Personality and Leadership Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Personality and Leadership - Essay Example The present research has identified that leadership solves the complex problem and issue of how to control and organize the collective effort. It involves putting people in order so that they can perform a common goal or duty. Effective leadership ensures that institutions are able to achieve their goal and visions while keeping in line with their mission. Leadership ensures organization effectiveness and efficiency. Because of good leadership organization such as universities, hospitals, corporations, governments, and armies are able to thrive. The success in organizations as a result of leadership boosts the psychological and financial well-being of people. The main objective of leadership is to ensure that people collectively achieve common goal and aspirations. It is a tool that ensures group and individuals thrive and survive. Leadership involves keeping things in order whenever they go astray. It involves motivating and encouraging people to work towards the common or set objec tives. It entails maintaining and building of teams which are effective. It does this by encouraging people to work towards a common objective and goal. It discourages selfishness and ensures collective benefits and achievements. Leadership encourages corrective responsibility of a team as people are encouraged to work as a team. It ensures people are watching each other’s back. People are able to seek guidance and assistance from others because of the team spirit caused by leadership. When misused, leadership becomes a tool of destruction. Leaders use the authority they have to push for their personal intentions and objectives. Leadership gives few people authority who can use the chance to dictate and ruin other people’s lives. Leadership only involves pursuing the objectives and intentions of the few people who have the leadership roles. It promotes laziness as people act upon instructions and supervision. With leadership, people get used to being pushed. It makes p eople depend on other people’s effort in order to get something done.

Diagnostic Advertising Profile Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Diagnostic Advertising Profile - Research Paper Example Build a Bear Workshop targets its stuffed toys, outfits, accessories, and other reasonably priced products towards young children between the ages of 6 to 14. The primary purpose of Build-a-Bear Workshop’s advertising campaign is to persuade potential customers in the age bracket of 6 to 14. Its mascot, the Bearemy, is also an adorable looking stuffed animal especially chosen to represent its target audience which consists mainly of little children (â€Å"Our Mascot, Bearemy†, n.pag.). Its persuasive and informative advertising objective focuses on promoting people to buy their products by changing their perceptions about the product’s value. One of its commercials shows a small girl talking about how you can literally â€Å"build a bear† by buying additional accessories along with the bear to fit the child’s own linking (â€Å"Build-a-Bear Workshop Commercial†, 00:20). So far it has been successful in effectively communicating its message of creating a customized teddy bear to suit the linking of every child. Though it did experience a drop in its net income in 2007 when it failed to retain its customers (Farrell, n.pag.). Build-a-bear Workshop has sought the services of various advertising agencies over the past and seeks the promotional services so as to increase its brand awareness, help build technologically advanced retail outlets, and carry out integrated marketing. It has taken the services from agencies like Cannonball (Cannonball, n.pag.), SteadyRain, and even Samsung to put together its interactive and highly technological outlets creating superb brand recognition and value among its young customers. Its Bearville website also plays a critical role in the promotion and sales of its products online (â€Å"What is Bearville†, n.pag.). It sought the promotional services of SteadyRain in order to enhance its brand awareness online (SteadyRain, n.pag.). Since Build a Bear Workshop enables customers to buy o nline, it looked for an analysis of the company’s website. The Search Engine Optimization allowed SteadyRain to evaluate the traffic and the possible sources of organic search that yielded productive visits to the website. Its high tech outlets at various areas provide an interactive environment and digital gadgets to help the children design their customized toys (Kotler & Armstrong, 35; Olson, n.pag.). There are work stations at each stage starting from â€Å"Stuff me† where the child stuffs in fluff inside their teddy bear. The process ends with â€Å"Name me† where the bear is complete and a birth certificate is issued (Kotler & Armstrong, 35-36). Samsung has provided its services to Build a Bear Workshop to create its high tech stores containing interactive work stations and other technologies to enable the company to cater to its customers’ needs (â€Å"Case Study: Build-A Bear Workshop†, 2). Build-a-Bear Workshop’s advertising mainly uses emotional appeals to reach out their target market consisting of young children. Its television commercials often show young children and their product line of assorted teddy bears to inform its young audiences of its attractive option of customizing teddy bears. Most of advertisements aim at appealing the young children using tactics that stimulate the younger children to buy the customized teddy bears. One of its advertisements includes a young girl talking about how she can add different accessories to create her own tailored teddy bear (â€Å"

Five key different functional activities Essay Example for Free

