consist of a series of short stories which originally appear to be detached, yet turn out to share the same world in which the events occur. Dissimilar to other narrative structures, anthology shifts from a central character to a multi-character narrative where characters shift in and out of prominence. This type of narrative assists in maintaining suspense throughout the entire film. An ostentatious example of an anthological narrative is Love Actually (Richard Curtis 2003). The romantic comedy delves into different aspects of love as shown through ten separate stories involving a wide variety of individuals, many of whom are discovered to be interlinked as the film progresses.

The Dystopian Future of William Gibsons Neuromancer Essays -- Neuroma

The Dystopian Future of Neuromancer In reading a text like this one can look at it through the formalistic approach and gather aspects on different perspectives. In HCAL it instructs a reader to analyze a specific text by seeing the setting, certain styles, imagery, form, and texture. In William Gibsons book Neuromancer all these approaches can be seen. The novel takes place in the future and how Gibson portrays it will be. Every place is dark and gloomy with an illusion of dystopia; despair and unhappiness. Gibson's structure is very hard to follow, such as how he is repetitive with the description of people and the color pink. Neuromancer, a book that brings the belief of the future to life, speaks of the use of technology and how advanced it will be. Gibson illustrates a place of dystopia, where everything is dark and full of despair. There seems to be no control over people and who they kill. The place were all dystopia occurs is in cyberspace. The opening line seems to be Gibson's way of preparing the reader for what is to come; "The sky above the port was the color of television, tuned to a dead channel."(Gibson 3) Here one sees the imagery that Gibson uses. He begins by bringing death and dismay in to the readers mind. One can picture a television that is black and fuzzy because the channel is not tuned in, the way the sky is. This is nothing like our sky; blue and bright. Rather like that of a gloomy rainy day, black and not appealing. Further in the book Gibson talks where the people live and sleep, places called "coffins." He describes the coffin's size, "the r... ...epetition of the color pink to describe things, brings a sort of humanistic quality into the work. It makes one see that all though the characters in the story are living in cyberspace, they do have human qualities. To approach this book from all these angels brings a new outcome of the novel. Gibson sets up the book from the beginning with the scene of dystopia, and continues it throughout the entirety of the novel. The greatest image of dystopia I found in this novel, was all the deaths that occur without a second thought about it. Using the formalistic approach to pick out these certain images in the novel, helps the reader see what exactly is going on. With the words that Gibson uses puts a pictured image in the readers mind as they go along; the image of DYSTOPIA.

Aggressive Behavior Equals Man :: essays research papers

Aggressive Behavior Equals Many Rewards A little boy in Eastern Oklahoma is riding a bicycle for the first time, when suddenly he falls to the ground. His father running behind him tells him to get up and not to cry. A little girl from the same city is playing on the playground at school; she falls out of the swing and scraps her knee. She cries for hours, while her mother tells her, â€Å"It will be okay.† From the time little boys are young they are taught to be tough, to withstand pain, and not to give in to anything. In today’s society males are rewarded for aggressive and intimidating behavior. Intimidation takes place in many aspects of life, even though it is not always caused by aggressive behavior. Athletic events always seem to reward males for aggressive and intimidating behavior. Football games are a great example of the kinds of rewards males receive for their aggressiveness. Coaches teach their players to be physical and tough, but two of the essential elements of football are aggressiveness and intimidation. Football is an aggressive sport in many ways; a ball carrier must attack the line of scrimmage aggressively, or he will be tackled in the backfield. Defensive players must be aggressive also, so that they can make tackles. Basketball is another athletic event that rewards aggressive behavior. Although basketball seems harmless, it is a sport that requires a tremendous amount of aggressive behavior. When I was younger, before basketball game I would always get a pep talk from my dad. He would tell me to be aggressive and to take the ball inside. He always told me to play tough, work hard for rebound, play good defense, and when somebody came into the paint make them pay for it. Our basketball coaches in junior high taught us that when a player came inside the paint, knock them down and next time they would not be as eager to take the ball inside on us. When we would exhibit this behavior we would be rewarded with a pat on the back, a high five, and sometimes even a water break. It seems like every time the television is turned on, there are at least three wrestling programs going on at once. At one time, wrestling was on the television only once a week, but now it is on three or four times a week.

