HRM-Behavior and Management in Organisations Research Paper

HRM-Behavior and Management in Organisations - Research Paper Example Weber has defined charisma as, ‘a certain quality of an individual personality, by virtue of which s/he is set apart from ordinary people and treated as endowed with supernatural, superhuman, or at least specifically exceptional powers or qualities. These are such as are not accessible to the ordinary person but are regarded as of divine origin or as exemplary, and on the basis of them the individual concerned is treated as a leader’. Weber also explains, ‘resting on devotion to the exceptional sanctity, heroism or exemplary character of an individual person, and of the normative patterns or order revealed or ordained by him’ (Beer, Lawrence, Quinn Mills and Walton, 1985).Leaders irrespective of their styles i.e. charismatic, authoritative or even a transformational requires having a team and followers to be able to lead them. Hence it is clear that a leader only leads the way and helps the others to follow him and meet the goals of the organization. In situ ations where the leaders require having the complete support of the followers, the most effective form of leadership again is the charismatic leadership (House & Shamir 1993). A few of the best examples of charismatic leaders include Adolf Hitler, Winston Churchill, Joseph Smith and also Wener Erhard. The contributions of these leaders have been very high and have impacted their organizations in a number of positive manners. It is clear from the above discussion that the charismatic leaders are very effective irrespective of how big or small the problem is. Also, the impact of the actions of these leaders is very high on the overall business. It is also important to understand that there are a number of similarities between the transformational leaders and the charismatic leaders. One of the major differences is the focus of these leaders.  

Moral delemmas Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Moral delemmas - Research Paper Example al. March 2009). During intense police pursuit, some police officers mistakenly use their pistols instead of the taser gun. The facts of the case so states that BART Officer Johannes Mehserle killed Oscar Grant while trying to subdue Mr. Grant during an arrest. Officer Mehserle mistaken used his pistol instead of his taser to subdue the suspect and accidentally killed the suspect. Note that there are a number of moral dilemmas that often result from the use of taser guns. The people involved in the situation including the arresting officer, police department authorizing the use of taser guns and the suspect often have to deal with a number of moral issues resulting from the incident such as what happened between Officer Johannes Mehserle and Oscar Grant. In the police operation, both the arresting officer and the suspect are at risk. As it is, ethical dilemmas often happen arise in connection with the arrest. The first moral dilemma that we need to look into is whether or not the pol ice department should allow police officers to use tasers when subduing suspects. Note that unruly suspects can endanger the lives of the people around including the apprehending police officers. If the police officers are not allowed to use taser guns on suspects, the suspects may turn against the officers and hurt them on the process. Moreover, if police officers do not use taser guns, they will need to use other forms of deterring force to subdue the suspects. Without the taser gun, the apprehending police officers will need to have direct body contact with the suspect. Using deterring force such as manhandling the suspect who resists arrest can also cause harm on the suspect and may even result to lawsuits against the police force. Note that cases involving â€Å"police brutality† are very common and often brings headaches to the police department. We have to understand that when a police officer comes near the suspect and have direct bodily contact with him or her, any c an happen. A twist in the arm can have different effect on different people and because we cannot be sure what kind of damage a simple bodily contact can have and what will be the reaction of the person arrested, it is still better for the police officer to maintain distance from the suspect and use taser guns. Also in cases of pursuits when the suspect is running away from the arresting officer, the use of taser gun can be very handy. Come to think of it, if the police officer does not use a taser gun in apprehending an escaping suspect, the suspect may get away and may commit another crime. When the police officer fails to apprehend a known suspect who has committed a series of crimes, he/she gives permission to that suspect to commit yet another crime. Yes, the whole idea that an escaped suspect can cause more harm to innocent people is disturbing so it is very important for police officers to have the right tools to do their jobs. Also if the suspect gets away, the police depart ment will need to use more resources to hunt down and capture the suspect. The cost of hunting down and apprehending a suspect can be enormous and given the limited budget of the police force, the department does not have the luxury of letting a suspect escape. While allowing the police officers to use taser guns to apprehend suspects have many advantages, it also has some disadvantages. Using taser guns involve risk and it may cause harm on people. According to Grant et al. (March 2009),

Sexuality and Middle Adulthood Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Sexuality and Middle Adulthood - Essay Example According to Erik Erikson, the most important developmental challenge of middle adulthood is the conflict of generativity versus stagnation. Most people in the middle adulthood consider sexuality as essential component for physical and mental well-being. However, one of the basic issues concerning human sexuality during the middle adulthood is that there is a considerable decline in the frequency of sexual activity. According to Zanden, Crandell, and Crandell, "Frequency of activity and number of partners declines in middle adulthood ' Many healthy adults enjoy an active sex life into 70s and beyond' Medications for health problems often have sexual function side effects'. Lack of opportunity can be a factor... Time pressures of the job and family may leave couples with little time or energy for sex' Sexuality is refocused to sensuality for many middle adults." (Zanden, Crandell, and Crandell, 2000, p. 519). Therefore, human sexuality confronts serious challenges during the middle ad ulthood, although it is a highly essential component of human life during this period. Human sexuality during the middle adulthood confronts a basic issue with regard to the sexual activity of the individuals and most often there is an important decline in the frequency of sexual activity during this period.