Five key different functional activities Essay Set out the main points of the contribution of five key different functional activities carried out in a selected business organisation towards its strategic aims and objectives. Human Resources Human Resources will be in charge of employing all new staff that the business need. However in order for this to work, Human Resources need to know what kind of staff they need how many. HR will also go through all the applications of the applicants; this will happen so they can narrow the amount of people to be interviewed down. They will narrow it down by seeing if the person can offer what the company requires. For Tescos this will be good communication skills, working with others and working alone, this is because Tesco want to know if the employee will be able to offer customer service at the standard of Tesco. If the employees do this then they will be able to achieve their aims and objectives of the business as they are to treat all customers how they wanted to be treated and to try harder for customers then anyone else. Marketing Marketing makes the audience aware that there is a specific product out there. However in order to market the product, the department have to know how much it is going to cost, how much it will roughly cost them, what size, colour and design will take form before marketing the product itself. Marketing will be via Radio, Television, Newspapers, Flyers, and Billboards etc. as these are the main forms of marketing a product. Tesco will Market via television and radio. They will put the adverts on television during times when many audiences would be watching, e.g. during the breaks of a Saturday night show. Tesco would put adverts on radio during rush hour time on the most listened to radio station to get more audiences. However the unique thing about the Tesco adverts is that they will give offers on products. By Tesco showing their products to the public via marketing by means of TV, radio etc. it will encourage people to come to Tescos to buy their products; this will consequently lead to more sales and more customer service this means Tesco have used marketing to get to their overall aims and objectives, which is to try harder for customer. Customer Service For a business to get more customers they will need customer service at the highest quality; this means providing a quick and an effective service. Also customer service will include things such as having in depth knowledge about products and being able to sell them describing the product(s) and its features well enough will help to get the customer interested. If you have sold the product to a certain customer and they come back saying it doesnt work then you will have to give a customer service at the highest quality and give them a replacement while you fix theirs; this could mean resolving complaints quicker and effectively. For Tesco they would provide a quick, reliable and effective service to the customers as their mission statement is to provide a life long loyalty to their customers. If a customer brought a product from Tesco e.g. a DVD player and it didnt work then Tesco will exchange / replace the customers product until theirs is fixed, or give them discount on another product that is similar. Tesco also have a 48 hour customer complaint line where by Tesco get back to the customer(s) within 48 hours of receiving the complaint. If they do this they are achieving their aims and objectives because their aims are to try harder for customers and treat every customer how they want to be treated. Finance The finance department has to spend its money wisely; and spend at the right time for the business, e.g. to make an investment. They must also manage the budget of the company to make sure they are not over spending, but spending the right amount all items. They must also make sure they prioritise which functional areas are the most in need of the money in order to move forward. In order for Tescos to achieve their aims and objectives finance wise, they must make sure they are keeping track of the money used and to see if they are able to give discounts to their loyal customers. This way they can offer customers discounts on certain items or send them vouchers for certain things they can only do this by looking into their club card for what kind of items they buy on a regular basis and then give them discount on that. Also the Tesco finance team have been able to dig out some money to buy vans for home delivery. This way customers will be able to get products from the Tesco website and get it delivered to their doorstep, this way Tesco are achieving their aims and objectives because they are trying harder for the customer. Sales The sales team would sell the product(s) on sale. The more sales staff they employ the more chances of selling more products becomes more possible. However it is important to have the opening times longer during the day; (early start, late finish). The sales team may also have a website to sell their products and also give more information to the customers; in most cases internet sales are cheaper then buying them in the store. Tesco have an internet website; however you have to be a member, this way Tesco will get more customers. In Tesco stores that are all Tesco Extra, they will be open for 24 hours a day. They have people in certain areas of the supermarket that specialise in certain things, such as technology and mobile phones and they will have their own departments; where as someone else might be working with another person that specialise in the same thing which may be fruit and veg; and they would have their departments as well. Therefore if customers want something in particular they can go the department area; this way Tesco are able to sell their products to customers easily. Tesco also have many tills and self scanning services to achieve their aims and objectives; this is because customers will come in and be able to shop and take their products home quickly and easily, this way Tesco will be achieving their aims and objectives because they are trying harder for customer by making it easier for them to go certain areas of the supermarket and paying for the item e.g. electronics department / self scanning machines / tills.