Democratic Consolidation in Nigeria Essay

This development was heralded as an avenue to usher in democratic stability and good governance. However, contrary to widespread expectations, the post-military regime became an avenue for the explosion of violent ethno-religious conflicts in Nigeria. As a matter of fact, since the emergence of democracy in May 1999, not less than one hundred ethnically and religiously instigated conflicts have occurred in Nigeria which resulted in loss of lives and unquantifiable material and psychological damage. Drawing from documentary research and findings, this paper probes the persistent spate of ethno-religious crises in Nigeria and its harmful implications on democratic consolidation in Nigeria. It investigates the history, causes and manifestations of ethno-religious conflicts in Nigeria and maintains that unbridled lust for power, corruption, religious intolerance and the failure of the government to deliver democratic dividends, have resulted in these conflicts between ethnic and religious groups in the country. In the light of all these then, can democracy thrive in an atmosphere of crises? Can Nigeria come out of ethno-religious conflicts? If so, what steps can the government take to rein in the menace of these crises? Finally, the paper provides submissions for curbing this social epidemic, which has become a permanent feature of the Nigerian social polity. Keywords: Nigeria, Ethno-religious, Crises, Democracy, Development Introduction Democracy could be said to be a seed: when you sow bountifully, you reap bountifully. Thus, one of the dividends of democracy, which Nigerians have reaped in abundance since the transfer of power from the military to the civilians on May 29, 1999, is the rising wave of ethno-religious conflicts with devastating and untold consequences on lives and property (Jega, 2007: 116). Nigeria is a very populous nation in Africa with diverse cultural heritage. In fact, the country has a population of over 140 million and over 400 ethnic groups belonging to different religious sects as well (Salawu, 2010: 345). Since the attainment of independence, Nigeria has remained a multi-ethnic nation, which has been grappling with the problem of ethnicity on the one hand and that of ethno-religious conflicts on the other hand. At the inception of independence, for administrative expediency the various ethnic factions were fused and merged together by the colonialists. Then, the colonial masters left and things started falling apart, the center no longer held. No ethnic group desired to see the other. Little wonder then that the former Secretary of State at the British Colonial Office (1952-1959), Sir Peter Smitters regretted the action taken by the British to merge diverse ethnic groups into one in Nigeria. According to Ali (2004) cited in Adebayo (2010: 214), he was reported to have lamented that it was extremely dangerous to force diverse radical and social entities into single rigid political structure. However, that statement was medicine after death; the deed had been done. Indeed, a conglomerate of almost four hundred ethnic groups, each having its distinct history, language, culture and political systems before the colonial rule, all preserved in mitigated forms with the British system of governance super-imposed and named Nigeria really had future implications for unity. The colonial administration, for administrative convenience, compressed and merged the various ethnic groups in their respective regions, making Hausa/Fulani, Igbo, and Yoruba the major ethnic groups and reinforced the three political/administrative divisions – the north, the east, and the west, under appropriate constitutional arrangement. At independence and post independence era, the status-quo of the colonial era was retained under that infantile freedom, with every group retaining its tradition, language, and culture while sharing the common central institutions in a federal arrangement (Adebayo, 2010: 214). As a result, these major ethnic groups, because of their opportunistic positions were seen as consistently dominating the political and economic scene before and after the attainment of independence in 1960 and this led to agitations for state creation by the other â€Å"minor† ethnic groups who saw themselves as the marginalized groups. However, the more states were created, the more the complaints of marginalization and inequality by the new minorities against the new majorities in each state (Abdullahi and Saka, 2007). Consequently, the proliferation of ethno-religious and political turbulence in the country is therefore necessitated on the