The Development Of Fashion In Indian History Essay Example for Free

The Development Of Fashion In Indian History Essay Fashion has been referred by many as a consciousness of the mind. In most cases, when the term fashion is mentioned, what comes to the mind is the notion of a cloth style but the truth is that the concept entails a wide range of things be it footwear, accessories, headgear or even hairstyles. It is what one thinks it is beautiful that makes one comfortable and thus it could be said to be relative as it is not universal. It may mean simplicity to one person while to another person it would mean modernity and glamour. Fashion was simply a western phenomenon originally meant for the elite class but was later exposed to other people due to globalization. Fashion like fads come and go or in other words, they exist for sometime and are replaced by others and this is something that is evident when the track record for the Indian fashion is traced back from the early 20th century up to the turn of the century.   This research paper is going to specifically focus on Indian fashion and will trace its development track and discuss in depth about the changes that occurred in every stage and give the factors that motivated that change. This paper starts by giving a short but concise introduction about fashions and then continues to discuss about the historical development of Indian fashion in its main body and concludes by recapping the most important points that have been raised. Fashion in India started being taken seriously when the nation opened up to the western world’s ideologies which with them, different cultures and dressing styles were born but there was need to safeguard and protect the national values and cultures. For this reason, the Indians developed their own traditional styles and decided to hold on to them lest their cultures and values be swept away by the western fashion’s wave. Indian fashions evolved due to regionalism, climatic conditions and due to necessity and thus were more of a cultural, religious and tribal identity[1]. Indeed a lot of fashion metamorphosis could be said to have taken place as far as Indian fashion is concerned like from the 1920’s flapper girls who were oblivious of the conventional mode of dressing and looked it with contempt to the 21st century’s elegant fashions. The 1920s period was commonly referred to as the ‘roaring twenties’ and was reflective of Charleston era. In the 1920s, change in fashion in India was basically influenced by social movements advocating for equal treatment of women and in this respect, business like dressing codes were adopted something that greatly attracted women. Though this was the case, the 1920s period was unstable period to the Indians as it was the time the western influence was at its fullest and thus anything considered Indian was of lower status that the western one and thus Indian fashions had borrowed much from the western world. In short, the 20s fashion was associated with wealth and thus was a thing of the rich as the poor went for the hand stitched or the hand made clothes however, due to their high demand those tailors became entrepreneurs and kept boutiques thereby making a fortune. People would prefer western fashions to theirs for example the Charleston dresses which had long laced sleeves either made of silk, satin or cotton. The 1920s period being influenced by equality movements, a class of women who were business-like emerged and preferred clothes which were either grey or black in color and made of [2]either georgettes or silk. â€Å"In India, the fashion scenario was in confusion as it was an unstable period. Thus fashion trends were strongly influenced by the British, with the result that western clothes became a status symbol†[3]. As each decade had something new, the 1930s period show the reduction of western influence in fashion and witnessed the rise of communism, fascism and socialism something that led to the women’s fashions becoming more and more feminine while strongly holding on to their conservative ideas[4]. During this period, the 1920s clothes such as angarkhas, jamas and chogas lost taste and there place was taken by achkan, sherwani and chapkan. According to researches that have been done, these clothes are still fashionable today and in fact are the standard mode of dressing for men. At this time the emergence of Indian cinemas played an important role in the emergence of the 1930s fashion. Clothes that exaggerated body figures would be worn something that went in line with cabaret and vamp culture. Though western influence was greatly waning over this period, the Indian women would still be seen wearing western clothes such as the ghagras, kurtas, odhnis and peshwaz during ceremonial functions and religious festivities but would make sure that though clothes would be mostly western they would wear clothes that were hand-woven and most of the clothes that were worn at this time were dark colored[5]. The 1940s decade did not see much of fashion change as there were a lot of things that were happening in the world for example the Second World War and the Indian Independence movement and thus most of the clothes that were worn by women were generally functional. However, there were some small changes which were happening in terms of fashion that are worth noting for example, clothes with pinched waist and hips and then matched with a short fluted jacket could be worn by Indians[6]. Also this historical period brought with it some revolutionary changes in the Indian fashion as Japanese imported fashions such as georgette, silk and   chiffon which prior to 1940s were very much in use were replaced by South Indian hand woven silks. By gaining independence, Indians felt tired of mimicking western fashions and thus concentrated and cherished theirs something that characterized the 1050s period. Much of the attention focused on the Indian blouse which shortened than it was prior to this period. This blouse came to be known as choli and the style came to be reffred to as katori which replaced the western one. The mentality that western clothes were long lasting and that would even last longer if repaired, vanished and henceforth, those clothes would be given to charity homes or be put into dustbins. Also something else characteristic of this period was the silhouette balloon skirts with narrow waist[7]. The 1960s represents a very important period in the evolution of Indian fashion. It witnessed various inventions and particularly the production of synthetics for example; brass, silver and mud were replaced by plastic and silk and cotton was replaced by polyester and nylon fabrics â€Å"New types of materials such as plastic film and coated polyester fabrics became popular. Tight kurtas with churidars and miniskirts became fashionable. The era also ushered in the age of synthetics†[8]. This period represented not only a battle between modernity and traditions but also a battle between values and lifestyles. Though nylon had replaced saris, it came back in 1964 both with a new look and wearing style for example, it would be worn below the navel in a manner that would exaggerate the curves. Also in this period, the place of salwars was taken by nylon pants. The clothes that came to be referred to as Kumar’s forte emerged at this period and were as a result of the embracement of Indian clothing styles by other nations in the world[9]. Kumar was able to put the word fashion in an Indian context something that made him to popular nationwide. The 1970s period in