John Lewis partnership

John Lewis partnership What is John Lewis partnership? John Lewis partnership is a visionary and successful way of doing business, boldly putting the happiness of partners at the centre of everything they do. The outcome of nearly a century of endeavour to create a different sort of company, owned by partners dedicated to serving customers with elegance and fairness. All 71,196 staff are partners who own 28 John Lewis department stores, 213 Waitrose supermarkets, an online and with catalogue business, (John Lewis direct-john Lewis.com), a direct services company (Greenbee), three production units, and a farm with a turnover of nearly  £6 billion last year. Partners share in the benefits and profits of a business that puts them first and the partnership follows its seven business principles purpose, power, profit, members, customers, business and relationships. Mission statement Mission statement addresses the question where does it belong to in the business. The John Lewis Partnerships reputation is founded on the uniqueness of its ownership structure and commercial success. Its purpose is the happiness of all our members, through their worthwhile, satisfying employment in a successful business, with success measured on its ability to sustain and enhance the position both as an outstanding retailer and as a thriving example of employee ownership. Partnership Strategy Partnership strategy is based on three interdependent objectives partners, customers, profit which together will make its successful business. Partners should gain personal satisfaction by being members of a co-owned enterprise in which they have worthwhile, secure and fulfilling employment and confidence in the way the partnership conducts its business. The partnership should recruit and retain loyal customers through their continued trust and confidence in our reputation for value, choice, service and honesty. The partnership should make sufficient profit to sustain our commercial vitality and distinctive character, allow continued development and distribute a share of profits each year consistent with partners reasonable expectations. Environmental Factors As ROBSON(1997) conveys environment analysis takes an important part towards increasing the quality of strategic decisions considering relevant features well before making an irrevocable decision. Social Fairtrade, certifies producers against internationally recognised trading standards. Fairtrade items generate a guaranteed price to cover production plus a social premium to be reinvested in suppliers businesses or local communities. Recruitment, retention and training- Partnership aims to attract and retain the best people who share the values. Traceability- Having full traceability of products, and their ingredients or components, is critical to success and to consumer confidence. Product safety- Ensure the integrity of products and the application of the best standards in safety, quality environment and animal welfare. Animal welfare- Waitrose is committed to providing the best conditions for animals at all stages of the supply chain and to combating cruel practices. Environmental Energy and emissions- committed to tackling the issue of Climate Change and have set a public target of reducing CO2 emissions by 10% by 2010 Packaging and waste- The Partnerships longstanding objective is to reduce waste wherever possible, and to reuse or recycle more of what they produce. Economic As a business based solely in the UK, the Partnership is particularly exposed to any economic downturn which could affect consumer spending, most notably in the Department Store business. Political The Partnership remains sensitive to the regulatory environment in which it trades in order to ensure ongoing compliance with key regulatory requirements around planning, trading, tax and competition. SWOT Analysis The importance of performing a SWOT analysis is that, no business should take a high risk strategy if there are any significant weaknesses foreseen. Performing a SWOT analysis may consider in, What are the weak/strong products, divisions, attitudes etc.? Are there any gaps/opportunities? Are there any dangers/threats needs to be protected? Are we strong in the right way to exploit the opportunity? Considering the above facts a SWOT analysis has taken place to mark the right opportunity. Strengths Weaknesses The Partnership has many strengths such as committed and experienced Partners; the ability to trade well even when conditions were difficult. It had also come through a very difficult period with its integrity and the trust of customers intact. However, it had not been plain sailing as profits has been hit hard particularly in John Lewis. Sales in Waitrose have been more resilient but the division has fought hard by turning up the volume on price and the cost of that investment. As Partnership Chairman Charlie Mayfield reports, Profits could be down this year but their financial position remained strong. Their financial strategy is conservative as borrowings and mortgages are low comparing to competitors. This is due to the fact that they have planned and were able to cope with difficult economic periods. They also have good relationships with banks, but it has to be maintained to ensure their continued support in the future. However, plans for growth cost money and the business needs to consider how much more it could afford to invest when operating profits on under pressure. Opportunities Threats Clearly sales have been under threat during recession periods and there were risks around the operational side of the business. A biggest threat seen was the collapse of banking sector. John Lewis partnership didnt seem to be affected by it but still since it has not ended yet there is a caution of lending money from banks. Apart from it, implementing new products and multi-channelling occupied the ongoing of business. Organisational Structure Its Decision Levels Partnership council Partnership has a clear and streamlined management structure which means decisions could be taken very quickly. The Partnership Council symbolizes its democratic structure and represents the strategic level governing authority. Signifying Partners as a whole,  most of its members  are elected by  Partners. Its main role is to hold its management to account, to influence policy and to make key governance decisions. Partnership Board has ultimate responsibility for issues of major policy and for allocating the financial and other resources of the business. To a large extent its role is keeping the Partnership true to its