one hand by cultural, communal and religious differences and on the other hand by fear of domination nursed by the minority groups. As if what constitutes the federalism is not satisfied, there have been agitations for reversing back to the old regional autonomy of the different groups for the purpose of determining the pace of their development and control of their respective resources. These pernicious phenomena of ethnicity and religious intolerance led to the incessant surge of ethno-religious conflicts, which gave birth to the many ethnic militias today like the O’dua People’s Congress (OPC) put in place by the Yoruba in the south-western part of the country to fight for the protection and defence of Yoruba in Nigeria; the Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB), fighting for the cessation of the Igbo ethnic tribe in Nigeria; the Bakassi Boys; the Egbesu Boys; the Ijaw Youth Congress (IYC), the Igbo Peoples’ congress (IPC); the Arewa People’ Congress (APC) and the Ohaneze Ndigbo among others. This might probably be the feeling of Elaigwu (2005: 12) when he writes †¦the violent protests in the Niger-Delta over perceived injustice in resource distribution; the Itsekiri-Ijaw violence in the Delta; the resumption of the Ife-Modakeke communal violence; the menace of Odu’a Peoples’ Congress (OPC) and the accompanying violence in Lagos and Shagamu areas; the formation of the Arewa Peoples’ Congress (APC) and the Igbo Peoples’ Congress (IPC); the MASSOB feeble attempt to resuscitate Biafra; the Sharia crisis and the demands for a confederation; the South-South demand for the control of its resources; and all the recent interethnic/religious conflicts in various states across the country are all part of the bubbles of the Nigerian federation. They are based on the historical structures of mutual fears and suspicions among Nigerian groups in a competitive process. They reflect dissatisfaction of Nigerian groups with the state of the federation. With the emergence of all these ethnic militias and the deep divide between the various ethnic groups, religious intolerance became more violent and bloody with more devastating results using the ethnic militias as the executing platforms of ethno-religious agenda. Federalism thought to be an approach to national unity, resulted to anarchy in the country. A number of steps were taken to at least mend the disunity and disarray prevalent then and promote unity among the various ethnic groups. These included the establishment of federal institutions in some states of the federation, promotion of national cultural and sporting activities, and, more significantly, the National Youth Service Programme (NYSC), just to mention a few (Adebayo, 2010). Although these steps yielded pockets of successes in achieving national unity, the â€Å"unholy† marriage of convenience of the ethnic groups still begs for irrevocable divorce. While the ethnic rivalry held sway, religious pluralism, which culminated in many crises, shook the country to its very roots. The pernicious effect of this trend is not entirely surprising given the fact that religion is so sensitive to Nigerians that many are not only ready to defend it at all costs, but are ready to die for it. Hence, religious pluralism which resulted in religious intolerance was fused with ethnic rivalry, producing the recurrent spate of ethno-religious crises. And because of the violent nature of ethno-religious conflicts, which often take the form of riots, sabotage, assassinations, lynching and maiming, kidnappings, armed struggles, guerilla warfare and secession in Nigeria, they undoubtedly pose dangerous threats to democracy in Nigeria and Africa as a whole. Yes, as Jega (2007: 116) truthfully stated, the genetically engineered seeds of democracy planted by our colonial masters and further successive military regimes have grown to mature crops for harvest. Instead of democracy yielding peace, stability and security to lives and property, it seems to have yielded a return, full circle spate of ethno-religious conflicts and violent eruptions. Thus, the discussion of ethno-religious conflicts in whatever context becomes all the more necessary given the fact that there is a phenomenal recurrence of these conflicts around the nation thereby increasing its threat level to democratic consolidation in Nigeria. It is against this backdrop that this paper attempts to probe the history, manifestations and implications of ethno-religious crises in Nigeria since the dawn of democratic dispensation. Causes of Ethno-Religious Crises in Nigeria According to Awolowo (1990: 35), the notion of Nigeria as â€Å"a