Indian fashion is commonly referred to as the me decade’ and was also a period that was referred to as anything goes culture. At this period, India started to produce materials in plenty with some used locally while others exported to other nations something that made its fashion to be popular worldwide[10]. In 1980s, the American fashion were selling internationally and were able to penetrate in India and some American designers such as Calvin Klein were very popular but nevertheless, their own fashion never died. In fact, silhouettes which were initially worn by women adopted a masculine nature and shoulder pads were put in salwars. With the invention of cable TV, teenagers got influenced by fashion shows that were aired as they targeted the youth who in turn influenced their elders. This ushered the millennium’s last decade, the 1990s which witnessed the rise of younger designers into the Indian fashion mainstream. This period also saw the replacement of Indian fashion by the German styles produced by designers such as such as Jil Sander and Helmut Lang. Today, people have realized the importance of preserving their fashion and protecting it from being eroded by foreign cultures and thus most Indians are going back to their ethnic cultures thereby increasing their demand with much credit going to Ritu Kumar whose role in reviving Indian fashion cannot be underrated. Unlike in the past where people thought anything foreign as modern and theirs as outdated, it has dawned on people that those were erroneous ways of thinking and have reverted to their old fashions which were reflective of their identity[11]. Indeed, Indian fashion is something that has under gone a lot of changes since 1900. Notable changes could be said to have started taking place with the coming of colonialists. Much of what took place during this time to a great extent was western in nature but people went holding on their fashions which were representative of both their cultural and ethnic identity. In the 1940s, with the achievement of independence, they deserted western cultures and came to value theirs more and this continued in the following decades. The 1960s in the Indian fashion history is the epitome of change as a lot took place including the invention of synthetic fibers. Today, Indians have gone to their former traditional way of live and have awakened to the fact that their culture is valuable than the western one unlike the 1920’s belief. References: India4world. Evolution of fashion. Retrieved from   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   http://www.indiavisitinformation.com/indian-fashion/evolution-of-fashion.shtml Khatai, Ajit Bhimsen. 2001. Fashionable Crossovers. Available at   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   http://www.hinduonnet.com/folio/fo0104/01040420.htm Mukerjee, Somshuvra. 2009. Changes in Fashion Trends among Women in India.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Available at http://somshuvra.instablogs.com/entry/changes-in-fashion-trends-   among-women-in-india/ Shea, Stuart. 2006. The 1960s Most Wanted: The Top 10 Book of Hip Happenings,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Swinging Sounds, and Out-of-sight Oddities. Brasseys. 4thmedia.com. 2008. Fashion and Lifestyle. Accessed from   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   http://teamsugar.com/365194

Management Practices and Performance of SACCOs

Management Practices and Performance of SACCOs INTRODUCTION The background gives a brief history of the savings and credit cooperative societies, highlights its importance to the society and touches on the problems that have influenced its performance of its roles and finally on the possible solutions or causes of actions. This preambles the statement of the problem, the purpose, significance, scope and limitations of the study together with the research questions. BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY One of the basic principles of Cooperative Savings and Credit Movement is the belief in co-operation and mutual self help for the uplifting of members standards of living. Kussco(2006). Members with a common bond join hands to form those quasi-banks institutions. With finances mobilized through such joint efforts the savings and credit society members build up the capital which they can use through local arrangements to finance their own social as well as economic development. The traditional form of cooperation involved working together on farms, hunting and gathering. All people have basic needs of food, shelter, security and belonging. People would invite neighbors to come and give a hand. Also people did not have money and resources, which enables individuals to employ people or machinery to do the work for them. In any community cooperation usually exists in the form of associations of people who come together as a group driven by their social and economic needs in order to cope with their problems and improve their conditions of living MOCD (2006) According to Odepo and Nyawinda ( 2004) , savings and credit cooperatives societies ( commonly referred to as SACCOs), accept monthly payments for shares from which, members may borrow an amount equivalent to two or three times their own savings if they can get other members to guarantee them. They say that growth in SACCOs in the last twenty years has been spectacular. According to statistics from Kenya Union Of Savings and Credit Cooperative societies (KUSCCO), the number of SACCOs rose from 630 in 1978 to 3,870 by the end of October 2002 while savings and share capital rose from Kshs. 375 million in 1978 to Kshs. 80billion by 2003. Credit outreach similarly recorded significantly, having risen from 357 million in 1978 to kshs. 70 billion by 2003. Saccos active members numbered over 1.5 million by 2002 having risen from 378,500 members in 1978. Their rapid growth indicate that they have filled a need which had not been made by the financial institutions. Of the Kshs. 110 billion in the current share capital and deposits held by cooperatives, the statistics show that Kshs. 90 billion has been lent out to customers. However, the recent statistics from the ministry of cooperative development and marketing shows the position as below The internal management principles need to be enforced strongly to improve efficiency of collections, and even perhaps consider insuring the loans in case of demise of member loaned. The Sacco movement has the capacity to propel the economic lives of the citizens if indeed it is well managed. Its principles of democratic management, voluntary membership and common bond give it the base to take its members to new heights. The movement has been a boon for this country and many people would not be where they are now were it not for the harvests of the opportunities sowed in the garden of the movement. It mobilizes savings and finance and penetrates to areas not valued by other financial institutions, while serving special needs of members. The prospects for the industry are so huge. By identifying the fact that the easiest source of funding is the locally mobilized savings, the saccos should come up with innovative ideas to encourage the members of the common bond to save, as a first step. Other sources of funds like the cooperative bank, which all the saccos have a stake in, should be considered exhaustively. Besides they should think outside the box and get organi zations willing to empower members economically by allowing loans at a rate less than what saccos offer to its members. The saccos umbrella