principles both in terms of the vitality of its commercial progress and its distinctive co-ownership objectives. The Council should retain its three vital decision-making powers: to elect the Trustees of the Constitution and five directors to the Board to change the Constitution, with the Chairmans agreement to dismiss the Chairman. Managing the business This starts with the two divisional Management Boards, who have clear responsibility for developing a strategy for the ongoing development of our John Lewis and Waitrose businesses and then for seeing through its implementation in accordance with an approved business plan. Said two divisions share the Partnerships principles in the managerial level and a common approach to doing business, but they are substantial businesses in their own right. The establishment of the Management Boards clarified the responsibility they carry for the trading operations of the business. They are accountable to the Chairman for their performance, and they derive their authority from the Partnership Boards approval of their business plans. Waitrose Management Board The Waitrose Management Board is accountable to the Chairman for its performance and it derives its authority from the Partnership Boards approval of its business plan. John Lewis Management Board The John Lewis Management Board is accountable to the Chairman for its performance and it derives its authority from the Partnership Boards approval of its business plan. Partnership Services Partnership Services represents the knowledge level and designed to meet the Business plan and Partner needs with simple, efficient services, enabling a growing and successful Partnership. Partner Being a partner with a shared responsibility for the partnership and a drive to put its success first is a different aspect compared to operational levels in other organisations. Further partnervoice is the local avenue for Partner opinion and is the means by which Partners can provide feedback, question management on branch, raise their own issues and be consulted. Types of Decisions Made at Various Levels Multi-Channel Retailer Level Type of decision Type of IS Benefits to organisation Link to the mission Strategic level Build multi channel retail ESS- sales forecast for 3 years. Improvement of profit margins and expanding the organisation. Partners could be stretched and develop their career. Management level Budgeting Cost analysis MIS- Annual budgeting on channels DSS- analysing cost in implementing and maintaining channels Knowing the spending In finding the best possible way to suit the business To build a successful business Knowledge level Designing modern trends KWS- designing channel workstations Best possible way to suit the business Sustain as an outstanding retailer Operational level Schedule employees TPS- Training and development Processes daily activities smoothly To sustain as a business IS Recommendations Strategic level management of performance as a whole where how it could meet the expectations of organisation Management level performance report against the spending. Knowledge level design performance indicators Operational level pay reviews. International Expansion Level Type of decision Type of IS Benefits to organisation Link to the mission Strategic level International expansion ESS-prepare 5 year forecast in sales Growth in the partnership internationally Partner satisfaction Management level Budgeting Pricing analysis MIS- annual budgeting on expenditures DSS- determine prices Keep track on expenditures of the company. Towards the company profit margin. Success of the business Knowledge level Market analysis KWS-analysing retail market Acquire the best opportunities. Sustain in the business Operational level Process orders TPS-processing and tracking of orders. Process routines Success of the business IS Recommendations Strategic level franchise internationally Management level franchise budgeting forecast reports Knowledge level analysing markets for franchise Operational level keep up the standards as a franchiser. Increase Marketing Level Type of decision Type of IS Benefits to organisation Link to the mission Strategic level Increase Marketing ESS- 3 year sales forecast Increase of sales Sustain of the business Management level Marketing budget Cost analysis MIS-issuing marketing budget DSS-analysing costs towards marketing Manage marketing budget Find best possible for the company Enhance the position in the market Knowledge level Design marketing trends KWS-market analysis Attract customers to drive sales Success of the company Operational level Display marketing adverts TPS-point of sale To drive more sales More sales more bonus IS Recommendations Strategic level economic trends of a countrys condition in a given time period Management level sales analysis and sales reports. Knowledge level design products to suit the economic trend. e.g. to suit economic crisis Operational level production order of the new designed product. Expansion In UK Level Type of decision Type of IS Benefits to organisation Link to the mission Strategic level Expansion in UK ESS-prepare 3 year operating plan Bring more sales, profits Enhance the partnership Management level New budgets for new stores Costs in expansion MIS-spending budgets for annum DSS-contract cost analysis Make most of it towards the future Keep within budgets Sustain of business Knowledge level Design KWS-engineering workstations Keep up standards Towards success of the company Operational level Enter, process orders TPS-order process Make sales More sales more profit, bonus IS Recommendations Strategic level profit forecasts, sales trend forecast Management level sales management, sales analysis Knowledge level market analysis Operational level training development Ethical Issues Climate change Reduced overall CO2 emissions by 16% Waitrose are investing  £55 million over five years to replace refrigeration equipment and improve efficiency Improved shop energy efficiency by 15% in John Lewis, 19% in Waitrose Investigated alternative, lower carbon fuels for vehicles Founder member of the Environmental IT Leadership Team, a cross industry user group aiming to develop more sustainable IT strategies Packaging, waste recycling In 2007-08, John Lewis recycled 4,490 tonnes of waste (39%) and Waitrose 21,500 tonnes (49%) Waitrose reduced carrier bag usage by 30% this year John Lewis have introduced a number of carrier bag initiatives Waitrose are committed to reducing packaging and are introducing recycled recyclable materials. In John Lewis, all new paper and card packaging uses either