mere geographic expression† was engendered by the forceful packaging by colonial authoritarian fiat of unwilling communities of diverse origin and culture under the same polity. Consequently, relations and political behavior of the peoples are characterized by mutual suspicion and invidious hatred since they are strange bed-fellows, who were only coerced into the nation-state via amalgamation. Until 1960, Nigeria was a British colony. Like most colonies, it was not constructed for internal coherence, but rather for the administrative convenience of the British (Shively, 1997: 39). Over 400 different languages and dialects are spoken within its borders, and there is also an important religious split, as the north is primarily Muslim and the south is predominantly Christian, making her not only at ethno-religious crossroads but also at linguistic crossroads. As diverse as these ethnic groups are, they are also not accommodative of each other’s religion and professions of faith. This state of intolerance has added up to fuel the spate of crises in Nigeria. It should be noted that religion has always been the platform for frontal expressions of ethnic aggressions and conflict. Hence, ethnocentric politics, sectional solidarity and primordial interests became prominent features in the nation’s political practice. Sectional and individual virtues and interest rather than collective virtues and national unity are advanced and exalted. Thus, communal orientation precluded any attachment to the state and the syndrome of the ‘son of the soil’ took preference over merit and competence in the choice of policies and leaders. Although as Obasanjo and Mabogunje (1992: 4) aptly observed, colonialism provided scaffolding of holding the different communities together, not much change was achieved in altering communal mentality and predilection. Nonetheless, the persistent military incursion into government and politics did much harm for the body polity as national issues was mostly tribalized and primordial virtues extolled. These regimes had primordial outlook and sub-national mentality under which the northern part of the country was favoured brazenly, on one hand, and the southern part was deliberately dealt with in terms of appointments, contracts, location of government establishments, political oppression and repression as well as provision of social services and infrastructures. As a result, ethnic sectarianism has left a trail of destructive violence and even threatened the territorial integrity of Nigeria (International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance, 2001). Indeed, after long years of authoritarian rule, when the military clique and their civilian collaborators privatized the Nigerian state (Ukiwo, 2003), politicians in the emergent Fourth Republic were all too anxious to claim control of the state and its oil wealth as well. This thus led to an unbridled competition for political relevance and spheres of interests among politicians, especially in the context of the division of the country into geopolitical zones, states and local governments and the fact that distribution of benefits among the political class depended on the ability of each member of the ruling class to deliver his constituency. This lust for power has led to the neglect of the needs of the masses and the demand for peaceful co-existence. Instead, the rulers continue to enrich their pockets through corrupt dirty means and seek for elongation of tenures for selfish gains. In the circumstance, ethnicity, religion and other sectarian identities are exploited, resulting in avoidable violent conflicts among component units of the country. The persistence of mass poverty and increasing income inequality, largely as a result of the transformation of the fortunes of politicians and their allies from jobless neighbors to emergency billionaires in less than two years after capturing power, have deepened popular alienation. It has also called into question the legitimacy since 1999. Consequently, some of the easiest things to do in contemporary Nigeria are to mobilize an assassin, vigilante, ethnic-cum-religious militia, rioter, crowd or rented pro-government demonstrator. The result could only be imagined. The power lust of the political cliche is one of the perceived causes of ethno-religious crises in Nigeria. Another reason responsible for ethno-religious crises in Nigeria is the wrong interpretation by those who claim authority to the understanding of the holy books. If not so, one wonders why people act contrary to the teaching of the holy books (whether the Quran or the Bible) in matters pertaining