body- Kussco- has a fund to assist the member saccos when they are in need of the funds. Saccos face numerous challenges that hinder the exploitation of their full potential. Mudibo(2005) raised concerns on the calibre of leaders who run saccos noting that since these are voluntary organizations, members can elect anybody they like, who may not necessarily have the skills to run a sacco. He suggested that before a member is elected, he should have certain number of shares so that he has something to loose if he mismanages the sacco. Non remittance and delayed remittance of cooperative dues by employers has led to inconveniences and loss of income by the societies. New rules have however provided stiff penalties for errant employers. Members are also at risk due to HIV/AIDS and ways to attract new members are required. Ngumo (2005), in his article the cooperative movement in Kenya; the eagle that wont fly Nairobi, Kenya institute of management raises several unsettled issues affecting the saccos. First the government should decide on whether to control or facilitate the cooperatives. Cooperative roles should be re-emphasized. One member one vote should be questioned. Instead he suggests the policy of one share one vote. Still, ownership and control should be de-linked for good corporate governance. Then business strategies need further scrutiny before implementation. He concludes that it will be sad for Kenyans to compose a eulogy for the movement after all this time. He said; We cannot milk a cow, refuse to feed it, cry that it was wonderful cow and blame God for its demise. According to National Micro and Small Enterprise (MSE) Baseline Survey (1999/2000), Kenya has a relatively well developed banking and formal financial sector. This consists of the Central Bank, 43 commercial banks, 16 non-bank financial institutions, 2 mortgage finance companies, 4 building societies , 8 developed financial institutions about 3870 cooperative savings and credit societies, 38 insurance companies, the Nairobi stock exchange and venture capital companies. The survey further indicates that nearly 89.6% of MSEs had never received credit and other financial services. The unserved credit needs portrayed by the statistics in the table 1.2 in the background section above signifies a wealth of opportunities untapped by all the financial institutions. The proof of the existence of market implies that a lot needs to be done to raise what it takes to serve a market. The most basic need is the finance to lend in a discipline way. Voluntary savings from members is therefore imperative. Saccos abilities to improve their members wealth is determined by a number of factors, among them is the funding levels due to members marginal propensity to save, contributions; remittance by the employers, legal and regulatory framework, internal management principles and practices (e.g customer service, marketing, dividend / interest payment etc) amongst other factors. These factors level of influence on saccos ability to perform captured the attention of the researcher. It was the intention of the researcher to examine them and possibly recommend on the best way to miti gate the underlying challenges and take advantage of the available opportunities by exploiting existing strengths. Voluntary deposits / savings as a source of commercial finance for micro credit institution have generated a lot of interest and debate in recent years. Locally mobilized voluntary savings is potentially the largest and the most immediately available source of finance for some micro credit institutions, most of all the saccos. Bearing this in mind, one is left to wonder what is hindering the saccos from prosperity, given the access to its resources and the wealth of its opportunities. The purpose of this research is to broaden the discussion of what, when, why and how a sacco should use its resources, get the right framework, apply effective policies for improvement of the wealth of its members. Getting these elements right is a crucial part of meeting the demand for the unmet credit needs. The researcher will also seek to bridge the gap that exist between Saccos that have exemplary performance in their services to members and excellent returns and some others which barely afford to offer loans, leave alone dividends. According to Armstrong, performance is often defined in output terms the achievement of quantified objectives. But performance is a matter not only of what people achieve but how they achieve it. High performance result from appropriate behaviour, especially discretionary behaviour, and the effective use of the required knowledge, skills and competencies. STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM Quite a number of Saccos e.g TENA sacco, have a long string of pending loan applications from members SACCO star ( 2006) . Some saccos pay out little or no dividends/ interests on members savings. Some others still have a low loan multiplier and / or limited concurrent loans compared to some well performing counterparts e.g Stima Sacco, Sacco star,(2006)- which has even started ATM services for FOSA customers and manages to advance more that three times the members deposits, can give up to four concurrent loans without closing any applications for the year and gives loans almost immediately it is applied for by the member , (mwaura (2004). Among the major problems hindering this is the unavailability of much needed cash to lend, when it is required. This therefore causes a mismatch in the availability of funds and the demand for loans. Other reasons could be poor investment decisions or lack of investment opportunities or delayed cash flow from employers/ members among others. Rutherford (1999) wrote that funding these large sums of money is the main management problem. The only reliable and sustainable way is to build them from savings. Saving- making a choice not to consume- is thus the fundamental and unavoidable first step in money management, without which financial services cannot operate. The poor themselves recognize the need to build savings into lump sums and contrary to the popular belief, the poor want to save and try to save, and all poor people except those who are entirely outside the cash economy can save something, no matter how small, When poor people do not save, it is for luck of opportunity rather for lack of understanding or of will. Most of the saccos have succeeded in mobilization of savings from members. Inspite of this, still they have a huge backlog in terms of loans advanced to members (Sacco star, 2005). Furthermore, most of the saccos pay little dividends/interests on deposits or none at all, in-spite of trading with the deposits/savings. It was therefore the intention of the researcher to seek to establish the determinants of saccos capabilities to improve its members well being. OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY Main Objective The main purpose of this study was to investigate and refine our understanding of the major factors that determine the performance of SACCOs to enable them maximize their members wealth. Specific objective Specifically, the study sought: To find out the extend to which the nature of business/ check off system affects performance of SACCOs To establish the relationship between management practices and performance of SACCOs To examine the level of education and training of general members, committee members staff and their effects on performance of SACCOs To determine if long term investment affects performance of SACCOs RESEARCH QUESTIONS