recycled or FSC-certified material. Waitroses anaerobic digestion generates green energy from food waste from 5 stores Building and operating sustainable shops- Signed up to the BCSC Sustainability Charter Each building project now starts with a Sustainability Action Plan Working to identify ways to improve the sustainability impacts of the design and construction of interior fixtures and fitting Over 90% building waste was recycled during the fit-out of John Lewis Leicester All new Waitrose in-store graphics are made from paper or card, making them fully recyclable, and signage equipment is fully deconstructable so it can be recycled at the end of its life. Supplier relationships The Partnership have provided suppliers with a Responsible Sourcing Supplier Workbook to give suppliers a better insight into our Responsible Sourcing Code of Practice. Through day-to-day contact, John Lewis highly trained buyers give suppliers a helping hand in meeting the terms of our Responsible Sourcing Code of Practice Sustainable products- 78% of the garden furniture FSC certified John Lewis We Can Make a Difference promotion covered more than 600 biodegradable, organic, energy-efficient, Fairtrade, recycled and sustainable products Waitrose stock 180 Fairtrade lines and Fairtrade sales rose by 76% in 2007 Waitrose are the only UK retailer to insist all British fruit and vegetable growers adopt the LEAF certification standard Waitrose local and regional sourcing sales increased by 58% to  £21 million in 2007-08 Improving the customer experience Ranked first for service in the Verdict customer satisfaction index for 2007 Focusing on reporting and sharing details of any customer complaints, so that we can learn from such feedback All new John Lewis Partners currently receive an induction and lots of on-the-job training. This year, we are investing more in training Partners Chairman Charlie Mayfield appointed to the UK Commission on Employment and Skills (UKCES). Health nutrition Over 1,000 products now carry the Food Standards Agency (FSA) multiple traffic light labelling on their packaging, and all recipe cards and publications carry key nutritional information per serving. Waitrose Education invests approximately  £400,000 a year educating young people about nutrition and food. The online Nutrition Advice Service provides customers and health. professionals with help and advice on a wide range of food issues Supporting our communities- Partnerships contribution to charities and communities in 2007-08 was  £6.2 million. All Waitrose shops support local charities and community groups nominated by customers through its new Community Matters scheme. Partners have raised  £138,000 for Wallace and Gromits Childrens Foundation, this years John Lewis Charity of the Year. Waitrose Partners donated 4,221 hours and John Lewis Partners 22,500 through the Golden Jubilee Trust scheme.

and then there were none :: essays research papers

Trust, Deceit, & Immorality in And Then There Were None, a mystery novel by Agatha Christie, discusses matters of trust, deceit, and immorality. These two words are present within each chapter, and they come to us in ways that do not meet the eye right away. They require a certain level of thought in order to be understood clearly. In which Agatha Christie hopes to bring out. Trust is a key element of life. We need to choose who we can confide and believe in. If the ten people on the island want to stay alive, they need to be aware of those who are truly loyal, but they need to choose wisely, for one out of the ten is a murderer. Everyone in the house has there suspicions. No matter what the circumstances are, they remain immutable about not trusting each other. Having no trust makes all of them a nervous wreck, making each of them more susceptible of being the next victim of murder. Having no trust only digs us a deeper hole to the inevitable, and when we trust the wrong person, the inevitable happens sooner than expected. Deceit, unfortunately, is also a part of life. Deceit inside And Then There Were None, however, is a part of death. Lombard and Vera face the facts when they appear to be the last ones alive on the island. Instead of being the nice man he seemed to be, he turned out to be a miscreant. Lombard fools a lot of people with his act of being paranoid of having the killer looking over his shoulder. It is his self that he needs to guard, and he is not doing a good job of that, because Vera kills him instead. Death comes about in many ways. Murder is one of them. This immorality is the basis of the whole entire book. One by one, each one of the ten people die by someone else’s immoral actions. Even at the end of the book when Vera shoots Lombard, she had committed a brutal crime. Yes, she was defending herself, but she still chooses to use her hands to take someone else’s life. Immorality plagues society today deeply. We have twisted morals so much that the may think the most wr ong action is OK. And Then There Were None is a book that applies lives ways in forms that come to us unconsciously.

John Quincy Adams Essay -- essays research papers

John Quincy Adams was a major influence in the history of the United States. John Quincy took part in more important events, and held more important positions than any person in United States history. Some of the important positions he held were he was American Ministers to four different European Countries (Hague, Prussia, Russia and England), a State Senator representing Massachusetts, peace negotiator to England, a member of the House of Representatives, Secretary of the State, and President of the United States. John Quincy followed in the footsteps of his father John Adams, when he became President of the United States, but both father and son failed to win their second term as President. Although he had many successes he viewed himself as a disappointment. He did have many accomplishments during his career, but he also had a few downfalls and failures during his career. John Quincy was not the most liked person in the country, but he stood up for what he thought and believed in . There was a time in the early stage of John Quincy Adams' career when he was a Senator, when many Senators careers would end because they did not follow the thought of their constituents. By this time Senate was to be a more executive council than a legislative body. If they became more of a executive council they would help advise the President. Senate was an executive council to the President for a while, until the Federalist Party didn't agree on foreign policy, and many more polit...