to peaceful co-existence, unity and sanctity of life, and property. As it is a serious disease for someone who does not have a full grasp of the interpretation of any of the holy books to claim authority to knowledge, many of the so called ‘religious leaders’ use their shallow knowledge to put up interpretations to suit their selfish ends banking on the ignorance of their followers. Lamenting on the wide gap between the teaching and practice of religion among its adherents, Adebayo (2003) cited in Adebayo (2010: 219) identified some factors responsible for using religion as instrument of polarization, among which is leadership tussle, which also culminated in the proliferation of many denominations in the country. Also, sectarian jingoism, as well as excessive patriotism to one’s religious sect, which consequently transformed to fanaticism, is another major factor contributing to this social menace. Salawu (2010) also noted that the failure of the Nigerian leaders to establish good governments, forge national integration and promote what can be called real economic progress, through deliberate and articulated policies, has led to mass poverty and unemployment. This has resulted into communal, ethnic, religious and class conflicts that have now characterized the Nigerian nation. Poverty and unemployment have therefore served as nursery bed for many ethno-religious conflicts in Nigeria because the country now has a reservoir of poor people who warmongers as mercenary fighters. What this means theoretically is that poverty and unemployment increase the number of people who are prepared to kill or be killed for a given course at token benefit. This explains why all ethno-religious crises that ever occurred in Nigeria have a large turnout of people (including the under-aged) as fighters. Lastly and very importantly, and not the least, the ethno-religious conflicts in Nigeria also have some historical antecedent (Salawu, 2010). This is because many governmental actions during the colonial rule and after independence encouraged, to a large extent, the sowing of the seeds of ethno-religious conflicts that are found to be rampant in the Nigerian nation today. Over the years, many events in Nigeria have led to the politicization of mistrust, intolerance, violence and acrimonious relations between the mainly Moslem north and the Christian south of Nigeria. To this extent, there has been an unfortunate insertion of ethno-religious discrimination and incompatibility in the structures of the Nigerian State since the colonial period. The political events of the January 15, 1966 coup and the July 1966 counter-coup further entrenched ethno-religious configuration in Nigeria. This is because the killings and counter-killing that followed the coups which took ethnic and religious colorations as the Muslim dominated tribes in the north were set against the Christian-dominated tribes of the southern region.

Healing the World Through Literature Essay

Literature has influenced our lives in many ways. One is the way we perceive the events around us. The media have always been telling and informing the public about wars. Instead of informing us about how we can heal the world, all we hear is whose fault it was as soon as a war breaks out. The question here is: How can literature help to heal the world in terms of war and peace? This is important because there are so many wars in the world and instead of fighting we can use them to help create peace and heal the world. We will then be able look back to the past and think how we can progress for the next time. It will also help us create peace by allowing everyone to understand each other. Thomas Hardy, Anthony Hecht and Muriel Rukeyser are three authors that help show how literature can heal the world. The first poem, Thomas Hardy’s â€Å"The Man He Killed† focuses on the senselessness and futility of war, where a man has killed another quite simply because they were fighting on opposing sides at war. It was written in the point of view of one of the soldiers who was enlisted in the infantry. In the opening stanza he states, â€Å"Had he and I but met by some old ancient inn, we should have sat us down to wet right many a nipperkin! † (Hardy 347) By this he means if they met outside of a pub, they would have enjoyed some drinks together, but because of the war, they are forced to shoot at one another. Then it explains how they met as soldiers in opposing sides and one had to die so they both shot each other, but the narrator shot killed the other. In the third stanza, he explains why he had to kill him. Literature could help us with war by displaying