To what extend does the nature of business/ check off system affect performance of SACCOs? Do management practices affect performance of SACCOs? Is education and training of general members, committee members staff a factor that affects the performance of SACCOs? Does long term investment affect the performance of SACCOs? SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY This study is aimed at developing an understanding on major factors determining the accessibility to funds to process and dispense all loan requisitions in time by saccos in Kenya. It is seeking to examine and underscore the salient principles that have a bearing in the success in similar or related areas of focus, and hence suggest ways and means of overcoming failure. The study is aimed at benefiting, among others, the management teams. These are the people entrusted by the members to take care of their interests in saccos. They will study to understand and improve on policy setting and implementation for overall sustainability of the sector. The entire sacco membership will also get enlightened. The members of the common bond will appreciate their role in sustaining their welfare through sacco as a vehicle. They will be more willing to take a center role instead of quiting when they feel their interests are not being taken care of by the people they entrusted them with. It will also benefit the sacco staff/secretariate; these are the people who get their daily bread from the sacco. They will understand their role in the growth of the organization, hence acting to secure their source of livelihood. It will also be of good use to the government department in charge of cooperatives. The report will bring to light issues requiring framework and only them can attend to for the overall sustainability of the sacco industry. Finally other researchers in this area will find this useful. They will get recommendations for further research from this study. The beneficiaries will have access to the information on the findings from the compiled report. The final report will be available in selected major libraries, organized groups, especially the respondents will get a copy of the report on the findings. SCOPE OF THE STUDY This studys scope was the saccos based in Eldoret. The researcher selected a suitable sample from the population by purposive convenience sampling. According to the statistics from MOCD/M, there are about 10 such saccos within Eldoret town. About 40 % of the population (4 saccos) were covered by the study. The study targeted the members of the central management committee (CMC) in the selected SACCOs. LITERATURE REVIEW Introduction to literature review This section contains literature that has been reviewed and continues to be reviewed relating to the problem. Literature review involves locating, reading and evaluating reports of previous studies, observations and opinions relating to the planned study. It therefore enables the researcher to know what has been done in the particular field of study, makes one aware of what has been made and what challenges remain, and gives suggestions on the variables and procedures that could be used. Literature review logically leads to objectives on the study. Past studies in the area Background information According to Mwaura (2005) sessional paper No. 4 of 1987 on renewed growth through the cooperative movement highlighted the significance of the movement in national development. By this time there were 3500 registered cooperatives with more than 2million members and an annual turnover greater than 6billion. The paper noted that one in every two Kenyans derived its livelihood from the cooperative either directly or indirectly. The cooperative movement in Kenya is reputed to be the most advanced in the African continent. The Kenya Nordic agreement of 1967led to the establishment of the Cooperative college of Kenya at Langata, which is the main training ground for both ministry staff and the movement employees. According to MOCD (2002) the first Savings and credit Cooperatives in Kenya were started in the sixties. The Government annual economic survey shows that as at December 2002 there were more than 2,400 active SACCOS with membership in excess of 1.5 million people. Share capital stood at Kshs. 65 billion while outstanding loans were Kshs. 59 billion.. The structure of the cooperative movement in Kenya comprises of four tiers. These include the primary societies, secondary cooperatives, tertiary cooperatives and nationwide cooperatives. The Kenya Federal of Cooperatives (KNFC) is the only apex society in the movement. It was formed with an objective of promoting, developing, guiding, assisting and upholding ideas of the cooperative principles. KNFC is the link between cooperatives in Kenya and the international cooperative alliance. Of special mention here is the African Confederation of Cooperative Savings and Credit Associations (ACCOSCA), which is registered under the Societies Act, Chapter 108 of the laws of Kenya. Its area of operation is Africa and the adjacent islands. Its head-quarters is in Nairobi. It has twenty five affiliated organizations. It is affiliated to the International Cooperative Alliance through its members in the world council of Credit Unions (WOCCU). According to the cooperative Societies Act (Cap 490), persons desirous of forming a cooperative society must fill the prescribed form from the commissioner for cooperatives. It requires that at least ten members will sign the form, though for savings and credit the commissioner has been asked for more people. The form requires that the society makes its by-laws. For ease of convenience the commissioner has prepared model by-laws for the cooperative societies. The societies are nevertheless free to change these or come up with their own by-laws. The by-laws must detail the following; the name of the society, objects of the society, purposes to which its funds may be applied, disposal of surplus funds, qualifications for membership and terms and conditions of admission of members. For savings and credit cooperatives, the following are also includes, the rate of interest, the maximum amount loan-able, extension, renewal and recovery of loans and the consequences of default in the repayment of any sums due. On receipt of the application form the office of the commissioner will register the cooperative society on the advice of the cooperative officer in charge of the area of operation. Chapter 490 provides that no companies registered under the companys Act or any un-incorporated body of persons shall become a member of a registered society except with the written permission of the commissioner. It also provides that no person can join more than one cooperative society with unlimited liability. A member may nevertheless be allowed to join two or more cooperatives with limited liability if the two are in different areas of operation. A cooperative society just like a company, may be registered with or without limited liability. The commissioner has power to refuse to register a cooperative society. Nevertheless, the refusal must be given to the applicants in writing. Applicants can appeal to the minister for cooperative developments and finally to the high court. The commissioner may register the cooperative either provisionally or fully. A provision registration is given where some requirements for registration have not been met. The applicants are given a period o f one year to satisfy all conditions. A provisionally registered cooperative society may act as a fully registered