Is Latin America a More Democratic Place Today Than It Was in 1945

Is Latin America a more democratic place today than it was in 1945? Given the word and time restrictions, an in depth analysis of each Latin American country’s democratic progression across the time period would simply not be feasible. Instead I will attempt to look at Latin America’s progression as a whole and will provide examples of specific countries situations where relevant, in particular Venezuela. Firstly it is important to distinguish between two ideas. One is democracy. For democracy to work, there must be free and fair elections.There must be more than one political party. The people of the country should have a good education so that they can make informed choices. They should share a common culture. All must accept the idea that everyone has equal rights. Finally, there must be rule by law, not by power. In other words there must be a separation of power, which means that the judiciary has to be a completely different body from the governing power of the co untry. Many nations in Latin America have had dif? culty achieving democracy because all these factors are not present.The second idea is that of democratic culture. This involves the existence of constitutions, respect for rights, transparency when it comes to policies and governmental decisions and crucially, no corruption. Latin America, when viewed as a whole, is generally viewed as a more democratic place now than in 1945 but it would be wrong to assert that during the past 68 years Latin American countries have undergone a steady increase in democracy. Brazil is a prime example of a country that has gone through fluctuations in democracy throughout the period.Currently in Latin America, despite being in a state of relative poverty when compared to the rest of the world, the majority of countries have become, at least formally, electoral democracies. 13 countries are now classed as free, 8 as partially free, with only Cuba and Haiti being deemed as not. Venezuela, following the recent passing of Hugo Chavez, is at a crossroads on its journey to democracy. However many question how democratic a ruler Chavez actually was in his time as president. One of two very important relationships to analyse is that of democracy and the level of development in a country or in this case Latin America.This leads on to what is one of the most stable relationships in social sciences, the positive correlation between high levels of wealth and established democracy (Lipset 1959). To back this statistic up, a democratic regime has never fallen after a country has reached a certain level of income per capita, which is said to be $6055 (Przeworski 2000). In 1945 Latin America was still recovering from the economic shockwaves caused by the great depression of 1930. This global economic crisis meant that the rest of the world was not demanding any imports from Latin America.At the time these would have been mainly raw materials and this lack of export revenue for the South Americ an countries had a detrimental effect on their situations in the majority of cases. During the decade or so after the great depression, around 1945, the effects will have trickled down and income per capita and GDP levels will have been significantly reduced. This will in turn have destabilised democracy attempts and can be viewed as a reason for why Latin America was less democratic then than it is now. Without the economic and financial means it is very difficult to achieve a fully functioning democracy.Of course it is worth pointing out that we are nearing the end of a fairly gruelling global economic downturn today but the consequences for Latin America are far less in this instance. The economic growth in Latin America has been very modest throughout the 68 years in question but more importantly it has been volatile. Periods of prosperity in several countries have been followed by long periods of stagnation and even negative growth. This volatility can be seen in Latin American countries progression since independence in terms of democracy as well.Take Brazil as an example. The country became independent in 1822 and was ruled by a monarchy. In 1930 this monarchy was overthrown and the country was under a dictatorship for a couple of decades. In 1956 an elected leader was installed only to be replaced by military rule 10 years later. Finally in the 1980’s, as a result of yet another economic decline, Brazil was yet again ruled by an elected president. The other significant relationship that needs to be looked at is that of democracy and corruption.Corruption is usually defined as a violation of the norms of public office for personal gain (Nye 1967). It has been suggested that corruption permeates everyday life in Latin America with only very high profile cases ever being unveiled in a court of law and even then this only happens in the more democratic countries (Blake and Morris 2009). Here are a few statistics to back this assertion up. In a 2004 survey 42 % of respondents ranked the probability of paying a bribe to the police as high, while 35% expressed the same ease of bribing a judge (Blake and Morris 2009).In a 2005 survey, 43% of respondents in Paraguay and 31% in Mexico admitted to having paid a bribe just within the past twelve months (Blake and Morris 2009). Democracy has a complex and multifaceted relationship to corruption (Doig and Theobald 2000). It provides alternative avenues to obtain and then use power and wealth. This leads to brand new opportunities for corruption. However despite the fact that democracy makes it easier for corruption to exist, when there is a democracy it becomes of even greater importance to supress corruption as it strikes at the very meaning of democracy itself.To sum this idea up, corruption undermines the essence of citizenship, distorting and crippling democracy (Blake and Morris 2009). It is clear from the statistics in the previous paragraph that corruption continues in today†™s Latin America to have a tight grip over many if not all of its countries. Therefore it is very difficult to say that democracy has come on in leaps and bounds since 