this poem. The poem shows how even when people just meet that because of a war, they are forced and required to kill another man instead of having peace. People fight in wars for all different reasons. Some people were born to join the army and be soldiers while others just join to get by in life with financial support from the army. In the lines thirteen through sixteen, towards the end of the poem the author is saying how both the men enlisted into the army because they were out of work, and they needed to sell their traps to get money, and now because of the war one of the men was killed unwontedly by another man who joined because he was out of work as well. In the second poem called â€Å"More Light! More Light! † by Anthony Hecht, it talks about two different stories in the poem. In the first story there is a man who was being charged for a crime he prays to his God he didn’t commit. He states, â€Å"I implore my God to witness that I have made no crime† (Hecht 349). He was being burned to death and one of the soldiers who was burning him because of his crime felt badly for the prisoner’s suffering. So he threw gun powder hoping it would catch fire and to end the prisoner of his misery but the gunpowder did not ignite, and the prisoner was burnt to death. â€Å"And that was but one, and by no means one of the worst; permitted at least his pitiful dignity; and such as were by made prayers in the name of Christ, that shall judge all men, for his soul’s tranquility† (Hecht 349). The second story is about three prisoners who were brought to the woods, two Jewish prisoners and one Polish prisoner. The German guards forced the Polish man to bury the Jewish men alive, but the Polish man refused to do it. So the German guards instead changed the roles, and the Polish man was shot in the stomach, buried up to his head, and was left there for three hours to bleed to death. The second story seemed to be much worse than the first because the Polish man was suffering and was only left there with his thoughts and prayers as he slowly died. â€Å"No prayers or incense rose up in those hours which grew to be years, and every day came mute ghosts from the ovens, sifting through crisp air, and settled upon his eyes in a black soot† (Hecht 350). Literature help with war and peace because this poem shows the past how the Jews and Polish men and women were tortured by the Nazis and war. And this poem can teach us how even during the darkest times of war some people like the Polish did not keep his dignity. And not be forced to kill another man because war, even if the result of not listening is your own death. In the third poem â€Å"Letter to the Front† by Muriel Rukeyser, talks about being a Jew in the twentieth century. This poem explains how Jewish people should be proud of being Jewish, and they shouldn’t hide it. The Jewish people went through a lot with World War II, with all the deaths and sufferings, but the Jewish population shouldn’t try to hide what they are. â€Å"Wishing to be invisible, you choose death of the spirit, the stone insanity† (Rukeyser 351). Hiding meant reducing God to nothing more than what you are. The author is saying that the Jews should be proud of who they are and what they believe in. To believe in God and pray for freedom to all people, and pray to live the impossible which can only happen with faith to their God. Not by hiding who they really are and their beliefs. Literature can help with War and peace by using this poem to show that belief in your God can help you get through any situation and not by hiding from your beliefs and who you truly are. Some people are already used to wars and violence that it doesn’t affect them. In order to find peace, we must first make an effort to understand all types of people. In terms of race, ethnicity, culture, values, religion, beliefs, etc. When people see life through someone else’s eyes they understand what they go through. That would be the only way to avoid violence. Literature can heal the world after devastation from war. Maybe one day we won’t have to worry about the war because there would be peace. Work Cited: Hardy, Thomas. â€Å"The Man He Killed. † Writing about the World. By Susan H. McLeod, John Jarvis, and Shelley Spear. Boston, MA: Thomson/Wadsworth, 2005. 346-48. Print. Hecht, Anthony. â€Å"More Light! More Light! † Writing about the World. By Susan H. McLeod, John Jarvis, and Shelley Spear. Boston, MA: Thomson/Wadsworth, 2005. 349-50. Print. Rukeyser, Muriel. â€Å"Letter to the Front. † Writing about the World. By Susan H. McLeod, John Jarvis, and Shelley Spear. Boston, MA: Thomson/Wadsworth, 2005. 351-52. Print.