in all ways. Upon registration such a cooperative society is deemed to have been registered on the date of the provisional registration. Upon registration a society becomes a body of corporate. According to Ouma(1980), the term cooperative in its widest sense simply means working together. In this context cooperation is as old as mankind and exists wherever the human family is found. Indeed such cooperation exists among animals, insects, bees and ants. Thus cooperation generally means working together for a common purpose. Thus group effort through traditional form of cooperation may be traced in all communities of the world. However its narrow sense as a movement, it means an association of people whose purpose for group work yields good results not only for the members but to the community in general and even to the humanity at large. Cooperative is a business organization by profit, but rather the result of mutual association whose objective is equitable economic betterment of man and the society in which he lives. According to the MOCD, cooperatives are regulated by a set of principals. These principles were formulated by a group of people who lived in a village in England known as Rochdale, and they are therefore referred to as Rochdale pioneers. They formed the first successful cooperative society in 1884. This society which was a consumer cooperative society was formed in 1844 when Britain was undergoing industrial revolution. As a result of the revolution, a lot of people lost their jobs in the factories as machines were introduced to replace them. In addition to this there was general lack of credit and supply of essential commodities like salt, sugar, flour and cooking fat. Businessmen also took advantage of this situation and started offering impure products at high prices. It is against this background that Rochdale Pioneers decided to draw up some sort of principles which would guide their operation as cooperative society. These principles were intended for the regulation of cooperative society as indicated by the great stress on the sale of pure products and the sale of goods for cash only. It was therefore found necessary to formulate the principles for adoption by other types of cooperatives. The International Cooperative Alliance (ICA) Commission of 1966 adopted the following principles which are genuine for the running of a genuine cooperative society:- Open and voluntary membership, democratic administration (one man, one vote), limited interest on share capital, payments of dividends and bonuses to members, promotion of education and cooperation with other cooperatives at local national and international levels. According to Ouma (1980), the traditional cooperatives have been in existence in Kenya, as it has been elsewhere, from time immemorial. Examples of such cooperative practices are to be found in Kenya. The group association is normally based on lineage according to the natural geographic environment in which the members of the group are born. This is usually based on clan or people who live within the same village. It can be stated with fair amount of certainty that the traditional forms of cooperation do generally speaking, form the basis for the establishment of modern cooperative organizations. There is for instance in Luo, Saga whereby a group of people do ploughing, weeding or harvest for each member of the group in turn. In Kwath, members of the group look after their cattle together for three or more days consecutively, in turn. In Kikuyu there is what is called ngwatio (Mwethya in Kamba) whereby members of the group get together to build houses for themselves, each member of t he group breinging what is required for the construction e.g. grass and poles. When the first house is completed then the members start on the next one. In Kisii, there is what is called obituary wherby men go on a job hunting exercise, and when they kill an animal, they will either divide it or take it home (village) where it mis cooked and eaten communally by all the villagers. Among the Kalenjin there is the practice of Kokwet wherby a group of people would go out to harvest or weed the garden of their members in turn. The Kalenjin also have Loget whereby the men go in a joint effort to kill animals for food. According to Ouma(1980), practically all the ethnic groups in this country, whether small or big, has since time immemorial practiced mutual association in order to satisfy their needs socially, economically or otherwise. It is also necessary to point out that in the traditional forms of cooperatives, in contrast to the modern cooperatives, members had a great sense of commitment and belonging.. They had mutual trust and were voluntarily involved in their activities and affairs.. It is of course not possible and it may not be expected that with the development of cosmopolitan populations consisting of different ethnic groups and tribes that members can still hold together without some form of regulations. Hence the necessity to resort to legal reinforcement and education in order to develop efficient cooperative organizations. Although these associations of group effort could be deemed self help which is infect a for of cooperative , it is nevertheless true to say that the modern cooperative movement, born in Kenya during the beginning of twentieth century owed much of the cooperative idea to these earlier practices. It is also true that the modern cooperative associations in this country took a different approach and mainly because of expediency. Its founders the British settlers- merely wanted to use it as a cheap means of business for easy profit making. They never spontaneously involved the indigenous people who already were familiar with cooperative effort. The early settlers were beset by very many problems as regards their agricultural activities. For instance prices for Agricultural products were very low, transport of the agricultural inputs and outputs to the markets by each individual settler were classical nightmares. Therefore this new system of farming with its large scale production caused the needs for associations by the few European farmers who undoubtedly had conceived the cooperative idea from the British cooperative movement back home. It will of course be recalled that the formal and successful cooperative organisations started in Britain in 1844. In 1908, they resolved to join together at a place called Lumbwa and formed Lumbwa cooperative Society Ltd. Although not registered as such under any cooperative Societies Act, it is deemed to be one of the modern cooperatives in Kenya. The main objective was to purchase merchandise; i.e. fertilizers, chemical seeds, and other agricultural inputs through collective effort, and to market their produce collectively thus taking advantage of the economy of scale. It would appear quite clear at this point that cooperatives in Kenya did not start as a poor mans defensive weapon against the exploitation by the middlemen, as it had started in Europe and elsewhere. It was on the contrary an easier means to enable the white settlers to receive high returns from their agricultural produce. Thus it was rather an economic necessity for the well to do and not the ordinary man with little or no means at all. It will be remembered that during this time, there was no cooperative societies ordinance to regulate and to assist the management of these cooperative efforts in Kenya. It is also not clear whether or not Lumbwa Cooperative society ltd was registered even under the companies Act, otherwise calling