1945 when as crucial a factor as corruption is still such a plague to the region. Another factor when looking at democracy in the continent is the level of education.People must be aware of the fact that there is more than one option in a democracy. It is also crucial that the population of a country understands the concept of propaganda. A democracy can only work in a country with a certain level of education otherwise it can easily be classed as brainwashing, especially with the level of influence that the media can have over an ill-educated population. An example of what a lack of education can do in a democracy is that during the elections in which Chavez was voted in, he very nearly missed out on the appointment because his main rival was a former Miss Venezuela.The implication of this is that a worrying amount of the Venezuelan public didn’t vote for Chavez because there was a far better looking female alternative. Of course this could just be cynicism and she may well have had a very impressive manifesto and realistic yet progressive goals. During Chavez’ time in power though, he managed to substantially increase literacy along with reducing poverty by over half. Chavez had many positive effects on Venezuela, not least providing them with 14 years of stable rule. However his recent death has thrown the country off its feet and they are at risk of descending into political turmoil.Further examples of why Latin America was less democratic in 1945 include the fact that leading South American countries such as Columbia and Argentina had still not given women the right to vote. Universal suffrage is something that can be found in certain definitions of democracy for example Dahl’s and was definitely holding those countries back at that stage in their bid for democracy (D ahl 1971). To conclude, it is safe to say that Latin American countries are in a better overall place than in 1945 but that corruption in particular is holding them back.A country needs to be not only ready for democracy but also willing to accept it. It can definitely be argued that not all Latin American countries are ready for democracy but one final point may indicate that they are nearing acceptance of it. This is that something the Latin Americans care greatly about is their national identity, an idea that is very closely linked to democracy. Therefore with the rapid increase in globalisation endangering this coveted national identity, South American countries are rapidly warming to the idea of being democratic. Bibliography: Charles H. Blake & Stephen D. Morris (1999), Corruption and Democracy in Latin America, published by the University of Pittsburgh Press. * R. A. Dahl (1971), Polyarchy: Participation and Opposition, published by Yale University Press. * Alan Doig and Robi n Theobald (2000), Corruption and Democratization. * S. M. Lipset (1959), Some Social Requisites of Democracy, Economic Development and Political Illegitimacy. * A. Przeworski (2000), Democracy and Development: Political Institutions and Well-being in the World 1950-1990, Cambridge University Press. Is Latin America a More Democratic Place Today Than It Was in 1945 Is Latin America a more democratic place today than it was in 1945? Given the word and time restrictions, an in depth analysis of each Latin American country’s democratic progression across the time period would simply not be feasible. Instead I will attempt to look at Latin America’s progression as a whole and will provide examples of specific countries situations where relevant, in particular Venezuela. Firstly it is important to distinguish between two ideas. One is democracy. For democracy to work, there must be free and fair elections.There must be more than one political party. The people of the country should have a good education so that they can make informed choices. They should share a common culture. All must accept the idea that everyone has equal rights. Finally, there must be rule by law, not by power. In other words there must be a separation of power, which means that the judiciary has to be a completely different body from the governing power of the co untry. Many nations in Latin America have had dif? culty achieving democracy because all these factors are not present.The second idea is that of democratic culture. This involves the existence of constitutions, respect for rights, transparency when it comes to policies and governmental decisions and crucially, no corruption. Latin America, when viewed as a whole, is generally viewed as a more democratic place now than in 1945 but it would be wrong to assert that during the past 68 years Latin American countries have undergone a steady increase in democracy. Brazil is a prime example of a country that has gone through fluctuations in democracy throughout the period.Currently in Latin America, despite being in a state of relative poverty when compared to the rest of the world, the majority of countries have become, at least formally, electoral democracies. 13 countries are now classed as free, 8 as partially free, with only Cuba and Haiti being deemed as not. Venezuela, following the recent passing of Hugo Chavez, is at a crossroads on its journey to democracy. However many question how democratic a ruler Chavez actually was in his time as president. One of two very important relationships to analyse is that of democracy and the level of development in a country or in this case Latin America.This leads on to what is one of the most stable relationships in social sciences, the positive correlation between high levels of wealth and established democracy (Lipset 1959). To back this statistic up, a democratic regime has never fallen after a country has reached a certain level of income per capita, which is said to be $6055 (Przeworski 2000). In 1945 Latin America was still recovering from the economic shockwaves caused by the great depression of 1930. This global economic crisis meant that the rest of the world was not demanding any imports from Latin America.At the time these would have been mainly raw materials and this lack of export revenue for the South Americ an countries had a detrimental effect on their