Loyalty Program Essay

We go through 7 strategy steps to design a loyalty program for Cabo San Viejo which are as follows:   Before we suggest a customer rewards or loyalty program, it is important to understand what is the company’s long term vision, For whom this program is to be implemented i. e. who are the company’s best customers, what are their needs and expectations, the reasons for having such a program and the expected outcome. So the first question is: What is Cabo San Viejo’s long term vision? Was the company directing its activities in overall achievement of this vision? The vision of the company was to help people live healthier lives. Initially there was a gap between the operational objectives of making people lose weight by way of low calorie diet and the vision of getting people to live healthier lives by inculcating sustainable lifestyle ways. However, this gap had been bridged but the positioning gap remained. Who were Cabo San Viejo’s targeted customers? Was there any gap between targeted and actual customers? If we go by the vision statement, anybody wanting to live a better and healthier life was Cabo San Viejo’s targeted customers. These could include smokers, obese men and women, even obese children, stressed couples or singles, workaholic professionals, over worked top executives and managers etc. However, Cabo San Viejo was attracting mostly females (70%-80% of the guests) with an increasing average age over the years, the last average being 57 in the year 2004. Thus, mostly older females were visiting the resort who wanted to indulge themselves and feel better about their body and themselves. Also, their household income was high. Comparing this with the summer guests, the latter group had less income and was also comparatively younger in population. Thus, we can link the age, income level and affordability. Usually younger people are less wealthy and thus find such vacations expensive. Not only this, the perception of Cabo San Viejo first as a fat camp and then as a boot camp was discouraging people to come there. Also, 67% of guests came through word of mouth indicating that the above line marketing was performing poorly. Campaigns targeting specific groups of people showing indulgence in activities of their interest like hiking for young crowd, spa treatment for women, consultation for couples etc would be likely to bring out the varied health solutions offered by Cabo San Viejo. What were the needs of the guests at Cabo San Viejo? Was there any gap in meeting the needs or their expectations? The individual needs of the customers varied quite a lot. To understand and cater to the needs of the customers, the company had efficiently trained its reservation staff who helped customers choose the appropriate package as according to their goals and objectives. The very fact that 95% of the customers rated their experience as either very good or outstanding shows that Cabo San Viejo was operating efficiently. However, if Cabo San Viejo was to target a more demanding and younger customer base in future, it would have to exceed is current delivery promise. The needs have been met but the expectations of repeat customers have not been satisfied some of whom have expressed their resentment for not being rewarded for their continued patronization. Therefore we have recognized: Perception of Cabo San Viejo as a boot camp needed to be changed. †¢Young customers needed to be attracted. As they had higher expectations and smaller pockets, loyalty program needed to focus on value proposition by means of discounts etc. †¢Older customers were mostly wealthier and would not be looking for a value deal like the younger customers. Cabo San Viejo had around 5000 repeat customers each year which a healthy figure is making up about 60% of the total arrival figure. Around 3500 new guests arrive each year of which 32% revisited within 5-6 years and 62% of repeat visitors returned again within 5-6 years. The primary reason for not returning was the high costs. Here we reiterate that to attract more repeat customers, value must be offered. Why does Cabo San Viejo need a customer loyalty program? †¢Retention: One of the primary reasons for most loyalty programs is o retain the loyal customers by appreciating them and the business they generate for the company by making them feel special and good about their association with the company. †¢Offer enhanced value proposition: A loyalty program which offers a value deal to its customers who need it will get Cabo San Viejo more patronization. However, it is to be understood that not all customers need or expect value deals. Enhanced Satisfaction: Recognition by way of loyalty program makes a customer feel good and thus enhances satisfaction which in turn leads to more positive word of mouth. †¢Positive Word of Mouth: Around 60% of Cabo San Viejo’s customers called in for inquiry based on word of mouth. †¢Enhance image as a responsive company: Cabo San Viejo explicitly encourages customers to complain if unsatisfied. It is through such feedbacks that Cabo San Viejo has got to know that customers expect such a program implementation. Whenever a company asks for and receives complaints, it is best to respond or may lead to customer resentment. Counter Competition: If not rewarded for loyalty, customers may switch to other competitors. How much is the desired/expected impact? Having analyzed this, we now estimate the impact. The impact of a loyalty program is usually incremental and observed over a period of time. The expected increase in retention is say, 10%1 over a period of say, 5 years2. Also, people coming from reference is expected to increase over the years enabling the company to cut marketing costs elsewhere. 1The expected retention percentage is found either based on internal company data or industry expert advice.