it a co-operative society was misleading. However one thing remains certain, and that is that the settlers wanted to maximize their profits by trading under the pretext of a co-operative organisation, thereby enjoying its privileges. According to Ouma (1980) many self help groups, most of which were very small and un-economic, were started all over the country. But these were not economically viable and consequently had to be amalgamated into larger economic units. These were for instance Kenya farmers association (co-operatives), Kenya planters co-operative union, Kenya cooperative creameries and Horticultural cooperative union. It is a fact that these institutions formed the backbone and the base for formal cooperative movement in this country. These initial cooperative ventures in Kenya were unfortunately not quite in the spirit of the Rochdale Pioneer Cooperative Society. They never for example, observed the principle of membership, for no African could participate in it until later. The need to form formal cooperative organisations arose when some African peasant farmers realized that they were being exploited, especially by the Asian traders who were paying very low prices for their agricultural produce. As early as in the 1930s there were attempts to form cooperatives by the indigenous people of Kenya, in spite of lack of proper guidance. Of these early attempts two examples can be mentioned here, The Taita vegetable company and the Kisii coffee Growers cooperative. The farmers had 239 members and bought 3 lorries at the cost of $1170 out of the profits made from the operations. The group was producing, grading, transporting and selling on the mombasa market over 900,000Lbs of vegetables a year and the growers received over $4,500 out of a gross selling price of $ 6300. This was indeed too substantial an enterprise to be left without a legal basis. It was later registered as cooperative society. The Kisii coffee growers Association which was able to raise from the sale of its coffee a sum of $2470 of which $1240 was paid out to the 251 members who had cultivated only 159 acres, but had already accumulated a surplus of $1065. In 1994, the British Colonial Office in London appointed Mr. W.K.H Campbell to come to investigate the possibilities of African participation in the cooperative organisations. He carried out his investigations by touring and visiting many towns and districts in the republic of Kenya and talking to the people. After all his investigations Mr. Campbell submitted his recommendations that subject to availability of capable staff attempts to organise cooperatives were worth while. It was also during this time that the first African Mr. Eliud Mathu was nominated to the legislative assembly, as the Kenya parliament was called then. He demanded in parliament and such people as Ex chief Koinange from outside, that the Government should come out openly to encourage African participation in the cooperative movement. It was as a result of Campbells recommendation that the cooperative societies (Registration) Amendment, Ordinance of 1932 was repealed and the cooperative societies Ordinance of 1945 was enacted under Cap. 287. It was as a result of this new ordinance that the department of cooperatives was created, although it was placed under different ministries at various times. Consequent to the establishment of the department, a registrar ( now called commissioner for cooperative Development) was appointed and together with his staff was responsible for registration and promotion of cooperative societies in the country. The 1945 cooperative societies ordinance further gave the registrar certain powers over cooperative societies, for example refusal to register a cooperative society, cancellation of certificate of registration, to audit societys books of accounts, authority to inspect books of society, authority to settle disputes in cooperatives only to mention but a few examples. The new cooperative societies ordinance thus subsequently enabled the Government to establish the department of cooperative development. The department was charged with the responsibility of promoting, controlling and educating the members as well as the public on the need and usefulness of cooperative efforts, with particular emphasis on the rural areas. The Registrar of cooperative Societies as the head of cooperative department was designed then and was given staff in ranks of Assistant Registrars and cooperative inspectors, though very limited in number. The assistant registrars worked very closely with the department of Agriculture, in organizing cooperatives which served as the nucleus for the introduction and expansion of various types of cooperatives such as Pyrethrum, Maize, vegetables, dairy, cotton, consumer thrifts and others. According to Ouma (1980), traditionally, people of different nations used barter methods of exchange. That is the exchange of goods for goods. It therefore requires a change of attitude and new outlook towards life in order to be able to accommodate and apply this new mode of economy usefully and

What Is the Purpose of Education? Essay -- Environmental Education, Ph

Getting educated is very important for every person. It goes without saying that each of us has to have a proper education. We learn how to read, count and write. These are the basic abilities we acquire and use during our life. Is there any other purpose of education or it is aimed only at giving us a possibility to communicate our ideas and satisfy basic needs? During centuries, there were different interpretations of the purpose of education. Many scientists, pedagogues and philosophers tried to answer the question: what is the purpose of education? Taking into consideration the needs and tendencies of a modern society, we can assume that the purpose of education is to prepare students to be self-sufficient citizens capable of solving real world problems. We all live and work to support our society which, in its turn, provides as with security and other benefits. To support this â€Å"balance†, we should build education based on standards of decency and human survival by the need of the social community. In other words, one should be educated in order to serve the society. There ar...

The Concept of Space in Architecture

A infinite is a physical description of a piece of land, whereas a topographic point connotes an emotional fond regard to the piece of land. [ 1 ] A Topographic point is a peculiar part of infinite, whether of definite or indefinite extent. [ 2 ] It is a â€Å"tangible† construct, intending that we can see the milieus, it is similar to the definition of location, for illustration, and our place is a topographic point where it is surrounded by walls and is sheltered. It is contained within a infinite, normally bounded by boundaries. A Space is an limitless 3-dimensional sweep in which all stuff objects are located. [ 3 ] However, we are able to restrict the infinite into a topographic point by specifying and curtailing the sweep harmonizing to how large we want it to be. Figure 1: A topographic point or a infinite is based on one’s judgement. An impersonal infinite is an anon. part which is non peculiarly related to a individual. To transform an impersonal topographic point into a private topographic point, we can put our personal properties in that peculiar dimension, which is sufficient for a individual to be able to roll and travel approximately and to transport out daily activities. An impersonal infinite like a schoolroom in a school can be divided into