situations in the majority of cases. During the decade or so after the great depression, around 1945, the effects will have trickled down and income per capita and GDP levels will have been significantly reduced. This will in turn have destabilised democracy attempts and can be viewed as a reason for why Latin America was less democratic then than it is now. Without the economic and financial means it is very difficult to achieve a fully functioning democracy.Of course it is worth pointing out that we are nearing the end of a fairly gruelling global economic downturn today but the consequences for Latin America are far less in this instance. The economic growth in Latin America has been very modest throughout the 68 years in question but more importantly it has been volatile. Periods of prosperity in several countries have been followed by long periods of stagnation and even negative growth. This volatility can be seen in Latin American countries progression since independence in terms of democracy as well.Take Brazil as an example. The country became independent in 1822 and was ruled by a monarchy. In 1930 this monarchy was overthrown and the country was under a dictatorship for a couple of decades. In 1956 an elected leader was installed only to be replaced by military rule 10 years later. Finally in the 1980’s, as a result of yet another economic decline, Brazil was yet again ruled by an elected president. The other significant relationship that needs to be looked at is that of democracy and corruption.Corruption is usually defined as a violation of the norms of public office for personal gain (Nye 1967). It has been suggested that corruption permeates everyday life in Latin America with only very high profile cases ever being unveiled in a court of law and even then this only happens in the more democratic countries (Blake and Morris 2009). Here are a few statistics to back this assertion up. In a 2004 survey 42 % of respondents ranked the probability of paying a bribe to the police as high, while 35% expressed the same ease of bribing a judge (Blake and Morris 2009).In a 2005 survey, 43% of respondents in Paraguay and 31% in Mexico admitted to having paid a bribe just within the past twelve months (Blake and Morris 2009). Democracy has a complex and multifaceted relationship to corruption (Doig and Theobald 2000). It provides alternative avenues to obtain and then use power and wealth. This leads to brand new opportunities for corruption. However despite the fact that democracy makes it easier for corruption to exist, when there is a democracy it becomes of even greater importance to supress corruption as it strikes at the very meaning of democracy itself.To sum this idea up, corruption undermines the essence of citizenship, distorting and crippling democracy (Blake and Morris 2009). It is clear from the statistics in the previous paragraph that corruption continues in today†™s Latin America to have a tight grip over many if not all of its countries. Therefore it is very difficult to say that democracy has come on in leaps and bounds since 1945 when as crucial a factor as corruption is still such a plague to the region. Another factor when looking at democracy in the continent is the level of education.People must be aware of the fact that there is more than one option in a democracy. It is also crucial that the population of a country understands the concept of propaganda. A democracy can only work in a country with a certain level of education otherwise it can easily be classed as brainwashing, especially with the level of influence that the media can have over an ill-educated population. An example of what a lack of education can do in a democracy is that during the elections in which Chavez was voted in, he very nearly missed out on the appointment because his main rival was a former Miss Venezuela.The implication of this is that a worrying amount of the Venezuelan public didn’t vote for Chavez because there was a far better looking female alternative. Of course this could just be cynicism and she may well have had a very impressive manifesto and realistic yet progressive goals. During Chavez’ time in power though, he managed to substantially increase literacy along with reducing poverty by over half. Chavez had many positive effects on Venezuela, not least providing them with 14 years of stable rule. However his recent death has thrown the country off its feet and they are at risk of descending into political turmoil.Further examples of why Latin America was less democratic in 1945 include the fact that leading South American countries such as Columbia and Argentina had still not given women the right to vote. Universal suffrage is something that can be found in certain definitions of democracy for example Dahl’s and was definitely holding those countries back at that stage in their bid for democracy (D ahl 1971). To conclude, it is safe to say that Latin American countries are in a better overall place than in 1945 but that corruption in particular is holding them back.A country needs to be not only ready for democracy but also willing to accept it. It can definitely be argued that not all Latin American countries are ready for democracy but one final point may indicate that they are nearing acceptance of it. This is that something the Latin Americans care greatly about is their national identity, an idea that is very closely linked to democracy. Therefore with the rapid increase in globalisation endangering this coveted national identity, South American countries are rapidly warming to the idea of being democratic. Bibliography: Charles H. Blake & Stephen D. Morris (1999), Corruption and Democracy in Latin America, published by the University of Pittsburgh Press. * R. A. Dahl (1971), Polyarchy: Participation and Opposition, published by Yale University Press. * Alan Doig and Robi n Theobald (2000), Corruption and Democratization. * S. M. Lipset (1959), Some Social Requisites of Democracy, Economic Development and Political Illegitimacy. * A. Przeworski (2000), Democracy and Development: Political Institutions and Well-being in the World 1950-1990, Cambridge University Press.