student’s ain personal zones. For illustration, each student’s country is defined by the schoolroom desk where they are able to put their ain bag, books and letter paper. This is how the pupils are able to specify that country as their ain district. Place-making is a people-centred attack to the planning, design and direction of a infinite to a public topographic point. Put merely, it involves looking at, listening to, and inquiring inquiries to the people who live, work and play in a peculiar topographic point, to detect demands and aspirations. [ 4 ] To make a common country, it should be able to suit to the different demands of the assorted age groups of the occupants populating in that country. For case, if the vicinity has a big per centum of aged residents, the shared infinites created will be more inclined towards installations that are senior-friendly. Most likely, there will be more nursing places, clinics and aerobic exercises corner for the aged. Because of the being of such installations, people gather and therefore a community infinite is created. In this instance, the resort areas and the exercise corners are the material objects in a infinite, hence specifying a topographic point. Centripetal experiences become integrated through the organic structure, or instead, in the very fundamental law of the organic structure and the human manner of being. Our organic structures and motions are in changeless interaction with the environment. [ 5 ] To at least some extent every topographic point can be remembered, partially because it is alone, but partially because it has affected our organic structures and generated adequate associations to keep it in our personal universes. [ 6 ] To counter place-less-ness in transient locales, interaction with the locale must affect all centripetal experiences which includes sense of sight, hearing, touch, gustatory sensation and odor. In a impermanent locale like a hotel, prosecuting our sense of sight would intend that what we see in a hotel flat is replicative of what we have in our ain places. The material objects that made up a hotel room will include a bed, a tabular array lamp and so on, which is what we outline as a topographic point we call â€Å"bedroom† . All these are familiar happenings which we experience back in the comfort of our places. However, our sense of sight is non a stand-alone experience, it has to be interconnected and reaffirmed with our other senses. Giving an illustration of a boiling boiler of H2O, we require our sense of sight to witness that there’s steam and besides our sense of hearing when the boiler whistlings. Figure 2: Our sense of sight is non a stand-alone experience, it has to be interconnected and reaffirmed with our other senses. In a somewhat larger context, Singapore is a infinite, with the assorted estates and parts stand foring the several alone topographic points. Typically, the substructure, comfortss and edifices distinguish the features of a topographic point. The estates and parts which we termed â€Å"Place† is made up of several stuff objects which is specific to that part. In Central Business District ( CBD ) , the stuff objects are skyscrapers, high category hotels, eating houses, and branded shopping mercantile establishments. In lodging estates, the proviso stores, java stores and the high rise Housing Development Board ( HDB ) flats will represent as the stuff objects. Interior design can be applied to counter the consequence of place-less-ness. â€Å"Interior† here means within Singapore. Residents of Singapore can distinguish a CBD country from a lodging estate by utilizing their centripetal experiences. As described above, the sense of sight could be applied here when the resi dents look at the environing substructures. To utilize their sense of hearing would be to listen out for the clattering of pots and pans in the java stores, or the â€Å"clocking† sounds of the heels of office ladies in CBD countries. In a planetary scene, Singapore is surrounded by Waterss, whereas in land locked states in the Southeast Asia Region, like Laos, there are distinguishable milieus that identify the topographic point. Here, â€Å"interior† would curtail the treatment to within Southeast Asia. In a bunco and bustle metropolis like Singapore, high rise edifices makes up its landscape. On the contrary, cragged verdure makes up the landscape of Laos. Making usage of our sense of hearing and odor will assist us to undertake the job of place-less-ness. Forestations, mountains and natural flora constitute the scenery of Laos, so the sound of crickets naming, the odor of forenoon dew and the moist wood litter will be what is alone about it. Air polluted with the intolerable odor fumes exhausts, noisy honking of the vehicles on the crowded freeway will be distinguishable to Singapore. To hold a â€Å"sense of belonging† would connote that person is emotionally attached to a peculiar topographic point, normally a location where 1 is familiar with. It is a topographic point where the individual feels homely, comfy and safe. To a Singaporean, he or she might experience that they are at place when they see skyscrapers and high rise edifices. When remaining in a hotel, the atmosphere resembles what a individual has at place, and so they feel as if they are remaining in their ain low residence. Wraping up, a topographic point is a subset of a infinite, and a infinite can be transformed into a topographic point by finding the stuff objects within it. Centripetal experiences are used to interact with our milieus, such that it creates a sense of acquaintance ensuing in the emotional feeling of a sense of belonging. Figure 3: High rise edifices are a familiar sight in Singapore. Mentions Placemaking Committee, 2008.11 rules of placemaking – Placemaking Chicago[ online ] . New York, Project for Public Spaces. Available from: hypertext transfer protocol: //www.placemakingchicago.com/about/principles.asp [ Accessed 25 May 2014 ] Placemaking Committee, 2008.What is placemaking? – Placemaking Chicago[ online ] . New York, Project for Public Spaces. Available from: hypertext transfer protocol: //placemakingchicago.com/about/ [ Accessed 25 May 2014 ] Dictionary.com, 2014. Place | Define Place at Dictionary.com [ online ] . IAC Corporation. Available from: hypertext transfer protocol: //dictionary.reference.com/browse/place? s=ts [ Accessed 25 May 2014 ] Dictionary.com, 2014. Space | Define Space at Dictionary.com [ online ] . IAC Corporation. Available from: hypertext transfer protocol: //dictionary.reference.com/browse/space? s=t [ Accessed 25 May 2014 ] Pallasmaa, Juhaini. The Eyes of the Skin: Architecture and the Senses, John Wiley & A ; Sons, erectile dysfunction. 2005. List of Images Figure 1: Bettina Deda, 2013.A topographic point or a infinite is based on one’s judgement.[ online ] Australia, Bettina Deda Colour Design. hypertext transfer protocol: //www.bdcolourdesign.net.au/3-proven-steps-to-start-a-room-makeover/ Fig. [ Accessed 26 May 2014 ] Figure 2: Chris Swithinbank, 2012.Our sense of sight is non a stand-alone experience, it has to be interconnected and reaffirmed with our other senses.[ online ] US, Chrisswithinbank. hypertext transfer protocol: //www.chrisswithinbank.net/2012/08/the-incredulity-of-st-thomas-at-harvard/ Fig. [ Accessed 26 May 2014 ] Figure 3: Universes in Universe. High rise edifices are a familiar sight in Singapore. Singapore, Universes in Universe. hypertext transfer protocol: //universes-in-universe.de/car/singapore/eng/ort/financial-district/img-02.htm Fig. [ Accessed 26 May 2014 ]